Reid Ginoza at 03:37, 9 April 2006

2006-04-09T03:37:18Z

Jennifer Wada at 10:38, 8 March 2006

2006-03-08T10:38:18Z

New page

evident in the poetry utilized in the
chants that are used in everything
from ordinary greetings to the
recitation of genealogies. Subtlety
and personalization are further
accomplished in chant by using special
grammatical and pronunciation
complications that make the message
even less flat or blatant. 6/
Intense personalization of the
language in itself has led to a
proliferation of very specific terms,
especially relating to natural beauty,
which lends itseif well to Hawaiian
poetry. An extreme example is
seventeen individual names for various
winds of tiny Haiawa Valley on the
island of Moloka'i, in comparison to
the North American continent as a
whole, for which far less names are
generally known by English speakers.
There are, of course, many other wind
names throughout the Hawaiian Islands,
detailed rain descriptions, special
seas, colors, and so on, as shown in
Table 61.
Hawaiian attention to terms for
life forms has impressed biologists in
that it*is based on the same
principles invented for biological
taxonomy by the Swede, Linnaeus (for
example, ulua aukea, Caranx ignobilis;
ulua 'ele'ele, Caranx melampygus).
Hawaiian terminology goes even beyond
the requirements of modern biology
with special terms for different sizes
of fish, recognizing four growth
stages for some fish and fewer for
others (for example, pua'ama, "mullet
under a finger length;" kahaha,
"mullet about eight inches long;"
'ama'ama, "mullet about twelve inches
long;" anae, "mullet over a foot
long").
The Power of Words
From a Hawaiian viewpoint, the
factor that gives the Hawaiian
language its most important cultural
function is the philosophy of power in
the Hawaiian word itself. This
philosophy is codified in the saying i_
ka 'olelo ke ola; i ka 'olelo ka
make, or (approximately) "language
contains the power of life and df.ith.
In a Western context this concept
might be understar.daoie using as •-."
example the psychiatrist's method of
encouraging patients to art: cu 1 a * •• a
problem in order to confirm )
existence.
The basis of the Hawaiian concept
is the belief that saying the word
gives power to cause the action. For
example, to say "I wish you good
health" will actually help a person tc
recover, while an expressed wish for
death could actually cause it.
Furthermore, a homonym or simile
retains some of the power of the
original word to influence ever..-,.
Thus the word ola (good health, life),
its partial homonyms like 'olani I i
warm in the sun), and a poetic
reference to it like kau i ka
puaaneane (rest upon the flowering of
the faint nreath of life, that is, old
age) can all be symbolically help*
The power of the word is increase : by
the seriousness and preciousness of
the form in which it is offered, such
as in a chant or formal speech.
The philosophy of the power of the
word is developed to such an extent in
traditional Hawaiian culture that
there exists a contest of wits called
ho'opapa in which poetic references,
partial homonyms, and vocabulary
knowledge are used in chant fern
between two contestants to increase
their individual powers and decrease
the powers of the opponent. The loser
of such a contest can theoretically
submit his life to the winner.
Although ho'opapa is an extreme
application of the Hawaiian philosophy
of the power of words, the concep*.
permeates Hawaiian culture. 7, The
choice of negative words in songs and
names is widely commented upon ami
talented speakers of Hawaiian car. take
a single word, name, or phrase and
develop a speech around it by
complicated play with connotations.
Word power is even prominent in a
custom of randomly choosing verses
from the Bible and interpreting these
through the form of the words therein.
{{p|176}}

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 grammatical and pronunciation
 complications that make the message
-even less flat or blatant. 6/
+even less flat or blatant. <u>6</u>/
 Intense personalization of the
 language in itself has led to a
@@ Line 25: / Line 26: @@
 seas, colors, and so on, as shown in
 Table 61.
 Hawaiian attention to terms for
 life forms has impressed biologists in
-that it*is based on the same
+that it is based on the same
 principles invented for biological
 taxonomy by the Swede, Linnaeus (for
-example, ulua aukea, Caranx ignobilis;
+example, <u>ulua</u> <u>aukea</u>, Caranx ignobilis;
-ulua 'ele'ele, Caranx melampygus).
+<u>ulua</u> <u>'ele'ele</u>, Caranx melampygus).
 Hawaiian terminology goes even beyond
 the requirements of modern biology
@@ Line 37: / Line 39: @@
 of fish, recognizing four growth
 stages for some fish and fewer for
-others (for example, pua'ama, "mullet
+others (for example, <u>pua'ama</u>, "mullet
-under a finger length;" kahaha,
+under a finger length;" <u>kahaha</u>,
 "mullet about eight inches long;"
-'ama'ama, "mullet about twelve inches
+<u>'ama'ama</u>, "mullet about twelve inches
-long;" anae, "mullet over a foot
+long;" <u>anae</u>, "mullet over a foot
 long").
 The Power of Words
 From a Hawaiian viewpoint, the
 factor that gives the Hawaiian
@@ Line 49: / Line 53: @@
 function is the philosophy of power in
 the Hawaiian word itself. This
-philosophy is codified in the saying i_
+philosophy is codified in the saying <u>i ka 'olelo ke ola; i ka 'olelo ka make</u>, or (approximately) "language
-ka 'olelo ke ola; i ka 'olelo ka
+contains the power of life and death.
 In a Western context this concept
-might be understar.daoie using as •-."
+might be understandable using as an
 example the psychiatrist's method of
-encouraging patients to art: cu 1 a * •• a
+encouraging patients to articulate a
-problem in order to confirm )
+problem in order to confirm)
 existence.
 The basis of the Hawaiian concept
 is the belief that saying the word
@@ Line 68: / Line 71: @@
 Furthermore, a homonym or simile
 retains some of the power of the
-original word to influence ever..-,.
+original word to influence events.
-Thus the word ola (good health, life),
+Thus the word <u>ola</u> (good health, life),
-its partial homonyms like 'olani I i
+its partial homonyms like <u>'olani</u> (to
 warm in the sun), and a poetic
-reference to it like kau i ka
+reference to it like <u>kau i ka puaaneane</u> (rest upon the flowering of
 the faint nreath of life, that is, old
-age) can all be symbolically help*
+age) can all be symbolically helpful.
-The power of the word is increase : by
+The power of the word is increased by
 the seriousness and preciousness of
 the form in which it is offered, such
 as in a chant or formal speech.
 The philosophy of the power of the
 word is developed to such an extent in
 traditional Hawaiian culture that
 there exists a contest of wits called
-ho'opapa in which poetic references,
+<u>ho'opapa</u> in which poetic references,
 partial homonyms, and vocabulary
 knowledge are used in chant fern
@@ Line 92: / Line 95: @@
 of such a contest can theoretically
 submit his life to the winner.
-Although ho'opapa is an extreme
+Although <u>ho'opapa</u> is an extreme
 application of the Hawaiian philosophy
-of the power of words, the concep*.
+of the power of words, the concept
-permeates Hawaiian culture. 7, The
+permeates Hawaiian culture. <u>7</u>/ The
 choice of negative words in songs and
-names is widely commented upon ami
+names is widely commented upon and
-talented speakers of Hawaiian car. take
+talented speakers of Hawaiian can take
 a single word, name, or phrase and
 develop a speech around it by

Template:Nhsc-v1-176 - Revision history

Reid Ginoza at 03:37, 9 April 2006

Jennifer Wada at 10:38, 8 March 2006