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dmbfan
Aloha
USA
3 Posts |
 Posted - 10/20/2007 : 5:28:59 PM
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i was just in need of some help translating a phrase from english to hawaiian: "why not?" I know that 'no ke aha' means 'why' and 'a'ole means 'no'. but i wasn't sure if you just put them together or if it changes. also i was interested in any other ways of saying it as well. thanks.
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Edited by - dmbfan on 10/25/2007 1:42:35 PM |
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alika207
Ha`aha`a
USA
1260 Posts |
Posted - 10/21/2007 : 12:20:58 PM
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| Hmmm. Ask Sarah, Keola, Liko, and a few others on here. Unfortunately, I'm not able to kokua you with that one, but let me know if there are any other phrases you need. You never know! |
He kehau ho'oma'ema'e ke aloha.
'Alika / Polinahe |
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hawaiianmusiclover06
`Olu`olu
USA
562 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 12:34:34 AM
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To answer your question in translating your phrase from to hawaiian: "why not" I looked it up on my online Hawaiian dictionary http://www.wehewehe.org it translated "why not" as hea? kaino?kainoa Hope that helps.
Alana :) |
Aloha Kakou, maluhia a me aloha mau loa (Hello everyone, peace and love forever) |
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alika207
Ha`aha`a
USA
1260 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 04:24:14 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by hawaiianmusiclover06
To answer your question in translating your phrase from to hawaiian: "why not" I looked it up on my online Hawaiian dictionary http://www.wehewehe.org it translated "why not" as hea? kaino?kainoa Hope that helps.
Alana :)
Mahalo e Alana, you da girl!
One thing I want to say, and this goes for everybody: Make sure that when you translate into another language, you only type one word into an online dictionary at a time. Otherwise, it will translate everything you type word for word and may not necessarily follow the grammar rules in the language you want to say the phrase in. For example, if you typed "white house" into a Spanish online translator, you'd probably get "blanco casa" instead of "casa blanca."
These are just words of advice, and they are not meant to hurt or discourage any of you. I love you all as friends, and that's how it will always be. Aloha pumehana! |
He kehau ho'oma'ema'e ke aloha.
'Alika / Polinahe |
Edited by - alika207 on 10/22/2007 04:25:56 AM |
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dmbfan
Aloha
USA
3 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 06:24:11 AM
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| So my question now is since there are obviously three different ways of saying "Why not?" in hawaiian, which one do you think is the most used term? And also I looked up "Why" and "not" on the dictionary and it gave me these two terms: "no ke aha" and " 'ole." So could I just combine those two words to get "no ke aha 'ole" to get "Why not?" And does that even make sense to anyone. thanks again for your help. |
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alika207
Ha`aha`a
USA
1260 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 09:48:00 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by dmbfan
So my question now is since there are obviously three different ways of saying "Why not?" in hawaiian, which one do you think is the most used term? And also I looked up "Why" and "not" on the dictionary and it gave me these two terms: "no ke aha" and " 'ole." So could I just combine those two words to get "no ke aha 'ole" to get "Why not?" And does that even make sense to anyone. thanks again for your help.
Did you get Alana's reply? |
He kehau ho'oma'ema'e ke aloha.
'Alika / Polinahe |
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Hula Rider
Lokahi
USA
215 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 11:56:39 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by dmbfan
So my question now is since there are obviously three different ways of saying "Why not?" in hawaiian, which one do you think is the most used term? And also I looked up "Why" and "not" on the dictionary and it gave me these two terms: "no ke aha" and " 'ole." So could I just combine those two words to get "no ke aha 'ole" to get "Why not?" And does that even make sense to anyone. thanks again for your help.
Which one you would use depends on the context. Without knowing the exact situation, and the relationship(s) between the people in the conversation, for me, it would be impossible to give an accureate answer.
Regarding putting together "no ke aha" and "`ole," if you were to say to me, "No ke aha `ole," I would mentally translate it as a very annoyed way of saying "Without any reason whatsoever!" and wonder what I had done to offend you!
But I am not that facile with the language, only dim memories of my Tutu-Man's speech.
This is a good Liko question.
Malama pono,
Leilehua |
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keoladonaghy
Lokahi
257 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 2:35:51 PM
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I believe "Why not?" in English is idiomatic. As Leilehua says, what is the context? In many cases, you might simply use "no ke aha". Literally it means "for the what?", but can be interpreted as "for what reason?"
