ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi · Language & everyday life
ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Is Growing Again, and Everyday Use Matters
A look at Hawaiian language revitalization, why everyday use matters, and how typing practice can support accurate digital writing.
· Language & learning
A language grows stronger when people have places to use it.
That can mean a classroom. A kitchen table. A conversation with a grandparent. A text message to a friend. A song, a lesson, a school assignment, or a few minutes of typing practice online.
For ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, the Hawaiian language, those everyday spaces were deliberately narrowed for generations. Its renewed presence today reflects decades of work by Native Hawaiian families, kūpuna, educators, and community leaders who refused to let that connection disappear.
At WPMTest, we recently added a Hawaiian typing test to create one more place where learners and speakers can practice writing Hawaiian accurately online. It is a small contribution. The real credit for the language’s revitalization belongs to the communities carrying it forward.
How Hawaiian came close to losing a generation of speakers
Hawaiian did not simply fall out of use. Its decline was accelerated by deliberate suppression of the language and Hawaiian cultural expression. In 1896, following the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the Republic of Hawaiʻi required English as the medium of instruction in public and private schools. Children were punished for speaking Hawaiian at school, helping break the transmission of the language between generations. Hawaiʻi’s Legislature formally acknowledged that harm in a 2022 apology resolution. Cultural expression had also faced earlier prohibitions, including an 1830 ban on public hula performances under Queen Regent Kaʻahumanu, influenced by Christian missionaries.
The school law and punishment for speaking Hawaiian must be understood together. The law did not criminalize every Hawaiian conversation everywhere, but its enforcement and the treatment of children made the consequences deeply personal for families.
The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation recounts that, by 1985, only 32 children younger than 18 spoke Hawaiian. Hawaiian-speaking families and communities, including those connected to Niʻihau, remained essential to its continuity. The language survived, but the generation of children growing up speaking it had become dangerously small.
Families and educators built a way forward
The response came from the community. In 1983, Hawaiian-language educators gathered to develop a plan centered on children using Hawaiian as an ordinary language of daily life. The first Pūnana Leo preschool opened in Kekaha, Kauaʻi, in 1984. In 1987, collaboration with the state Department of Education helped establish the first Kaiapuni elementary programs at Keaukaha and Waiau.
This was about more than adding vocabulary lessons. Hawaiian-medium education created places where children could learn, ask questions, build relationships, and understand the world through Hawaiian language and culture.
How many people speak Hawaiian today?
There is no single number that captures every fluent speaker, learner, or person who uses Hawaiian occasionally. A useful measure is language use at home.
An April 2026 report in Ka Wai Ola, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ publication, reported that the number of Hawaiʻi residents age five and older speaking Hawaiian at home rose from 18,400 in 2016 to 27,338 in 2024—approximately 48% growth. These are home-use figures, not a count of people certified as fluent.
That distinction matters. It keeps the progress meaningful without overstating what the numbers prove.
Hawaiian is a language of education again
Today, Hawaiian-medium schooling gives children opportunities that earlier generations were denied. In December 2025, Hawaiʻi Public Radio reported that Kaiapuni education was offered at 33 schools: 26 designated Department of Education schools and seven public charter schools. Classes use Hawaiian as a language of instruction, rather than treating it only as a separate subject.
The growth also brings challenges. Schools need qualified teachers, resources, and pathways that allow students to continue their education in Hawaiian as they get older. Increased interest is encouraging, but sustaining the language requires continued support.
Why Hawaiian typing practice belongs online
Speaking and listening remain essential. Typing practice supports a different skill: becoming comfortable writing the language on a device.
Correct characters matter. The ʻokina (ʻ) is a letter, not an ordinary apostrophe. Kahakō mark long vowels: ā, ē, ī, ō, ū. Learning to enter these characters helps people write Hawaiian accurately in messages, assignments, and everyday digital communication.
Our Hawaiian test provides short passages, timed practice, and accuracy feedback. It is typing practice—not a Hawaiian-language course or a measure of fluency.
Where to practice Hawaiian typing
Dedicated Hawaiian typing tests appeared uncommon in our search on October 27, 2026. We found one other dedicated test. This is not a claim that no others exist. These recommendations describe each resource’s purpose, not independent performance ratings.
Timed practice
WPMTest Hawaiian Typing Test
For straightforward timed practice with Hawaiian passages, ʻokina, kahakō, WPM tracking, and accuracy feedback.
Practice on WPMTest →More settings
India Typing Test: Hawaiian
Offers duration, paragraph options, word limits, and certificates. We reviewed its listed features but have not independently benchmarked its scoring.
Visit India Typing Test ↗Keyboard setup
University of Hawaiʻi Keyboard Guidance
Helpful for setting up Hawaiian character input before practicing. This is setup guidance, not a timed typing test.
Read UH keyboard guidance ↗Disclosure: WPMTest publishes this article and operates the first tool listed.
A small contribution to a much larger movement
A typing website cannot replace a kumu, a conversation with ʻohana, or education rooted in Hawaiian community and culture.
What we can offer is another practical opportunity to use the language online. We hope our Hawaiian typing test supports learners as they become more comfortable writing—and encourages them to keep learning from Hawaiian-led resources such as ʻAha Pūnana Leo.
ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi’s renewed growth is the result of sustained commitment. Every additional space for its respectful, accurate use can support that work.