Hawaiian phonology
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This article is a linguistic description of the phonological system of Hawaiian based on documented experiences of the people who developed the Hawaiian alphabet during the 1820s and scholarly research on the Hawaiian language conducted by lexicographers and linguists from 1949 to present.
Hawaiian is known for having very few consonant phonemes — eight. It is notable that Hawaiian has free variation of [p] with [b], [t] with [k], [l] with [ɹ], and [w] with [v]. The [t]-with-[k] variation is quite unusual among the world's languages. The eight Hawaiian consonant phonemes are /p, k, ʔ, h, m, n, l, w/.
Hawaiian has either 5 or 25 vowel phonemes, depending on how you treat the long vowels and diphthongs. If the long vowels and diphthongs are treated as two-phoneme sequences, then the total of vowel phonemes is five. But if the long vowels and diphthongs are treated as separate, unit phonemes, then the total of vowel phonemes is 25. The short vowel phonemes are /u, i, o, e, a/. If you count long vowels separately, they are /uː, iː, oː, eː, aː/. If you count diphthongs separately, they are /iu, ou, oi, eu, ei, au, ai, ao, ae, oːu, eːi, aːu, aːi, aːo, aːe/. There is some allophonic variation of the vowels, but it is nowhere near as dramatic as that of the consonants.
Hawaiian syllable structure is (C)V(V) where C is any consonant and V is any vowel. Double vowels (VV) may be long vowels or diphthongs. All CV(V) syllables occur except for wū; wu occurs only in two words borrowed from English. Word stress is predictable in words of one to four syllables, but not in words of five or more syllables. Phonological processes in Hawaiian include palatalization and deletion of consonants, and the raising, diphthongization, deletion, and compensatory lengthening of vowels. Phonological reduction (or "decay") of consonant phonemes during the historical development of Hawaiian has resulted in the phonemic glottal stop. Ultimate loss (deletion) of intervocalic consonant phonemes has resulted in long vowels and diphthongs.
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[edit] Phonemes and allophones
The following description of Hawaiian phonemes and their allophones is based on the experiences of the people who developed the Hawaiian alphabet, as described by Schütz (1994:83–152), and on the descriptions of Hawaiian pronunciation and phonology made by Lyovin (1997:258–260), Pukui & Elbert (1986:xvii–xviii), and Elbert & Pukui (1979:10–37). Some additional details on glottal consonants are found in Carter (1996:373–374).
It is notable that Hawaiian does not distinguish between /t/ and /k/; few languages do not make that distinction. The American missionaries who developed written Hawaiian during the 1820s found that a [t] reflex was common at the Kauai (Taua‘i) end of the island chain, and a [k] reflex at the Big Island (island of Hawaii) end. They decided to use "k" rather than "t" to represent this phoneme. However, that does not prevent anyone from using the t realization, in speaking or in writing, if they so desire. T is used more than k is, by speakers of Niihau Hawaiian (Schütz 1994:114–116).
The missionaries also found allophonic variation between [ɹ] and [ɾ] (written with d) and [l] (Schütz 1994:116–118), between [v] and [w] (Schütz 1994:119–122), and between [b] and [p] (Schütz 1994:113, 125).
[edit] Consonants
According to Lyovin (1997:258):
Hawaiian is known for having one of the smallest phoneme inventories in the world, mainly because it has so few consonant phonemes. (Rotokas, a Papuan language, is reputed to have the smallest inventory of consonant phonemes — only six.)
The eight consonant phonemes of Hawaiian are shown in the following table:
| Consonants | Labial | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | p | k | ʔ | |
| Fricative | h | |||
| Nasal | m | n | ||
| Lateral | l | |||
| Approximant | w |
[p] and [b] are in free variation. Schütz (1994:82) has conjectured that reports of [b] could be a misinterpretation of unaspirated [p] by English speakers.
