Anyone familiar with the Hawaiian language?

[Sirius]

Do you pronounce "Pahupahu" as PAW-WHO-PAW-WHO? (The phonetics are wrong but that's easier to read ) And, does it mean "firecracker"?

Thanks!

 

[SherryNC]

Aloha

 

[beachbunny]

pahū.pahū
1. Redup. of pahū; firecrackers. hoʻo.pahū.pahū Redup. of hoʻopahū; to drum or stamp with force; to squeeze certain types of small fish so they burst. (PPN pasuupasuu.)

2. Same as kāʻekeʻeke.

3. n. Tiny and worthless taro offshoot from an offshoot of several generations. (Kep. 153.) See kalo.

 

[Daxx]

Can't answer that question but I do know that Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way to say Merry Christmas to you!

Sorry -- couldn't help myself!

 

[grlpwrd]

Yes, one meaning is firecracker, but it's a modernized/applied word because Hawaiians really didn't have firecrackers - the Chinese did. It's like the word kamipiula which is modernized Hawaiian for "computer." The indigenous people didn't have such a thing, but an Americanized word was developed for it.

It could also mean billiards (pool) or a type of tattooing.

Okay...more than you asked , but I gotta "represent."

 

[Braindrain]

With the diacritical marks, the word is pahūpahū, and it is used nowadays to mean "firecrackers." The consanant "p" is softer than the English p; the "a" is pronouned like the "u" sound in "stuck" or "punt;" the "ū" is pronounced like the "u" in "flu" but because it has a macron the vowel length is twice as long as it would be in normal Hawaiian vowels.

The word pahūpahū is not like the word kamepiula. The word Kamepiula is a Hawaiianized form of the English word computer, whereas the word pahūpahū is a completely Hawaiian word meaning "to explode," and its meaning was merely expanded when Hawaiians were introduced to firecrackers.

Pahūpahū is a complete reduplication of the Hawaiian word pahū. According to Hawaiian Grammar by Elbert and Pukui, reduplications usually mean "frequentive, increased, or plural action," meaning that when used with a verb, the verb is being done many times or for a longer period of time, there are several subjects performing the action, or the subject is performing the action on several objects.



The website that can be found under the name "ulukau" has three online dictionaries and at least a couple of dozen digitized, downloadable books that were written in the Hawaiian language. Also, I recommend visiting the site's link to the Ho'oilina, where there are Hawaiian documents written in older Hawaiian, revised Hawaiian, and in their English translations. The Ho'oilina has has several audio recordings of its documents which can be downloaded in case you want to look any further into the pronunciation of the Hawaiian language.


The website that can be found under the name "uatuahine" is for more advanced students, and under its link for classes it includes advanced Hawaiian Grammar handouts for Hawaiian 452.

 

[grlpwrd]

Yes, certainly pahupahu is a Hawaiian word, but it is not an indigenous word for "firecrackers" as firecrackers are not indigenous. I referred to it as a modernized word just like how the word hapa has been diluted and modernized to what it means now because its true indigenous meaning has morphed/evolved. Then again our language had never been a written language so writing it down is not indigenous either.

Hapa literally meaning half (historically meaning someone who is half Hawaiian and half Caucasian) yet has now been referred to any person who has an ethnic mix of Polynesian and/or Asian with Caucasian heritage. Modernized because it literally meant one thing and now is diluted and morphed. Then again I am not a linguist and I don't play one on the DISboards , but I am hapa.

Kamepiula, the word for computer, is definitely not an indigenous word. Another word for computer is lolouila, I think, which literally means "crazy electricity." It's strange to me when these words were created because
I know my ancestors would have used more poetic, metaphorical language - not literal words.

Hmm, do I know you? You sure know a lot about the language. If you're from Hawaii I might know you thru a friend of a friend of a friend. lol

Ho'ale i ka wai ua Lisa malie.
Aloha mai e na makamaka 'olelo Hawai'i. 'O noelani ko'u inoa. He Haole, Oiwi, Pukiki a me Pake au. Eia ko'u mana'o. He pu'ali o Kamehameha. He pua o Hawai'i. O Ho'ohawai'i ahu ke pilo. 'A'ohe loa'a ia ka noho wale.

E ku`e kakou. Malama kakou i ka pae 'aina o Hawai'i. `A`ole makemake au e kaua no lakou no ka mea `o lakou he hupo ana.

