The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1912-11-19
HAWAIIAN WORDS,
CAUSING PILIK|A
Expert Interpreters Wrestling
With the Exact Meaning
of a win.
(From saturday Adverti.er)

Nearly all the expert interpreters Of
the Hawaiian language in Honolulu,
among them being men whose scholarly
attachments are widely known in the
world of letters, have been explaining
in Judge Cooper's court for some time
the devious meaning of Hawaiian words
and sentences as they appear in inno-
cent looking pen and ink marks upon
document purporting to be last will
and testament of a Hawaiian, long since
deceased, yesterday being day full
of excitement, if such thing is pos
sible in such case at law.
The present tense, the present parti-
ciple, infnitives, adverbial relation,
idiom, literal Interpretation and varied
meaning of this and that word, were
marshaled in battle array and formed
the wall which was stormed both by re-
spective counsel for plaintiff and de-
ferdant, and the distinguished arrly of
Hawaiian scholars on the other.
So far there have been DIR. ". d.
Alexander, author of the Hawaiian his
tory, and also author of Hawaiian
grammar; Joseph B. Emerson aud DR.
n. b. Emerson, both recognized as Ha-
waiian authorities; Charles L. Hopkins
and Fred Beckley, Hawaiians by birth
and acknowledged as authorities.
The attorneys, Judge Stanley for the
plaintiff, L. C. Winston, and Charles
+. Peterson, attorney for the defend
ant Hawaiian woman, showed consid
cradle insight into the intricacies of
the Hawaiian language, and gave evil
dence of a deep knowledge of the
musical language that has charmed all
~. o. 10 1,n Toll nd ln
Stenographer Horner pothooked the diff
ficult wel-laden Hawaiian words with
ease, but once he was compelled to call
halt until one of the most difficult
sentences was given to him slowly.
"That S the first time | ever saw
Hcrner stumped on a Hawaiian SEN
tence,' said Bailiff Hopkins,
Judge Henry E. Cooper of the first
circuit court, who is hearing the case,
is also something of an authority on
the language, so all in all the interpre
tation of the simple words and the sim
pie meaning which the Hawaiian wished
to convey as to the disposition of his
property is being torn verb from verb
and noun from noun, while all the lit
tie mysterious and subtle meanings pos
sible in the use of the native language
are Delng analyZeu, LOT III was declared
from the witness stand that a literal
translation is almost impossible.
"In order to get the right construe-
ton of Hawaiian document you must
first go through the whole to get the
general meaning and then translate it, -
said Joseph Emerson. 'tsYou cannot
translate it literally. No decent Ha-
waiian interpreter could do this. He
! would be unfit to be an interpreter.
Hawaiian idiom and English idiom
are entirely different. There is bet
ter correspondence in the English and
German than the English and Hawaiian
/ languages.
"Tense in Hawaiian is very loose
affair, this being the result of an i'm
perfect knowledge of Hawaiian
The entire difficulty in the case, which
; is for ejectment from premises in Ho-
nolulu valued at about $4,000, is where
/ the will says something about his heirs
and the children that may be begotten
of his children 1t is over the ques-
ton of the children's children that the
case hinges to large extent.