Two members of the Kauai County Council want residents, government and travel industry representatives to appreciate the richness of the language and culture of native Hawaiians. Council vice-chair James Kunane Tokioka and councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura on Thursday asked the council
Two members of the Kauai County Council want residents, government and travel industry representatives to appreciate the richness of the language and culture of native Hawaiians.
Council vice-chair James Kunane Tokioka and councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura on Thursday asked the council to consider a resolution asking county departments, agencies, officials, the visitor industry and residents to use macrons and glottal stops in the spelling of Hawaiian words. The Hawaiian word for macron is kahako, and a glottal stop is known as an okina.
The proposal, if approved, also would apply to Hawaiian terms and Hawaiian place name.
After Yukimura read the resolution, the council granted her request to move the matter to the June 19 meeting of the council committee of the whole, to allow for more public comment.
Tokioka said the intent behind the proposal was simple: “To recognize the language of the host culture.” The resolution carries no legal weight, but conveys the wish of the council.
In justifying their request for the full council to approve the resolution, Tokioka and Yukimura noted:
- The symbols are commonly used in local publications and by counties for streets with Hawaiian names.
- The glottal stop is a consonant in the Hawaiian language, and leaving it out changes the meaning of an Hawaiian word.
- Written documents that spell Hawaiian words with macrons and glottal stops will help preserve the Hawaiian language.
- Use of Hawaiian place names also will preserve Kauai’s culture and uniqueness and provide valuable information about a place and enrich “our sense of place.”
- One of the chief goals behind the resolution is to show respect for the host culture, the Hawaiians.
If the resolution is approved , copies of it will be sent to Mayor Bryan Baptiste for distribution to all county departments, to the Kauai Visitors Bureau, the Kauai Economic Development Board, the Kauai Chamber of Commerce and the media.
Yukimura and Tokioka noted that KVB, the Kauai Economic Development Board and the Kauai Chamber already are using the symbols in documents they send out, and included the names of the organizations in the resolution to encourage them to continue to do so.
The resolution drew support from councilman Jay Furfaro, who noted that the symbols are currently used on municipal signs on Oahu, and that perhaps the Kauai County Public Works Department, which puts up street signs, should observe the intent of the resolution, if it is passed.
Using an okina in Hawaiian words in modern-day newspapers in Hawaii was begun by The Garden Island newspaper in the 1980s. Today desktop publishing software easily allows the insertion of the okina and kahako in computer-generated text when special type faces are used. The latest version of the Macintosh computer system is the first in the world with the Hawaiian language built in as a standard feature.