Mahalo lana...lol

A hui hou, grlpwrd

 

[nwdisgal]

Yes, certainly pahupahu is a Hawaiian word, but it is not an indigenous word for "firecrackers" as firecrackers are not indigenous. I referred to it as a modernized word just like how the word hapa has been diluted and modernized to what it means now because its true indigenous meaning has morphed/evolved. Then again our language had never been a written language so writing it down is not indigenous either.

Hapa literally meaning half (historically meaning someone who is half Hawaiian and half Caucasian) yet has now been referred to any person who has an ethnic mix of Polynesian and/or Asian with Caucasian heritage. Modernized because it literally meant one thing and now is diluted and morphed. Then again I am not a linguist and I don't play one on the DISboards , but I am hapa.

Kamepiula, the word for computer, is definitely not an indigenous word. Another word for computer is lolouila, I think, which literally means "crazy electricity." It's strange to me when these words were created because
I know my ancestors would have used more poetic, metaphorical language - not literal words.

Hmm, do I know you? You sure know a lot about the language. If you're from Hawaii I might know you thru a friend of a friend of a friend. lol

Ho'ale i ka wai ua Lisa malie.
Aloha mai e na makamaka 'olelo Hawai'i. 'O noelani ko'u inoa. He Haole, Oiwi, Pukiki a me Pake au. Eia ko'u mana'o. He pu'ali o Kamehameha. He pua o Hawai'i. O Ho'ohawai'i ahu ke pilo. 'A'ohe loa'a ia ka noho wale.

E ku`e kakou. Malama kakou i ka pae 'aina o Hawai'i. `A`ole makemake au e kaua no lakou no ka mea `o lakou he hupo ana.

Mahalo lana...lol

A hui hou, grlpwrd

You go, Girl!

 

[Sirius]

Wow, this is a blast from the past. Honestly, I was looking for a name for a cat.

thanks again!

 

[Braindrain]

Yes, certainly pahupahu is a Hawaiian word, but it is not an indigenous word for "firecrackers" as firecrackers are not indigenous. I referred to it as a modernized word just like how the word hapa has been diluted and modernized to what it means now because its true indigenous meaning has morphed/evolved. Then again our language had never been a written language so writing it down is not indigenous either.

Hapa literally meaning half (historically meaning someone who is half Hawaiian and half Caucasian) yet has now been referred to any person who has an ethnic mix of Polynesian and/or Asian with Caucasian heritage. Modernized because it literally meant one thing and now is diluted and morphed. Then again I am not a linguist and I don't play one on the DISboards , but I am hapa.

Kamepiula, the word for computer, is definitely not an indigenous word. Another word for computer is lolouila, I think, which literally means "crazy electricity." It's strange to me when these words were created because
I know my ancestors would have used more poetic, metaphorical language - not literal words.

Hmm, do I know you? You sure know a lot about the language. If you're from Hawaii I might know you thru a friend of a friend of a friend. lol

Ho'ale i ka wai ua Lisa malie.
Aloha mai e na makamaka 'olelo Hawai'i. 'O noelani ko'u inoa. He Haole, Oiwi, Pukiki a me Pake au. Eia ko'u mana'o. He pu'ali o Kamehameha. He pua o Hawai'i. O Ho'ohawai'i ahu ke pilo. 'A'ohe loa'a ia ka noho wale.

E ku`e kakou. Malama kakou i ka pae 'aina o Hawai'i. `A`ole makemake au e kaua no lakou no ka mea `o lakou he hupo ana.

Mahalo lana...lol
A hui hou, grlpwrd

Aloha mai käua e Noelani, kekahi o ku‘u mau ëwe o ka pu‘upu‘u ho‘okahi,

Your Hawaiian is so amazing, and I haven't seen it in such proper form since I was being raised in Wai'anae ; Thank you for writing to me in our indigenous language.
I'll write the first half of my response in English because my English skills are more developed than my Hawaiian, which I must overcome in the near future, but I’ll write the second half of this in Hawaiian.

Definitely, the word hapa has been diluted. One of the reasons is probably because the number of Hawaiian speakers has suffered a huge decline since our contact with foreigners, due to our 90% population loss to diseases and the political, social, psychological, linguistic, and cultural epidemics that have ravaged the Kanaka Maoli since then. Another reason is probably because the word is used by itself commonly, again by people who don’t speak Hawaiian well, as meaning part anything. Hapa literally meansz part. If I wanted to say half I would say hapalua; if I wanted to say one third I would say hapakolu; but if I were to refer to myself, I would say hapa Hawai‘i, hapa Päkë, but I wouldn’t say only hapa since it was more common for that expression, if used alone, to be extended to those who were half Hawaiian and half white. What I mean to say is, you are very correct in saying that the term is being misused.

