In another quest for random knowledge i looked up the history of the language: origin, inventor, and purpose. Yes the language was invented i was also surprised to learn. It is derived from Latin like English by missionaries who visited it in the early 1900's.
The Hawaiian Alphabet is derived from an Austronesian language, a language used throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia; it is said approximately 386 million people worldwide speak an Austronesian language.
Hawaii as we all know is the only state in U.S. with it's own language; I know your thinking what about "New Mexico," Sorry they speak English.
Interesting Fact::
- The Hawaiian alphabet does not have the letter "C" or the letter "Q."
- They also use Diphthongs: also known as a gliding vowel, refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurring within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: That is, the tongue moves during the pronunciation of the vowel.
-In most dialects of English, the word seye, hay, boy, low, and cow contain diphthongs.
Below is an example of the alphabet and it's pronunciation, the video on top of the page is what these letters and Diphthongs sound like:
| Character | Character Name | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| Aa | 'ā | /a/ |
| Ee | 'ē | /e/ |
| Ii | 'ī | /i/ |
| Oo | 'ō | /o/ |
| Uu | 'ū | /u/ |
| Āā | 'ākō | /aː/ |
| Ēē | 'ēkō | /eː/ |
| Īī | 'īkō | /iː/ |
| Ōō | 'ōkō | /oː/ |
| Ūū | 'ūkō | /uː/ |
| Hh | hē | /h/ |
| Kk | kē | /k/ |
| Ll | lā | /l/ |
| Mm | mō | /m/ |
| Nn | nō | /n/ |
| Pp | pē | /p/ |
| Ww | wē | /ʋ/ |
| ʻ | ʻokina | /ʔ/ |
| Diphthongs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Diphthongs | Pronunciation | Examples |
| ai | i in ride | kai = sea water |
| ae | I or eye | Maeʻola = Never-fading |
| ao | ow in how
with lower offglide
| Maoli = True
Kaona = Hidden Meaning
|
| au | ou in loud or out | Au = I, I am |
| ei | ei in chow mein
or in eight
| Lei = Garland |
| eu | eh-(y)oo | ʻEleu = Lively |
| iu | ee-(y)oo
similar to ew in few
| Wēkiu = Topmost |
| oe | oh-(w)eh | ʻOe = You |
| oi | oi in voice | Poi = Hawaiian Staple |
| ou | ow in bowl | Kou = your |
| ui | oo-(w)ee in gooey | Hui = Together, team, Chorus |
So if you are planning to visit Hawaii and would like to familiarize your self with the language you can visit these sites to learn:
- Online Hawaiian Dictionaries
http://www.hisurf.com/hawaiian/dictionary.html
http://wehewehe.org
- Online Hawaiian lessons
http://ksdl.ksbe.edu/kulaiwi/
http://www.hawaiian.saivus.org
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