There is basic free variation of [t] and [k]. However, since Hawaiian has no affricates, no fricative besides /h/, and no other stops besides /p/ and /ʔ/, any non-labial and non-glottal stop, fricative, or affricate, can function as a /k/ (Schütz 1994:115). In essence, [d], [s], [z], [ts], [dz], [c], [ɟ], [ʃ], [ʒ], [tʃ], [dʒ], [g], [x], [ɣ], [kx], and [gɣ], can all "work" as an allophone of /k/. Nevertheless, the main allophones noted by the missionaries in the 1820s, and by linguists, are [t] and [k]. Elbert & Pukui (1979:12, 26–27) pointed out some instances of a [ʔ] allophone. Schütz (1994:77, 79, 116) conjectured that a t-dialect existed in the northwestern islands, and a k-dialect in the southeastern islands.
There is some evidence for instances of free variation between [n] and [ŋ] (Schütz 1994:63–64).
There is also free variation between [l] (lateral), [ɾ] (tap), and [ɹ] (approximant). Elbert & Pukui (1979:25–26) have pointed out some instances of [n] and [ʔ] as allophones. Schütz (1994:59, 63, 116) has conjectured that [ɾ] is prevalent in the northwestern islands and [l] is prevalent in the southeastern islands.
There is free variation of [w] and [v]. Pukui & Elbert (1986:xvii) have conjectured that there is conditioned variation of [w] and [v], but their use of "usually" makes their theory an admission of free variation. Schütz (1994:119–122) conjectured that there was neither [w] nor [v], but rather "something between the two". This is most likely [ʋ], a labiodental approximant (see also Schütz's (1994:113) quotes from letter of Artemas Bishop.)
Note 1. Carter (1996:373–374) has shown instances of synchronic alternation of every non-glottal Hawaiian consonant /p, k, m, n, l, w/ with glottal fricative /h/ and glottal stop /ʔ/. (See Hawaiian phonology#glottal stop)
Note 2. There are also instances of variation with zero allophones. For example: /huli/ ~ /hui/ "turn" (Pukui & Elbert 1986:86); /luhia/ ~ /luia/ "variety of shark" (Pukui & Elbert 1986:214).
[edit] Glottal stop
In spite of the fact that the glottal stop has its own special symbol (a question mark without the bottom dot) in even the most elementary phonetics book, and although it is a phoneme in innumerable of the world's languages, it remains a source of mystery to many, who refuse to think of it as a Hawaiian consonant phoneme. (Elbert & Pukui 1979:11)
Some Hawaiian words have younger variant pronunciations where one or more non-glottal consonants of the older form are replaced by glottal consonants (h or ‘ ). I think that this is a result of a long-standing process that has caused Hawaiian consonants to eventually 'disappear', with the last stop on the road to oblivion being the glottal stop. (Carter 1996:373)
In Hawaiian, a phonemic glottal stop historically derives from an earlier consonant.
This can still be seen in the historical development of the dual personal pronouns (Pukui & Elbert 1986:213, 361; Elbert & Pukui 1979:107–108). As Lyovin (1997:268) stated: "The dual number suffix is derived from lua 'two', and the plural marker is derived from kolu 'three'."
| Dual Pronouns | 1st Person Exclusive | 1st Person Inclusive | 2nd Person | 3rd Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meaning | "we two" | "we two" | "you two" | "they two" |
| Old form | /maa + lua/ | /kaa + lua/ | /ʔo + lua/ | /laa + lua/ |
| "Death" form | /maa + ʔua/ | /kaa + ʔua/ | /laa + ʔua/ | |
| New form | /maa + ua/ | /kaa + ua/ | /laa + ua/ |
The /l/ of /-lua/ in the 1st- and 3rd-person forms has "died" or "vanished", resulting in the modern forms māua, kāua, and lāua. The phonological evidence of this "death of a consonant" is: (1) the 2nd-person form, ‘olua, bearing witness to the fact that /l/ used to be there, and still is in this "sole survivor" form; and (2) the lingering existence of /ʔ/ in place of /l/ in the intermediate (or "tombstone") forms, /maa + ʔua/, /kaa + ʔua/, and /laa + ʔua/. The presence of the glottal stop marks the absence (or "decay") of a "phonetically fuller" consonant.
