Hawaiian

Also known as: Hawaiian

Hawaiian (ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi) is a Polynesian language of the Marquesic branch (Eastern Polynesian, sister to Tahitian and Marquesan), the indigenous language of the Hawaiian Islands and co-official with English in the State of Hawaiʻi (1978 constitution). Banned in schools 1896-1986, the language was reduced to ~2K speakers (mostly elders on Niʻihau) by the late 20th century. Revitalization since 1983 through the Pūnana Leo (language nest) preschool movement and the kula kaiapuni Hawaiʻi immersion school system has rebuilt to ~24K speakers (most learners; only ~200 native L1 from Niʻihau remain). Linguistically, Hawaiian has the smallest phoneme inventory of any major language: 13 phonemes (5 vowels + 8 consonants — h, k, l, m, n, p, w, ʻokina/glottal stop). The orthography uses ʻokina (ʻ for glottal stop, e.g. Hawaiʻi) and kahakō (macron for vowel length, e.g. ʻōlelo). Verb-initial VSO with elaborate possessive classifiers and nominative-accusative alignment. Royal Hawaiian Patriotic League (Hui Aloha ʻĀina) and the 1893 overthrow narrative are central to language activism.

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