Read this article in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi
By Kū Kahakalau, Ph.D.
In 1985, through divine guidance, I ended up becoming one of Hawaiʻi’s first certified Hawaiian language teachers. The Hawaiian renaissance had just gotten underway with the sailing of Hōkūleʻa to Tahiti and the occupation of Kahoʻolawe in 1976 and a 1978 Constitutional Convention recognized Hawaiian as one of Hawaiʻi’s two official state languages and mandated that the state provide for a Hawaiian education program consisting of language, culture and history in the public schools.
With the resurgence in cultural pride and identity, came a growing interest in the practice of Hawaiian culture and traditions, including Hawaiian arts, music, land stewardship and traditional spiritual practices, which I embraced wholeheartedly, since all involved use of the Hawaiian language.
In addition, elderly Native Hawaiian speakers emerged, who like my pure Hawaiian grandfather, had been punished for speaking Hawaiian at school, after teaching and learning through the medium of Hawaiian was banned in 1896 and most Hawaiians stopped speaking our mother tongue because of threats, pressure and persecution caused by the U.S. occupation of Hawaiʻi.
It was these mānaleo who kindled in myself a deep desire to help halt the radical language death of Hawaiian and revive and revitalize our sonorous ʻōlelo kanaka, until then generally labeled a dead language, since there were no young children (with the exception of our Niʻihau ʻohana) who were speaking the language.
As part of my Ph.D. in Indigenous Education, I developed a Hawaiian language proficiency scale, which ranks most Hawaiians today at a Level 2 proficiency, with Level 3 indicating the ability to hold basic conversations in Hawaiian. This means that most Hawaiians, who generally state that they don’t speak Hawaiian, are only a tiny step away from being able to hold a simple, everyday conversation in Hawaiian.
This data spurred my ongoing efforts to continue to develop different approaches to Hawaiian language learning from the way I was taught at the university, i.e., using a textbook and worksheet approach, which required knowledge of English grammar. Since this approach had not worked at all for my Hawaiian students, I began to experiment with methods of learning used by our Hawaiian ancestors and realized that these ways of teaching and learning worked great with Hawaiian students.
My research has resulted in concepts like Kanaka Kitchen, where learners are immersed in Hawaiian language and culture while learning to prepare delicious, healthy foods, using Hawaiian ingredients like taro, breadfruit and sweet potatoes. These Kanaka Kitchen and other hands-on Hawaiian language immersion experiences are now available online and in person, for all who want to get to a Level 3 proficiency where they can hold basic conversations in Hawaiian.
For more information on increasing your, your family’s, or your organization’s Hawaiian language proficiency contact Pōlani Kahakalau at pōlani@kuakanaka.com. Also follow Kū-A-Kanaka on FB and IG for our latest in-person and virtual events, courses and programs, or subscribe to our mailing list at www.kuakanaka.com. May the Hawaiian language live forever.