A Hawaiian glottal stop thus represents the maximal phonetic reduction of other consonants in centuries past.
Elbert & Pukui (1979:12, 26–27) have shown instances of k ~ ʔ, and l ~ ʔ, such as mukumuku ~ mu‘umu‘u "cut", and pūliki ~ pū‘iki "embrace". Carter (1996:373–374) has shown examples of all seven of the (other) Hawaiian consonants alternating synchronically with glottal stop:
| C ~ ʔ | P | K | H | M | N | L | W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meaning | "ear" | "long" | "circle" | "reddish-brown" | "tern" | "light" | "glowing red" |
| Old form | /pepeiao/ | /lookihi/ | /poohai/ | /mea/ | /noio/ | /maalamalama/ | /wenawena/ |
| "Death" form | /ʔeʔeiao/ | /looʔihi/ | /pooʔai/ | /ʔea/ | /ʔoio/ | /maaʔamaʔama/ | /ʔenaʔena/ |
[edit] Vowels
Depending on how one analyzes the inventory of Hawaiian vowel phonemes, it has either 5 or 25 phonemes (Lyovin 1997:259). The minimum figure of 5 is reached by counting only /u/, /i/, /o/, /e/, and /a/ as phonemes. Diphthongs and long vowels are analyzed as being sequences of two vowels. For example, the written form "au" is phonemically /au/, and the written form "ā" is phonemically /aa/. The maximum figure of 25 is reached by counting separately the 5 short vowels, the 5 long vowels, the 9 short diphthongs, and the 6 long diphthongs. A reason given to support this analysis is that the diphthongs "act as unit phonemes in regard to stress" (Lyovin 1997:259).
It is not necessary to postulate that the long vowels and diphthongs should be counted as separate single phonemes, because they can be treated as sequences of two vowels. They are in fact historically derived from two-syllable sequences. This is easily seen in the synchronic co-existence of allomorphic pairs of Hawaiian forms such as kolu with -kou, both meaning "three" (Pukui & Elbert 1986:164, 167).
The example can be analyzed as a four-phoneme CVCV sequence alternating with a three-phoneme CVV sequence, where the CVV form is derived from the CVCV form through loss of the second consonant. In other words, /kolu/ loses the /l/, resulting in /kou/. Kolu is a root form, while -kou is found in the plural personal pronouns (indicating three or more referents) mākou, kākou, ‘oukou, and lākou (Lyovin 1997:268; Pukui & Elbert 1986:164, 167).
The vowel phonemes are shown in the following tables. The information given on allophones constitutes a basic description, not exception-free laws. Native speakers of any language can get away with tweaking their own personal pronunciation .
[edit] Monophthongs
| Monophthongs | Short | Long | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Back | Front | Back | |
| High (close) | i | u | iː | uː |
| Mid | e | o | eː | oː |
| Low (open) | a | aː | ||
Vowel quality is the same for long and short vowels, except for /eː/ vs. /e/, and /aː/ vs. /a/:
- When short /e/ is stressed it is lowered to [ɛ]. In a sequence of two or more syllables with /e/, unstressed /e/ can also be lowered to [ɛ] but it is otherwise [e]. For example, ‘ele‘ele "black" is pronounced [ˡʔɛ.lɛ.ˡʔɛ.lɛ]. But ‘ale‘ale "full" is pronounced [ˡʔʌ.le.ˡʔʌ.le]. There are also instances where unstressed short /e/ can be raised to [i]. For example, the negating form, /ʔaʔole/ or /ʔaʔohe/, can be pronounced [ʔaˡʔo.li] or [ʔaˡʔo.hi] (Elbert & Pukui 1979:24).
- Short /a/ is phonetically [ʌ].
