Short Lesson in Hawaiian

In reading the books written by Sergr Kahili King, I found the Hawaiian language way with words very interesting.
Hope I didn't butcher this to badly.
If I did, I ask kalana. (better be what I think it is)


Want to learn a bit of Hawaiian because you are visiting, or are lucky enough to live in the Islands? It really isn't difficult to acquire at least a nodding acquaintance with a language that ties in so graphically to Hawaiian culture and heritage. Here are a few basic rules and a word list designed to help you with the pronunciation and meaning of place names and frequently-used phrases.

First of all, if you know any Spanish, Hawaiian will seem easier to pronounce because of the similarity in vowel sounds. We can glibly rattle off the vowels in English...a,e,i,o,u...but the Hawaiian equivalents are:
a like in father
e like in set
i like in ee in see
o like the o in pole
u like in oo of moon
Now, there are variations on the above themes when there are accents or other diacritical markings, but you won't go too far wrong with the rules above.

Take the word 'aloha. ' It is easy to learn the pronunciation of 'a' and 'o' by saying this lovely Hawaiian word that means hello, goodbye, peace, and love, all rolled up together. 'Aloha nui loa (new ee low a)' expands on the theme, 'nui' meaning' much, great' and' loa' meaning 'very.

If you sign your letters with "love", or "affectionately", try using the Hawaiian phrase Aloha Nui Loa instead...Very Much Aloha.

Mahalo, 'meaning'Thank you,' should be another familiar word. You will hear that word on flights to and from the Islands, in many stores as you pay for purchases, and on all the occasions when that response is in order.

Have you wondered what people meant when they asked you if you were 'pau'? That's Hawaiian for 'done,' or 'finished. ' It's a tricky word, however, that has four different spellings with as many meanings. Note that the word meaning 'done' has no diacritical markings and all the letters are together. It sounds like "pow."

'Mele Kalikimaka 'and 'Hauoli Makahiki Hou' are the equivalents of 'Merry Christmas' and 'Happy New Year, 'greetings you should know if you are in Hawaii for these holidays. Remember to pronounce every single vowel, and don't run any together. The accent or stress is generally on the second to last syllable unless otherwise accented.

Place names are usually difficult for newcomers unless they apply the simple rules given above. There are some really long titles but they will become simple to pronounce if you concentrate on those vowels and the stressed syllable. Let's look at the name for a popular tourist attraction, 'Place of Refuge National Park ' in Honaunau. The Hawaiian name is 'Pu'uhonua O Honaunau. Pu'u = poo oo. Nau = now.

Here are a few more tips. Restrooms often have the Hawaiian equivalent of 'Men' and 'Women' on the doors. Best to learn that the gentlemen use the one marked 'Kanes' and the ladies head for the one marked 'Wahines.'

When getting directions, you may hear someone say 'mauka 'or 'makai.' The first, means toward the mountains and the second means on the ocean side.
What better way to describe places on an island!

Good luck with your new language skills. Don't be afraid to try them out. Hawaiians and others who are fortunate enough to have lived here a while appreciate the attempt to establish communication in the first language spoken in these beautiful islands of Hawaii.

Aloha & Mahalo:
Two of the Most Important Words of the Hawaiian Language
Aloha & Mahalo
[Pronounced: ah loh' hah & mah hah' loh]
pronunciation guide
If you learn just two words in Hawaiian, learn these. They are two of the most important words in the Hawaiian language, representing paramount Hawaiian values.

In Hawaiian thinking, words have mana [pronounced: mah' nah], meaning spiritual or divine power], and aloha and mahalo are among the most sacred and powerful.
Say them often as they can be life-transforming and -enhancing.
Be careful to use them ONLY if you truly feel mahalo or aloha within. Do not exploit these words for personal gain, and neither cheapen, nor trivialize their use by verbalizing them carelessly or without sincerity. Aloha and mahalo are ineffable, indescribable, and undefinable with words alone; to be understood, they must be experienced.

