Ua hoʻolaulaha aku ko ke kulanui o Hawaiʻi i nā pepa hoʻolahamaʻi ahulau COVID-19 a puni kona mau kahua kulanui he ʻumi, i mea e paipai ai i ka mālama pono ʻana i ke ola kino o nā haumāna, nā kumu, nā limahana, a me ona mau hoa kipa. Ua paʻiʻia kekahi o ia mau pepa hoʻolaha ma ka ʻōleloʻōiwi o nei pae ʻāina,ʻo ka ʻōleloHawaiʻi nō hoʻi. Na ka hālau ʻōleloHawaiʻi o Mānoa nei, na Kawaihuelanihoʻi i ʻauamo i kēia kuleana ʻo ka haku pepa hoʻolaha, i mea e hoʻomalu mai ai i ko kākou nohona ma Hawaiʻi nei, a e kākoʻo ai hoʻi i ke ola mau o ka ʻōleloHawaiʻi.
“Ke manaʻolana nei au, e ola ana kēia mau māmala ʻōlelo i kona hoʻopuka ʻia e nā kānaka a pau o Hawaiʻi nei i loko nō o kēia ʻalo like ʻana o kākou i kēia wā kūpilikiʻi o ka noho ʻana,” wahi a Kauka Keawe Lopes Jr., ke poʻo o ka hālau ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ʻo Kawaihuelani, i ʻōlelo mai ai.
Penei kekahi o ia mau māmala ʻōlelo, “Eia nā hōʻailona o ka maʻi ahulau COVID-19”—Here are the symptoms for the COVID-19 virus. Ma kēia mau pepa hoʻolaha maʻi ahulau COVID-19, hōʻike ʻia nā loina e mālama pono ai i ke ola kino, ʻo ia hoʻi ka holoi lima ʻana, a me ka hana kūpono e komo ai i ka pale ihu, e like me ia e aʻoaʻo ʻia e ka Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“ʻO ka ʻimi ʻana i nā ala he lehulehu e hoʻolaha a hoʻopuka ai i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, pēlā nō e ola maoli ai ka ʻōlelo ʻōiwi o nei pae ʻāina,” wahi a Lopes Jr. i wehewehe mai ai. “Ma o kēia mau pepa hoʻolaha e laha loa aʻe ai ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi i pili i kēia kumuhana koʻikoʻi a ma nā mahele ʻē aʻe hoʻi o ko kākou ola.
Ua laulima pū ʻo Kauka Lopes lāua ʻo Kauka Kuuipolani Kanahele Wong, he polopeka no Kawaihuelani, a he mānaleo no Niʻihau, i ka hoʻoponopono ʻana i ua mau pepa hoʻolaha nei i haku ʻia e Kainehe Chun-Lum, ke kahu hoʻomalu keʻena o Kawaihuelani, a me Maluhia States, he limahana haumāna laeoʻo no Kawaihuelani. Ua hoʻouna mua ʻia nā pepa hoʻolaha i ko ke kulanui o Hawaiʻi ma Mānoa, a me nā keʻena like ʻole o ke kōleke ʻike Hawaiʻi ʻo Hawaiʻinuiākea. ʻAʻohe ʻū iho, a piha aʻela nō ka pahu leka uila a Kauka Lopes i nā noi no waho mai o ke kulanui nei e hoʻohana ai i ia mau pepa hoʻolaha. I kēia manawa, aia pū nō ia mau pepa hoʻolaha ma nā kahua kula o Kamehameha, a me nā kula kaiapuni o Oʻahu.
Hawaiian language COVID-19 signs serve two-fold mission
The University of Hawaiʻi posted COVID-19 safety signs online and across the 10 UH campuses to help promote the health and wellbeing of students, faculty, staff and visitors during the pandemic. Some of the signs are also printed in Hawaiʻi’s native language. The UH Mānoa Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language took on this initiative as a way to help protect the public and preserve the state’s mother tongue.
“It is my hope that both Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian speakers learn the phrases and use them in their daily life as we continue to brave this storm together,” said Kumu Keawe Lopes, director of Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language.
One of those phrases is, Eia nā hōʻailona o ka maʻi ahulau COVID-19- “Here are the symptoms for the COVID-19 virus.” The ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) signs highlight health guidance and daily hygiene recommendations such as proper handwashing and mask wearing practices based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
“In an effort to normalize Hawaiian language here in our homeland it is important that we seize every opportunity to promote her usage especially in professional academic locations,” Lopes explained. “These signs allow for the dissemination of our language specifically in regards to this particular context with COVID-19.”
Lopes collaborated with Kuuipolani Kanahele Wong, a Hawaiian language professor and mānaleo (native speaker) in finalizing the task given to Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language Educational Specialist Kainehe Chun-Lum and graduate student Maluhia States.
The completed signage was first sent to UH Mānoa, including various departments part of Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge. Shortly after, emails started to fill Lopes’ inbox from outside the UH system requesting for signs too. They are now posted at Kamehameha Schools and Hawaiian immersion schools on Oʻahu.