Honolulu – Language is an essential aspect of culture. What happens when it dies? An entire culture dies.
Many indigenous cultures and languages are on the verge of extinction around the globe. As fewer and fewer indigenous members are using their people’s languages, the ethnic knowledge and beliefs are slowly dying. For others, younger generations no longer know their ancestor’s words as their environment changes.
There are even dozens of ethnic languages that have already died. This could have been the fate of the ‘Ōlelo Hawai’i if not for its revival and preservation by its native speakers.
The Power of Language and the Colonizers
To better understand the importance of a native language, it is good to look at how it scares colonizers throughout history. In many conquests across the globe, the indigenous language is the first thing that colonizers try to eradicate. Language helps shape and express people’s ideas, concepts, beliefs, values, and experiences. As communities use their native language, they connect to their ancestors’ cultural knowledge, beliefs, and values.
What about the Hawaiian language?
Sadly, similar to various indigenous communities’ history, colonization affected the rich and thriving culture of the ethnic people of Hawaii. A distinct event that halted the continuous use of the language was the assimilation act of the Americans that banned the teaching of the indigenous language, ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i. Over time, the number of native speakers declined from the 1830s to the 1950s.
English and Hawaiian Pidgin (also known as Hawai’i Creole) became more prominent among Hawaiian residents. Nonetheless, the gradual effort of reintroducing and reinforcing the use of the native language has been present throughout the decades.
What do we know about the ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i?
The Hawaiian language is a member of the Austronesian language family. Originally, ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i was just an oral language. Native Hawaiians used the language to pass their traditions, beliefs, and other cultural perspectives through stories. Older members shared these oral histories with the younger generations. However, in one observation made, the Hawaiian folktales also began changing in the 18th century with a more western content.
When the missionaries came in 1820, it opens up the movement to turn the oral language into a written one as well. At present, we know that the Hawaiian alphabet has 13 letters composed of five vowels (a, e, i, o, and u) and eight consonants (he, ke, la, mu, nu, pi, we, ‘okina which represents the glottal stop).
Upon close study of the language, linguists have learned that ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i is related to other Polynesian languages: Māori, Marquesan, Rapa Nui, Samoan, Tahitian, and Tongan.
At Present
Today, there is a more active effort in the preservation and continued restoration of the cultural use of the ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i among native Hawaiians. Younger members of the community are also giving their fair share in this movement, as evidenced by their use of the language on various social media sites as well as their own websites. Numerous language programs are also available for anyone interested to learn the language.
As the renewed interest in this language flourishes, we can already see positive growth of the ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i across Hawaii. Hopefully, this growth can also bring more participation in the community to rebuild and preserve the traditions, cultures, beliefs, and values of the native peoples.
Photo by Jordan McQueen on Unsplash, https://unsplash.com/@jordanfmcqueen
