How Far I’ll Go (Ryan’s Hawaiian Version) – I Hea Ana Wau

I just love this song so I decided to translate it into Hawaiian because why not? Translating songs is something I love to do and do all the time. I’ve translated many songs into Hawaiian, French, and English, so I go ahead and share the lyrics here as well as some of my word choice…

Lei Poinaʻole – Deconstructed, Part 2: The Lyrics and Translation

(Read part 1 to learn a little bit about the background of the song’s composition.) My brothers DJ and Nathan and our cousin Riki Masaoka are in a band with some renown in Hawaiʻi called Kaleo Maoli (“The True and Native Voice”) and last week Friday their first big single “Leo Poinaʻole” was played on…

Lei Poinaʻole – Deconstructed, Part 1: The Composition and Background

(Read Part 2 for the meaning and my full translation of this song.) I was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, and though I live currently in Seattle, Washington, I still very much think of myself as living in my home town. I go back frequently to catch up with my extensive ʻohana (just in…

Hawaiian Language Review of Disney’s “Moana”

Hōʻike ʻAno no kō Disney Moana (Hawaiʻi) ʻAuhea ʻoukou e nā pulapula Hawaiʻi, eō! Eia iho nei, ʻo wau ʻo Kolomona Keawekāne, e hōʻike i kuʻu mau manaʻo no ua kiʻi ʻoniʻoni kaha ʻia ʻo Moana ʻakahi nō ‘o Disney a ho’opuka maila ma ka Lā Hoʻomaikaʻi o ʻAmelika (ʻoia hoʻi ka Lā Kū ʻOkoʻa…

Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar? Naʻu!

  Everyone is familiar with the Cookie Jar Song: All: Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar? Alika stole the cookie from the cookie jar. Alika: Who me? All: Yeah, you! Alika: Couldn’t be! All: Then who? In English, the structure of a sentence like “Alika stole the cookie from the cookie jar” is…