Hawaiian Language Pronounciation guidelines
A few rules may help you in properly pronouncing your Hawaiian name. Unlike English, there are only 12 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet:
A E H I K L M
N O P U and W.
Hawaiian Language Consonants
Pronounce P K as in English but with less aspiration. Pronounce H L M N as in English. W after I and E is usually pronounced like V, but after U and O usually pronounced like W; initially and after A, it can be pronounced like V or W.
Hawaiian Language Vowels
Each of the 5 Hawaiian vowels is generally uniform with some exceptions such as: A like A in far, tar; also like UH. E like AY in bay, lay; also like E in bet; I like Y in city; also like E in Eve O like O in no, so U like OO in moon; also like U in true.
Hawaiian words, phrases and the Hawaiian language as a whole are basically simple and easy to pronounce if you sound out the words.
Here are some examples of Hawaiian vowel pronounciations:
A pronounced: ah as in "star" as in the Hawaiian word ALOHA
E pronounced: ey as in "stay" as in the Hawaiian word LEI
I pronounced: ee as in "see" as in the Hawaiian word HAWAII
O pronounced: oh as in "glow" as in the Hawaiian word MAHALO
U pronounced: oo as in "soon" as in the Hawaiian word HONOLULU |
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