The street sign for K\u012blauea Avenue in K\u0101hala is spelled incorrectly. (Photo by Cameron Enomoto)<\/p>\n
Recently, I was at a local business scanning the menu when I noticed that the names of the items in Hawaiian were spelled without the kahak\u014d or \u02bbokina. Street signs like Wai\u02bbalae Avenue, Mo\u02bbomuku Place, Anali\u02bbi Street, and others are spelled without the \u02bbokina. Even on the Kapi\u02bbolani Community College campus, we have signs that are not spelled properly, like the Olon\u0101 building sign, which is spelled “Olona.”<\/p>\n
Around O\u02bbahu, street signs, business names, and license plates in Hawaiian can be found without proper diacritical markings like the kahak\u014d and \u02bbokina. Diacritics are signs above or below letters that indicate a difference in pronunciation from the same letter when unmarked or marked differently. The kahak\u014d (\u0101) is a macron and lengthens the sound of the vowel that it is placed over. The \u02bbokina (\u02bb) is a glottal stop that indicates a break between vowels. The word “mo\u02bbo” would have an “oh-oh” sound versus being pronounced as “moo.”<\/p>\n
It is one thing to be uneducated, but to understand how kahak\u014d and \u02bbokina are applied and be too lazy to include them where it’s necessary is unacceptable. While the state has made efforts to correct these signs<\/a> and is currently in the process of fixing misspelled license plates<\/a>, why weren’t they spelled correctly to begin with?<\/p>\n The beginning of February marked the start of Hawaiian Language Month and news outlets like KITV4<\/a> and Maui Now<\/a> spread the message to Hawaiian speakers and learners that there would be events offered on O\u02bbahu and Maui to celebrate. While spoken language is crucial in developing speaking and listening skills, what about the importance of written language?<\/p>\n After the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893, learning in school through Hawaiian was banned in 1896. As a result, Hawaiian was not used for the next four generations after the ban. It wasn’t until the Hawaiian renaissance<\/a> in the 1970s that a surge of cultural pride prompted people to continue with cultural practices and sparked significant interest in the revival of the Hawaiian language. Since 1978, Hawaiian has been recognized as an official state language. The fact that it has taken 45 years for the correct spelling of Hawaiian words to be implemented is utterly disappointing.<\/p>\n