It's pronounced PoKAY not PoKEY (eat, friendly, island)

[OpenD]

There are probably 4 or 5 different common pronunciations for every place name in Hawai'i, and then there is one correct, traditional one.

Written Hawaiian language is unique, in that there are only 12 letters (plus ahina and kahako), and it's highly phonetic. So if you learn the simple basic rules, it's pretty easy to parse out what the name should be.

Waianae = wa i a na e = "wah-ee-uh-nah-ay"

But of course it needs a splash of hula to come out sounding right.

[atp162]

Quick correction: it's 'okina, not ahina. The phonetic glottal stop, frequently used between 2 vowels, but not always. e.g. Hawai'i, Wai'anae.

Kualono | Ke Kahua Pa

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by atp162

Quick correction: it's 'okina, not ahina. The phonetic glottal stop, frequently used between 2 vowels, but not always. e.g. Hawai'i, Wai'anae.

Kualono | Ke Kahua Pa

Good catch. Apologies for the typo. And of course the final o in kahako should have a kahako over it...

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by atp162

Quick correction: it's 'okina, not ahina. The phonetic glottal stop, frequently used between 2 vowels, but not always. e.g. Hawai'i, Wai'anae.

Kualono | Ke Kahua Pa

Although they look similar, an apostrophe is not exactly the same as an ʻokina...

Hawai'i -- this has an apostrophe
Hawaiʻi -- this has an ʻokina

Wai'anae -- this has an apostrophe
Waiʻanae -- this has an ʻokina

Sometimes, you'll also see the following...

Hawai’i -- this has a single closing quotation mark
Hawai′i -- this has a "prime" symbol

Wai’anae -- this has a single closing quotation mark
Wai′anae -- this has a "prime" symbol

At least the kahakō is pretty straightforward...

[eureka1]

At Tamashiro's it's called POKEY.

[Galactastica]

Technically, both of those pronounciations are wrong. The E in Hawaiian, like all letters in their alphabet, sounds one way and does not change. It's E as in Eh as pronounced in the name "Elliot" or "Elevator". In Hawaiian (not refering to pidgin) it never ever sounds like an I or ee. It's Poh-Keh not Poh-kee or Poh-Kay.

Compare it to words that are pronounced similar in Hawaiian, like "Kane" is Kah-Neh not Kah-nay or Kah-Nee. "Wahine" is Wah-Hee-Neh, not Waheenee. The I always sound like ee and the E always sound like eh. People interchange them a lot, but in traditional Hawaiian their sounds to not mingle or interchange with each other. The woman who teaches the lessons with Kamehameha Schools said something that always stuck with me, "Kona is not Koe-nuh, it's Koh-na" It's very soft there are no extra sounds. You can use this rule with all of their letters;

A = Ah as in Amish
I = Ee as in Eel
E = Eh as in Elliot
O = Oh as in Open
U = Oo as in Moot

[eureka1]

You're confusing the English pronunciation with the Hawaiian. Don't you find it pretentious when an English speaking person insists on pronouncing foreign words in their original language when the word itself has long since been absorbed into English? Do you say "Paris" or "Pah-ree'? Be honest, now.

[Spammasubi]

I don't find it odd when I am being corrected by a Hawai'ian family member.

BTW, I'll take Tamura's over Tamashiro's. It may be more expensive, but I think it is better.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Spammasubi

I don't find it odd when I am being corrected by a Hawai'ian family member.

How about when you're being corrected on the spelling of your "name?"

It's musubi, pronounced moo soo bee, not mah soo bee.

In other news, the 'okina is not used in the word Hawaiian.

It's nit picky (pi KEY, not pi KAY)

[kaahumanu]

Huh?? Serially??