Leaving out the ʻokina and kahakō changes the sound significantly. The ʻokina represents a glottal stop, the sound in the middle of “uh-oh”. In Hawaiian, it’s a letter of the alphabet. The kahakō (macron, the horizontal line over a vowel) means the vowel is long - as in pronounced for a beat longer. What we call long and short vowels in English should be considered different vowels because they are different sounds.
Hōnaunau-Nāpōʻopʻo
Is
Hohh nah oo nah oo Nahh pohh ohp oh
It’s hard to transcribe, I hope that’s of interest to someone. He haumana a ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi au. I’m still early in my learning.
We also have a city in this state by the name of “City of Industry.” Not simply “Industry” but “City of Industry.” And “Carmel by the Sea” as opposed to just “Carmel” or “Carmel by the Dumpster Fire off 99.”
Add comment