Signs of Identity, Signs of Discord: Glottal Goofs and the Green Grocer's Glottal in Debates on Hawaiian Orthography

Abstract

This article discusses some aspects of the campaign of Hawaiian‐language activists to promote the "correct" spelling of Hawaiian names on public signs in Hawai 'i, as well as to insist on the pronunciation of names according to Hawaiian rather than English norms. The issues of correct spelling and correct pronunciation are intertwined in complex ways with differing oral and literate traditions that exist not just between Hawaiian speakers and speakers of local varieties of English, but also between older and newer norms for writing and speaking Hawaiian.