Note 4. One might argue for free variation of [a] and [ʌ] for stressed short /a/. However, Elbert & Pukui (1979:22–24) have made citations to Kinney (1956) and Newbrand (1951), based on tape-recorded evidence, which specifically noted [ʌ] ("pronounced like u in English cut"), but not [a]. Even so, the pronunciations [ʔaˡʔo.li] and [ʔaˡʔo.hi], in Note 3 above, show that there are at least a couple of forms where /a/ is realized as [a].
[edit] Diphthongs
| Short Diphthongs | Ending with /u/ | Ending with /i/ | Ending with /o/ | Ending with /e/ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting with /i/ | iu | |||
| Starting with /o/ | ou | oi | ||
| Starting with /e/ | eu | ei | ||
| Starting with /a/ | au | ai | ao | ae |
Unlike the other falling diphthongs (that is, falling from higher to lower sonority), /iu/ and /oi/ are rising dipthhongs. For example, kiu "spy" is pronounced [kju], sounding just like the English name for the letter Q.
As with its constituent vowels, dipththongs with short /e/ and /a/ are subject to the same free variation described above. In rapid speech, /ai/ and /au/ can become [ei] and [ou] respectively.
| Long Diphthongs | Ending with /u/ | Ending with /i/ | Ending with /o/ | Ending with /e/ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting with /o/ | oːu | |||
| Starting with /e/ | eːi | |||
| Starting with /a/ | aːu | aːi | aːo | aːe |
All long diphthongs are falling.
[edit] Phonotactics
Hawaiian syllables may contain one consonant in the onset, or there is no onset. Syllables with no onset contrast with syllables beginning with the glottal stop: /alo/ "front, face" contrasts with /ʔalo/ "to dodge, evade". Codas and consonant clusters are prohibited in the phonotactics of Hawaiian words of Austronesian origin (Lyovin 1997:260). However, the borrowed word Kristo is pronounced [ˈkri.sto] (Elbert and Pukui 1979:13). One exception is the Hawaiian interjection kā, because it can be pronounced [tsæ] or [tʃæ] (Pukui & Elbert 1986:106; Elbert & Pukui 1979:13).
The syllable has a minimum of one vowel, and a maximum of two. A one-vowel syllable has any one of the short or long vowels. A two-vowel syllable has any one of the diphthongs.
The structure of the Hawaiian syllable can be represented as being (C)V(V), where the round brackets around C and second V mean that the syllable-initial consonant is optional and the syllable may have a long vowel or diphthong(Elbert & Pukui 1979:14).
- V syllables. Every theoretically possible V syllable occurs in Hawaiian (Elbert & Pukui 1979:14).
- CV syllables. Every theoretically possible CV syllable occurs, with the single exception of wū (Pukui & Elbert 1986:1–386 [see Hawaiian headwords]). The syllable wu occurs only in borrowed words (Schütz 1994:29 note 4). There are only two such words, with wu, in the Pukui-Elbert dictionary: Wulekake (or Vulegate) "Vulgate", and wulekula (or vuletura) "vulture", the very last Hawaiian headwords listed in the dictionary (Pukui & Elbert 1986:386).
Elbert & Pukui (1979:35 citing Krupa) have pointed out that "Certain combinations of sounds are absent or rare." For example, no content word has the form CVVʔV, and the form CVVCV, "is not common". They also noted that monovocalic content words are always long.
[edit] Prosody
As shown by Schütz (Lyovin 1997:259; Pukui & Elbert 1986:xvii–xviii; Elbert & Pukui 1979:16–18), word stress (also called "word accent") is predictable in Hawaiian, in certain combinations of syllables. He defines a stressed syllable as one that is "more prominent than those around it" (e.g., louder in volume, longer in duration, higher in pitch). He identified six such combinations, calling them "stress units":
- (C)VCV, with both vowels short. Examples: ahi, kahi.
- (C)V(C)VCV, same as 1 but preceded by an unstressed syllable. Examples: uahi, aloha, huali, kakahi.
- (C)VV, with either a long vowel or diphthong. Examples: ai, wai, ā, nā.
