Hawaiian
'Ōlelo Hawai'i; 'Ōlelo Hawai'i Makuahine;
Austronesian; Malayo-Polynesian; Oceanic; Polynesian
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English, Hawaiʻi Creole English ("Pidgin")
Native Speakers Worldwide
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Language Information By Source
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2,000-3,000
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"A small community of native speakers of Hawaiian remains... possibly numbering just over 300 in total – inclusive of those residing on Ni‘ihau and Kaua‘i... by the end of the first decade of the 21st century, there may have been as many as two or three thousand native speakers of English (including Kānaka Maoli) who had learned Hawaiian as an additional language, to varying levels of proficiency, in educational institutions... the average proficiency level of L2s is at the lower end of the spectrum and therefore L2s in general are not as competent or fluent in the language as L1s."
2016
Location and Context
USA
21.894103, -160.161856
"There no longer exists a Kaua‘i native speaker community, but Ni‘ihau still has a viable, albeit fragile, native speaker community."
Official language of Hawaiʻi
Numerous language immersion programs
"A stigma persisted in the 20th century in which government and society looked down upon the Hawaiian language, its speakers, its value, and its contribution to Hawai‘i’s unique culture. The result was the decimation of Hawaiian speaking communities coupled with low self esteem among Hawaiian speakers and the end of the transmittal of cultural and esoteric knowledge embedded in the language."
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Roman-based with T and R variants
"There no longer exists a Kaua‘i native speaker community, but Ni‘ihau still has a viable, albeit fragile, native speaker community."
Standardized Hawaiian (Roman-based without T and R variants)
English, Hawaiʻi Creole English ("Pidgin")
Most
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2,000 mother tongue speakers, and 8,000 can speak and understand Hawaiian.
2007
Location and Context
Hawaiian Islands
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English, Pidgin
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A considerable number of young speakers are being trained in the language through immersion courses. There are elderly speakers in addition to these young speakers, but relatively few middle-aged speakers, which results in a lack of communication situations for active language use.
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2010
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21.9226,-160.1147
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1,000. 500 with Ni’ihau Island connections, another 500 in their 70s or 80s (1995 L. Wong). 8,000 can speak and understand it (1993 K. Haugen). In 1900 there were 37,000 L1 speakers (1995 Honolulu Advertiser). Census (2000) lists 27,160. Ethnic population: 237,128 in Hawaii (1996 Hawaii State Dept. of Health), 18.8%% of the population (1990 Hawaii State Dept. of Health), and 99,269 ethnic Hawaiians on the USA mainland (1990 census), including 24,245 in California. Ethnic Hawaiians include 8,244 pure Hawaiian, 72,809 between 50%% and 99%% Hawaiian, 127,523 less than 50%% Hawaiian in Hawaii (1984 Office of Hawaiian Affairs). In 1778 there were believed to have been more than 500,000 pure Hawaiians (1995 W. Harada). 2,000 (Wurm 2007). 500 with Ni’ihau Island connections, another 500 in their 70s or 80s (1995 L. Wong). 8,000 can speak and understand it (1993 K. Haugen). In 1900 there were 37,000 L1 speakers (1995 Honolulu Advertiser). 2000 census lists 27,200. Ethnic population: 336,000. 237,000 in Hawaii (1996 Hawaii State Department of Health), 19% of the population (1990 Hawaii State Department of Health), and 99,000 ethnic Hawaiians on the United States mainland (1990 census), including 24,300 in California. Ethnic Hawaiians include 8,300 pure Hawaiian, 72,800 between 50% and 99% Hawaiian, 127,500 fewer than 50% Hawaiian in Hawaii (1984 Office of Hawaiian Affairs). In 1778 there were believed to have been more than 500,000 pure Hawaiians (1995 W. Harada). (2013.)
2009
Location and Context
Hawai'i
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By the end of the 20th century fewer than 700 Hawaiian-dominant native speakers remained out of a Native Hawaiian population of 401,162 (US Census Bureau 2000) (p. 37).
2011
Location and Context
USA, Hawai'i
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3,000
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2009
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English, Pidgin
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2,000-3,000
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"By the end of the 20th century, it is likely that there were significantly fewer than 1,000 native speakers of Hawaiian. Indeed, among Hawaiian language teachers today, it is regularly postulated that there are fewer than 500 native speakers left. However, by the end of the first decade of the 21st century, there may have been as many as two or three thousand native speakers of English (including Kānaka Maoli) who had learned Hawaiian as an additional language, to varying levels of proficiency, in educational institutions... Apart from the Ni‘ihau community, there are very few native-speakers. Most of them are aged 60 or over and many of them have not had the opportunity to use the language for day-to-day purposes in decades and therefore have forgotten how to express many thoughts in Hawaiian."
2012
Location and Context
Hawaii, particularly Niʻihau and Kauai.
21.894103, -160.161856
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Co-official language of State of Hawaii (with English)
Numerous language immersion programs; support from University of Hawaii system
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Roman-based
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English, Hawaiʻi Creole English ("Pidgin")
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"In 1978, the US-backed State of Hawai‘i convened a constitutional convention in which its constitution was amended to designate both Hawaiian and English as the official languages of that government entity. However, although there have been some significant gains in support since 1978, this endorsement has largely carried little meaning."
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2005
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19.5833333333,-155.5; 19.7333,-155.1
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Media Resources
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- Endangered Languages Catalogue Project. Compiled by research teams at University of Hawai'i Mānoa and Institute for Language Information and Technology (LINGUIST List) at Eastern Michigan University2012. "Endangered Languages Catalogue Project. Compiled By Research Teams At University of Hawai'i Mānoa and Institute For Language Information and Technology (LINGUIST List) At Eastern Michigan University."
- Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)http://www.ethnologue.com/
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