Ke Alahou, Volume I, Number 9, 1 September 1980 — Hawaiian Language 'Olelo Makua [ARTICLE]

Hawaiian Language 'Olelo Makua

Some subscribers of &e Alahou may have a limited ability to read and understand Hawaiian. The editors of Ke Alahou have decided to help by offering some clues to reading.and understanding Hawaiian. This issue's lesson deals with understanding directionals. - In Hawaiian, speakers frequently use directional words in relation to the position of the speaker. These words help to clarify the intended meanings of many action-verb phrases, and are found usually after the verbs. There are four directional words in Hawaiian and they are never really translated into English; their meaning is commonly understood. mai - towards the speaker aku - away from the speaker iho - downward from the speaker a'e - in an upward, slanting direction away from the speaker Example: heie - to go heJe mai (come) to go towards the speaker hele aku (to leave, to go) to go away from the speaker pi*i - to climb pi'i iho (descend) to climb down pi'i a'e (ascend) to climb up These directionals are sometimes followed directly by la. This tends to mean the action hasbeen completed like the tense marker, ua at the beginning of the .sentence. - "