Aloha! Hawaiian pronunciation
Aloha. I’ll be on vacation in Hawaii this week. So this is the last tip for March. Enjoy!
Hawaiian pronunciation (Know your p's & k's of )
If you speak a Romance language -- French, Spanish, or Italian -- your're one up on learning Hawaiian. You know how to pronounce the vowels.
Like speakers of those languages, the Hawaiiians pronounced the vowels ah, eh, ee, oh, oo.
Hawaiian words can be intimidating because they sometimes appear fantasticaly long and composed entirely of k's and vowels.
But rather than cross your eyes wenn you see "Kalaniana'ole," break it into parts and sound it out: Ka-la-nee-ah-na-oh-lay.
Hawaiian has only 13 letters: the five vowels and eight consonants (h, k, l, m, n, p, w and the 'okina, or glottal stop).Some other rules:
* When you see the same two vowels together, you ought to see an apostrophe, the 'okina, between them. That tells you to break the breath, as in "oh-oh." So Ka'a'awa is pronounced ka-ah-ahva.
* You will never see two consonants together in the Hawaiian language.
* Besides the glotal stop, modern Hawaiian uses the macron or kahako, a line over certain vowels that lenghtens the sound. So a kahako over the "a" makes the sound in "fall."
* The "w" is sometimes heard as a "v" after "i," "e" and "a". Just go with the flow on that one.
Hawaiian Words & Phrases
Aloha Kakahiaka - Good Morning
Aloha Auina La - Good Afternoon
Aloha Ahiahi - Good Evening
Aloha au ia 'oe - I love you
Aloha nui loa - Very much love
Kala mai ia'u - Excuse me
Mahalo - Thank you
'A'ole pilikia - You're welcome / No problem
A hui hou - Till we meet again
Pehea 'oe? - How are you?
Maika'i no au - I am fine
'O ia mau no - Same as usual
'A'ole - No
'Ae - Yes
Kolohe - Rascal
Pupule - Crazy
Akamai - Smart, Clever
Hau'oli La Hanau - Happy Birthday
Hau'oli Makahiki Hou - Happy New Year
Mele Kalikimaka - Merry Christmas
'O wai kou inoa? - What is your name?
'O _____ ko'u inoa - My name is _____