Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 2, 1 February 2012 — ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Month [ARTICLE]

ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Month

HB 1984, SB 2175

While February has Iong been considered Hawaiian Language Month, this designation has never been made officiaI by a statute. A bill advancing in the state House as part ofOHA's Legislative Package wouhl designate February as 'ŌIelo Hawai'i Month to celebrate and encourage the use ofHawaiian Ianguage. Here is the preamble to the bill, whieh is written in Hawaiian with an English transIation. Leam more about House BiII 1984 and its eompanion bill, Senate BiII 2175, at capitolhawaii.org. "Olelo Hawaii, or the Hawaiian language, is the native language of the Native Hawaiian people. While onee spoken throughout Hawaii by Native Hawaiians and foreigners alike, Olelo Hawaii was considered to be nearly extinct by the 1980s, when fewer than fifty fluent speakers under the age of eighteen were left. A major reason for the deterioration of the Hawaiian language was an 1896 law that required English instruction in Hawaii schools. In practice, this law functioned to "ban" students from speaking Olelo Hawaii at their schools. To save the Hawaiian language, a number of historic initiatives were launched, including Aha Punana Leo's Hawaiian language inunersion preschools, the department of education's Hawaiian language immersion program and the Hawaiian language programs of the University of Hawaii system. In addition, in 1978, the Hawaii constitution was amended to recognize the Hawaiian language as one of the two official languages of the State. Furthennore, several important gubernatorial proclamations on Olelo Hawaii were issued in the 1990s. In 1994 and 1995, gubematorial proclamations, written in both Hawaiian and English, were issued recognizing February 1994 and February 1995 as "Hawaiian Language Month in Hawaii." The proclamations urged people to participate in the Hawaiian language activities held in Febmary. Hawaiian language events held in February at that time included La Ohana, La Kukahekahe and Oahu's Hoomau concert. The following year, another gubematorial proclamation was issued that recognized 1996 as "Year of the Hawaiian Language" in observance of a century passing since the enactment of the 1896 law that prohibited speaking Hawaiian language in Hawaii schools. While the Hawaiian language revitalization movement has made major strides in the last thirty years, for Olelo Hawaii to not just survive, but to also thrive, more people need to speak Hawaiian. The purpose of this Act is to designate the month of February as "Olelo Hawaii Month" to celebrate and encourage the use of Hawaiian language. ■