How to Pronounce Hawaiian Words?

Captain America

Captain America

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I'm a fish in centerfield when trying to parse out pronunciation of Hawaiian words.

Anyone got any table or system of help here?

Bad at French, too. I can Tarzan it, though. German's more my element, after English.
 
Captain America said:
I'm a fish in centerfield when trying to parse out pronunciation of Hawaiian words.

Anyone got any table or system of help here?

Bad at French, too. I can Tarzan it, though. German's more my element, after English.
Click to expand...

you have to pronounce all the vowels short style. and the syllables come after the vowels. so U/KU/LE/LE (to make it uke related to stay in Uke Talk).
 
haolejohn said:
you have to pronounce all the vowels short style. and the syllables come after the vowels. so U/KU/LE/LE (to make it uke related to stay in Uke Talk).
Click to expand...

I'm not expert and there are more rules than that, but that will get you by. I actually took Hawaiian language classes for half a year. But that was 12 years ago.
 
No mo fo Android?
 
I also have a bit of a "very basics of Hawaiian" primer for folks on my site. http://ukuleletonya.com/blog/files

I created my "Hawaiian Language Primer" for folks in our ukulele club who were having some difficulty with pronouncing some of the words in songs they wanted to sing. What's most challenging to get across, though, is the rhythm of the pronunciation. For that, as a non-Hawaiian, I've really picked up a lot by *listening* to the language whenever/wherever I can; you can go here and watch/listen as the Hawaiian language is taught: http://ksdl.ksbe.edu/kulaiwi/index.html
 
haolejohn said:
you have to pronounce all the vowels short style. ...
Click to expand...
Well not for "o," which is pronounced long, as in "hope."


haolejohn said:
and the syllables come after the vowels. so U/KU/LE/LE (to make it uke related to stay in Uke Talk).
Click to expand...
When ever there are two same vowels together, then there is always a glottlestop (not sure of spelling), which, I think is also called an okina (in Hawaiian). So, Hawaii is technically Hawai'i. Kaho'olawe. Ni'ihau.

The letter "w" is always pronounced as a "v."

When two vowels are next to each other, well, you just have to know the word, if you want to know if there is glottlestop/okina between them. Kai (meaning ocean, does not have any glottlestop/okina between the vowels). Kaua'i. Mau'i. Lana'i. I can't remember if it is O'ahu or 'Oahu.

Technically, there is also a Kakou (not sure of spelling), which draws out the sound of the vowel longer.

And, yes, as referred to above, there is no silent "e;" which always makes the short (i.e., "pet" dog) sound.
 
SonSprinter said:
The letter "w" is always pronounced as a "v."
Click to expand...

I was told the W is pronounced as a "V" when it comes after another letter like Haleiwa but as a "W" if it is the first letter of the word eg Waimānalo. Is this incorrect?
 
Captain America said:
I'm a fish in centerfield when trying to parse out pronunciation of Hawaiian words.

Anyone got any table or system of help here?

Bad at French, too. I can Tarzan it, though. German's more my element, after English.
Click to expand...


Aldrine does a easy, quick UKE 101 lesson on this. http://ukuleleunderground.com/lessons/hawaiian-ukulele-101-1-hawaiian-language-vamps/ Apologies if it is one of the paid content videos (I'm a member) but it's worth clicking on to see if you can view it.
 
use this...it is not exactly as I learned it but you should get the basics. If you have ever taken a Spanish course the vowels in the Hawaiian language are similar. Meaning "a" is pronounced ah..."e" is pronounced eh..."i" is pronounced ee..."o" is pronounced oh...and "u" is pronounced oo. I hope this helps.

 
Trinimon said:
I was told the W is pronounced as a "V" when it comes after another letter like Haleiwa but as a "W" if it is the first letter of the word eg Waimānalo. Is this incorrect?
Click to expand...
I have never heard this, but it certainly would explain, Waikiki, waipahu, wahiawa, waianae, wahine, etc.
 
Sorry, everyone, didn't mean to sound insensitive. You're right, it has a different purpose than a traditional song, but it just seems so un-song-like to me. Whatever works, I guess.
 
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