Ka 'Olelo Hawai'i
Hawaiian Language
'O ka `olelo Hawai`i ka iwi hilo o ka`aina. The Hawaiian language is truly at the very core of one's existence in this land. It is "a unique language in a unique land on the earth. "All of the many other languages spoken here in Hawai`i are immigrant languages which have been brought here by their respective speakers from America, Asia, Europe, and other Pacific island areas. Therefore, these other
languages have a homeland from whence they came. Can this be said about Hawaiian?
`A `OLE LOA! This unique land, this special place is its homeland. Should
we not respect it and allow it to flourish in its own homeland? If not here, then
where?
This special place has the distinction of having its own language.The
Hawaiian language belongs to a family of languages, namely Austronesian, which covers
more of the earth's surface than that of any other language family. The languages
spoken in Polynesia come from a common stock and logically resemble each other.
For many centuries the spoken word was the only medium for communication in Hawai`i.
There was no written literature. Everything was handed down from one generation
to another by word of mouth until the arrival of New England missionaries from the
United States.
In 1826 the language was reduced to its written form by these American
missionaries.
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