Deeper meaning and sacredness is hinted at by the root words of these words.
Linguists differ in their opinions as to the exact meanings and origins, but this is what was told to me by my kupuna (elder):
On a spiritual level, aloha is an invocation of the Divine and mahalo is a Divine blessing. Both are acknowledgments of the Divinity that dwells within and without.

Aloha
[Alo = presence, front, face] + [hâ = breath]
"The presence of (Divine) Breath."

Mahalo
[Ma = In] + [hâ = breath] + [alo = presence, front, face]
"(May you be) in (Divine) Breath."

Think of them as single-word blessings or prayers.
The following are dictionary definitions using English words, which are approximate translations,at best:*

Aloha.
1.Aloha, love, affection, compassion, mercy, sympathy,pity, Kindness, sentiment, sentiment, grace, charity; greeting, salutation,regards; sweetheart, Lover, loved one; beloved, loving, kind, compassionate, charitable, lovable;to love, be fond of; to show kindness, mercy, pity, charity, affection;to venerate; to remember with affection; to greet, to hail. Greetings! Hello! Good-by! Farewell! Alas!

Aloha `oe!
[ah loh' hah oe!]
May you be loved or greeted!
Farewell or greetings to one person.

Aloha kâua!
[ah loh' hah KAH'oo (w)ah!]
May there be friendship or love between us!
Greetings to you and me!

Aloha kâkou!
[ah loh' hah KAH' kou!]
same as above, but to more than one person.

Ke aloha nô!
[ah loh hah NOH']
Aloha indeed!
Aloha!
[ Ah loh' hah!]
Greetings!"

"Mahalo.
1. Thanks, gratitude; to thank.
Mahalo nui loa.
[mah hah' loh noo'(w)ee loh'(w)ah]
Thanks very much.
`Ôlelo mahalo
[OH' leh loh mah hah' loh]
compliment
Mahalo â nui
[mah hah' loh (W)AH' noo'(w)ee]
Thanks very much.
2. Admiration, praise, esteem, regards, respects; to admire, praise,
appreciate.
`O wau nô me ka mahalo,
[oh vau NOH' meh kah mah hah'loh]
I am, [yours] respectfully,
Ka mea i mahalo `ia, Laki
[kah meh'(y)ah ee mah hah'loh ee'(y)ah, lah' kee]
The esteemed Laki."
*Source: Pukui, Mary Kawena & Elbert, Samuel H., HAWAIIAN DICTIONARY,
University of Hawai`i Press, Honolulu, 1986.
One of the most frequently requested translations is:
Aloha au iâ `oe.
[ah loh' hah vau' ee (Y)AH' oe]
I love you.

Ke aloha nô me ka mahalo kâua!
Aloha indeed with mahalo to you and me!

The wrong hands

As a person writing a blog for over a year, closer to 2 years, the first advice I received was in fact the best, be careful of what you say......
but my purpose in writing my blog was to let my fingers put down my thoughts, thoughts on daily moments lived, some enjoyed immensely and some excruciatingly painful, my blog that I loved the best is a mirror to my soul, it is my soul written out of my brain with the heart and feelings involve of a 52 year old woman who has lived life, embraced it, pounded it into the shape she wanted it to be in, kicked it in the ass when it would donkey up, and smiled at it when it gave off something wonderful or unexpectedly beautiful, she basked in it. That is who sunshine was. She is affectionately called Kath by her husband.

Writing is the only way I can capture my soul, that could possible convey the warmth and caring behind these eyes that have traveled many days, and years to reach these conclusions.

So...............she has had to pull her soul back into her own mind and heart, it has fallen into the wrong hands in error, by it's having been forwarded as a link...non deleted link from a non family email forward of a joke,someone on a job site bored...looking into my soul when they should for their actions and conduct of reading it aloud as a jest, and forwarding it onto others, look into their own soul.

