Hawaiian was a spoken language with a long oral history before European contact. As a written language it only has 12 letters – but two very important diacritical marks can dramatically change the meaning of Hawaiian words. The ‘okina is a glottal stop, symbolized by a single open quote (‘). The kahakō is a long stress over a vowel, symbolized by a line over the vowel (e.g., ā, ē, ī, ō, ū). ABC uses these marks to show respect for the language, culture, and the species we are working so hard to conserve. Ignoring these symbols is the same as misspelling the backyard birds everyone is familiar with – Sung Sperruw instead of Song Sparrow, Blai Jey instead of Blue Jay, and so on. Additional resources:

https://www.hawaii.edu/site/info/diacritics.php

https://historichawaii.org/2018/12/21/hawaiian-diacritical-marks/

https://www.iolanipalace.org/information/hawaiian-language/

Below are some of the Hawaiian words most commonly used in ABC's critical bird conservation projects across all the islands.

Birds

Hawaiian name       English name

‘A                                Masked Booby; Red-footed Booby

Ae‘o                            Hawaiian Stilt

‘Akeke‘e                    Kaua‘i ‘Ākepa

‘Akē‘akē                    Band-rumped Storm-petrel

‘Akekeke                    Ruddy Turnstone

‘Akiapōlā‘au

‘Akikiki                       Kaua‘i Creeper

‘Ākohekohe              Hawaiian Crested Honeycreeper

‘Alae ke‘oke‘o          Hawaiian Coot

‘Alae ‘ula                   Hawaiian Gallinule

‘Alalā                          Hawaiian Crow.

‘Alawī                         Hawaiian Creeper

‘Anianiau

‘A‘o                             Newell's Shearwater

‘Apapane

‘Auku‘u                      Black-crowned Night Heron

‘Ekupu‘u                    Laysan Finch

‘Ewa‘ewa                  Sooty Tern

Hawai‘i ‘Ākepa

Hawai‘i ‘Amakihi

Hawai‘i ‘Elepaio

Hunakai                     Sanderling

‘I‘iwi

‘Io                               Hawaiian Hawk

‘Iwa                            Great Frigatebird

Kaua‘i ‘Amakihi

Kaua‘i ‘Elepaio

Ka‘upu                       Black-footed Albatross

Kioea                          Bristle-thighed Curlew

Kiwikiu                       Maui Parrotbill

Kolea                          Pacific-golden Plover

Koa‘e ‘kea                 White-tailed Tropicbird

Koa‘e ‘ula                  Red-tailed Tropicbird

Koloa Maoli               Hawaiian Duck (frequently called only Koloa)

Koloa Mapu              Northern Pintail

Koloa Moha              Northern Shoveler

Manu O Kū                White Tern

Maui ‘Alauahio         Maui Creeper

Mōlī                            Laysan Albatross

Nēnē                          Hawaiian Goose

Noio                           Black Noddy

Noio koha                  Brown Noddy

O‘ahu ‘Amakihi

O‘ahu ‘Elepaio

‘Ōma‘o                      Hawaiian Thrush

Pakalakala                 Gray-backed Tern

Palihoa                       Nihoa Finch

Po‘ouli

Puaiohi                      Small Kaua‘i Thrush

Pueo                           Hawaiian Short-eared Owl

‘Ua‘u                          Hawaiian Petrel

‘Ua‘u kani                  Wedge-tailed Shearwater

‘Ulili                            Wandering Tattler

Ulūlu                          Millerbird – Nihoa population

Ulūlu Niau                 Millerbird – Laysan population

Locations

Haleakalā

Hanakāpī‘ai

Hawai‘i Island

Hualālai

Kaua‘i Island

Lāna‘i Island

Moloka‘i Island

Ni‘ihau Island           small private island; not Nihoa

O‘ahu Island

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

Pōhakuloa Training Area

Plants – common native species, frequently used for habitat restoration

‘a‘ali‘i

‘āweoweo

‘ilima

kāwa‘ū

kāwelu

māmane

‘ōhelo

‘ōhi‘a

‘ōlapa

pōpolo

pūkiawe