Anyone know Hawaiian?

Gillian · Nov 29, 2011

I'm working on song sheets for our next uke club meeting and thought I'd have a bit of fun and show homage to Hawaii by changing some of the words in the song "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". I'm going to include a brief explanation and phonetic pronunciation of the words.

Please let me know of any errors, pronunciation, spelling,etc.

Mahalo!

Gillian

Hau’oli (‘how-oh-lee’ ) = happy
Malikimaka(‘mah-lee-kee-mah-kah)’= Christmas
Hau’oli Makahiki Hou (‘how-oh-lee mah-kah-hee-kee ho’) = Happy New Year
Poi (‘poy’) = pounded taro root
Poke (po-kay) = traditional seasoned raw fish dish
Okolehau (‘oh-koh-lay-how’) = traditional liquor from fermented Ti plant roots

Have a hau’o-li ka-li-ki-ma-ka

Have a hau’o-li ka-li-ki-ma-ka

Have a hau’o-li ka-li-ki-ma-ka

And a hau’o-li ma-ka-hi-ki hou.

Chorus:
Aloha we bring, to you and your kin,

Have a hau’o-li ka-li-ki-ma-ka

And a hau’o-li ma-ka-hi-ki hou.

Now bring us some poi and po-ke

Now bring us some poi and po-ke

Now bring us some poi and po-ke

And some o-ko-le-hau!

We won’t go until we get some

We won’t go until we get some

We won’t go until we get some

So bring it out here!

Chorus

PoiDog · Nov 30, 2011

Not for nothing, but seeing poi and poki mentioned has got my mouth watering. It's been a long time since I had either (well, poki not so much, only a couple of months on that one). If you'd included lau lau or haupia in that list, I'd about have died.

janeray1940 · Nov 30, 2011

Gillian said:
Malikimaka(‘mah-lee-kee-mah-kah)’= Christmas

Looking at the lyrics I think you figured this out already, but this should read:
Kalikimaka(‘kah-lee-kee-mah-kah)’= Christmas

I don't think "hau’oli kalikimaka" is incorrect, but the phonetic translation "mele kalikimaka" is what I've heard used more commonly - I think either one would work though.

laundromatt · Nov 30, 2011

janeray is right - it's "kalikimaka." It's almost always used with "mele," which means "merry." Never seen/heard "hau'oli kalikimaka" growing up. It's probably not incorrect, but then again, you never see/hear "happy christmas" - it's always "merry christmas."

manapualabs · Nov 30, 2011

Why don't you just teach the "Mele Kalikimaka" song? (D**n! Now I can't get that tune out of my head!)

janeray1940 · Nov 30, 2011

manapualabs said:
Why don't you just teach the "Mele Kalikimaka" song? (D**n! Now I can't get that tune out of my head!)

It's been stuck in my head ever since I visited this thread also

Gillian · Nov 30, 2011

I thought 'mele' meant 'song', but I see it means 'merry', also.

As for doing "Mele Malikimaka", I have the song sheet for that, but I thought I'd try to come up with something new.

808boy · Nov 30, 2011

Aloha Bruddah,
How about "12 Days of X-mas", Hawaiian Style?

manapualabs · Nov 30, 2011

You're correct, "mele" means song. However, "Mele Kalikimaka" is a Hawaiian transliteration of the English "Merry Christmas". Therefore, "mele" doesn't *mean* "merry" it's just supposed to sound like "merry" in Hawaiian.

wolfybau · Nov 30, 2011

manapualabs said:
You're correct, "mele" means song. However, "Mele Kalikimaka" is a Hawaiian transliteration of the English "Merry Christmas". Therefore, "mele" doesn't *mean* "merry" it's just supposed to sound like "merry" in Hawaiian.

I've noticed that has been done with many enlish words that the hawaiians had no word for. I like the one for cat- 'popoki' . suposedly the first cat they saw brought by an english speaking woman speaking too it saying "poor poor kitty"

Dan Uke · Nov 30, 2011

You gotta mix Hawaiian and Pigeon then it truly becomes authentic!!

Gillian · Nov 30, 2011

laundromatt said:
janeray is right - it's "kalikimaka." It's almost always used with "mele," which means "merry." Never seen/heard "hau'oli kalikimaka" growing up. It's probably not incorrect, but then again, you never see/hear "happy christmas" - it's always "merry christmas."

