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He 'ōlelo kūhelu kā?

For Saturday, April 7, 2012

Na Kekeha Solis

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 07, 2012

Synopsis: What does being an “official language” mean? Perhaps the state needs to take action so that Hawaiian really is an “official language.”

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Welina e nā makamaka heluhelu mai ka moku o Keawe a i Ni'ihau o Kahelelani, kahi e kū nei ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i, 'o ia kekahi o nā 'ōlelo kūhelu o ka moku'āina 'o Hawai'i. A 'o ia ka mea i ulu a'e ai kahi nīnau, he 'ōlelo kūhelu kā ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i no ka moku'āina 'o Hawai'i?

Ke nānā aku kākou i ke 'ano kūhelu o ka 'ōlelo haole, he nui nō kona mana. 'O nā palapala aupuni a pau, ma ka 'ōlelo haole nō. A pēlā pū nō me nā palapala o nā kūlanakauhale. Kohu mea lā, 'a'ohe wahi mana o ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i, kekahi o nā 'ōlelo kūhelu. E kala loa ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i i lilo ai he 'ōlelo kūhelu no kēia moku'āina nei, i ka makahiki 1978 nō. A no laila nō i kupu a'e ai kahi nīnau a ko 'oukou mea kākau, 'o ia ho'i, no ke aha i ho'olilo 'ia ai ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i i 'ōlelo kūhelu?

E pane mai paha kekahi, “Mai nō a nīnau mai i ia nīnau. E 'ole ia paukū o ke Kumu Kānāwai o Hawai'i, ho'okumu 'ia ai nā kula kamali'i a me nā kula kaiapuni. 'Eā, inā 'a'ole i pāku'i 'ia ia paukū ma ke Kumu Kānāwai, inā 'a'ole i loa'a ke kula kaiapuni i kēia mau lā.” A he 'oia'i'o nō ia mau 'ōlelo, akā, 'a'ole ia he mea e kāpae 'ia ai ka nīnau ma ka 'ao'ao. 'Oiai na'e, aia nō nā kula kaiapuni ke kū nei, a ke a'o 'ia nei nā pua a kākou ma ka 'ōlelo a nā kūpuna, 'a'ole nō paha i ho'olako pono ke aupuni i ia mau kula kaiapuni e like ai a like me nā kula aupuni. 'O ia nō kekahi mea e pono ai ka ho'okō 'ia 'ana a'e o ka Paukū XV o ke Kumu Kānāwai o Hawai'i.

A he nui hou aku nō nā hana. 'O kekahi, 'o nā palapala a pau o ke aupuni moku'āina a me ke kūlanakauhale paha, he pono ke hana 'ia ma nā 'ōlelo kūhelu a i 'elua, 'o ia ho'i, 'o ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i a me ka 'ōlelo haole. E lele koke paha ka hauli o nā kānaka ho'okae i ka Hawai'i i ka lohe 'ana i ia 'ōlelo me ka 'uā pū 'ana a'e paha, “He keu 'oe a ka na'aupō, e kēnā mea kākau, no ke aha lā e kākau 'ia ai nā palapala a pau ma ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i? 'O ka 'ōlelo haole ka 'ōlelo mana o ka hapanui o nā kānaka o kēia moku'āina nei.”

A 'o ia nō ka pilikia, 'o ka no'ono'o 'ana o ka hapanui o nā kānaka, 'o ka 'ōlelo haole ka 'ōlelo mana. I mana ka 'ōlelo haole i nā kānaka puni i ka 'ōlelo haole. A i mea e pau ai ia kuhihewa 'ana iā He'eia, e ho'ololi 'ia ka hana e kū nei a like ke kūlana o ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i a me ka 'ōlelo haole. Inā e kākau 'ia nā palapala aupuni a pau o Hawai'i nei ma ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i, he mea ia e māhuahua ai nā 'oihana 'ōlelo Hawai'i. A ke 'ike 'ia aku ka māhuahua o ia 'ano 'oihana, e no'ono'o nā kānaka, he maika'i ke a'o 'ana i ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i, a e māhuahua auane'i nā kānaka 'ōlelo Hawai'i.

A 'o kekahi mea nui, 'o ia ho'i, e hana 'ia paha he kānāwai e koi ana i nā luna aupuni, nā lunamaka'āinana a me nā kenekoa, a pēlā aku, e a'o mai i ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i. A i 'ole ia, he pono ke like a like ka helu o nā luna aupuni 'ōlelo Hawai'i, a pēlā pū nō me nā luna aupuni 'ōlelo haole. A laila, e 'ike 'ia nō ka 'ai a nā u'i.

(E ho'omau 'ia aku)

———

E ho'ouna 'ia mai na ā leka iā māua, 'o ia ho'i 'o Laiana Wong a me Kekeha Solis ma ka pahu leka uila ma lalo nei:

>> kwong@hawaii.edu
>> rsolis@hawaii.edu

a i ‘ole ia, ma ke kelepona:

>> 956-2627 (Laiana)
>> 956-2627 (Kekeha)

This column is coordinated by Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa.

