Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 7, 1 Iulai 1993 — E ola mau ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi: May the Hawaiian language live forever [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

E ola mau ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi: May the Hawaiian language live forever

na Manu'aikohana Boyd Aloha mai e nā hoa makamaka o nā kai 'ewalu, mai ka lā hiki i Ha'eha'e a i ka lā welo i Lehua, aloha kākou. He hau'oli 'i'o nō mākou i ke ola maika'i 'ana o ka 'ōlelo 'ōiwi o Hawai'i i kēia lā, a he ola hou nō ia. Na nā kumu pa'ahana a pilipili mau ka mahalo piha no ko

lākou ho'okumu ikaika 'ana i nā Pūnana Leo a me nā Kula Kaiapuni ma kēlā me kēia mokupuni. Ua hemo 'ia nā Pūnana Leo, he ma māla pēpē kaiapuni 'ōlelo Hawai'i he 'ehiku, ma Hilo, Kona. Wailuku.

Kualapu'u, Honolulu, Wai'anae a me Puhi kekahi. Aia nā kula kaiapuni. ma lalo o ka māhele ho'ona'auao o ke aupuni, ma Keaukaha, Pā'ia, Kualapu'u, Waiau, Pū'ōhala a me Kapa'a. I kēia mau lā, nui 'ino nā Hawai'i e a'o nei i ko lākou 'ōlelo, 'ōiwi, i hō'ole 'ia i ka wā ma mua. Eia ho'i. ua lohe 'ia mai nei ka nui o nā haumāna ma ke kula 'o Kamehameha, mai ka papa 'ehiku a i ka 'umikumamālua, e a'o ana i ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i i kēia kau hā'ule lau a'e, he ho'okahi kaukani ka helunui! Pēlā nō a 'oi ma nā kula ki'eki'e a me nā kulanui 'ē 'e. Hū ka maika'i! No laila, ke no'ono'o nei mākou, ke Ke'ena o nā Kuleana Hawai'i, ka māhele mo'omeheu, e ho'ākoakoa mai i nā mea hoihoi i ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i, nā kumu, nā kāko'o, nā haumāna, nā mea unuhi a pēlā wale aku mai nā mokupuni apau, i 'aha 'ōlelo Hawai'i e hana 'ia ana i kēia makahiki a'e no ka ho'oikaika ho'omau i ka 'ōlelo makuahine. Pehea lā kākou e holomua ai inā he 'ole ke kūkākūkā mau e pili ana i ke ola o ko kākou 'ōlelo

'ōiwi? I kēia manawa, ke mālama 'ia nei kekahi mau 'aha 'ōlelo no nā kumu kaiapuni Hawai'i a me ko Pūnana Leo ma, 'o ia ho'i 'o Leo Ola me 'Aha Leo Mohala. Iā mākou e ho'okumu ana i kēia 'aha hou, he 'oko'a ana nō, no ka mea, na kākou apau e koho ana, he aha lā ka papahana, a he aha nō ho'i ka

pahuhopu o ia 'aha 'ōlelo Hawai'i. Inā he mau mea e nele ai, e ho'okō 'ia mai nō. Eia na'e, e pono kākou e ho'olaha i ka maika'i a me ka ikaika o nā polokalamu ho'omohala 'ōlelo i ka 1 lehulehu apau e

noho ana i kēia pae'āina. Pehea kākou e kāko'o 'ia mai, ke maopopo 'ole ka hapanui o nā kupa i ka pono o ia 'ōlelo 'ōiwi? E hana mua 'ia ana kekahi mau "hālāwai kūkākūkā" i nā mahina e hiki mai ana i kēlā me kēia mokupuni e hō'ili'ili i nā 'ano mana'o a 'oukou. Ma muli o ia mau hālāwai kūkākūkā, ho'opaepae pono ana mākou i ua 'aha 'ōlelo Hawai'i i kēia makahiki a'e, aia ana paha i ka mahina 'o Mei 1994. E maliu mai 'oukou i nēia ho'olaha. Inā he mau mana'o ko 'oukou e pili ana i nā kumuhana a i 'ole nā po'omana'o o kēia 'ano 'aha, e kelepona mai, e kelepa'i mai, a i 'ole e leka mai iā mākou, ka māhele mo'omeheu 0 ke Ke'ena o nā Kuleana Hawai'i. Aia 'o Mrs. Pikake Pelekai ka ho'okele, a 'o au 'o Manu Boyd ke kāko'o ma lalo ona. 'O ia ihola nō no kēia manawa a koe ka 'ano'ai aloha pumehana iā kākou apau loa. A hui hou aku 1 ka wa kūpono. "E 'ōlelo i ka 'ōlelo 'ōiwi i ola ka 'ōlelo o nā 'ōiwi ē!"

