• (Re)Claiming ʻŌlelo: The impact of language acquisition on Native Hawaiians

Language plays a vital role in how we communicate and understand the world. The Hawaiian Language (ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi) was nearly erased from existence, and while there has been a significant increase in speakers over the past 40 years, it is still considered an endangered language today. Most of the current literature examining the increased number of speakers of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi has often focused on the success of the language revitalisation programmes for children, and very little explores the impact of indigenous language acquisition in adulthood. To address this gap in current research, this research project interviewed three Native Hawaiians who attained fluency in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi in adulthood. Through using critical discourse analysis, this research project has shown that learning ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi has had a profoundly positive impact on the participants, from changing how they perceive the world to challenging the hegemonic influence of the English language. This research project seeks to underscore the importance of (re)claiming ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and emphasise how (re)claiming indigenous languages is a powerful act that challenges the legacies of colonialism.