Did You Mean Waewae?

Aloha,

Last year I was hired to work on a project teaching Hawaiian directly to staff members. After an initial assessment I started them off with pronunciation because at that point they were butchering words like waiwai, pau, and kuleana.

Months in, some of their pronunciation began to slip, so I revisited the importance of getting it right. I gave them a real world scenario because if you are not part of the inner circles, you do not really know what people think. So I shared it with them to drive the point home.

I said, if you use common Hawaiian words in front of an audience that does not speak Hawaiian, there is no problem among them. They do not know how to say the words correctly either. Ignorance is bliss. HOWEVER, if you are in a room with Hawaiians who speak the language and you are mispronouncing words, here is what they are thinking. This person has no credibility. This person wants to use our words but does not care enough to learn how to say them correctly. Some might even think you are mocking the language. None of that is good.

After that lesson, one staff member approached me. This person is not Hawaiian, cannot speak Hawaiian, and you guessed it, has poor pronunciation. She said bluntly, "I don't think I need to pronounce Hawaiian words properly. It's okay if I mispronounce them as long as I understand the meaning and can talk about them." I thought to myself, she is a brave one.

I gave her the example of waiwai, which means wealth or value among other things. Most people mispronounce it as waewae, which refers to someone who is picky, like a picky eater. Completely different meaning and pronunciation! If you say waewae when you mean waiwai, you lose credibility immediately, even if you explain the meaning. Both the pronunciation and the meaning are important, and you cannot separate the two just because it is convenient.

Now, I am someone who does not mind being challenged. What I do mind is when people who have no place to challenge me want to share their opinion. You do not hear me challenging meteorologists because I am a complete novice in that regard. I could have an opinion, but it would not be a very informed one, I can assure you. So we all have our limitations.

So to wrap this all up, let us all stay in our lane, myself included. Pronunciation of a word is just as important as the meaning it carries. I encourage you all to work on your pronunciation. I have a pronunciation course you can take for that, or you can listen to native speakers on my resource page.

Lawa no keia, 

Maluhia