Aloha mai,

Every civilization in the history of the world has had some kind of worldview - including Hawaiians. This means that they would have “worldview” or “perspective” in their language - even Hawaiians. 

As we’re talking about some of the pitfalls...

Aloha mai,

So, what other pitfalls are we falling into when learning Hawaiian?

Most of us are learning Hawaiian through an English lens or perspective. It makes sense that we would carry our understanding of English words into another language, but this can also be a pitfall in our...

Welina kakou me ke aloha oiaio,

When learning Hawaiian, it’s pretty common to fall into a handful of pitfalls that can hinder your ability to express yourself in Hawaiian. 

My goal for you is to avoid those common pitfalls altogether.

One quick example is when...

Aloha mai kakou i keia pule, 

An issue that keeps coming up in the Hawaiian-speaking community is getting from an intermediate/advanced level of knowing a lot of phrases and kind of speaking the Hawaiian language to really being able to express yourself and speak the language...

Aloha e na haumana olelo Hawaii,

Do you want to be a big part of perpetuating the Hawaiian language and preserving our culture? I have great news for you.

I’ve been working pretty hard on this second Hawaiian language course, and I’m stoked to let you know that Mahele 2:...

Aloha no kakou a pau loa,

“You ready for kaukau?”

We were at a family member’s house and they had made some food and this is what they asked my kids. 

My kids were confused and didn’t understand what was being said. I explained that...

Aloha e ko'u poe heluhelu,

Let’s keep this one short and simple

I read a lot of Hawaiian by the time I started speaking.

I could see the structures but I couldn’t quite understand what was going on in them. 

You too? 

That’s okay.

First,...

Aloha mai kakou i keia pule nei no,

When was the last time you read a newspaper?

What about a newspaper clipping in Hawaiian? If it’s been awhile, and you want to improve your language skills, I suggest you get used to it.

This week, I’m giving you a newspaper clipping...

Is your English affecting your pronunciation? 

I have quite the challenge for you this week to help you figure that out.  

When you learn a new language, it’s very common for your first language to affect your pronunciation.  

A lot of the Hawaiian...

Aloha,

Is the listening part of your brain getting plenty of exercise? I hope so!

We’ve talked about how LISTENING can build your vocabulary by identifying words and enhance your ability to express yourself by identifying expressions.

My young kids’ Hawaiian vocabulary...

Aloha mai e ko’u poe heluhelu i keia makahiki hou,

Can I ask you a personal question…? 

When do you make time to listen to Native speakers? 

Okay, maybe that wasn’t too personal… but, for real… I want to know when is the most popular...

Aloha mai kakou i keia makahiki hou!

What do you think about setting goals? 

Whether you set big goals or just keep going with the flow, I hope you find these emails helpful in your desire to become conversational in Hawaiian. 

This month’s emails will focus...