Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 7, 1 July 1994 — Kanoe Aberegg -- the outgoing Miss Hawaiʻi speaks up for the Hawaiian language [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kanoe Aberegg -- the outgoing Miss Hawaiʻi speaks up for the Hawaiian language

Interview by Jeff Clark If the outgoing Miss Hawai'i Kanoe Aberegg had her way, you'd be reading this article in Hawaiian. Now at the end of her reign (a new Miss Hawai'i was crowned in June), Aberegg is set to return to her regular job at Waiau Elementary School, where she is a teacher in

Kula Kaiapuni, the state Department of Education's Hawaiian language immersion program. A Kaua'i girl who graduated from Waimea High SchooI in 1986, Aberegg learned Hawaiian at the University of Hawai'i-Mānoa while earning a B.A. in political science. She took a year off from teaching to fulfi 11 her puhlie appearance duties as Miss Hawai'i. but she

has used the time and opportunity to give the Hawaiian language some invaluable exposure. In fact, you may have seen her on television in the Office of Hawaiian Affairs public service announcement promoting the Hawaiian language. KWO: So you learned Hawaiian in school? Yes, my grandmother used to speak to us growing up, but basically that was just vocabulary, and I learned structure and all of that at the university. KWO: Do you have any advice for people who want to learn Hawaiian? I think in the next 10 years, if you don't speak the Hawaiian language you're going to be left out. I don't see any negativity whatsoever coming out of it, I mean it's very positive. In fact I tell students when I go into the school system, "If you don't know where you've eome from, how do you know where you're going to go?" It's real good for selfesteem purposes. And they also say there have been tests proving that the more languages you speak, the more proficient you are in English, and the better you do in other skills like math and science. And it also creates peaee — no matter what language, when you know more about another culture you become more sensitive to it and you're not afraid of it. Many people are

afraid of the Hawaiian language at this point in time just because it seems so foreign, like anything that's new or very different. But there are so many benefits to leaming a second language, especially if it's Hawaiian, so go for it! I mean it seems so difficult, too, "Oh, I gotta take night classes or summer school. ..." Well I

put myself through undergraduate and graduate school working 40 hours a week full-time and paid for everything, and nothing's impossible — it's called time management. ... If you want something bad enough then you'll make time for it. KWO: Any words of encouragement for people who have taken the Hawaiian language for a year or so? Don't give up. The first and second year are the most difficult, I would say, and it's just kind of getting past that hump — being able to speak. Everybody wants to just take a class, and boom, they want to be out there speaking. And you know that doesn't happen, you have to have a little bit more patience than that, ahonui, yeah? So don't give up, and definitely, it becomes easier the more you take. KWO: What would you say to those students who are more advanced but might he feeling a bit discouraged in their quest for fluency? Associate yourself with people who speak the Hawaiian language. If your spouse doesn't speak Hawaiian language, get them enrolled in a class. If you have kids, talk to them. Even if it's short sentences, do it as mueh as possible and it'll revive it. ... But yeah, associate yourself with other people that speak the Hawaiian language and use it as

mueh as possible. I remember my first year of language, some of my classmates and I went out to Bobby McGee's to eat dinner. We all ordered ... in Hawaiian, and then somebody had to translate for the waiter, and it's really fun. What that kind of experience does is raise the awareness for other people, it makes Hawaiian real to them. And that's why I say in 10 years, everybody's going to be speaking it. The more you speak the more accessible it becomes. So don't be shame! Don't be embarrassed. KWO: So ho'omau? Ho'omau. KWO: When you vied for the title of Miss Hawai'i, your platform had to do with language. Education through language. KWO: Did you speak Hawaiian during the competition? Yes, I did. In my interview I greeted everyone in Hawaiian and I started off my first two sentences in Hawaiian, saying, "TTiis is where it's at for me, and this is where it's at for the future generations." I used a lot of Hawaiian vocabulary in the 10-minute interview. And then on stage when they asked me what is the importance of learning a second language, I said that not only do you leam the language but you also leam the culture and perpetuate that language at the same time. And then I closed with, "E ola mau ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i." I think that had impact. Even at Miss America - I taught them all kinds of words up there. I even taught them some hula, I had fun with it. KWO: How did you do in the Miss America competition? Top 10. KWO: Congratulations. Thanks. It was the first time they ever heard a chant, an oli, on national television; actually it was international — 80 million people watched and they got to see chant and hula. Because of the centennial of the overthrow I chose "Aloha 'Oe," whieh was the queen's song, and I did it in the Hawaiian language because of my platform. I chanted a chant that Puakea Nogelmeier and I wrote about myself and the places where I grew up. KWO: What else have you done to promote Hawaiian language and Hawaiian language immersion since becoming Miss Hawai'i?

