Hawaiian Alphabet Lesson 0284

IntroductionHawaiian, the native language of the Hawaiian islands, is widely spoken by people throughout the Archipelago. It is important to familiarize oneself with the language in order to cultivate a deeper understanding of the Hawaiian culture. In our previous lesson, we immersed ourselves in the five vowels of the Hawaiian alphabet. In this lesson, we will embark on an exploration of the eight consonants: H, K, L, M, N, P, W, and ‘. (The apostrophe (') is used to glottalize the preceding vowel.)

ConsonantsH - Pronounced similarly to the English "h" in "house."
K - Pronounced like the English "k" in "kite."
L - Pronounced like the English "l" in "love."
M - Pronounced like the English "m" in "man."
N - Pronounced like the English "n" in "nose."
P - Pronounced like the English "p" in "pen."
W - Pronounced like the English "w" in "wind."
‘ - Glottal stop. It is pronounced by briefly stopping the airflow from the lungs, creating a slight pause in the speech.

Examples

Hawaiian Word
Pronunciation
Meaning


Hale
Ha-lay
House


Keiki
Kay-kee
Child


Lani
Lah-nee
Heaven


Mauna
Maow-nah
Mountain


Nani
Nah-nee
Beautiful


Pua
Poo-ah
Flower


Wai
Why
Water


‘O‘ahu
Oh-ah-hoo
Name of an island

Practice1. Read the following words aloud, paying attention to the pronunciation of the consonants:
- Hula
- Kalua
- Manu
- Noho
- Pahoehoe
- Wiliwili
- ‘Ukulele
2. Write down five sentences using the consonants we have learned so far.
3. Find a Hawaiian song with lyrics and try to sing along, focusing on the pronunciation of the consonants.

ConclusionIn this lesson, we have delved into the eight consonants of the Hawaiian alphabet. By practicing the pronunciation and incorporating them into sentences, you will be well on your way to expanding your Hawaiian language skills. Stay tuned for our next lesson, where we will explore diphthongs and consonant clusters.

Additional Notes- The Hawaiian alphabet is phonetic, meaning that each letter corresponds to a specific sound.
- There are no silent letters in Hawaiian.
- Hawaiian words are typically pronounced with a glottal stop at the end.
- The stress in Hawaiian words usually falls on the second-to-last syllable.

2024-12-10

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