by Manu'aikohana Boyd Greetings to our friends throughout the "eight seas" from the rising sun at Ha'eha'e to the setting sun at Lehua, aloha. We are very pleased with, and encouraged by, the positive state of the Hawaiian language today, thanks to the arduous undertakings of the many key Hawaiian language teachers, whose tenacity and commitment led to the establishment of such institutions as the Pūnana Leo Hawaiian immersion preschools and the state Department of Education's immersion program. To date, seven Pūnana Leo preschools have been opened and are located in Hilo, Kona, Wailuku, Kualapu'u, Honolulu, Wai'anae and Puhi. Hawaiian language immersion programs are at Keaukaha, Pā'ia, Kualapu'u, Waiau, Pū'ōhala, and Kapa'a. Many Hawaiians today are learning their native language, onee strictly disallowed. Recently, we learned that at Kamehameha Schools, grades 712, there are nearly 1,000 students enrolled in Hawaiian language this coming fall. So too with the various high schools and universities throughout the islands. How wonderful! The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, through its culture division, is working on convening those interested and involved in the Hawaiian language: teachers, aides, students, translators, etc. from eaeh island in order to further strengthen our "mother tongue." How will it be possible for these successes to escalate if we don't continue to communicate and develop strategies to support the well-being of our native language? Presently, there are Hawaiian language workshops

that occur under the auspices of the immersion schools and Pūnana Leo, such as "Leo Ola" and "'Aha Leo Mohala." However, as we develop the eoncept for this Hawaiian language conference, it appears different from the others. It will be for us all, members of the Hawaiian

language community, to decide what the conference's program needs to include, and what our goals are. What is lacking should be fulfilled. We must also continue to inform the community at large of what is happening as a result of the many Hawaiian language programs. How will we receive eommunity support if the majority of Hawai'i's citizens are unaware of what's happening and why? We will be holding "halawai kūkākūkā" (discussion meetings) on eaeh island prior to the proposed conference to gather information and ideas, so that next year's Hawaiian language conferenee, tentatively slated for May, ean be orchestrated in a manner that will be of ultimate benefit to all. Heed this message: If you have thoughts or ideas to share relating

to the proposed Hawaiian language conference, please contact OHA's culture division by phone (587-3139 or 587-2677), fax (586-3799) or letter addressed to Mrs. Pīkake Pelekai, culture officer, or Manu Boyd, culture specialist, 711 Kapi'olani Blvd., Suite 500, Honolulu, Hawai'i

| 96813. That's all for the time being. Again, warm regards to all. "Speak the native language, that the language of the people will endure!"

Vocabulary (Ita!icized): nā kai 'ewalu: "the eight seas," a poeūe reference to the eight major islands of Hawai'i that extend from Ha'eha'e near Cape Kumukahi on the island of Hawai'i to Lehua, an islet off the northern tip of Ni'ihau. 'ōielo 'ōiwi: indigenous language hemo: lo open, as for business kaiapuni: immersion hā'ule lau: fall (season), lit. falling leaves mo'omeheu: culture (newly coined word) polokalamu: program (English origin) hapanui: majority, lit. "greater half' kelepona/kelepa'i: phone/fax (English origin) Ke'ena o nā Kuleana Hawai'i: Office of Hawaiian Affairs

The future of 'olelo: Pūnana Leo students. Photo by 'Aha Pūnana Leo, ine.