I spoke at three to five schools every week, and I always used Hawaiian language. I have spoken at all of the immersion programs except for Maui. I talk with the kids and let them know, "Hey, there's someone out there who speaks Hawaiian language, and don't be shame, don't be embarrassed." Because for awhile, kids got teased when they went out to the playground. Other kids don't understand and it's scary because it's different. I let them know you need to let them [the other students] get used to it, and speak it as mueh as you ean. You ean succeed as a Hawaiian language speaker. Even when I'm talking with the No Hope In Dope program, I start off in Hawaiian and I tell them about immersion. One time I [spoke to[ 18,000 kids at the stadium. One time I was with 2,000plus kids at Neal Blaisdell

Center. I reached a lot of kids and I always used Hawaiian language. Whenever I'm on TV or the radio I try and use it as mueh as possible, even if it's just a greeting or a short sentence. Sometimes they don't allot time for that but I always try and plug it, get it in there.

"I think in the next 10 years, if you don't speak the Hawaiian language you're going to be left out."

KWO: So you're out there basically making Hawaiian more visible. Right. And this commercial that OHA did is unbelievable. I think it's the best thing I did all year. It's really great because people see that there are people out there that are speaking the Hawaiian language, and that it's important, and that it's not something strange, [that it's] something to be recognized. The level of awareness has increased greatly, I really think so. It airs so often! I saw it twice this moming. KWO: In the the fight for the survival of Hawaiian, who would you say are the leaders? The teachers, and the people that fought for immersion, that went to the Legislature. KWO: What are the obstacles in the fight for the survival of Hawaiian? Definitely ignorance, and like I keep reiterating, [people] being

afraid. Because people don't know what it is, like sovereignty. People are afraid of sovereignty because they think that their land is going to be taken away if they're not Hawaiian, whieh is ridiculous. They don't understand the concept of sovereignty, they don't understand the importance of Hawaiian language. So, ignorance and fright. And also, money. There's never enough money for education. Never ever ever. ... KWO: What makes a good teacher in general, and a good Hawaiian language teacher in particular? A good teacher: somebody who ean size up her or his class. And that means that you don't just get up there and teach the exact same thing to every second-grade class that you have, because there are different needs. The ability to determine what will motivate one child and what will motivate another child. Because without motivation, you cannot teach. Without that interest there ... they have to have some kind of interest in what's happening to be able to learn anything. I tell the students that I talk to all the time, you ean sit back and be talked to, but you need to take part in your education because knowledge is power. ... And you can't talk at your students; you have to have a conversation with them. And by doing that, I've motivated them to get involved in my conversation and what I'm talking about — and that's what you have to do as a teacher. You have to get them motivated. "What interests that child?" — to me that's the key to teaching. What is the most important thing in teaching Hawaiian language? The culture. Language is dulture. I always say that you n6ver ever know the culture until you know the language. lt's just the completion, right there. You ean know a lot about culture, but it's lacking almost until you know the language. And to teach the language you need the eulture. It's a real important relationship between teaching the language and teaching the eulture. KWO: What do you say when people say, "Say something in Hawaiian" ? I tell them, "E ha'i i kekahi mea ma ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i" — Say something in Hawaiian [laughs]. KWO: Anything you' d like to add? E ka'ana like i ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i — share the Hawaiian language.

Kanoe Aberegg