I guess that is my English upbringing showing, along with saying Father Christmas rather than Santa Claus. You'd think after living in the States for 40 years I'd have learned by now...

Gillian · Nov 30, 2011

janeray1940 said:
Looking at the lyrics I think you figured this out already, but this should read:
Kalikimaka(‘kah-lee-kee-mah-kah)’= Christmas

I don't think "hau’oli kalikimaka" is incorrect, but the phonetic translation "mele kalikimaka" is what I've heard used more commonly - I think either one would work though.

Thanks for catching the typo.

Brad Bordessa · Nov 30, 2011

I'll keep my opinions to myself and just say:

"Poi" doesn't really rhyme with "boy". There is a bit of an "I" (ee) sound at the end. So it would lean more towards "poyee" than "poy". The song "Fish and Poi" by Sean Na'auao is wrong (great song, but if you are looking at it from a Hawaiian standpoint it's incorrect).

Of all languages, Hawaiian would have to be one of the most futile to teach on a forum.

philpot · Nov 30, 2011

Hippie Guy said:
I'll keep my opinions to myself and just say:

"Poi" doesn't really rhyme with "boy". There is a bit of an "I" (ee) sound at the end. So it would lean more towards "poyee" than "poy". The song "Fish and Poi" by Sean Na'auao is wrong (great song, but if you are looking at it from a Hawaiian standpoint it's incorrect).

Of all languages, Hawaiian would have to be one of the most futile to teach on a forum.

I imagine it's rather difficult.

Gillian · Nov 30, 2011

Hippie Guy said:
I'll keep my opinions to myself and just say:

"Poi" doesn't really rhyme with "boy". There is a bit of an "I" (ee) sound at the end. So it would lean more towards "poyee" than "poy". The song "Fish and Poi" by Sean Na'auao is wrong (great song, but if you are looking at it from a Hawaiian standpoint it's incorrect).

Of all languages, Hawaiian would have to be one of the most futile to teach on a forum.

Thanks for the input. I appreciate it!

mokupuni · Nov 30, 2011

Hippie Guy said:
I'll keep my opinions to myself and just say:

"Poi" doesn't really rhyme with "boy". There is a bit of an "I" (ee) sound at the end. So it would lean more towards "poyee" than "poy". The song "Fish and Poi" by Sean Na'auao is wrong (great song, but if you are looking at it from a Hawaiian standpoint it's incorrect).

Of all languages, Hawaiian would have to be one of the most futile to teach on a forum.

Maikaʻi loa e Brad! Excellent recommendations and observations. And speaking as an experienced Hawaiian language instructor both online and on-ground, teaching and learning any spoken language on a "discussion" forum is challenging.

mds725 · Nov 30, 2011

mokupuni said:
.....And speaking as an experienced Hawaiian language instructor both online and on-ground, teaching and learning any spoken language on a "discussion" forum is challenging.

I've been learning some Hawaiian through learning Hawaiian music, and Hawaiian does seem to have its quirks. For example "moku" means "island" (I learned this while learning the mele "Na Moku Eha"), but I just looked up "mokupuni" and it apparently also means "island," although "puni," by itself, means "coveted." I'm going to embark on writing a song with Hawaiian lyrics, so I'm finding this thread really interesting, but I'm sure I'll end up sounding like a dumb haole.

Brad Bordessa · Nov 30, 2011

mds725 said:
I've been learning some Hawaiian through learning Hawaiian music, and Hawaiian does seem to have its quirks. For example "moku" means "island" (I learned this while learning the mele "Na Moku Eha"), but I just looked up "mokupuni" and it apparently also means "island," although "puni," by itself, means "coveted." I'm going to embark on writing a song with Hawaiian lyrics, so I'm finding this thread really interesting, but I'm sure I'll end up sounding like a dumb haole.

At least you know how to spell it right. That is the first step towards understanding this permanent problem with skin pigment we seem to have.

Gillian · Nov 30, 2011

mds725 said:
but I'm sure I'll end up sounding like a dumb haole.

That was my fear too, hence my soliciting input from the knowledgeable folks here. Good luck (Pomaika`i) on your song (mele).

I've uploaded my song sheet here. Feel free to print out any of the songs in our club's song book.

Anyone know Hawaiian?

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

UU VIP

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Member

UU VIP

Well-known member

Well-known member

Similar threads