the spelling of hawaiian words is in the main phonetic, according to what is known as the continental method, with the limitation that there are only twelve letters, instead of twenty-six, in the alphabet. hiwa, for example, is pronounced, approximately, hé-v?, and aelani, i-l?′-ny.
the following rules for pronunciation are taken from prof. william d. alexander’s brief history of the hawaiian people:
the original hawaiian alphabet, adopted by the first missionaries, contained but twelve letters, five of which were vowels, and seven consonants, viz.: a, e, i, o, u, h, k, l, m, n, p, and w. the number of distinct sounds are about sixteen.
no distinction was formerly made between the sounds of k and t, or between those of l and r. in poetry, however, the sound of t was preferred to that of k. the letter w generally sounds like v between the penult and the final syllable of a word.
a is sounded as in father, e as in they, i as in marine, o as in note, u as in rule, or as oo in moon.
[100]ai, when sounded as a diphthong, resembles the english ay, and au, the english ou in loud.
besides the sounds mentioned above, there is in many words a guttural break between two vowels, which is represented by an apostrophe in a few common words, to distinguish their meaning, as kina’u.
every word and every syllable must end in a vowel, and no two consonants occur without a vowel sound between them.
the accent of about five-sixths of the words in the language is on the penult. a few of the proper names are accented on the final syllable, as paki′, kiwalao′ and namakeha′.
aa—the word has a variety of meanings, among which are a spiteful person, a raging flame, a rock of rough broken lava.
ae, keike—yes, child.
aelani—the pledge from heaven, a promise from the skies. lani, heavenly, heaven-born, is a common termination of the names of hawaiian men and women, especially those of exalted rank.
ahupuaa—a large tract of land under the control of a single person, a lordship.
aialo—those who eat at the king’s court.
akela—a berry much like the american raspberry.
alii-niaupio, tabu moi wahine—freely translated, goddess-queen, a female sovereign of divine or semi-divine lineage, unapproachable, sacred, absolute.
[101]aloha—aloha, more appropriately, perhaps, than any other one word, may be taken as typical of the hawaiian race. it is the first native word the stranger learns, the common salutation on the street, and the last he hears at parting. it signifies kindly feeling, good-will. it is also used to express love.
aloha nui—great good-will.
au-we—an exclamation of sorrow, a wailing cry, alas.
awa—an intoxicating liquor made from the roots of a plant of the same name. it is very stupefying, and, when drunk to excess, causes the skin to turn a dirty-brown color, and to crack and flake off.
eaeakai—the word, sometimes used as a proper noun, means, covered with the spray of the sea.
e moe o—the customary exclamation or command to lie prostrate on the approach of royalty.
haleakala—the house of the sun, an extinct volcano ten thousand feet high on the island of maui. its crater, over thirty miles in circumference and two thousand feet deep, is the largest in the world.
hamakua—the name of a district in the northern part of the island of hawaii.
haole—a foreigner. the term is applied to white persons, whether of hawaiian or foreign birth, and is not often used in speaking of asiatics.
[102]hawaii—the large island, twice the size of all the others combined, from which the group takes it name. it is the second in industrial and commercial importance, and probably the first in undeveloped resources.
heiau—a temple.
hilo—the name of two districts, north and south hilo, on the northeastern side of the island of hawaii and of the chief town of the island; also of the first night in which the new moon can be seen, as it is like a twisted thread (from the verb to twist, to spin, to turn). the new moon, a crescent, indicates the outline of hilo bay.
hiwa—the precious one.
hula hula—a dance, dancers, dancing, and music. the hawaiian hula is not necessarily immodest, but certain lascivious hulas have won a world-wide and unenviable notoriety.
ihe—a war-club.
ii—a word that has a variety of meanings, among which are: a selfish person, a cruel person, a sour person, a collection of small things. it is often used as a proper noun, as is also the single vowel, i. repeated three times it forms another word—iii.
ilima—a shrub which bears beautiful green and yellow flowers; also, the flowers.
iiwi—a small red bird.
kaanaana—the name of a man or woman, quite common.
[103]kahiki—foreign parts.
kahlooawe—one of the smaller islands.
kahuna—a witch-doctor or sorcerer; also, at the present time, a native quack.
kanaka-wale—a landless freeman.
kanaloa—one of the gods, kane’s younger brother.
kane—a male, applied equally to human beings and animals; also, the name of one of the great gods.
kanehoalani—the god of the sky.
kanehulikoa—the god of the sea.
kaukihi—a small boat, a single dug-out.
keike—a child.
kihei—a mantle or cloak.
kini akua—elves.
koa—a hard wood in great demand on account of the beautiful finish which it takes.
kohala—north and south kohala, the two northern districts in the island of hawaii.
konohiki—a great landholder under the moi, virtually a feudal lord.
ku—the name of the fiercest and most cruel of the ancient gods.
kukailimoke—the god of war.
