Hawaiian language

“An interminable language……it is one of the oldest living languages of the earth,

As some conjecture, and may well be classed among the best

...the thought to displace it,

Or to doom it to oblivion by substituting the English language,

Ought not for a moment to be indulged.

Long live the grand old, sonorous, poetical Hawaiian language.”

- The Rev. Lorenzo Lyons (Makua Laiana), 1878

History

The `Ōlelo Hawai`i, or the Hawai`ian language, is one of the oldest living languages, being roughly ten centuries old. Captain James Cook first recorded it on the island of Kaua`i in 1778. He immediately noticed similarities to Tahitian and Maori, and even used Tahitian words and gestures to comunicate with the native Hawaiians. Early voyagers described the language as "primitive, childlike, lilting, effeminate, and simple". The reduplication and abundance of vowels seemed like babytalk to them.

1800's

Despite a large European influence, and huge amounts of immigrants of various ethnic backgrounds, Hawai`ian remained the main language used in daily life, schools, and the government. Plantation workers had to learn Hawai`ian in order to communicate with their co-workers. In the 1820's Hiram Bingham and several other American Protestant missionaries began work constructing an alphabet to represent the sounds of the Hawai`ian language. Up until this point Hawai`ian had been passed down from generation to generation as an oral tradition. For the first time Hawai`ians could write their language down, and began learning to read as well. After the bible was translated into Hawai`ian in 1839, literacy on the Hawai`ian islands soared. Hawai`i quickly became the most literate kingdom in the world. The influence of the United States promoted the use of english quite aggressively however. Following the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893 and the annexation of Hawai`i in 1898 the Hawaiian language was banned from public schools and the government. For the first time ever, the Hawai`ian language was not being taught in any school, not even the Kamehameha schools - a private school system reserved only for children of Hawaiian descent. This did not prevent the people from using the Hawai`ian language in their daily lives however, and fourteen newspapers continued to print exclusively in Hawai`ian. The most notable of these are "Ka Lama Hawai`i" and "Ke Kumu Hawai`i".

1900's

Starting in the 1970's there was a great renewal of interest in the Hawai`ian culture, and with it came a revival of the Hawai`ian language. In 1978 Hawai`ian became an official language of the State of Hawai`i, making Hawai`i the only state with two official languages. The same year, Hawai`ian Cultural Education became a mandatory course for public schools in Hawai`i. The course is still mandatory, though most schools have redubbed it "modern history of Hawai`i".

Today

Today there are roughly one thousand native speakers of the Hawai`ian language, with almost thirty thousand non-native speakers. The majority of the native speakers live on the island of Ni`ihau, where most foreigners aren't allowed to visit. About 1400 students are being taught entirely through Hawai`ian. Another 4000 are being taught Hawai`ian as a second language. For most people, the easiest way to hear the Hawai`ian language in use is to attend a Lu`au, where the hula dancers are accompanied by music sung in the Hawai`ian language.