The Hawaiian Language – A Source of Strength

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Read this article in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi

Brickwood Galuteria - Trustee at Large

Is our ancestral Hawaiian language a “dead language” as recently claimed by a real estate agent? I and many others have strongly contested and condemned her claim. The reality is that Hawaiian is the fastest growing of all the non-English languages spoken in homes in Hawaiʻi Nei. We also hear it spoken in public places by fellow Hawaiians and even by non-Hawaiians. The language has been expanding exponentially in recent years as shown by Census Bureau data.

No other non-English language in Hawaiʻi has grown in home use as much as Hawaiian, it has truly been phenomenal. I attended Kamehameha Schools over 60 years ago – from kindergarten to graduation. It did not result in me being able to speak Hawaiian. My mother, also a graduate, grew up in a generation discouraged from speaking. I attended Kawaiahaʻo Church, where the older tūtū generation, including my grandmother, sometimes spoke Hawaiian among themselves. However, my mother’s and my generation did not. Most of those fluent speakers were born before World War I, reflecting a cultural shift in language use.

How has our ancestral language grown so dramatically? The answer is via schools taught through Hawaiian. Back in 1983, Pūnana Leo started total Hawaiian medium schooling in spite of a legal ban. After eliminating that barrier, Pūnana Leo’s teaching methodology moved with keiki into the public school system. There are now Pūnana Leo and Kaiapuni programs throughout the state and other schools are also promoting Hawaiian.

Young people are carrying our language forward to be a normal means of communication. According to the 2024 data, the most spoken non-English home language in Hawaiʻi among school aged children (5-17) is Hawaiian.

The age groups above 17 are where Hawaiian comes up short. Our Indigenous language is sixth statewide when home speakers counted includes adults. Hawaiʻi County is moving ahead with Hawaiian, more than any immigrant language, the most spoken home language. For older generations like my own, we are still trying to learn. It may be hard to learn a language after reaching adulthood, but children are on their way to adulthood and we older ones can continue to grow in the language as Hawaiian is used more and more by the generations younger than us.

In all our areas of focus here at OHA and in the state in general, there is a need to consider Hawaiian language medium pathways, especially in consideration of the younger generations growing up so quickly. He kahua ka ʻōlelo e kū ikaika ai ka lāhui – The language is a foundation of strength for our lāhui – not only here in Hawaiʻi, but also in our relationships as Indigenous people with the entire world.


Mahalo to Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani, College of Hawaiian Language at UH-Hilo for their assitance with some of the information.

Trustee Kaialiʻi Kahele wishes to mahalo Trustee Brickwood Galuteria for using his column this month to adapt and personalize an English version of the manaʻo that he shared in his column for Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi ma ka ʻōlelo makuahine.

Growth Of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Among Those 5 And Over in Hawaiʻi (Census Bureau)

Data in 2016 Report 18,400
Data in 2024 Report 27,338
Growth GROWTH +8,938 (+48%)

‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i Home Use

‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i Home Use Hawai‘i O‘ahu Combined Other Counties
2026 Data 5,000 9,900 3,500
2024 Data 11,279 10,868 5,191
GROWTH +6,279 (+225.6%) +968 (+9.8%) +1,691 (+48.3%)