What if the Narrator Got THEIR Home's Name Wrong?

    I'd hoped to have better news to report after trading voice mails and emails with the East Coast production company responsible for an upcoming PBS national show episode that was shot on location in Hawaii.  As explained here previously, the narrator's pronunciation of Hawaiian place-names is below the waterline, unacceptably poor.

    It's not a malihini's earnest stumbling. It's a cavalier approximation that changes the meaning of the names of time-honored places like Mauna Kea.

    A representative of the TV production company is in effect dismissing PBS Hawaii's concerns as a matter of nuance. Here's a direct quote from an email: "Subtleties and variations in pronunciation are bound to happen with such an old and regionalized language. We understand there are varying opinions and outlooks such as yours..."

   This is nonsense.

    Watching an advance copy of the show, my staff and I had no idea what school the narrator was talking about.  I'd never heard the name in my life--until the video showed us the school and we knew it immediately. It's a public school on Hawaiian Homestead land in Hilo that's near and dear to PBS Hawaii, Keaukaha Elementary.

   What's more, the production company is attributing the pronunciation to the school principal and a well-known local chef. The TV crew recorded these men saying the school name. I have no doubt the men said "Keaukaha" accurately on tape. But apparently nobody checked that against the narrator's version, or maybe they thought all the words sound the same. It's not the kind of accuracy that usually distinguishes a PBS production.

   The school principal, Lehua Veincent, hasn't heard the narration, but he's heard about it from others. He chuckled when I told him the production company says he's a source of the random pronunciation. 

    A thoughtful man, Kumu Lehua says that the most important thing is to recognize there's mana in the names of ancestral lands--and not to perpetuate misuse of the names. He'd love to see his students on TV, but not in a flawed vessel.  Another interviewee, Richard Ha, said the pronunciation makes him cringe. He said the exposure offered by a national show isn't worth it, if it devalues the language.

    If we in Hawaii don't value our Hawaiian place-names, why should anyone else? PBS Hawaii's way of standing up for the language and the land is to continue to ask that the narration be repaired before a national broadcast.

    Keola Donaghy of UH Hilo says he will provide audio of the correct pronunciation of the place-names or make an expert available to talk with the show's narrator at no cost.

   Too late, too expensive, the production company is saying.

    Question: If the narrator identified the producers' own home base, Annandale, Virginia, by a name unrecognizable to the region's residents, would it feel compelled to correct the mistake?

Comments

[Keola Donaghy]

Aloha Leslie. Personally I find the production company's attitude unacceptable. It's pretty clear that it is an issue of dollars and cents.

If they are not willing to fix this I would like to suggest that we contact the PBS stations in major markets around the country, enlighten them regarding this situation, and see if they would be willing to join in the boycott of the program until it is fixed. If we want to escalate I have a contact at CNN who might be interested in this story, as well as other indigenous language activists around the country who would be be willing to spread the word. If you have any other thoughts regarding how we can convince these people to do the right thing please let me know.

[Erlinda Estrada]

So who is this production company? Can we email them directly?

[Leslie Wilcox]

Aloha Keola and Erlinda, I appreciate your action-orientation! The passion that people like you possess for accuracy in Hawaiian place-names is truly heartwarming. Keola, thanks for being willing to provide an expert to coach the national show's narrator on Hawaiian pronunciation.
There's an indication that the production company's attitude may be changing. I'll put in a call Monday morning and find out more.

[Peggy Haring]

Aloha Leslie, and mahalo for your attention to correct place names. Do you think anything can be done to set the record straight on " 'Aiea", often mangled as Ai'ea on the traffic reports of the morning TV news? And while we're at it, let's set the co-anchor of the Wahine volleyball games straight on "wahine", which she incredibly calls "wahini". When the media keeps misusing the words we, the public, repeat their mistakes. They have a big responsibility.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=629915348]

Aloha e Leslie,

On behalf of myself and many of my friends, mahalo nui for being ʻonipaʻa regarding this situation.

And as Keola has already offered, please let us know how we can help to strongly encourage these folks to do the right thing.

Sincerely yours with highest regard and respect,
Liko

[twitter.com/babooza]

Looking forward to find out the events of Monday's phone call! Good luck Leslie. Hawai'i supports you :)

[shelley]

perhaps, forward to this company the comments/emails/phone calls you have received to help them understand that there are many of us who do not vary on our opinion of these pronunciations! :) thank you for sticking to your guns.. i respect you for speaking up; it's not easy to voice a minority viewpoint!

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=19502087]

Mahalo plenty for doing all the follow ups.

[James Taylor]

Ignorance of any language by individuals not from an area where that language is spoken is commonplace. Some teachers in the USA don't know or teach the correct usage of which/that, good/well, between/among... Teaching correct language usage is everyone's responsibility. However, we should cite references so others can verify facts... As someone who has visited Hawaii and who would love to move there, I have found it extremely difficult to find consistent data on the Hawaiian language. Might I suggest Hawaii PBS produce a show that teaches hawaiian similar to Irasshai (www.gpb.org/irasshai) or French in Action (www.learner.org/resources/series83.html). Providing that to everyone would be a great service for Hawaiians and the rest of the world-exactly what I think PBS is all about!

[RWat]

Saw the recent comment by Jame Taylor (The James Taylor? :)and recalled the presidential inaugural parade. The announcer first repeatedly pronounced Punahou as Puna Who! Then when the president gave them the shakka sign the announcer said he was giving them a 'thumbs up'.