{"id":91219,"date":"2019-02-22T13:11:16","date_gmt":"2019-02-22T23:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=91219"},"modified":"2020-01-09T13:40:59","modified_gmt":"2020-01-09T23:40:59","slug":"uh-hawaiian-airlines-olelo-hawaii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2019\/02\/22\/uh-hawaiian-airlines-olelo-hawaii\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> faculty team up with Hawaiian Air to certify \u02bb\u014dlelo Hawai\u02bbi"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"flight
Hawaiian Airlines staff who have been certified as Hawaiian language speakers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Faculty from University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>–West Oʻahu<\/span><\/a> and UH<\/abbr> Hilo<\/a> played a vital role in establishing Hawaiian Airline’ new ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> (Hawaiian language) certification program for employees.<\/p>\n

Hawaiian Airlines launched the program in celebration of ʻŌlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Month and announced 13 of its flight services department staff were certified. In 2013, the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Legislature passed a law designating February as ʻŌlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Month to celebrate and encourage the use of Hawaiian language.<\/p>\n

\"woman
Leilani Basham<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n
\"man
Larry Kimura<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n

Leilani Basham<\/strong>, UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> associate professor of Hawaiian-Pacific studies, and UH<\/abbr> Hilo associate professor of Hawaiian language and Hawaiian studies Larry Kimura<\/strong>, were enlisted along with other consultants to develop the program.<\/p>\n

“Through programs like this, Hawaiian Airlines demonstrates true respect for Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s native people and practices beyond the mere public relations opportunity\u2014by truly listening to, creating space for, and empowering the voices of the people,” said Basham.<\/p>\n

The program is free for Hawaiian Airlines’ more than 7,200 employees. To qualify, workers who speak ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> must demonstrate advanced proficiency through an oral and reading exam.<\/p>\n

“This is an incredible moment for our ʻohana<\/span> and an opportunity for employees to share Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s mother tongue wide and far,” said Debbie Nakanelua-Richards, Hawaiian Airlines director of community relations.<\/p>\n

Kimura is often referred to as the grandfather of Hawaiian language revitalization, working for decades to help with the rebirth of the language. Basham has long taught ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> courses on the UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> and UH<\/abbr> Mānoa campuses, and researched mele lāhui (nationalist poetry), moʻolelo<\/span> wahi pana (Hawaiian historical and literary texts) and language curriculum development.<\/p>\n

“This is a unique opportunity for the Hawaiian language on multiple levels and an important step to create spaces in our community where Hawaiian language is heard and spoken as a normal part of lives,” said Basham.<\/p>\n

For the full story see E Kamakani Hou<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

—By Greg Wiles<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Faculty from University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>–West Oʻahu<\/span> and UH<\/abbr> Hilo were vital in establishing Hawaiian Airlines\u2019 new Hawaiian language certification program for employees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[906,598,1057,14,59],"class_list":["post-91219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-e-kamakani-hou","tag-faculty-recognition","tag-hawaiian-language","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-west-oahu","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t