If someone says "Don't swim in the ocean today" you might ask in English "Why not?", but in Hawaiian "no ke aha?" (for what reason) would suffice. There may be a context whereby it would be preferable to say "why not?" in Hawaiian, but I can't think of any off the top of my head. |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 5:08:13 PM
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| Keola, what about an instance where someone says "Hey, wanna go to Zippy's?", to which the other person replies, "Why not" more like "hey, no reason not to," or actually meaning "yeah, sure". |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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keoladonaghy
Lokahi
257 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 5:44:54 PM
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| I would say it in that way, "hiki nö!" as opposed to "‘A‘ohe kumu e hele ‘ole ai", literally, there is no reason not to go. I would use the first option unless someone asked me "Is there any reason why we cannot go." |
Edited by - keoladonaghy on 10/22/2007 5:48:01 PM |
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Hula Rider
Lokahi
USA
215 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 8:18:25 PM
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Aloha e Keola!
Mahalo for your explainations! For myself, I find threads like this, discussing idioms, a really good way to get inside the thought process of different languages. Learning the grammatical rules and proper speech is excellent, and critical, but it seems to me that idioms teach you to see the world the way others see it.
Malama pono,
Leilehua |
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noeau
Ha`aha`a
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 9:20:16 PM
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| Don't forget idioms change frequently in a vibrant living language. An English idiom today may not translate at all unless there is an equivalent idea in another language. The term "dog!" would not carry over to 'olelo Hawai'i in my opinion. And if equivalent ideas might come out very diferently when trying to translate. We were taught to think in Hawaiian to express in Hawaiian. So English ideas would be set aside while one enters Hawaiian mode to communicate. |
No'eau, eia au he mea pa'ani wale nō. |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 04:15:03 AM
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Even in English, Al, there are idioms and slang and street language that I don't understand.
Like in Hawai`i a lot of folks like Reggae or Hip-Hop. Over herre, the hip-hop kinda guys talk about "bling". Hard for translate that into Hawaiian.
And you know what I have noticed...I do not find "bad" words in my Kawena Pukui dictionary. Many of those rap or hip-hop songs call women a bi--h or worse. Love making is called by the "f" word.
I hope to heck the young folks in Hawai`i who like that "gangsta" persona do not try to meld those kinds of words into such a beautiful, poetic and gentle language.
Or...conversely...as a dynamic language...should those words meld themselves into the `olelo? |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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rendesvous1840
Ha`aha`a
USA
1055 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 4:48:31 PM
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Actually, I'm not sure "Why Not" is proper english speech. I think it would constitute an incomplete sentence. Of course, I use it , but I got poor grades in english classes. Knowing about my grades, do you even believe I made the comment about Why Not? Talk about a phoney philosifer! Philosipher? Or phillosipher? Ok, I'm done.
Paul |
"A master banjo player isn't the person who can pick the most notes.It's the person who can touch the most hearts." Patrick Costello |
Edited by - rendesvous1840 on 10/23/2007 4:49:33 PM |
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pukaua
Aloha
20 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 10:09:36 PM
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The Indo-European languages I'm familiar with all have the common expression "why not?" with the same meaning as English (pourquoi pas, porque no, perche no, waarom niet, warum nicht). It is a sentence fragment and not a full sentence, but sentence fragments are not grammatical errors - they are acceptable in conversation and in some kinds of writing, they just aren't acceptable in formal writing. "Why not?" is a grammatically acceptable sentence fragment in conversation (in English at least) in the same way "Why <any word>?" is acceptable.
He was shy in school.
Why shy?
He was never in school.
Why never?
He was not in school.
Why not?
She is quickly walking.
Why quickly?
She is not walking.
Why not?
I don't know though if this type of structure carries over to other language families.
Interestingly though, "why" in all those Indo-European examples are all literally "for what" or "about what", just like Hawaiian "no ke aha" = "for the what". |
Edited by - pukaua on 10/23/2007 10:15:29 PM |
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dmbfan
Aloha
USA
3 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2007 : 04:25:58 AM
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| Thank you guys for all your help. The main reason I'm looking for the translation is because I am planning on getting a tattoo of the phrase. The example I can give you for "why not?" is; Why not try something new, or why not move to Hawaii, or why not do anything? I really try to pursue this kind of mentality everyday and I just thought I might be able to find a translation in Hawaiian. I have emailed some professors at Hawaii University and one came up with this: "Na wai e 'ole." I would like to hear what you guys would think of when you hear this. Again thanks for your help. |
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