I want to use the techniques I've used to memorize lots of Spanish words every day to learn just one or two Hawaiian words a day and I thought it might be nice to have company. We could teach ourselves together!
I'd be starting right from the very beginning.
Aloha and Mahalo!
Btw, those are the only two words I know so far but they're really good ones. :)
Any particular reason that you plan to do this?
Oh! And I forgot to mention: you may want to look at wehewehe.org . Itʻs an online Hawaiian dictionary. It doesnʻt have all of the old words, but it has nearly all of them, I believe.
Aloha kākou,
Iʻm Paige, and Iʻve been learning Hawaiian weekly for just over four years now, and hereʻs some background info just in case youʻre interested:
The best way to learn Hawaiian is to take classes orally from a kumu because there is a lot of the culture present in the language and a lot of learning the language comes in understanding the traditional frame of mind. You need to understand O class versus A class and yeah, you can do that through memorization, but if you don't understand the meaning behind it, it is less meaningful. So please message me if you have any questions! I am a TA at an after school Hawaiian immersion program for elementary school children, so I consider myself decently qualified to answer basic questions, at least.
Something else you may want to note: there are different kinds of Hawaiian. Although the differences are subtle enough that you will be able to understand people that speak a different kind, there is a noticeable difference and this sometimes bridges into the "political" world.
No, the Ni'ihau Hawaiian is not the purest form- it has been changed as much or even more. I am personally learning a more traditional form (some more complex sentence structure and some words are different) but if you want to use it more conversationally, the most widely learned one now is UH Hawaiian.
Once you understand the mana'o behind the words, though, it is a fairly easy language to learn. And you guys are totally right-- it is beautiful.
Just let me know if you have any questions or anything! Iʻd love to encourage the learning of Hawaiian!
Aloha e Dorothy -
You could start with these:
http://ksdl.ksbe.edu/hawaiian_resources/kulaiwi
I've just finished my 1st year of Hawaiian here at the University of Hawaii-Hilo & I can't wait to go all immersion next semester. It's a wonderful language! It's easy to learn in some respects & not so easy in others - just like ANY language on the planet!
Good luck!
-Pat
Aloha mai kāua e Dorothy!
There are a lot of opportunities to learn the Hawaiian language online! I believe Kamehameha schools has online classes that are available for people to take, and there are also other students there with whom you may converse/practice. The University of Hawai'i (the University which I currently attend) also has classes, and I heard that some people had taken them online. I love when people take interest in our culture and language! The best possible scenario for learning Hawaiian though would definitely be to come to Hawai'i, and take the classes here in person! Good luck in your pursuits!
He lā maika'i iā 'oe,
Kamu
