Good morning, everyone!
I was recently taken to task for pronouncing "ukulele" wrong in a video i made:
"May I PLEASE, please ask you to learn to pronounce ukulele correctly!. I live in Hawaii and have been married to a Hawaiian for 48 years and it's like fingernails on a chalkboard to hear our beautiful language mispronounced."
As i've been digesting what was said, i have to admit, it almost feels presumptuous FOR ME to pronounce ukulele "the correct way" because it's so inconsistent with the way i ordinarily speak. On the other hand, "nails on a chalkboard" is pretty strong language, and i certainly don't want to offend anyone with seemingly abrasive pronunciation.
I'm just wondering how people feel about this issue. The writer wasn't being unkind, i don't think. He or she just obviously feels strongly about the topic. They further explained:
"In 1879, the ‘ukulele, which was called a Braguinha (a 5-string instrument, with tuning similar to our modern ‘ukulele) came from Braga, Portugal, and made the long voyage to Honolulu, Hawaii.
The Hawaiians loved it and called it ukulele or jumping flee
Ukulele is a Hawaiian word. There is no Y in the Hawaiian alphabet so it can’t be Yukalele
There are only 5 vowels and it's very simple.
to learn and pronounce Hawaiian words.
a “ah”
e “eh” (or " a")
i “ee"
o “oh”
u “oo"
There are 7 consonants in the Hawaiian Alphabet. Here are their names and pronunciations:
he ~ pronounced and written like an English H
ke ~ pronounced and written like an English K
la ~ pronounced and written like an English L
mu ~ pronounced and written like an English M
nu ~ pronounced and written like an English N
pi ~ pronounced and written like an English P
we ~ pronounced like a very soft V , or, a cross between a W and a V."
Thoughts?
I was recently taken to task for pronouncing "ukulele" wrong in a video i made:
"May I PLEASE, please ask you to learn to pronounce ukulele correctly!. I live in Hawaii and have been married to a Hawaiian for 48 years and it's like fingernails on a chalkboard to hear our beautiful language mispronounced."
As i've been digesting what was said, i have to admit, it almost feels presumptuous FOR ME to pronounce ukulele "the correct way" because it's so inconsistent with the way i ordinarily speak. On the other hand, "nails on a chalkboard" is pretty strong language, and i certainly don't want to offend anyone with seemingly abrasive pronunciation.
I'm just wondering how people feel about this issue. The writer wasn't being unkind, i don't think. He or she just obviously feels strongly about the topic. They further explained:
"In 1879, the ‘ukulele, which was called a Braguinha (a 5-string instrument, with tuning similar to our modern ‘ukulele) came from Braga, Portugal, and made the long voyage to Honolulu, Hawaii.
The Hawaiians loved it and called it ukulele or jumping flee
Ukulele is a Hawaiian word. There is no Y in the Hawaiian alphabet so it can’t be Yukalele
There are only 5 vowels and it's very simple.
to learn and pronounce Hawaiian words.
a “ah”
e “eh” (or " a")
i “ee"
o “oh”
u “oo"
There are 7 consonants in the Hawaiian Alphabet. Here are their names and pronunciations:
he ~ pronounced and written like an English H
ke ~ pronounced and written like an English K
la ~ pronounced and written like an English L
mu ~ pronounced and written like an English M
nu ~ pronounced and written like an English N
pi ~ pronounced and written like an English P
we ~ pronounced like a very soft V , or, a cross between a W and a V."
Thoughts?