Hawaiian culture and language
Find a starting point for Hawaiian language resources and learn how to check a word or cultural explanation. Follow the university, dictionary and museum links to continue your research.
Hawaiian monk seal on East Island, French Frigate Shoals. An ecological context image, not a representation of Hawaiian spiritual knowledge.
MarkSullivan · Image record · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Resized and converted to WebP.
What is the Indigenous language of Hawaiʻi?
Hawaiian is the Indigenous language of Hawaiʻi. The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo presents its history and learning resources, including pronunciation guidance and recordings. These provide a starting point for hearing the language instead of guessing pronunciation from an English spelling.
Source : University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo — About the Hawaiian Language
How do you verify a word or cultural explanation?
Use the Hawaiian dictionaries below for words and cultural institutions for objects or practices. State your intended use in the question. Orthographic marks belong to the writing system: keep them when copying a word from a source, and do not present an automated answer as validation by a speaker.
Languages and peoples
The institutions consulted
Ulukau — bibliothèque Hawaïenneulukau.org
Wehewehe — dictionnaires Hawaïenswehewehe.org
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museumbishopmuseum.org
University of Hawaiʻihawaii.edu
Papahānaumokuākeapapahanaumokuakea.gov
National Park Servicenps.gov
Questions to start with
- What is Hawaii in Pacific history?
- How is hula divided between ancient and modern forms?
- What are the ancient origins of Hawaiian surfing and its culture?
- Which endemic birds are sacred in Hawaiian culture?
- How is kapa cloth made in Hawaiʻi?
- How have water rights shaped Hawaiian politics?
What the assistant will not do
The assistant can make mistakes. It should distinguish peoples and state its limits. Lexical checking covers the nine languages in the Kanak index; it does not certify every Pacific translation. For important uses, consult the source and a relevant speaker or institution.
Editorial update : · Pasifika AI / Kanaky Tech