Yes, the word lolo uila is another Hawaiian word for computer, but what it literally means is “electronic brain.” Something interesting about Hawaiian is that the word lölö (with two long o vowels) means feeble-minded or crazy, while the word lolo (with two short o vowels) means brains, expert, or skilled. The word lolo uila, however, is one of many new words chosen by the Kömike ‘Ölelo Hawai‘i (Hawaiian Lexicon Committee) in cooperation with some mänaleo in an effort to coin terms for Hawaiian speakers and students in the Hawaiian immersion programs. These words are listed in the Mämaka Kaiao, along with other words not catalogued in The Hawaiian Dictionary by Elbert and Püku‘i.

‘O këia ma lalo iho nei ka mahele o neia leka i käkau ‘ia ma ka ‘ölelo Hawai‘i, ‘o ia ka ‘ölelo a ko mäua ‘o Noelani po‘e küpuna ‘öiwi o ka ‘äina i ‘eha ai ko läkou ‘ili i ka ihe laumeki:

Welina mai ke aloha. He käka‘ikahi maoli nö nä manawa a‘u i hui kama‘ilio ai me kekahi kanaka i like kona mäkau ‘ölelo me ko‘u, no laila ua ho‘opiha koke ‘ia nö ko‘u pu‘uwai i ‘oli‘oli no käu pane ‘ana mai me ka ‘ölelo mïkololohua maoli nö. Polole‘i käu i käkau a‘e nei ma luna a‘e nei, ‘o ia ho‘i, no Hawai‘i mai nö wau. I ko‘u mau lä poke‘o ua noho mäkou me ko‘u ‘ohana ma ke kaiäulu kahi i noho ai ko‘u tütüwahine ma ko‘u ‘ao‘ao makua käne, ‘o Kahawai‘i kona inoa hope, i Wai‘anae, O‘ahu. He mänaleo ku‘u kupunawahine, eia na‘e, ‘a‘ole ‘o ia i a‘o aku i ia ‘ölelo i käna mau keiki, no laila, i ko‘u wä i hänau ‘ia mai ai ma kahi o iwakälua makahiki aku nei, he ‘u‘uku loa ka heluna o nä ‘ölelo ‘öiwi i koe ma ko‘u ‘ohana. I ko‘u manawa i ulu iki a‘e ai, ‘o ia ho‘i ko‘u wä ‘ehä a ‘elima paha makahiki, ua ho‘oholo ko‘u mau lüau‘i mäkua i ko läua lä mana‘o e ne‘e mäkou i Kailua kaona kahi i noho ai ku‘u kupunawahine ma ka ‘ao‘ao makuahine, no ka ‘ohana ‘o Akoe, a ‘a‘ole na‘e mäkou i noho ma ka hale ho‘okahi me ia. E like ho‘i me ua kupuna wahine ala o‘u no Wai‘anae, he mänaleo nö ho‘i këia kupunawahine nei o‘u ma Kailua a ‘a‘ole ‘o ia i ho‘oili aku i kona ‘ölelo makuahine i käna kaikamihine ‘o ia ko‘u mämä. Me ku‘u mau mäkua wau i noho ai ä i ko‘u piha ‘ana i nä makahiki ‘umikumamäkolu, ‘o ko‘u ne‘e nö ia e noho ma lalo o ka mälama ‘ana o ku‘u tütüwahine i nohopa‘a ma Kailua a hiki loa nö i këia lä. He lawa küpono nö paha këia kaula‘i iwi a ke ho‘öki nei wau i këia ha‘i ‘ana i ko‘u mo‘olelo pilikino o ho‘äla ‘ia auane‘i ka mana‘o huhü i loko o ko‘u mau pilikana.

Malia paha i hui ‘ë ai käua, ‘a‘ole paha. No ka mokupuni hea mai ‘oe?

A hui hou aku nö.

 

[MissMinnie]

Mahalo!! Thanks for the info!!

 

[DawnCt1]

GRLPWRD and BRAINDRAIN! Maholo nui loa from a malahini! Very impressive. My familiarity with the Hawaiian language is limited to Braddah Iz's songs.