A guest of the France-Hawaii Association, Carol Silva was in Paris from the 19th to the 26th of June, thanks to her work on the Hawaiian language. Her recent visit provides us with a good opportunity to discuss this language, which was on the verge of extinction less than 50 years ago, and to examine its remarkable revitalization.

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A short history of the Hawaiian language

• The first inhabitants of the Hawaiian islands (dating back 1 500 to 2 000 years) were most likely Polynesian wayfarers from the Marquesas Islands. Hawaiian, named ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i (language of Hawaii), therefore belongs to the Austronesian language family, and resembles Marquesan, Tahitian and Māori.

• For centuries, Hawaiian culture was only transmitted orally.

• In 1778, James Cook discovered the « Sandwich Islands » (later re-named Hawaii), which were subsequently rapidly colonized by Europeans.

• In 1821, the writing and printing techniques introduced by the European settlers led to the standardization of the Hawaiian alphabet.

• In the 1850s, under the impetus of Prince Lot Kapuaiwa (who later became King Kamehameha V), Hawaiians were pushed towards bilingualism. The king sought to preserve traditional practices and to ensure the usage of Hawaiian in homes, while also allowing collaborative work with the Europeans and encouraging the acceptance of new ideas from the West. During his reign, the elite became multilingual, and the general population reached an exceptionally high level of literacy, which exceeded literacy levels of both the United States and Britain at the time.

• At the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris, literacy was the theme of the presentation at the Hawaiian Island pavilion.

• In 1898, the Hawaiian archipelago was annexed by the United States of America, and the usage of any other language except English was discouraged. English was henceforth the language taught in schools.
  

• In the 1960s, Hawaiian was on the verge of extinction, and was only spoken by members of the older generations.

• Little by little, a renewal of interest in Hawaiian led to its resurgence. The numerous written records and recordings made throughout the 19th century contributed to documenting the language, and a committee was responsible for developing new vocabulary.

• In 1978, Hawaiian became an official language of the state of Hawaii, and Hawaiian immersion schools were created.

• In 1990, at a time when only 1 000 Hawaiian speakers remained, the American government granted Hawaii the right to protect, to use and to promote the Hawaiian language.

• Today, over thirty schools provide Hawaiian education – from kindergarten through highschool. An estimated 5 000 people speak Hawaiian. It is estimated about 300 children are raised with Hawaiian as their first language. While these estimates remain limited, the number of Hawaiian speakers is growing markedly and steadily.

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Revitalization of the language

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While the work of numerous professors of Hawaiian has so far been successful, it remains necessary to ask ourselves the same question that all teachers of endangered langauges must face: how can we continue to transmit a language in decline, when so few native speakers remain, and when the value of the endangered language is undermined by the dominant language?

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For example in Hawaiian, because the concept of possession does not exist, the translation of possessive pronouns and adjectives takes on a very significant weight. Unfortunately these nuances, which are intimately related to Hawaiian culture, are so subtle that very few people today are capable of teaching them. As a result, these nuances are often overlooked.

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In order to properly teach a minoritized language and to preserve its linguistic wealth, it is absolutely essential to take into account the language’s cultural dimension. A successful revitalization depends on a global approach that values the thought processes, practices, and traditions of a people.

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Carol Silva, who works as administrator for the Hawaii State Archives and professor of Hawaiian, subscribes to this philosophy. She relies largely on songs and narratives passed down through the oral tradition for centuries. And thanks to her in-depth knowledge of Hawaiian culture, she is one of the rare teachers of Hawaiian able to tackle specific grammatical items.

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Carol Silva’s visit was organised by the France-Hawaii Association, established by Sandra Kilohana Silve in order to promote Hawaiian culture in France. Sandra Kilohana Silve is a Hula master (traditional Hawaiian dance) in Hawaii, and has created a Hula school in France: the Hālau Hula O Mānoa (parishalau@gmail.com).