Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
lanai:
veranda or porch. You'll pay more for a hotel room if it has a lanai with an ocean
view.
lani:
sky or the heavens
lau hala:
traditional Hawaiian weaving of mats, hats, etc., from the prepared fronds of the
pandanus (screw pine)
lei:
a traditional garland of flowers or vines. One of Hawai'i's most beautiful customs.
Given at any auspicious occasion, but especially when arriving or leaving Hawai'i.
lele:
the stone altar at a
heiau
limu:
edible seaweed of various types. Gathered from the shoreline, it makes an excellent
salad. It's used to garnish many island dishes and is a favorite at lu'au.
lolo:
crazy, as in
lolo buggah
(stupid or crazy guy)
lomi lomi:
traditional Hawaiian massage; also, raw salmon made into a vinegared salad
with chopped onion and spices
lua:
the toilet; the head; the bathroom
UNDERSTANDING THE OKINA
You will often notice what appears to be a backward apostrophe inserted in the
middle of Hawaiian words such as Lana'i and Ka'anapali. This marking is known
as the
okina,
and rather than letting it confuse you even further, use the
okina
to help
in determining the proper pronunciation.
To a professional linguist the
okina
denotes a glottal stop, which in layman's
terms essentially means that you pronounce both of the vowels it's sandwiched
between. To use the above examples, when pronouncing the name of island of
Lana'i you would verbalize both the “a” as well as the “i,” for a phonetic pronunci-
ation of “Lah-NA-ee.” The
incorrect
pronunciation is to blend the final two words
together and say “Lah-Nai,” which in the Hawaiian language means “a porch,” and
is spelled
lanai.
Similarly, the major resort area of Ka'anapali is correctly pronounced by verbal-
izing both the first as well as the second “a,” which phonetically looks like “Kah-
ah-naw-PAW-lee.” The
incorrect
way to pronounce the word is to slur the two vow-
els together by saying “KAW-nah-paw-lee,” or even worse, the dreaded “Ka-NAH-
poli.”
The
okina
serves as an instructional guide as to which vowels to pronounce indi-
vidually and which to blend together. The town of Lahaina-which you notice does
