Hauʻoli Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi – Happy Hawaiian Language Month!

February is Hawaiian language month and celebrates this beautiful language as well as the preservation and perpetuation of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi.

Given the history and great efforts towards the revival of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, this is a perfect time to honor the language, its rich history and culture of the Hawaiian people. As a largely oral tradition, ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi thrived through chant, song and spoken word for centuries among the people of Hawaiʻi. After the first printing press arrived in the early 1800’s, the Hawaiian Kingdom had an astonishing literacy rate. In 1853, it was estimated that those over the age of 16 had a 75% literacy rate and by 1878, 80% of the people of Hawaiʻi were literate in Hawaiian, English or a European language.  When the Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown in 1893, it was estimated 98% of the population was literate.

In 1896 the Republic of Hawaiʻi banned ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi as a medium of instruction in the public schools. Over time the language was pushed towards extinction. In the early 1980’s, only 500 native speakers remained, the majority of them kūpuna or elders. About 50 children were speakers of the language, primarily raised on Kauaʻi by descendants of Niʻihauan families. 

In 1984 the ʻAha Pūnana Leo, Inc. (ʻAPL) established the first preschools teaching youngsters in the medium of the Hawaiian language. The ʻAPL  was inspired by the indigenous Maori people in Aotearoa who had founded Maori language preschools of their own just two years prior. Due to the efforts of the ʻAPL and the renaissance of Hawaiian culture, people demanded that Hawaiian language as a medium of education be brought back into the public schools. In 1986, the legislature removed the 90 year old ban and the Hawaiian language could be legally taught in the public schools once again.

The revival of the Hawaiian language has been on a 40+ year journey. Today keiki on Maui and throughout Hawaiʻi can attend school from pre-school age to high school in Hawaiian immersion classes. Students can continue their higher education in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and obtain a master or PhD degree in the language. It is now estimated that there are at least 25,000 speakers of  ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. However, it has been said that it takes 100,000 speakers of a language in order to save it from the brink of extinction. This is why we need to celebrate ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi this month and throughout the year to continue this success story.   

If you are interested in learning ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, there are great resources right here on Maui! The University of Hawaiʻi Maui College offers credit and continuing education courses in Hawaiian language and studies. For more information visit: https://elwd.maui.hawaii.edu/#1657241334111-85043c7f-cea7