Pa’a ka ‘ōlelo, ‘a’ohe e komo
Synopsis: Censoring of communication is nothing new to prisons. Prisoners, by definition, forfeit some of their rights. Censoring of a language, however, punishes more than just the individual; it punishes an entire group of speakers as well.
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Aloha mai käkou.
Eia hou mai nö kahi nïnau ke häpai æia nei no ka pono a me ka æole o ka æölelo Hawaiæi i æölelo hoæokaæa æike ma waena o ka poæe e hoæopaæa æia nei ma loko o ka hale paæahao a me nä hoa kükä e hele lanakila nei ma waho o ke äkea. Ke päpä æia nei ke kükaæi leka æana ma o ka æölelo Hawaiæi. æO ka æölelo haole wale nö ke æae æia. Eia naæe, æo ka poæe i hiki æole ke käkau ma ka æölelo haole, ua hiki nö ke käkau ma kä läkou æölelo lähui, koe wale nö ka æölelo Hawaiæi, ua hoæokikina æia ke käkau æana ma ka æölelo haole. æO ia ihola nö ke kulekele o ka hale paæahao i këia manawa.
He hana nui ka hoæohalahala æana i ia kulekele, no ka mea, he nïnau këia no ka palekana o ka lehulehu. Maliæa o hoæohana æia ka leka i ala e makaluku ai i kekahi poæe paæahao a me nä kiaæi paha, a i æole ia, he hoæolälä æana no ka pakele æana a holo mahuka hoæi o kekahi paæahao i waena o ka lehulehu. He mea weliweli nö ia, a æo ka mälama æana i ka palekana o ka lehulehu ke kuleana nui o ia keæena. He mea maæa mau ke emi æana o nä pono o ka poæe paæahao, æoiai ua kü i ka hewa a ua paæi æia mai ko läkou mau pono sivila. æO ia hoæi kekahi hopena o ka hana æino, a æaæohe leo e küæë nei i ia hopena.
Eia naæe ka mea æäpiki. Me he mea lä, ke æölelo æia nei he pono sivila ke kamaæilio æana o nä paæahao me nä hoa kamaæäina ma waho o ka hale paæahao. Eia naæe, ua päpä æia ke kukaæi leka æana ma o ka æölelo Hawaiæi, no ka mea, ua hiki nö i ka poæe æölelo Hawaiæi ke æölelo haole. æO ka æölelo Hawaiæi wale no ka mea e hoæolälä æia ai ka hana æino? æO ka æoiaæiæo, ua hiki ke hoæolälä æia nä hana kohu æole ma o nä æölelo like æole a pau, a æo ka æölelo haole nö kekahi. Nui ka lolelua o nä manaæo ma loko o nä huaæölelo a me nä hopuna‘ölelo haole, a ua hiki nö ke æölelo ma ke æano hoæohunähunä, a no laila, pehea lä e pakele ai ka lehulehu i ka æino inä æo ka æölelo haole wale nö ka mea e kamaæilio ai?
He hana hoæokae æölelo ia inä æo ka æölelo Hawaiæi wale nö ke päpä æia. A inä æo ka poæe Hawaiæi ka hapa nui o ka poæe æölelo Hawaiæi, he æano hoæokae æili këlä. Eia hou, he æölelo kühelu ka æölelo Hawaiæi no ka mokuæäina æo Hawaiæi nei, a i këia mau lä, ke mähuahua nei ka nui o ka poæe i paæa iä läkou ka æölelo æöiwi o ka paeæäina. Aia ka pono æo ka hai æana i kekahi kanaka æölelo Hawaiæi no ka lilo æana i luna æäpono no nä leka i käkau æia ma o ka æölelo Hawaiæi. Inä e æike æo ia i kekahi æölelo küpono æole, hiki iä ia ke æauæa i ka hoæouna aku i ia leka i ka paæahao. He aha ka hewa o ia hana?
I ka manaæo paha o nä luna hale paæahao, æaæole këia he hana hoæokae æili. He hana hoæomakauliæi kälä wale nö. Eia naæe, ma o ka päpä æana i ka æölelo a kekahi kanaka, æaæole e komo ma ka hale paæahao, ‘o ka hoæopaæi æia o ka lähui holoæokoæa, a pehea e manaæo æole æia ai këia hana he hana hoæokae æili?
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E ho‘ouna ‘ia mai na ä leka iä mäua, ‘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
9 responses to “Pa’a ka ‘ōlelo, ‘a’ohe e komo”
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1. Every person who speaks Hawaiian also speaks English, and in nearly all cases their English fluency is better than their Hawaiian. There is no NEED for anyone to use Hawaiian in letters to prisoners — demanding the right to do so is merely a stunt for a political purpose and adds nothing to the ability of people to communicate.
2. The prisons are in the business of warehousing convicted criminals and keeping them away from the rest of us. Taxpayers should not be forced to hire translators to monitor communications between prisoners and outsiders. If prisoners want the racial pride of seeing their letters in Hawaiian language, the prisoners should pay the costs for the prison system to hire translators to monitor what is being said.
3. Laiana Wong has used the inflammatory phrase “censoring a language.” That’s absurd and merely serves to arouse racial hostility. It’s part of the victimhood mentality that Hawaiian activists love to portray. The prison rule says only “incoming or outgoing letters must be in English” — it does not say “Hawaiian language is banned.” No language is singled out to be prohibited while all other languages are allowed. Japanese, Ilocano, Korean, Klingon, and all secret codes are all banned in prison letters. The rule for English-only in prison letters is exactly the same as the rule for English-only as the language of instruction in the schools of Hawaii beginning in 1896. See “Holding the State of Hawaii Department of Education accountable for propagating the lie that Hawaiian language was banned” at
http://tinyurl.com/z77ogbq
Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.
Yet, again, DD, your comment misses the point.
Yet again it is you that does not get it. English is ALSO a State language, and Polynesian-Hawaiian is NOT a State language outside this State.
If they can’t deal with that then they should not be committing crimes bad enough to have to be incarcerated. Because being sent to prison means a prison elsewhere where the rules of THAT State apply, not YOUR rules.
I agree, Dr. Conklin. Your post was excellent.
But, sadly, ignorant of the law!
ARTICLE XV: STATE BOUNDARIES; CAPITAL; FLAG; LANGUAGE AND MOTTO
Hawaiian is an official language of the state. If you have a problem, change the law!
DiverDave: This is the last time I will respond to your moronic comments. You are a racist. Period! Go back to Peoria, Illinois or whatever rock you crawled out from under.
Why Honeybadger do you always accuse someone that proves you wrong a “racist”? I am not from Peoria, but it is obvious who the real hater is here. We are all Natives of the Planet Earth. Every thing and everybody in Hawaii came from somewhere else, even you! Perhaps this would be a better place if you would return where you came from.