Sharing the Aloha of the Hawaiian Language
Snow-capped Mauna Loa Volcano.
[Mah oo]-nuh Loh-uh
State of Hawai`i motto: Ua mau ke ea o ka `aina i ka pono - "The life of the land is preserved in righteousness."
The people of Hawai`i come from many ethnic backgounds. It is this diversity that makes Hawai`i unique. The people share a common bond by learning each other's culture and language and integrating them into their everyday lives. The integration of cultures makes communities become an `ohana (family). This feeling of `ohana started in early plantation days as the need to communicate between the different ethnic groups became necessary. Each group adopted parts of the Hawaiian language and integrated it into their own culture to serve as a common base of communication between the groups.
As with the ethnic cultures, the Hawaiian language is integrated in the English language. Hawaiian words like `a`a (clinkery, rough lava) and pahoehoe (smooth, unbroken lava) are universally accepted and used in the geologic community. Commonly, origins of Hawaiian words have special, understandable meanings that relate to a descriptive feature regarding the environment (i.e., Kilauea means spewing, much spreading volcanic eruptions).
Living in paradise is a precious gift. Hawai`i has been characterized as "the melting pot", where people of all cultures share in a unique gift of a common language. With the legacy of the aloha spirit, the people of the Islands share the gift of the Hawaiian language with you.
List of Words and Common Place Names found in our website
For proper pronunciation of Hawaiian consult the following resources: Hawaiian Dictionary(revised edition, 1986) by Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel H. Elbert, and Place Names of Hawaii(revised and expanded edition, 1974) by Mary Kawena Pukui, Samuel H. Elbert and Esther T. Mookini.
Snow-capped Mauna Kea Volcano.
[Mah oo]-nuh Keh-uh
The most current Volcano Watch article.
The Probability of Lava Inundation at the Proposed and Existing Kulani Prison Sites, 1998, USGS Open File 98-794.
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