Learn Hawaiian at Home

In general I liked this book/CD combo. But the way it's set up, you really need to be using the book along with the CDs, a bummer for me since I like to listen to the CDs during my commute but can't drive and read at the same time! Other lanuage CD's I've used in the past can be used independently of the book, and I like that a lot better.

I'm enthralled by the Hawaiian language and this book does a great job at demystifying it. All of the vowel combinations are still a bit difficult for my tongue to wrap around sometimes, but I now have a better understanding of the way words and concepts are outlined and combined. This book does a great job of starting out simple and basic and building on each lesson. The dialogs and sample conversations are cute but realistic.

While I still don't know as much as my Keiki that live in Honolulu, with this book & CDs I'm well on my way to having a basic conversation with them on my next visit to the islands!

I absolutely love using this book as well as the two CD's. This has allowed me to learn yet another foreign language, something I love doing as a hobby. I am additionally studying German because my grandmother speaks it and Spanish because so many people in the US speak it.

Ignore the reviewer who said to buy the set for the CD's and burn the book. There is lots of important information on grammar and other general language rules that the CD's do not cover.

Kahikahealani Wight did a wonderful job creating this work. I believe 'olelo Hawai'i is one of the most beautiful languages on earth. The conversational material will be great for me to use in my future if I ever go back to Hawai`i Nei. Before I got the book, I had used what I had already known with lots of kama'aina and they seemed to be impressed. I also love learning the mele in this book because I love to sing.

Now I think I should ask my makua (parents) if we can take another trip to Hawai`i so I can speak with some more natives! I recommend this book for those of you who want to learn Hawaiian very badly or just want to study lots of languages in general.

A hui hou for now...

Alex or Alika

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 level
1. "Learn Hawaiian at Home", by Kahikahealani Wight
If 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 intermediate
2. "Ka Lei Ha'aheao--Beginning Hawaiian", by Alberta Pualani Hopkins
For 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 advanced
3. Instant Immersion CD
Good points: Very natural-sounding Hawaiian, and lots of it
Downside: 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 advanced
4. "Let's Speak Hawaiian" by Dorothy M. Kahananui & Alberta P. Anthony
Too 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!

This book insulted my intelligence. It is so elementary that only a five year old would think it is advanced. It spends pages focusing on miniscule and practically useless attributes (such as announcers), rather than the important and meaningful ones (such as dual pronouns, and the o-class and a-class possession). Although it does touch on most elements of the language, it is very vague on every subject.

The worst part of all is that it over-complicates grammar. For instance, Wight spends chapters explaining how to structure phrases, all of which I could completely summarize in a single sentence. Then it provides merely one vague sentence to explain a concept that should take several pages to relate. Except for the vocabulary, this book is just like taking a memo-note and stretching it into an entire novel.

Using this book as a foundation only got me more confused. If you buy this package, do it only for the cassete tapes, and burn the book!