My blog being shared was to give strength to others, to possibly verbalize where they couldn't, to let them know they weren't alone in the dung pile.

My blog was never intended to cause a problem or teasing or enemies to gain entry into the private life of someone I hold near and dear, and love pretty much most in life.

So as you nonchalantly tell me of these events last night....the words in my head that didn't come through my mouth......we again: I am sorry, I forgive you, and I dearly love you.
Blog down, new approach will follow.
The inner woman, not to be confused with the inner child.

Crucial Moments: Speed or not, hurry or not?

Some times when we're driving we all want to speed up and get there sooner, of course my husband told me about 27 years ago, that you really don't get there sooner just cause you're speeding. So for twenty seven years I've made it my hobby to see if he was right, and more often than not he is correct: I pull into a toll booth or ramp exit in back of the ying-yang that cut me off 5 minutes back.

The crucial moment comes into play when you arrive 5 minutes, or 2 minutes, or 1/2 minutes after a crash, then you feel empathy for those involved in the event yet, you are highly thankful that it wasn't a day you chose to speed. All of that timing is what makes up a days events. You're either on the good side of five minutes or the one bad split second.


And then there is the law of averages, which becomes scarier as time passes.

The Best Days of Your Life

Was it discovering Caterpillars, and holding the poor thing all day? Ooh it's a worm in disguise?
Was it the day a boy named Allan Miller kissed you on Moose's kindergarten Floor?
Was it the day your mother bought you a soft ball size green rubber ball from the corner drug store across from Humboldt Park, which by the way had a stone drinking water fountain in front of it, and a soda parlor inside of it?
Or was it the day you filled up your new baby buggy with dirt and worms and hauled it up 2 flights of stairs, and tried to implore you mother to let them sleep with you that night?
=Memories from a child of 4-5 yrs old.
Was it learning to love music from an early age (due to an Irish and Polish influence, ooh only some people know how to celebrate St. Pat's & St. Joseph's Day, a split household ethnically balanced in March each year)?
Was it the first time you saw a rainbow stretched out over Humboldt Park?
Was it going to church on Sunday and not dropping your little purse or gloves in the gutter as you existed the 55 Plymouth?
Or was it listening to your brother sing like an alter boy angel every time he was on the swings, with that wonderful boy soprano voice he had?
Was it the day your parents renewed their wedding vows after a very harsh time period for them?
Or was it the day you met the man who would still make your heart do somersault's thirty years later?
Was it the night he proposed?
Or was it the cold February Day you stood on the church steps, smiling and laughing together while people pelted you with rice?
Was it another day in February when you got to kiss your little boys forehead after he was born?
Or was it the day you laugh so hard cause the same little boy had fallen out front, noticed his knee skin was gone, and demanded of you that you go get it off the sidewalk and put it right back on his knee?
Was it all the days you looked into your husbands eyes and saw the love mirrored back at you?
Was it the day you buried your mom, and extreme happiness came to you knowing she was within touch of your Dad's casket, and you knew a long journey had been ended the best it could?
Was it any Day your child laughed out loud and made you start laughing just for the sound of his laughter?
Was it the day you stood out in your yard viewing the garden of veggies and flowers with your angel standing watch, your husband beside you, and you cried for happiness?
Or was it all those days?
I think we are blessed with the many best days in our life.

Me ke aloha

aloha - love.
Like most Hawaiian words, it has a variety of meanings:
As a greeting it means hello or goodbye. As a noun it means, compassion, mercy, love, lover, grace, kindness. As an adjective, beloved, kind, charitable. As a verb: to love, to pity, to venerate. In some contexts it can even mean alas! In the doubled form: Alohaloha means to make love, express gratitude, affection, or compassion, or to give thanks

Me ke aloha - With love

mahalo - Thank you.
Possibly of portugese origin. Sometimes seen with the modifiers "Nui Loa", meaning "Big".

All Set For You

So now, what are you going to do with it?
Just be aware of NO REAL NAMES.
Talker