Ka Ili Aloha: Ka Ho‘oilina Leka A Ka Mō‘īwahine Emma Kaleleonālani Lāua ‘o Kona Makuahine ‘o Fanny Kekelaokalani ‘Hipa' Young A Me Ke Ali‘i Wahine ‘o Ruth Ke‘elikōlani, Ka Hoa Hānau O Ka Mō‘īwahine Emma

Abstract

This paper is a study of the linguistic relativity of the Hawaiian language in the 19th century featuring a collection of letters written in Hawaiian by Queen Emma Kaleleonālani which were exchanged between her mother Fanny Kekelaokalani ‘Hipa’ Young in the year 1871, and with her cousin, Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani in the year 1883. The purpose of this paper is twofold. The first, is to respectfully offer a glimpse into the personal details of their lives unique to the Hawaiian language worldview. And the second, is to examine the language of the letters as a micro-study of 19th century Hawaiian as recorded in this body of casual correspondence written in three distinct writing styles – with the aim to improve our understanding of Hawaiian so that practitioners of speaking Hawaiian today can rethink certain grammar and vocabulary that may or may not have transformed in meaning over the last century.