How is Kuliouou Pronounced? (schools, live in, vs)

[MizzEve]

I am working on correctly pronouncing words

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by MizzEve

I am working on correctly pronouncing words

Good for you. I think it shows sensitivity and respect of the Hawaiian culture to learn to say and spell Hawaiian words and place names correctly. I'm no expert, and there are others here who will probably chime in, but I think this should get you started in the right direction.

Pronunciation of most Hawaiian words can actually be figured out reasonably well if you know the basic pronunciation rules for the 13 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet... which are taught in schools using a mnemonic called the Hakalama*

This is simplified, but a good start... The vowels and their pronunciations are:

a - ah
e - eh
i - ee
o -oh
u -oo

The consonants are h,k,l,m,n,p, w and ` (okina) . In Hawaiian consonants are always followed by vowels, and words end in a vowel. It's part of why 'Ōlelo, the Hawaiian language, seems to ripple and flow like water.

w is pronounced by some as a soft v, as in one pronunciation of Hawai'i - hah-vahee-`ee, but a w sound is more common and accepted

` (yes, it's a letter, not an accent or punctuation) is a glottal stop, a kind of catch in the back of the throat. Although tourist literature typically omits the okina, you'll see it used on road signs and in official state documents, as Hawaiian is an official language in the state. Where you do see it used, I find it helps break the word down into pronounceable bits, such as in... Kuli`ou`ou.

So, just say Kuli`ou`ou slowly at first... koolee `oh-oo `oh-oo ... then gradually speed it up.

*If you want to dig deeper, here's a site that lets you use the Hakalama, a pronunciation drill used in the schools, to practice the sounds... A0404: Hakalama Practice |

And here's a more complete pronunciation guide... http://laniola.com/olelo/handouts/pdf/PUKE_OLELO.pdf

[MizzEve]

Wow, thank you. That is very helpful

I always appreciate it when people correct my pronunciation because it helps me learn.

[hotzcatz]

Hmm, that's a bit odd, never seen it before.

Kuliouou = "coo lee ouw ouw"?

"Ku-li-ou-ou" is how I'd break up the syllables, the "ou' is sort of an "oh -oo" combined. Kinda like the tail end of "blue".

[pj737]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Hmm, that's a bit odd, never seen it before.

Kuliouou = "coo lee ouw ouw"?

"Ku-li-ou-ou" is how I'd break up the syllables, the "ou' is sort of an "oh -oo" combined. Kinda like the tail end of "blue".

Maybe I've been saying it wrong my entire life but to me it's "coo-lee-oh-ohh". No "blue" sound in there at all... but again, maybe I've been saying it wrong.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Hmm, that's a bit odd, never seen it before.

Kuliouou = "coo lee ouw ouw"?

"Ku-li-ou-ou" is how I'd break up the syllables, the "ou' is sort of an "oh -oo" combined. Kinda like the tail end of "blue".

Yes, O + U is what is called a blended vowel, but oh + oo is a good start... and it's definitely not definitely NOT ow ow.

[Rain Monkey]

I call it "The Valley". I have very close and wonderful shirt-tail relatives that live there. There is an extended family whose decedents live in the valley and have impressive yearly gatherings.

[lost_traveler1]

I found a good method to help people pronounce Hawaiian words. Always take a Hawaiian word and break it up with the consonant and vowel as segments. Then pronounce them in choppy bits to sound out the words. Its difficult because in english, the words are sounded out as a "whole" vs components.

Kamehameha = ka me ha me ha

When you have a vowel immediately after another vowel break up similarly.

Kipaa = ki pa a

The only exception, I think, is when you have "o" and "u" vowels combined.

Kuliouou = ku li ou ou

Even Humuhumunukunukuapuaa is easy if you break it up and sound it out

hu mu hu mu nu ku nu ku a pu a a - If you go back to the whole word, identify and say it out by components in a cadence, it gets pretty easy even with such a long intimidating word.

Its kinda similar to speaking japanese language (nihongo = ni ho n go) in that words are sounded in components.

See if this helps.