Moving to Hawaii - does anyone know Hawaiian?

[MariaRegina]

In about a year, I will be moving to the Big Island.

Does anyone know Hawaiian?

 

[Lludmila]

Aloha = love, hello and goodbye
Mahalo = thank you
Mikenele = Missionary
Mai Pake = Leprosy
Pake = Chinese (person)
Kahuna = Priest or elder (NOT as is commonly assumed, "man.")
Wahine = girl or woman
Alii Nui = The highest aristocratic noblewoman
Alii = An aristocratic noblewoman.
Kokua = "Helper," generally the non-infected spouse of a leper who voluntarily accompanies the afflicted one to a leper colony -- a beautiful concept

These are words I learned while reading "Hawaii" be James A. Michener. It is about 800 pages or more but well worth the time invested.

 

[kfkid1]

aina=land
keiki= kid/s
kai=ocean
lei=like a necklace made of flowers or sometimes yarn
haole= actualy means "forigner" but in common speech used as "any white person"
mauka=mountains


note:
alii doesn't mean "noblewoman" but any person of hawaiian nobility usualy refered to the chief
alii nui means head chief

 

[MariaRegina]

Gazelle = kao hihiu or kakela (the first a is held longer)

What is the name of a person of Native Indian descent. I am part Cherokee.
So, I would not be called a "haole."

When I visited Waimea (northern tip of Hawaii) last September,
in a local cafe I talked with some native Hawaiians.
They became very interested and friendly when I mentioned my ancestry.

 

[kiwimac]

Try learning Maori if you can't find anyone who can teach you Hawaiian.

 

[MariaRegina]

I studied a little Maori when I was earning my M.A. in Linguistics.
It is a very interesting language. Have you learned some Maori in New Zealand?
How is the effort going to revive that language?

How similar is it to Hawaiian?

In Hawaii, the effort to make the Islands bilingual is not being received too well.
It is very important to have pride in one's native language and culture. The Hawaiian culture is beautiful.


Aloha!

 

[kiwimac]

Maori is one of three official NZ languages including English and NZ Sign Language. I am told NZ Maori is similar to High Hawaiian. Te Reo Maori is undergoing a considerable upswing mostly because of Kura Kaupapa Maori (Maori language nests.)

 

[MariaRegina]

When I was studying it, I wondered if the two languages had a similar origin.

Someone gave me a Maori sample and at first I thought it might be Hawaiian.

 

[kiwimac]

They are indeed related languages. Couple of examples:

Hawaiian 'Aloha' means love, affection, compassion, mercy, sympathy, pity, kindness, sentiment, grace, charity; greeting, salutation, regards; (among other things)

Maori: Aroha means 1. (verb) (-ina,-tia) to love, pity, feel concern for, empathise.
2. (noun) affection, sympathy, charity, compassion, love, empathy. See also aroha nui.

Wahine means the same in both languages.

Mikenele means missionary in H whilst in Maori it is mihingare(loan) (noun) missionary.

kai in H means kai 1. nvs. Sea, sea water; area near the sea, seaside, lowlands; tide, current in the sea; insipid, brackish, tasteless. While in Maori it is Tai 1. (location) the sea, coast (as opposed to uta when referring to the hinterland) - a location word, or locative, which follows immediately after particles such as ki, i, hei and kei. He waka ki tai, he hōiho ki uta.A canoe at sea, a horse on the land. (Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 15-16, 29
2. (noun) tide, sea - used as a noun. E timu ana te tai.The tide is going out.

mauka=mountains in H while it is Maunga in Maori.