Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 8, 1 August 2005 — Hawaiian language changed over time [ARTICLE]

Hawaiian language changed over time

The Hawaiian language has always heen an oral language and only some 180 years or so ago did it heeome a written language. The orthography of the language has gone through a few ehanges sinee the heginning. In old writings, the same sounds may have heen represented hy more than one letter: the letters "R", "L'" and "D" may have represented the same sound; likewise with "T", "K" and "G"; "V" and "W"; and "B" and "P". The letters used did not truly refleet the sounds that exist in Polynesian languages. One example would be the 'okina and how in earlier writings no letter was assigned to that sound. In Sāmoan, the "G" represents the "NG" sound and in Māori the "WH" is either the "WH" or "F" sound, depending on the region or speaker. Europeans who wrote the earliest words of the Hawaiian language were not linguists. They spelled Hawaiian words phonetieally based on their informants' speeeh. They were not exposed to every possible dialeet. Earliest writings show different spellings based on what was heard: Crymamahoo (Kalaimamahu); Owhyhee/Ouwhaiee ('o Hawai'i); Karakakooa/ Kirekakooa/ Kirakakiia/ Keragegooa (Kealakekua), Kanee-Capporei/ Kerneeeuberrey (Kānekapolei), Keowa (Keōua) and Ahido ('o Hilo). The letters "K", "C" and "W" were written in these old writings simply beeause these sounds existed. The "L" was obviously heard and pronouneed or else it would not have been written down by the missionaries and approved by

Kamehameha II, who preferred Liholiho over Rihoriho. The "W" sound is favored by Ni'ihau natives. Both the "L" and "R" sounds, whieh are produeed similarly, existed throughout Polynesia. And although most of the migration to the Hawaiian islands was from Eastem Polynesia, whose languages laek the "L" sound, that does not mean that Westem Polynesians had any inlluenee on the language or that the "L" sound in those days existed along with the "R" sound. The "G" that is used in the word "Kealakekua" is a good example of a sound that Europeans heard. At times it sounded like a "K" while other times it sounded like a "G". Simply put, the "K" we use today to write is not pronouneed in Hawaiian as it is on English. It is less aspirated. The same goes for the "P/B" variant of whieh is also less aspirated than it is in English. Missionaries only introdueed a writing system and applied it to the Hawaiian language, whieh had always been nothing but an oral language. They did not remove letters or sounds. I eneourage anyone who is learning Hawaiian to interaet with mānaleo so that they ean obtain a more aeeurate Hawaiian pronuneiation versus reading the alphabet set by Westemers whose sounds do not exaetly approximate Hawaiian sounds. Kalani Mondoy Glendale, Calif.

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