kukuihaele—the high land adjoining the southeast of waipio valley.
kuleana—a small holding of land.
kupua—a demi-god.
lanai—the name of one of the smaller islands, [104] literally, the hump, from its shape; the name is applied to a veranda.
lawalu—fish or meat wrapped in ti leaves, and cooked on coals or hot stones.
lei—a wreath.
lilii—usually spelled liilii, little one, small, often added to a name to indicate youth, or as a term of affection.
lolo—idiotic, a fool.
lono—the mildest and most benevolent of the hawaiian deities. the tradition was that he taught peace and good-will, and inaugurated a golden age, and that, when he went away, he promised to return some time. when captain cook discovered the islands in 1778 the natives welcomed him as the long-expected lono.
maile—a beautiful dark green odoriferous vine, alyxia olive-formia.
makai—towards the sea. in the hawaiian islands one rarely hears the words north, south, east or west, in any reference to locality or direction. it is makai, towards the sea, mauka, away from the sea, or to windward, or to leeward, or the direction is designated by another place, as, for example, chicago is new york of the rocky mountains, and denver is san francisco of st. paul.
malo—the loin-cloth formerly worn by men.
mamo—a small bird with yellow feathers, formerly sacred to royalty. hence a garment made of its yellow feathers. the bird is nearly or quite [105] extinct, and the ancient robes that have been preserved have fabulous values.
manao—what one thinks or advises, an opinion.
manoa—the name of a beautiful valley in the suburbs of honolulu; also, of an ancient or legendary princess.
mauna kea—the white mountain, from the snow that covers its summit a great part of the year. it is 13,805 feet in height.
mauna loa—the long mountain, a great volcano, 13,675 feet high. the last eruption was in july, 1899.
mele—a poem, a song, a hymn, a chant; in particular, the epics of the race, committed to memory and transmitted from generation to generation. some of these epics are supposed to be hundreds of years old, and are almost as unlike modern hawaiian as chaucer is unlike modern english.
milu—the god of the lower world.
moi—a sovereign in whom is supreme authority, applied to gods and monarchs descended from the gods; but the title was continued during the half century and more that the hawaiian government was a constitutional monarchy.
mokuhalii—the name of the god of sharks. on hawaii, he was known as ukanipo.
newa—a feather-helmet.
niho palaoa—a whale-tooth ornament worn only by persons of high rank.
[106]niulii—the southeast corner of north kohala, adjoining the hamakua mountains.
ohelo—a reddish-brown berry similar to the whortleberry.
ohia—a deciduous fruit, something like an apple, but less nutritious and more juicy.
olona—a native shrub with the qualities of hemp or flax.
oo—a small black bird with tufts of yellow feathers, sacred like the mamo.
papa—a goddess, wife of wakea.
papaakahi—the first of all, the highest in rank.
pau—stop, hold your tongue, that is all, the end.
pau—the ordinary female garment of ancient times, tapa cloth wound round the waist, and reaching to the knees.
pele—the goddess of volcanoes.
poha—a berry from which a delicious jam is made.
poi—a paste made from taro. it is to hawaiians what wheat is to europeans, and rice to chinamen.
polulu—a short spear.
puka—a hole, an entrance.
puna—the name of a district at the eastern end of the island of hawaii.
puuhonua—a city of refuge.
tabu—prohibited, forbidden, sacred, devoted to the gods, the moi or the chiefs. the tabu, also [107] spelled kapu, was the controlling feature of the ancient religion. it was oppressive to the last degree, and was mercilessly enforced by superstitious terror and the death penalty. after the discovery by captain cook, it gradually lost its hold on rulers, priesthood, and people. it was officially abolished in 1819, a few months before the arrival of the first missionaries.
tapa—a cloth made from the beaten bark of the wauki, or mamaki, or paper-mulberry or other trees; hence, any garment made of tapa. also spelled kapa.
“ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono.”
(the life of the land is preserved by righteousness.) the national motto inscribed on the hawaiian coat-of-arms. it is, of course, of comparatively recent date, and of missionary origin.
“ue, ue! ua make kuu alii!
ue, ue! ua make kuu alii!”
(alas! dead is the chief!
alas! dead is the chief!)
the first lines of an old dirge.
ukeke—a rude musical instrument, something like a guitar.
ukanipo—one of the names of the shark-god.
ulua—an excellent table-fish, very active.
umu—an oven, a place for baking food.
wahine—a female; the word used to designate the female sex whether of human beings or animals.
[108]waipio—the arc of water, the name of a picturesque and beautiful valley among the hamakua mountains, derived from the waterfall. it was a royal residence for centuries, and has been the scene of many battles.
wakea—a god prominent in hawaiian mythology, the husband of papa. according to some legends, wakea and papa were the parents of the human race, or, at least, the polynesian branch of it; according to other legends their descendants were divine, demi-gods and demi-goddesses, like hiwa.
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