
Read this article in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi
This is not the abbreviation for the “transportation security administration.” It is an expression of disapproval, annoyance, and surprise as in, “really?” When pronounced singularly, “kā” is heard as Tsa! Cha! and even Sa! How is that so if /s/ and /ch/ are not in the Hawaiian alphabet?
The answer lies in the history of printing the language. The Calvinist missionaries wanted to print the Bible in Hawaiian for the populace. The problem they faced was the various versions of a word like “lilo.” According to Hiram Bingham, the head of a committee whose responsibility it was to standardize the Hawaiian alphabet, the following was heard as dido, lido, lilo, liro, riro, and rilo. When questioning the people as to their understanding, they accepted all versions as the same in their hearing of the words.
Therefore, a committee was formed in 1825 with Hiram Bingham, Levi Chamberlain, and Charles Stewart as members. Their responsibility was to survey the missions and their hearing of the natives’ pronunciation and aural differentiation of k & t, l & r, and v & w.
Bingham provided many examples for printing. For example, Honolulu had four spelling forms and Kaʻawaloa was written in eight ways. After receiving the responses from the missionaries, the committee decided in 1826 to set the alphabet with the vowels a, e, i, o, u and consonants as h, k, l, m, n, p, w. The glottal stop is a consonant but not acknowledged until much later.
Before the 1826 alphabet, the 1822 alphabet included b, d, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, t, v, w and f, g, s, y for foreign words. At the time of the decision-making, William Ellis fought to include all the sounds. If Liholiho Kamehameha II could choose, he would have chosen r over l as he liked Rihoriho over Liholiho in writing his name.
Although the standard alphabet is in place, the differences in the pronunciation of the consonants persist. That is why Tsa! Tza! Cha! and Sa! can be heard. These letters are produced in the same part of the mouth – at the teeth. P and b are formed at the lips.
The k, g, and ng are formed in the throat. One can hear the use of k and t until this day amongst the people of Niʻihau, for example, kātou for kākou. This usage was used by the people of Kaupō (Maui) too. The ways that other places pronounced letters have been lost. That is a shame. Tsa!