The Hawaiian Language
To help you get around the island and ask for street locations
here is how to learn to pronounce words
Although more than 100 different languages are spoken in Hawai‘i, the state's two official languages are Hawaiian and English. The melodious Hawaiian language is a Polynesian dialect and has only 12 letters in its alphabet: vowels a, e, i, o, u and consonants h, k, l, m, n, p and w. Vowel pronunciation is as follows:
| Vowel
| Pronunciation |
| a |
ah |
| e |
ay |
| i |
ee |
| o |
oh |
| u |
oo |
We have found if you think of Hawaiian words as a lot of small words, each starting with a consonant all placed together it is easier. The exception is when you see a ' between vowels it begins a new sound. For example Kama'aina (local resident) would be pronounced Kah mah ay nah.
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