ʻAkahi a ʻāpono ʻia ka pila SB409 e ke kiaʻāina ʻo Neil Abercrombie i mea e hoʻolaʻa ʻia ai nō ka mahina ʻo Pepeluali, ʻo i aka mahina ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi kūhelu ma Hawaiʻi nei.
Governor Neil Abercrombie signed SB409 permanently declaring February as Hawaiian Lanugage Month.
ʻAkahi a ʻāpono ʻia ka pila SB409 e ke kiaʻāina ʻo Neil Abercrombie i mea e hoʻolaʻa ʻia ai nō ka mahina ʻo Pepeluali, ʻo i aka mahina ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi kūhelu ma Hawaiʻi nei.
He lā kūikawā nō kēia lā no ka mea he mea nui no ka ʻaelike ʻana i kēia pila no ke kākoʻo ʻana i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi,” wahi a Kamanaʻopono Crabbe, Ka Pouhana o ke Keʻena Kuleana Hawaiʻi.
“Kākaʻikahi ka loaʻa o ka pila ma ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi a he hōʻailona wale nō kēlā i ka hana o kēia lā,” wahi a Keiki Kawaiʻaeʻa, ka Luna Hoʻokele o Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani. “ʻO ia hoʻi, ʻaʻole he mea nani no ka pepeiao, a i ʻole nani no ka mea ʻo Hawaiʻi kēia, akā he ʻoiaʻiʻo, he mea ola a ke paʻa ma nā puke kānāwai, ʻokoʻa ka noʻonoʻo, he mea kūhelu kēlā.”
I loko nō o kēia paipai ʻana, ua kāhiko ʻia nō kā kākou ʻōlelo Hawiaʻi me kekahi lei hou aku o ka lanakila ma kēia piha makahiki he kanakolu o ke aukahi hoʻōla ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma lalo hoʻi o ka ʻAha Pūnana Leo.
ʻOiai ʻo Keiki i loko o ua aukahi nei, ʻaʻohe hōʻole ʻana i ka nui holomua hou aku o kēia pila nei i ke ola mau o kā kākou ʻōlelo Makuahine.
“He kōkua kēlā i ka noʻonoʻo, ʻaʻole ma ke kula wale nō. Akā, e hoʻolaulaha kākou i ka hoʻohana ʻia o ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma nā ʻano hiʻohiʻona like ʻole o ko kākou noho ʻana ma Hawaiʻi. Ke kelepona, ke kamepiula, alo a he alo, ma ke kula, ma ka hale kūʻai, ma nā ʻano pōʻaiapili like ʻole no ka mea, ola ka ʻōlelo ke hoʻohana ka poʻe.”
Governor Neil Abercrombie signed SB409 permanently declaring February as Hawaiian Language Month.
“This bill affirms the widespread support of our Hawaiian language,” says Kamanaʻopono Crabbe, who is CEO of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
“Laws haven’t been published in Hawaiian for years. So what happened today reaffirms the value of our ʻōlelo hawaiʻi,” says Keiki Kawaiʻaeʻa who is the Director of Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani. “It’s not just something nice to hear. It is a living language. Being published in state law gives it substance as an official language.”
This is another stepping stone in our 30 years of Hawaiian language revitalization that will ensure the use of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi well into the future.
As Keiki is a part of this Hawaiian lanugage revitalization movement, she understands how this will truly support our mother tongue.
“This is confirmation that the Hawaiian lanugage is and will continue to thrive outside of the classroom. On the phone, the computer, among friends, at school and even the store. In every environment because the language lives when people speak it.”