ʻO Pepeluali ka mahina ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi

February 4, 2020 Kawena Komeiji
Image of a leaf with the words Pepeluali and Mahina Olelo Hawaii - February (Hawaiian Language Month)

E hoʻokulāia kākou i ka mahina ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi!

He ʻumikūmākolu hua palapala ko ka pīʻāpā Hawaiʻi – A, E, I, O, U, He, Ke, La, Mu, Nu, Pi, We, a me ka ʻOkina. I ka hiki ʻana o nā misionari i ko Hawaiʻi pae ʻāina, ua lawe ʻia ka mikini paʻi palapala, a puka aʻela ka nūpepa ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ʻo Ka Lama ma ke kula nui ʻo Lahainaluna. Nui ke aloha o nā kānaka Hawaiʻi  i ka heluhelu ʻana i nā moʻolelo nūpepa, a ma waena o nā makahiki 1834 a i ka makahiki 1948, ua paʻi ʻia nā ʻaoʻao nūpepa he mau tausani a ʻoi. ʻO ia nō ke kumu a Kauikeaouli i kūkala aku, “He aupuni palapala koʻu”. I ka makahiki 1978, ua lilo ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi i ʻōlelo o ke aupuni mokuʻāina. No laila, hiki ke kākau i nā pila kīkoʻo ma ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. Hiki nō hoʻi ke hōʻike manaʻo ma ka ʻAha Hoʻokolokolo ma ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. 

A picture of the Letters in the Hawaiian AlphabetCelebrate February, Hawaiian language month! The Hawaiian alphabet has thirteen letters – A, E, I, O, U, He, Ke, La, Mu, Nu, Pi, We, and the ʻokina. When the missionaries came to Hawaiʻi, they brought with them a printing press. In 1834, they began publishing Ka Lama newspaper at Lahainaluna Seminary School. Hawaiian loved reading the stories in the newspapers and between 1834 to 1948, there were thousands and thousands of newspapers printed which is why Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) proclaimed, “Mine is a literate nation.” In 1978, ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi became an official language of the State of Hawaiʻi so you can write a check or even make arguments in court…in Hawaiian!

Inā ulu aʻe ka hoi i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, e komo i ka papa ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi 101 i ke kau kula hāʻule lau.

If you’re interested in learning ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, take Hawaiian 101 in the Fall semester.

E ola mau ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi!

Ka papa kūmole no ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma ka hale waihona puke

Hawaiian Language Resources in the Library

Mōʻaukala
History

Moʻolelo Hawaiʻi
Hawaiian Stories

Moʻolelo Haole
Foreign Stories Translated to Hawaiian

No Nā Keiki
For Children

Aʻo i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi
Learning Hawaiian

Back to all News & Events