03.28.05
Hawaiian Revival
From one of the more successful language revival programs:
“E heluhelu kakou,” Nako`olani Warrington tells her third graders — let’s read together.
But there’s no need to translate at Ke Kula Kaipuni o Anuenue, a public immersion school where all instruction for the 350 students is in the Hawaiian language.
The school represents a turnaround for the native language, which appeared to be fading away 20 years ago. A 1983 survey estimated that only 1,500 people remained in Hawaii who could speak it, most of them elderly.
Today there are probably 6,000 to 8,000 Hawaiian language speakers throughout the state, most of them under 30, said Kalena Silva, professor of Hawaiian studies at the University of Hawaii-Hilo.