- (C)V(C)VV, same as 3 but preceded by an unstressed syllable. Examples: uai, uhai, kuai, wawai, iā, inā, huā, nanā
For structures 1 and 2, stress is on the penultimate syllable. For the rest, stress is on the long vowel/diphthong.
For any Hawaiian word that consists wholly of one of these 6 stress units, such as the example words given, the word stress is predictable. For all other Hawaiian words, it is not predictable. However, every word can be analyzed as consisting of one or more of these stress units.
[edit] Phonological processes
Phonological processes at work in Hawaiian include palatalization of consonants, deletion of consonants, raising and diphthongization of vowels, deletion of unstressed syllables, and compensatory lengthening of vowels. Elbert & Pukui (1979:22–25) have cited Kinney (1956) regarding "natural fast speech" (vowel raising, deletion of unstressed syllables), and Newbrand (1951) regarding Niihau dialect (free variation of [t] and [k], deletion of consonants, allophone of /a/, vowel raising).
Kinney (1956) has studied tape recordings of 13-14 native speakers of Hawaiian. She noted assimilatory raising of vowels in vowel sequences. For example, /ai/ was very frequently pronounced as [ei], /au/ was often [ou], and /io/ was often [iu]. She cited specific words, such as /mai/ (directional adverb) as [mei], /mau/ (plural morpheme) as [mou], and /lio/ "horse" as [liu]. The pronunciation of the island name Maui, Maui, /maui/, was [ˈmʌu.i], with the quality of [ʌ] compared to that of u in English cut. She observed deletion of unstressed syllables, such as /ke akua/ "God" pronounced as [ke ˈku.ʌ], and /hele akula/ "go" pronounced as [ˈhɛ.lɛ ˈku.lʌ]. She also documented pronunciations of /loaʔa/ "gotten" as [ˈlo.ʔʌ], and /puaʔa/ "pig" as [ˈpu.ʔʌ].
Newbrand (1951) found that a Niihauan wrote "t" and "k" interchangeably, and freely varied the pronunciation of both "t" and "k" as [t] or [k]. She found /ʔaʔohe/ "no" pronounced as [ʔaˈʔo.hi], showing vowel raising of /e/ to [i]. She documented /noho ʔana/ "staying" pronounced as [noo ˈʌ.nʌ], showing deletion of the glottal consonants /h/ and /ʔ/. The vowel quality of stressed short /a/ was noted as [ʌ], "pronounced like u in English cut".
Palatalization of consonants in Hawaiian is demonstrated by the well known pronunciation of /kaa/ (mood adverb) as [tʃææ] (Pukui & Elbert 1986:106; Elbert & Pukui 1979:101).
[edit] References
- Carter, Gregory Lee. (1996). The Hawaiian Copula Verbs He, ‘O, and I, as Used in the Publications of Native Writers of Hawaiian: A Study in Hawaiian Language and Literature. University of Hawai‘i Ph.D. dissertation. Ann Arbor: U.M.I.
- Elbert, Samuel H., Mary Kawena Pukui (1979). Hawaiian Grammar. Honolulu: The University Press of Hawaii. ISBN 0-8248-0494-5.
- Kinney, Ruby Kawena. (1956). A Non-purist View of Morphomorphemic Variations in Hawaiian Speech. Journal of the Polynesian Society 65 (3):282–286.
- Lyovin, Anatole V. (1997). An Introduction to the Languages of the World. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.. ISBN 0-19-508116-1.
- Newbrand, Helene L. (1951). A Phonemic Analysis of Hawaiian. University of Hawai‘i M.A. thesis.
- Pukui, Mary Kawena, Samuel H. Elbert (1986). Hawaiian Dictionary. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press. ISBN 0-8248-0703-0.
- Ramos, Teresita V. (1971). Tagalog Dictionary. Honolulu: The University Press of Hawaii. ISBN 0-87022-676-2.
- Schütz, Albert J. (1994). The Voices of Eden: A History of Hawaiian Language Studies. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press. ISBN 0-8248-1637-4.
