Hawaiian Language: Past, Present, Future by Albert J Schütz

Reviewed by: Hawaiian Language: Past, Present, Future by Albert J Schütz Heather Ann Franquez Garrido Hawaiian Language: Past, Present, Future, by Albert J Schütz. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2020. isbn hardback, 978-0-8248-6982-3; isbn paper, 978-0-824869830; xi + 327 pages, tables, lists, pictures, notes, references, index. Hardback, us$82.00; paperback, us$28.00. The manifold intrigue and value of Pacific languages include the way each language has its own unique story, history, and development spanning long periods of time. In Hawaiian Language: Past, Present, Future, Albert J Schütz focuses on the past, present, and possible futures of the Hawaiian language. Crucial to diving into the study of any Pacific language is the understanding that language is not simply a combination of sound systems and syntactical rules, of words and utterances, but also a fully integral and entangled aspect of the cultural and social fabric of its speakers and their home (is)lands. In brief, Schütz's work stands as a strong reminder that anyone engaging with the Hawaiian language and the history of its study should be guided by the idea that language is rooted in Hawaiian culture and will inevitably be a personal encounter that summons into view the reader's positionalities. The book is divided into five categories: "History," "The Alphabet," "The Effects of Writing," "Words and Word Books," and "Changes." These categories outline the developments of the Hawaiian language and are supported by tables, photographs, and early Hawaiian language resources. To understand the Hawaiian language, it is imperative to know where it originated. Archeologically, [End Page 238] Lapita pottery helps pinpoint where Hawaiians originated from (3). Language, on the other hand, is transactional and fast-changing, and the long passage of time since Hawai'i was first settled has resulted in a unique tongue. Nonetheless, Hawaiian is situated within the Proto-Polynesian language umbrella, specifically the Proto-Central Eastern Polynesian scope (36). The Proto-Central Eastern Polynesian languages include but are not limited to Hawaiian, Marquesan, Tahitian, Tuamotuan, and Māori (36). Uniquely, when compared to languages within this umbrella, Hawaiian is most closely associated with Marquesan. However, it has various points of similarity with all of the languages found under the Proto-Central Eastern Polynesian umbrella, and Schütz's work offers much to reflect on for those examining relationships across the region's languages and between its peoples. Though Hawaiian was primarily a spoken language prior to Western contact, Hawaiians drew and carved petroglyphs and had a prewriting system known as "palapala" and a cultural practice of kākau (tattooing) (60). Westerners attempted to record Hawaiian words and eventually formulated a version of written Hawaiian. William Anderson, a philologist on Captain James Cook's third voyage, created the first extensive list of Hawaiian words (64). Schütz cautions us, however, to realize that these words were written based on how they sounded to Anderson, resulting in a transliteration biased by the phonology, phonetics, and orthographies of English and, at times, other European languages like Latin (70). Schütz brings these interference effects and unintended consequences of cross-cultural linguistic encounter into view across several chapters that unpack the critically story of how missionaries devised an alphabet with the goal of converting Hawaiians to a literature-based religion. Such foundational early and mid-nineteenth-century work faced constant challenges and produced persistent legacies. First, the alphabet always had either too many letters or too few (122). Second, it did not include the kahakō or the 'okina, crucial symbols that aid in the context and pronunciation of certain Hawaiian words (124, 126). Finally, the alphabet was created with vastly insufficient Hawaiian input, although Schütz documents some important exceptions (120). These issues, however, did not hinder Hawaiians from becoming literate. Early efforts, while flawed, provided a foundation for future endeavors. Hawaiians soon demanded more Hawaiian-language resources, such as newspapers, schoolbooks for children, language textbooks, and other publications (180). Schütz argues that despite the depth and variety of possible critiques of the Westernized Hawaiian alphabet and of Hawaiian as it was first printed, the establishment of this literature may have been a saving grace rather...