Hawaiian Language: Past, Present, and Future

Hawaiian: Past, Present, and Future explores the history of Hawaiian language, including its development, cultural impact, and current projects. The book highlights a diverse cast of characters and examines the linguistic changes as the people moved east, comparing the sound system with its major relatives in the Polynesian triangle. It also discusses the development of the Hawaiian alphabet and the challenges faced in its creation. The book emphasizes the lasting effect of literacy on Hawaiian culture and proposes a monolingual dictionary to enhance understanding and cultural features.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 384 pages
\n Publication date: 30 April 2020
\n Publisher: University of Hawai'i Press
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Hawaiian: Past, Present, Future delves into the rich tapestry of Hawaiian history and culture, offering insights that are often overlooked in language classes. This captivating book brings together a diverse cast of characters, including Dutch merchants, Captain Cook's naturalist and philologist William Anderson, 'Ōpūkaha'ia (the inspiration for the Hawaiian Mission), American lexicographer Noah Webster, philologists in New England, missionary-linguists, and their Hawaiian consultants. The narrative unfolds from prehistoric times, tracing the probable origins of the ancestor of Polynesian languages in Mainland Asia. An evolving family tree reflects the linguistic changes that occurred as these people ventured eastward. The current versions of the language are examined from a Hawaiian-centered perspective, comparing its sound system to its major relatives in the Polynesian triangle.

The book also explores more recent historical topics, such as the first written samples of a Polynesian language in 1616, which sparked the idea of a widespread language family. The development of the Hawaiian alphabet is another fascinating chapter, with initial efforts facing challenges due to an excess of letters and a lack of certain letters. However, brilliant reasoning by its framers and their Hawaiian consultants led to the resolution of these issues in 1826. The opposite problem emerged, where analysts struggled to hear or misinterpreted the glottal stop and long vowels. The end result of the alphabet's development, literacy, is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. While statistics may provide a simplified view, it cannot deny the tremendous and lasting impact that literacy had on Hawaiian culture.

The final section of the book focuses on the most commonly used Hawaiian reference, providing a wealth of information and insights into the language and its usage. Hawaiian: Past, Present, Future is a valuable resource for anyone interested in exploring the rich heritage of Hawaii and its linguistic evolution.

\n Weight: 714g\n
Dimension: 153 x 227 x 27 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780824869830\n \n