The return of Huey, Duey, Lihue
May 6th, 2004, 11:32 AM
#1
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The return of Huey, Duey, Lihue
More trivial Kauai linguistic questions for you (can you tell what someone studied in school?)...
Do you go out of your way to pronounce place names correctly or do you just spit 'em out the "American" way?
That is:
Opaeka'a Falls: "Oh-pah-ay-kah-ah" or "Oh-puh-eek-uh"?
Kapa'a: "Kah-pah-ah" or "Kuh-pah"?
Moloa'a Bay: "Mo-lo-ah-ah" or "Muh-lo-uh"?
Ke'e Beach: "Kay-ay" or "Keee"?
Po'ipu: "Po-ee-poo" or "Poy-poo"?
A quandary: "Yes, I would love dessert" or "No thanks, I had hula pie for breakfast and lunch already"?
Please help, as I do not want to endure embarrassment which is not linked to the sunburn I will surely suffer on our 16 mile kayak trip.
love
roxy
Do you go out of your way to pronounce place names correctly or do you just spit 'em out the "American" way?
That is:
Opaeka'a Falls: "Oh-pah-ay-kah-ah" or "Oh-puh-eek-uh"?
Kapa'a: "Kah-pah-ah" or "Kuh-pah"?
Moloa'a Bay: "Mo-lo-ah-ah" or "Muh-lo-uh"?
Ke'e Beach: "Kay-ay" or "Keee"?
Po'ipu: "Po-ee-poo" or "Poy-poo"?
A quandary: "Yes, I would love dessert" or "No thanks, I had hula pie for breakfast and lunch already"?
Please help, as I do not want to endure embarrassment which is not linked to the sunburn I will surely suffer on our 16 mile kayak trip.
love
roxy
May 6th, 2004, 11:48 AM
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Aloha turn it on,
Like any vacation you go on its always fun to immerse yourself in the culture that you visit. Whether its eating the local foods or trying to pronounce the lingo. It's very hard to steer away from saying any hawaiian word since 99% of all roads and places in Hawaii are named in hawaiian. So go for it, eventhough the locals will correct your pronounciation don't be embarrased you just learned somethng new. The next time your friend asks you how to say Kalanianaole Highway you can impress them with your knowledge.
Like any vacation you go on its always fun to immerse yourself in the culture that you visit. Whether its eating the local foods or trying to pronounce the lingo. It's very hard to steer away from saying any hawaiian word since 99% of all roads and places in Hawaii are named in hawaiian. So go for it, eventhough the locals will correct your pronounciation don't be embarrased you just learned somethng new. The next time your friend asks you how to say Kalanianaole Highway you can impress them with your knowledge.
May 6th, 2004, 12:05 PM
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First Hawaiian pronunciation lesson:
a = ah
e = eh (as in "Eh??")
i = ee (as in "see")
o = oh
u = oo (as in "oooo, so pretty")
Keeping all this in mind, it becomes somewhat simple ('cept for the `okina, but that's a whole other lesson!). The segments which are emphasized have the underline brackets thingies...
Opaeka`a (opae is "shrimp")
oh-pay-ay-_kah_-ah
Kapa`a
kuh-_pah_-ah
Moloa`a
moh-loh-_ah_-ah
Ke`e
_kay_-ay
And even though you didn't list it, same goes for Pe`e Road in Po`ipu:
_pay_-ay
Po`ipu (no poi involved, just an ipu)
poh-ee-_poo_
But as has been posted, we who live here are accustomed to the language being mangled by visitors. Just give it your best shot.
a = ah
e = eh (as in "Eh??")
i = ee (as in "see")
o = oh
u = oo (as in "oooo, so pretty")
Keeping all this in mind, it becomes somewhat simple ('cept for the `okina, but that's a whole other lesson!). The segments which are emphasized have the underline brackets thingies...
Opaeka`a (opae is "shrimp")
oh-pay-ay-_kah_-ah
Kapa`a
kuh-_pah_-ah
Moloa`a
moh-loh-_ah_-ah
Ke`e
_kay_-ay
And even though you didn't list it, same goes for Pe`e Road in Po`ipu:
_pay_-ay
Po`ipu (no poi involved, just an ipu)
poh-ee-_poo_
But as has been posted, we who live here are accustomed to the language being mangled by visitors. Just give it your best shot.
audiofile
all this time, I was chuckling over Pee Pee Falls.
May 7th, 2004, 11:02 AM
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Here are a few for the Big Island:
Hawi: hah-VEE, not HAH-vee or HAH-wee
Keleakekua: keh-LAY-ah-keh-KU-ah
Alii: ah-LEE-ee
And my favorite, which always tags the tourists from the locals:
Haole: HOW-leh, not hey-OH-lay
Hawi: hah-VEE, not HAH-vee or HAH-wee
Keleakekua: keh-LAY-ah-keh-KU-ah
Alii: ah-LEE-ee
And my favorite, which always tags the tourists from the locals:
Haole: HOW-leh, not hey-OH-lay
