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February 04, 2010
No ke aha au e aʻo nei i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi?
No ke aha au e aʻo nei i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi? He ʻelua aʻu kumu.
ʻO ka mea mua, makemake au e hoʻokamaʻāina iaʻu iho i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. Noho iho au i Hawaiʻi nei mai koʻu wā kamaliʻi mai, akā, ʻaʻole hiki iaʻu ke ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. Ua ʻike au kekahi mau huaʻōlelo a ua kamaʻāina au i ka ʻōlelo paʻiʻai, akā, ʻaʻole pēlā ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi maoli. I koʻu manaʻo, he mea waiwai a koʻikoʻi i ke aʻo ʻana i ka ʻōlelo a koʻu ʻāina hānai. Ke paʻa ka ʻōlelo iā kākou, hele kākou a kamaʻāina i nā kānaka a me kona kuanaʻike.
ʻO ka mea hope, ʻo ke kumu o koʻu aʻo ʻana i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, hana au i ke kulanui o Hawaiʻi ma Hilo nei a hana au me kekahi mau hoa hana i hiki ke ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. Kūpono nō e ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi i ka hana ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. Inā hana kākou i ka ʻōlelo maoli, hiki iā kākou ke maopopo i nā kumuhana kekahi.
No laila, aia i hea kahi kūpono e aʻo ai i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi? Aia ia kahua ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma ka ʻāina a kākou i hānai ai. Inā pēlā, ulu aʻe koʻu ʻike i ka manawa hoʻokahi o ke ola ʻana i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. ʻO ia koʻu makemake.
Why am I learning Hawaiian? I have two reasons.
First, I want to become familiar with the language. I've lived in Hawaiʻi since I was a kid, but I can't speak Hawaiian. I knew a few words and I'm familiar with Pidgin (Hawaiian Creole English), but that's not the true Hawaiian language. In my view, it's valuable and up-standing to learn the language of the place in which you grew up. When our language is solid, we become familiar with the people and their perspectives.
Last, my reason for learning Hawaiian is because I work at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and I work with some people who can speak Hawaiian. It just makes sense to speak the language you're working in. If we work in the actual language, then we can also properly understand the topics discussed.
There for, where's the best place to learn Hawaiian? That place is the place where we grew up. As such, my knowledge grows at the same time as the language is kept alive and is being revived. That's my wish.
Posted at February 4, 2010 03:26 PM | ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi / Hawaiian
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