{"id":136815,"date":"2021-03-08T15:59:07","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T01:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=136815"},"modified":"2021-03-08T16:19:17","modified_gmt":"2021-03-09T02:19:17","slug":"grad-student-hawaiian-pronunciation-place-names","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2021\/03\/08\/grad-student-hawaiian-pronunciation-place-names\/","title":{"rendered":"Grad student voices Hawaiian pronunciation broadcast on place names"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Bruce
Bruce Torres Fischer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Did you know the correct pronunciation of the area in Hilo commonly called Kaumana is actually Kaʻūmana<\/span>? A newly launched podcast series led by a University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Hilo<\/a> graduate student is on a mission to educate people about the meaning behind places and street names on Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island and how to properly say them. The segment called, “Inoa Matters<\/a>,” is a series of short audio lessons about inoa, the Hawaiian word for name. It is the latest string of educational episodes to be broadcast through podcast, Ka Leo o ka Uluau<\/a><\/em>, which debuted in January 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Podcast producer and sound engineer Bruce Torres Fischer<\/strong> is the voice behind the new inoa segment. He is working on a master\u2019s degree in the Hawaiian language and literature<\/a> program at UH<\/abbr> Hilo.<\/p>\n

“The pronunciation of names is important because it\u2019s essential in conveying the manaʻo<\/span> or meaning behind these places we often navigate during our day-to-day life,” Fischer said. “It is also a way to celebrate the rich history and culture of the place in which we live and love, and accustom our mouths to ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, the Hawaiian language.”<\/p>\n

\"Broadcast<\/p>\n

Fischer points out that it can be tricky to pronounce Hawaiian place names because not all public signage includes diacritical marks like the ʻokina (glottal stop) and kahak\u014d (macron or line over a vowel).<\/p>\n