I believe that the
Hawaiian language is the most important thing that’s keeping the
Hawaiian culture and traditions alive. I loved the video that Kamehameha
schools made showing the History of the Hawaiian language. It showed
when the language was thriving, when it was made a written language and
the literacy rate was high, when there was a major decline that made it
go underground, and then the amazing revitalization of the language. The
part that made me angry was when we learned about the process in which
the language was becoming more and more scarce. Like when the Republic
of Hawai‘i passed the English-only law for instruction in the public
school system, and if there was an opposition, the school would just not
be federally recognized. I was just upset because the Hawaiians were
eager to learn because they thought they had to, since the islands were
evolving and becoming more of an English-speaking place. But then that
eagerness was taken advantage of to the point where they couldn’t even
speak Hawaiian in schools anymore. But I loved when the video spoke
about the all the great things that happened to bring the language back.
I’m just so grateful to all the people that pushed and helped to
establish the Hawaiian immersion schools that we have now. I was lucky
enough that my parents put me in Punana Leo and then Kula Kaiapuni
Hawaiian immersion schools. It was really a great experience and I am
looking forward to enrolling my children in immersion schools so that
Hawaiian language will be used in our household every day to help do our
part in the revitalization of this amazing language that has been
through so much.
References:
http://www.ksbe.edu/2008/song-contest/program.pdf
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