Hawaiian Language Introduction

When you reserve your Hawaii tour with Polynesian Adventure Tours you are sure to hear Hawaiian words. Let's take a look at some history and information that will soon make you a Hawaiian language specialist! Hiram Bingham, a Calvinist missionary was the first person to put the Hawaiian language into print. It took seven men, sixteen years to print the Bible in Hawaiian. We don′t have to be intimidated by such apparently unpronounceable names such as Kalakaua, Kalanianaole or Ha′unama. Hawaiian is really quite simple once you know the rules. With a little practice, a "malihini" is soon able to roll off those tongue-twisters as easily as a “kama′aina”. Hawaii's language contains only twelve letters in the alphabet: the vowels, A, E, I, O, U; and seven consonants, H, K, L, M, N, P, W and the `okina (`). The okina is a glottal stop like the sound between the ohs in "oh-oh" and is considered a consonant. In order to clarify pronunciation, you will often see the glottal stop ( ` ) or `okina in words such as Hawai`i. Pronounce the vowels this way:
A – said “ah” – as in alone
E – said “a” – as in may
I – said “ee” – as in bee
O – said “oh” – as in so
U – said “oo” – as in spoon
Here are some useful words and common expressions.