Ka Lei Ha'aheo: Beginning Hawaiian

I found 4 great tools for learning Hawaiian, at Amazon. Your success in learning will depend on using them in the right order. They're all great.Beginner level1. "Learn Hawaiian at Home", by Kahikahealani WightIf you're new to the language, this book will walk you patiently through all the basics. Slow? Yes, but it was just what I needed. There are two cassette tapes included, with all the vocabulary, dialogs, reading material and even songs! I found the package reasonably priced.Beginner to intermediate2. "Ka Lei Ha'aheao--Beginning Hawaiian", by Alberta Pualani HopkinsFor continuing what you learned in "Learn Hawaiian at Home", this is an excellent book. It will take you all the way through all the Hawaiian grammar, and there are lots and lots of dialogs, giving variations on what you learn.The downside? Cassette tapes are available, and I know my progress would be much faster if I had the big bucks to buy them. I don't.Intermediate to advanced3. Instant Immersion CDGood points: Very natural-sounding Hawaiian, and lots of itDownside: If you're a beginner, this will knock the wind out of your sails. The lessons have reading passages, some with very difficult grammar.No printed matter comes with the CDs. You have to download it from the internet.Some vocabulary from the lessons are NOT explained. You'll need a big Pukui-Elbert Hawaiian Dictionary to find out the meanings. Not exactly user-friendly!Still, if you love hearing the lilt of Hawaiian spoken as much as I do, you may opt to get this.Intermediate to advanced4. "Let's Speak Hawaiian" by Dorothy M. Kahananui & Alberta P. AnthonyToo difficult for beginners, as it was for me! Explanations are minimal. An exorbitantly-priced tape set is available, but I couldn't afford it.I was always frustrated with myself for not being able to understand this book. However, after doing a fair amount of learning through the first two books given above, I found that "Let's Speak Hawaiian" is a wonderful extension to what I know. Get this one last!

I have been studying ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi for 14 months in an online setting that wasnʻt using a text book, and learned ALOT! I got a solid introduction from a masterful teacher but felt as if I needed to slow down, and go back to the beginning to work with something that is presented in a clear and concise way, which this book does. What is AMAZING is that there is another book, a teacherʻs edition, where one can check their work. I have another set of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi books, used in colleges, but it doesnʻt have the answers, and I found it too frustrating to make the best use of it. When I am more advanced, I imagine, it will be easier to really make good use of. What is really sweet about this work, is that it isnʻt layered with extra grammar terminology. It is presented with crystal clear clarity. I am so, so, so, grateful for this author. So grateful. me ke aloha.

I was born and raised in Hawai`i and grew up learning the language from school and my family, but I'm by no means fluent in 'Olelo and purchased this book looking to become more fluent. A lot of locals in Hawai'i know several Hawaiian words and phrases, but don't learn much about sentence structure. So you'll hear a lot of locals using Hawaiian words in everyday conversation, but it's usually always combined with Pigin English and other languages. This book is great at teaching the basics of sentence structure. If you have no exposure to Hawaiian prior to utilizing this book I can see how it would be difficult to grasp a lot of the concepts, so if you're someone who, for instance, is not familiar with basic pronunciation and common vocabulary in Hawaiian then maybe starting off with another book that focuses more in-depth on those areas would be helpful...Unless your'e the type of person who has a natural propensity to comprehend various languages quickly of course.

I was looking for a book that might provide the following: basic vocabulary, basic grammar, basic humanities of the Hawai'ian culture. This book provides all three, but falls slightly short of being a very compelling self-study textbook. As I read the book, I am reminded by its tone and English grammar that I am not necessarily the intended audience. The authors seem to assume that Pidgin English is the readers' primary language.As far as being the book I was seeking for learning very basic Hawai'ian, this is it. It provides decent vocabulary, good grammatical instruction, and very good culture/humanities for why grammar might be what it is, starting with the acknowledgment that Hawai'ian isn't merely code for English. It is its own language, based on its own world view. This is where the book loses a star. My primary motivation for learning basic Hawai'ian is to lean the world view and customs that make Hawai'i such a special place. While this book probably does better than any other out there, it assumes a local upbringing and I felt like too many essentials were missing (including a basic pronunciation guide to the core Hawai'ian diphthongs) to give it a full five stars, but I still highly recommend it as the best option out there.