The okina indicates a break in the sound when the word is spoken, like the break when you say “uh oh” in English. Of the twelve letters of the Hawaiian alphabet five are vowels! Hawaiian is kind of a linguistic outlier pushing out the boundaries of language diversity, testing what we thought we knew about language. If you plan to visit or live in Hawaii, you will need to know how to pronounce the following commonly used words and phrases. Pronounced a-lo-ha And while by no means necessary, it may be helpful become familiar with a few key words. When western missionaries came to Hawaii, they transposed the sounds and characters of the Hawaiian language … As a result, the number of speakers dramatically declined. Hawaiian Language Basics: Alphabets, vowels, and proper pronunciation of Hawaiian language. Play your part in keeping the language alive and learn these 10 useful Hawaiian phrases before you go. in English. Aloha – Hello. Like the Hawaiian islands themselves, the Hawaiian language is unique among the world’s languages. Lesson one – prepare to see a lot of vowels. The list of words containing all vowels, instead of being a me re handful, is a copious collection of over 100. pronounce vowels marked by a glottal stop (`) quickly e.g., o`o sounds like oh-oh! We recognize the proper use of the Hawaiian language including the ‘okina [‘], a consonant, and the kahakō [ō] or macron (e.g., in place names of Hawai‘i such as Lāna‘i). It is said that speaking Hawaiian opens the heart and inspires the soul. Hawaiian Phonology: A great lesson on Hawaiian phonology. Once in danger of extinction, Hawaiian is one of three languages used in the state today. From its Polynesian roots, Hawaii has a unique cultural identity that’s reflected in the use of Hawaiian language. Hawaiian Language and Pronunciation Course. Besides, it’s fun! Hawaiian Language In ancient times, the culture and traditions of the people of Hawai`i were transmitted orally from generation to generation. So, give it a try! The word for glottal in Hawaiian is 'okina. Note: All proper Hawaiian spelling is used for all Hawaiian words on the Hawaiian language page only. And so the mystery continues. While the Hawaiian language is no longer widely used in fluency, many words and phrases are seamlessly woven into everyday life here in the islands. In contrast to English, the Hawaiian language is very definitely vowel-oriented. The cotnplete list appear s below and is extracted from the Hawaiian Dictionary (Univer­ American missionaries arrived in 1820 and soon formulated a written Hawaiian language based on the sounds they heard. stress rising dipthongs (ae, ai, ao, au, oi, ou, eu, ei) on the first letter and end with a short e, i, o or u e.g., oi sounds … a sounds like ah e sounds like ay or eh i sounds like ee o sounds like oh u sounds like oo. May the harmony of the Hawaiian language inspire Aloha within you, no matter where in the world you are. Using Hawaiian Phrases . Hawaiian Vowels: Audio presentation that shows the sounds of vowels of Hawaiian and other languages. Not only is it odd to have a language with virtually no coronal consonants, to most people, ‘s’/’t’ and ‘k’ sounds are completely different and unrelated to each other. Click on the “Play” button to listen to these common Hawaiian words as spoken by a native Hawaiian language scholar. But in the last 50 years, a Hawaiian language renaissance has swept the state, and is slowly bringing back the traditional tongue. The word for macron in Hawaiian is kahakõ. 1. The Hawaiian language contains only 13 letters, – five vowels, seven consonants and the ‘okina, which is called a ‘glottal stop’ in English. Originally, Hawaiian was a spoken language and did not exist in written form. 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