A BYU-Hawaii assistant professor was recently named to the editorial board of a scholarly journal that focuses on translating the huge body of information printed in Hawaiian language newspapers and other literature from the late 1820s through 1938.
In addition to teaching in the Jonathan Näpela Center for Hawaiian Language and Culture Studies since 1996, R. Kamoa'e Walk said he helps review galley proofs for Ho'oilina (The Legacy), a bilingual journal that reprints materials originally published in Hawaiian. "We take these selected items, put them into modern orthography, and then add a translation with footnotes," he said.
Walk explained modern Hawaiian orthography uses the 'okina, or the inverted apostrophe to represent the glottal stop sound; and the kahakö,or macron [shown here as an umlaut over the letter-O] above a vowel to indicate it has a lengthened pronunciation.
"Historically, these diacritical marks in Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages were seldom written, or were used inconsistently, because there were so many native speakers who already knew how to pronouce the words," he said. "The use of modern orthography today is very valuable to those who want to learn Hawaiian and pronounce it correctly. This project will also provide future generations of Hawaiians access to these documents that have not been easily accessible up until now."
"What's neat about Ho'oilina is that teachers can go in and print off any section. For example, I might have my students put modern orthography into the original text, or do their own translation. I can also do word searches."
Walk added the body of Hawaiian language materials is so vast, "it's estimated it will take over 100 years to go through it. I've been assigned to newspaper articles from 1834. I'm also a resource for the translators."
Walk, a part-Hawaiian who was born in Provo and grew up in Utah and Nebraska, said he didn't begin to study Hawaiian until he came to Laie to attend BYU-Hawaii.
"My mother is Hawaiian," he said. "We grew up knowing we were hapa-haole, but I don't ever remember having a real sense of what that meant or how it impacted me personally. I can remember as a teenager asking my mother how to say certain things in Hawaiian, and she didn't know."
"When I came here to school, I fell into a job at the Polynesian Cultural Center in the Hawaiian village, and that opportunity changed my life. It helped me to ask myself who am I, and what it means to be a Hawaiian, and set me on a journey that continues to guide me," Walk said.
"I associated with Hawaiian kids and quickly picked up pidgin, which was necessary for survival," he said. "I took Joe Spurrier's Hawaiian history class and Wylie Swapp's Polynesian music class. In the evenings, I used to spend hours and hours reading in the Pacific Islands room, reading books on Hawaiian language and history."
Walk said he never took a Hawaiian class on campus, but studied with Hawaiian teacher Enoka Kaina. "My first teacher was 'Ma' Eugenia Logan. I give credit to her. The first thing she taught me was a pule, or Hawaiian prayer. I have it written down. She and others in the Hawaiian village shared their knowledge, including 'Uncle five cents' Thomas Au, Keoni Ah Quin, 'Pop' William Sproat and Bill Kama."
Walk said he took his first Hawaiian class in the evenings at Windward Community College while he was still attending BYU-Hawaii. "I did that for two years," he said.
After he graduated from BYU-Hawaii in Business Management in 1987, Walk continued to work at the PCC and commuted to the University of Hawaii at Manoa where he took 3rd and 4th year Hawaiian language classes.
He later earned a master's degree at UH and also worked in their Department of Hawaiian and Indo-Pacific Languages and Literature as a Hawaiian instructor. While there, Walk served as a member of a committee led by UH-Hilo Hawaiian Studies director Larry Kimura that coined words from modern technology.
"Times have certainly changed from when our kupuna were subject to corporal punishment for speaking their native language," Walk said. "Although some of those prejudices are still there, this is a time when anyone who's interested in studying the language and culture of the indigenous people of these islands, has opportunities."
He added, "As a Hawaiian, I think it's wonderful to see other Hawaiians assuming prominent roles in scholarship and academia, particularly in fields that relate to Hawaiian culture and language, in providing the native voice and telling our stories through our research."
"My advice to all young Hawaiians is to learn about your ancestors, their language and lifestyle," Walk said. "The more you learn about them, the more you'll know about yourself. The language is the key that opens all of those doors."