Hawaiian Language Videos
The basic Hawaiian language videos are numbered lower than the advanced ones in each section. So start with the lowest numbers first and work your way up to the more advanced Hawaiian language levels.
Each video is between 10 and 25 minutes long, so you will want to set aside the time to be able to watch (and watch again perhaps!) while you take notes and follow along. When you are done with each video, if you feel you have not understood the concepts completely, take your notes and think about the topics discussed for at least a day or two. Then return once again to the same video, and you may be surprised to find it makes a lot more sense!
Although it is hard to have actual interaction with a teacher or classmates when you learn Hawaiian online, there is an advantage that you get from learning a new language through online videos and other resources: you can go at your own pace and find topics that interest you the most! So until we develop “artificial intelligence” online language learning technology that will allow us to actually have unscripted interaction in the online environment, we must make the most of what we do have at our fingertips now. So please enjoy these video lessons I have created for you!
Below are the links for each collection of videos.
- 0400 Series: Pronunciation
- In this introductory set of videos, you will learn about the the Hawaiian alphabet, pronunciation of Hawaiian letters and words, macrons and glottal stops, and about how rhythm and word stress play a part in how Hawaiian is spoken by native speakers.
- 0500 Series: Spelling, Numbers, and Time
- Continuing on from the 0400 series, this 0500 series will introduce the spelling of Hawaiian as well as the numbers from zero to one hundred. In associated lessons, you will learn how to tell time in Hawaiian.
- 0600 Series: Basic Word Types
- This is perhaps the most important set of basic videos on ʻŌlelo Online! You will learn the names we use to refer to certain word types and phrase constructions, as well as how to create meaningful sentence fragments. You should have already completed the 0400 and 0500 set of videos before starting this set.
- 0700 Series: Greetings and Basic Conversation
- This set of videos is a happy aside from our other lessons in which you will learn how to use Hawaiian greetings and start basic conversations. You will learn both spoken and written introductions and greetings.
- 0800 Series: Basic Sentence Structures
- Continuing along from the 0600 series, this is the set of videos which will teach you how to string together the segments you learned about earlier to form complete thought patterns (described as “pepeke”). You will go from simple phrases to sentences and paragraphs!