Posted on 09/06/2002 8:42:27 AM PDT by Vidalia
The most mispronounced word in Hawaii shouldn't be.
Honolulu is mispronounced even by long-time residents and some radio and TV announcers.
The first syllable is HO, as in Don Ho or Chinn Ho. It is very often mispronounced Hah-nalulu, or Hahnalula.
Granted you might have to live here for a few years before you pronounce all or most Hawaiian words correctly, but it's a shame that the mispronunciation of our capital city is so widespread.
Then there's our island, Oahu. "Wahoo" is what too many say.
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Kauai? I cringe every time I hear it called "Cow-EE"
Actually, the Hawaiian language is quite easy to master if you take the trouble to understand that each syllable stands on its own. As in HO-NO-LU-LU. And the vowels are similar to those in Spanish or Italian.
That common lei flower pikake is pee-KAH-kay.
And our state of Hawaii is not Hawaya, but HA-VHY-EE.
Sorry if this seems simplistic to most of my kamaaina readers — pronounced KAH-MA-EYE-NAH.
(It's nice to hear occasional correct pronunciation, as of Leeward Oahu towns of MA-kaha and MA-ili by Paula Akana and her colleagues at KITV.)
If readers are as annoyed as I am by the widespread botching of "Honolulu" they ought to start calling broadcast stations to protest the awful pronunciations. How long would citizens of Seattle put up with it if it were pronounced Settle or the folks in San Jose put up with San Joes or San Joesy?
We could start a movement to get our beautiful Hawaiian language pronounced correctly.
Start with the top executives in the local companies. Why? Recently checked in at Burbank airport for an Aloha Airlines flight to what the check-in agent called "Hawnalula". Ouch!
What is more representative of Hawaii than aloha (not "aloa", it's alo-HA).
Let's give travel agents a crash course in our pronunciation. They and the airline people probably would be the best first line of battle in the war for promoting Hawaiian.
Another thing — after 43 years as a state of the union, a great many visitors keep referring to "back in the states."
Next time you hear one of these travesties, just use your most charming Hawaiian aloha spirit and correct the speaker.
Maybe it's time to stop being so tolerant and get our dander up for allowing Hawaii to be so inaccurately portrayed by so many in so many ways.
If enough of us get involved, we'll never again have to hear "Hawnalula, Hawaya."
Funny, most people I know would say "CONUS" -- meaning the "lower 48" or "Continental United States" or "Contiguous United States".
Boy if this isn't a sign on the shift of attitudes.
Aloha used to be used to greet visitors (so it seemed). Now its used to chide them on proper pronunciation.
I couldn't help but notice a barely concealed general irritation with mainlanders among the locals during my last few trip to the Ha-VA-I. It was always there among a certain set, but it now seems more pervasive.
"I never KNEW someone so stubborn! 'Havaii' is how it's pronounced!" he replied.
And so it went all the way to the vacation...
As they got off the airplane, they passed a man. Morris abruptly stopped the wife and turned to the man to ask, "Now that we're on the island, you can settle an argument between my wife and me. Is this 'Hawaii' or 'Havaii?'"
"This is Havaii," the man replied.
"Ha!" the husband gloated to his wife. "See, didn't I tell you never to argue with me?" As they began to walk away, Morris turned back and gave the man a hearty "Thank you!"
"You're Velcome!" he called back.
Even though the last time I was in HO-na-lu-lu I was treated to a 20 minute lecture from the shuttle driver on Ha-VA-i suceding from the union.
Depends on the time & place.
Sitting poolside with a mai tai, no problem.
Dropping in on a local at MA-ka-pu, probably not.
It's pronounced "how-oo-lee" with a soft "H" and it roughly translates to "no breath".
It used to be that islanders greeted each other very closely and actually breathed on one another. Off islanders or mainlanders did/do not do this...thus the name.
It isn't really a derogatory term, though these days it may be meant as such.
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