Language Atlas

How Languages Connect
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Language

Hawaiian

Austronesian Languages

Hawaiian is a critically endangered Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family, originating in and native to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the historic native language of the Hawaiian people, and along with English is an official language of the U.S. state of Hawaii.

Facts
ISO 639-3 Code
haw 1
Speaker Count
300 1
2006 estimate; the source gives this as an approximate figure for native (L1) speakers, given the language's critically endangered status. A second-language total of about 22,000 to 24,000 (per a later estimate) is also given in the infobox, not captured here.
Status
Living 1
Wikipedia article on Hawaiian: a currently spoken living language with an active native-speaker population; checked 2026-09-27.
Attested From (Year)
from 1801 2
Region
Hawaii (Niihau) 1
Classification
Language Kind
Critically Endangered 1
Official Status
Official Language 1
Connections

In Family

Source Wikipedia: Hawaiian Language
Source Wikipedia: Hawaiian Language

Written In

Latin Script, Scripts

Hawaiian is standardly written in the Latin alphabet (with the 'okina and kahako).

In the Other Atlases

Cases Where Used

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Found In

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Glottolog
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Hawaiian Language
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section
    Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi. King Kamehameha III established the first Hawaiian-language constitution in 1839 and 1840.
  • Infobox, ISO 639-3
    haw
  • Infobox, Speakers
    ~300 (2006)
  • Infobox, Region
    Hawaiʻi (Niʻihau)
  • Lead section
    It is the historic native language of the Hawai'ian people. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi.
  • Lead section
    Hawaiian ('ōlelo Hawai'i, pronounced [ʔoːˈlɛlo həˈvɐiʔi]) is a critically endangered Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family, originating in and native to the Hawaiian Islands.
  • In Family: Malayo-Polynesian, Infobox: fam2
    Malayo-Polynesian
  • In Family: Marquesic languages, Infobox: fam6
    Marquesic
View the Source
2. Omniglot: Hawaiian language, alphabet and pronunciation
OmniglotWritten Hawaiian
Quote, Written Hawaiian
Hawaiian first appeared in writing in the early 19th century in a version of the Latin alphabet developed bymissionaries, who started to visit the Hawaiian islands from 1820 onwards.
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.