Hawaii

Hawaii (Hawaiian/Hawaiian English: Hawai‘i, with the ‘okina; also, historically, the Sandwich Islands) is the archipelago of the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Admitted on August 21, 1959, Hawaii constitutes the 50th state of the United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census it had a population of 1,211,537 people. Honolulu is the largest city and the state capital.

Languages

Main article: Hawaiian language

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The state of Hawai'i has two official languages as prescribed by the Constitution of Hawai'i adopted at the 1978 constitutional convention: Hawaiian and English. Article XV, Section 4 requires the use of Hawaiian in official state business such as public acts, documents, laws and transactions. Standard Hawaiian English, a subset of American English, is also commonly used for other formal business. Hawaiian is legally acceptable in all legal documents, from depositions to legislative bills. The third and fourth most spoken languages are Tagalog and Japanese, respectively.

Related Topics:
Constitution of Hawai'i - 1978 constitutional convention - Hawaiian - English - Hawaiian English - American English

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Origins

Before the arrival of Captain James Cook, the Hawaiian language was purely a spoken language. The first written form of Hawaiian was developed by American Protestant missionaries in Hawai'i during the early 19th century. The missionaries assigned letters from the English alphabet that roughly corresponded to the Hawaiian sounds. Later, additional characters were added to clarify pronunciation. The ‘okina indicates a glottal stop while the macron called kahakō signifies a long vowel sound. When a Hawaiian word is spelled without any necessary ‘okina and kahakō, it is impossible for someone who does not already know the word to guess at the proper pronunciation. Omission of the ‘okina and kahakō in printed texts can even obscure the meaning of the word. For example, the word lanai means stiff-necked. However, when spelled as lānai it means veranda while Lāna'i refers to an island. This can be a problem in interpreting 19th century Hawaiian texts recorded in the older orthography. For these reasons, careful writers use the modern Hawaiian orthography.

Related Topics:
Captain James Cook - Protestant - Missionaries - 19th century - ‘okina - Glottal stop - Macron - Kahakō

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Revival

As a result of the constitutional provision, interest in the Hawaiian language was revived in the late 20th century. Public and independent schools throughout the state began teaching Hawaiian language standards as part of the regular curricula, beginning with preschool. With the help of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, also created by the 1978 constitutional convention, specially designated Hawaiian language immersion schools were established where students would be taught in all subjects using Hawaiian. Also, the University of Hawai‘i System developed the only Hawaiian language graduate studies program in the world. Municipal codes were altered in favor of Hawaiian place and street names for new civic developments.

Related Topics:
20th century - Office of Hawaiian Affairs - 1978 - University of Hawai‘i System

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Pidgin

Over the course of Hawaiian history, a third language was developed that is in common use throughout the state today. Originally considered a mere dialect of Hawaiian English, cultural anthropologists have recently reached consensus that Hawaiian Pidgin is a distinct language on its own. Hawaiian Pidgin finds its origins in the sugarcane and pineapple plantations as laborers from different cultures were forced to find their own ways of communicating and understanding each other. Laborer emigrants from different countries — China, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Portugal — began composing their own words and phrases based on their own language traditions, which merged with Hawaiian and Hawaiian English.

Related Topics:
Hawaiian Pidgin - Sugarcane - Pineapple - China - Japan - Korea - Philippines - Portugal

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Debates

A somewhat divisive political issue that has arisen since the Constitution of Hawai‘i adopted Hawaiian as an official state language is the exact spelling of the state's name. As prescribed in the Admission Act of 1959 that granted Hawaiian statehood, the federal government recognizes Hawaii to be the official state name. However, many state and municipal entities and officials have recognized Hawai‘i to be the correct state name. Official government publications, as well as department and office titles, use the traditional Hawaiian spelling. Private entities, including local mass media, also have shown a preference for the use of the ‘okina. While in local Hawaiian society the spelling and pronunciation of Hawai‘i is preferred in nearly all cases, even by standard English speakers, the federal spelling is used for purposes of interpolitical relations between other states and foreign governments.

Related Topics:
Admission Act of 1959 - English

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The nuances in the Hawaiian language debate are often not obvious or well-appreciated outside Hawai‘i. The issue has often been a source of friction in situations where correct naming conventions are mandated, as people frequently disagree over which spelling is correct or incorrect, and where it is correctly or incorrectly applied.

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See also

• Hawaiian alphabet