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DiverDave wrote:

The State doesn't need to spend one more dime for anything Polynsesian-Hawaiian. They just spent $30,000,000 (30 million dollars) on a Polynesian-Hawiian buidling at U of H Hilo. Abercrombie just gave over $200,000,000(200 million dollars) to the OHA! Over 600 race based Polynesian-Hawaiian programs. Kamehameha Polynesian-Hawaiian only schools. Native-Hawaiian charter schools. On and on. The citizens of Hawaii do enough for this group already! Maybe they should do something for themselves instead of continually asking for more like a spoiled little kid.

on April 7,2012 | 03:52AM

elijahhawaii3 wrote:

This comment has been deleted.

on April 7,2012 | 09:46AM

DiverDave wrote:

Every time the state is called on to do "something" it costs the citizens of this state more money. Young liberals like you just don't get that the tax and spenders will soon be running out of other people's money. By the way, those "people" (taxpayers) are a majority of descendents that the Kings brought here to fill their tax coffers. It's amazing that the 7th generation later citizens that were bought and paid for by the Kings to immagrate here, and made this island chain the richest in the Pacific with their blood, sweat, and lives, are now having their hard earned money "stolen" from them and given to people of the Polynesian-Hawaiian race! Surely unconstitutional. Your contined use of the KKK moniker not only shows your immaturity, but does a disservice to the true civil rights movement.

on April 7,2012 | 10:08AM

elijahhawaii3 wrote:

This comment has been deleted.

on April 7,2012 | 12:31PM

DiverDave wrote:

Yes, and you're still sounding like one.

on April 7,2012 | 03:47PM

DiverDave wrote:

Actually, my rebutal was in reaction to your statement that you didn't think that there was any problem with Polynesian-Hawaiians having their own schools, at the publics expense!

on April 8,2012 | 11:42PM

Thinkaboutit wrote:

Your fear is your worst enemy, my friend. What an imagination you have!

on April 9,2012 | 11:09AM

Ken_Conklin wrote:

Whatever it means to say that a language is "official", one thing we know for sure is that English was an official language of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Bernice Pauahi Bishop founded Kamehameha Schools in the 1880s with English as the language of instruction in all subjects. On April 29, 2004 the Honolulu Advertiser published a short notice regarding the 120th anniversary celebration of Kuhio Elementary School. This item is noteworthy because it mentions that the school was founded as a government school in 1884 using Hawaiian language as the medium of instruction, and then changed to English as the medium of instruction just four years later, in 1888 (all during the reign of King Kalakaua). Queen Lili'uokalani had only one time in her career when she gave a speech at the opening of the Legislature, in 1892, and she used English to give her speech even though most of the Nobles and Representatives were native Hawaiian. See Helena Allen, "The Betrayal of Liliuokalani" pp. 269-270. John E. Reinecke, "Language and Dialect in Hawaii: A Sociolinguistic History to 1935." Edited by Stanley M. Tsuzaki. Honolulu: Universiry of Hawaii Press, 1969. Reinecke says the shift from Hawaiian language to English began under the Kingdom and was very far along by the time the monarchy was overthrown (see Table 8, pp. 70-73). Reinecke's chart summarizes the number of schools and students operating in Hawaiian and English based on Education Department reports from 1847 to 1902. The number of students in Hawaiian language schools falls continuously through this period while the number in English-language schools rises; likewise the numbers of schools operating in the respective languages. The number of students in Hawaiian-language schools dropped below 50% in 1881 or 1882. By 1892 (the year before the overthrow), only 5.2% of students were in Hawaiian language schools and there were only 28 such schools in the Kingdom; at the same time, 94.8% of students were in the 140 English-language schools.

on April 7,2012 | 06:01AM

DiverDave wrote:

Correct Ken! Even before Kalakaua's reign Kamehameha IV called for English to be taught and used in the Islands. (See: Opening Speech to the Legislature April 7, 1855.) Everyone knows that making the Polynesian-Hawaiian language a co-language with English was only to appease the Polynesian-Hawaiian contingent. The Polynesian-Hawaiian language is used no where else in the world. It would hardly exist today if the American missionaries hadn't devised a written language for it. If someone wants to learn Polynesian-Hawaiian they can, it's a free country. But, how is this going to help a graduate find good work after graduation? If we as a state want to better spend our money on teaching a language that equates to a good job perhaps we should be teaching Chinese.

on April 7,2012 | 09:38AM

tim5fl wrote:

Good point,I don'tsee why anyone would want to waste their time learning Hawaiian.It's useless, so learn a language that you can use in the world today.

on April 7,2012 | 12:54PM

false wrote:

It would be a stretch to declare Hawaiian Language as the Official Language. However, it is my belief that Hawiian Language should be taught to all student in grades K - 6. Just 30 minutes of everyday would grestly improve the use of the language. If they can learn Hawaiian, their minds would open and realize that they can learn other languages. Languages teach students how to speak correctly and this will help them speak english better.

on April 7,2012 | 12:48PM

false wrote:

Sorry, lot of typos!

on April 7,2012 | 12:49PM

DiverDave wrote:

There is so little time in the school day as it is. Reading, Writing, and Math is what they need to concentrate on. Most schools are made up of many ethnicities where there is another language sometimes spoken at home. These children's little minds are confused enough. Schools need to utilize the precious time in the day, and not waste it. Anything that is taught must now equate to a positive reward for the future. Let's not waste time and dolars on something that has no positive reward outcome. Education must now have to be outcome based. Our country, and goodness knows our State, has fallen drastically behind other countries in the world in education. Time to get back to basics. However, if Polynesian-Hawaiians, with their money, want to have an after school club, or a Saturday morning club at a local community center to teach their language they should do it.

on April 7,2012 | 07:10PM

elijahhawaii3 wrote:

This comment has been deleted.

on April 8,2012 | 08:21AM

DiverDave wrote:

Here's a NEWS FLASH for ya, Elijah. WE ARE ALL NATIVES OF THE PLANET EARTH.

on April 8,2012 | 11:44PM

elijahhawaii3 wrote:

This comment has been deleted.

on April 13,2012 | 11:10AM

DiverDave wrote:

Constant personal attacks, instead of attacking the facts presented, only prove you do not have a "barrel" to stand on. You are quite immature, and do a disservice to your cause.

on April 13,2012 | 12:27PM