Ke A‘o Ho‘okeleka‘a‘ike: Hawaiian Language Instruction On The Internet
(This paper was initially presented at the DigitalStream 2003 Conference held at California State University at Monterey Bay, and is published in the conference proceedings) It is available in English only at this time.
Ke A‘o Ho‘okeleka‘a‘ike: Hawaiian Language Instruction On The Internet
By Dr. Kalena Silva and Keola Donaghy
Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke‘elikōlani College of Hawaiian Language
University of Hawai‘i at Hilo
Abstract
An estimated 200,000 people of Hawaiian ancestry currently live outside of the state of Hawai‘i with little access to their native language and culture. In Fall 2002, the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo's Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke‘elikōlani College of Hawaiian Language offered the first online Hawaiian Language course to 14 students from seven states. Both the course designer and its instructor share the lessons learned during the development and delivery of this pilot course that will be of interest to others teaching minority languages.
Technology in Hawai‘i
Since the arrival of Western man, the people of Hawai‘i have quickly adapted new technologies and found ways to make them distinctly Hawaiian. The arrival of the first printing press in Hawai‘i led to rapid transfer of Hawai‘i's rich oral tradition to paper. Within a few decades of the first translation into Hawaiian of the Holy Bible, Hawai‘i boasted one of the most literate citizenries in the world. Hundreds of ancient stories and chants appeared side-by-side with news items from Hawai‘i and around the world, as well as Hawaiian translations of classic English literature and popular novels of the time. Obituaries announced the passing of both nobility and commoners in print using the same traditions that had previously been expressed orally. Kamehameha III once proclaimed, He aupuni palapala ko‘u, ‘o ke kanaka pono ‘o ia ko‘u kanaka - "Mine is a literate nation, the just man is my man." The efforts to adapt the most significant communication technology of that era, the printing press, bore fruit that we continue to harvest today - approximately 250,000 pages of material that represent what may be the richest literary archive of any indigenous language in the world. These efforts also would have a significant impact on and provide inspiration to the individuals and organizations that would lead the effort to revitalize the Hawaiian language in the final two decades of the 20th century.
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