Native Hawaiian literacies: A case study of three generations of one native Hawaiian family

This study examines the Hawaiian literacies of a multigenerational family living in Hawai'i. While the focus is on one family, the findings and implications apply to reverse language shift, and the broader field of sociolinguistics particularly language and identity, language and context, and language and gender.; Prior to the Hawaiian Renaissance in the 1970s, the number of Hawaiian language speakers was on a steady decline headed toward what seemed an inevitable death. However, since then, Hawaiian language and culture has experienced a rebirth. Native Hawaiians and advocates of the language and culture have breathed new life into the language and culture.; The focus of this study centered on identifying the primary and secondary Discourses of this Native Hawaiian family. The concept of literacy is taken from Gee's work (1989, 1996). Gee notes two types of Discourses, primary and secondary. While "discourses," with a lower case "d" refer to chunks of language, "Discourses" is entirely different. Discourses are communities of people which have distinct rules of behavior, and which are different from other communities of people. A primary Discourse is the one in which an individual is most familiar and comfortable. Secondary Discourses require a process of initiation and learning and are normally comprised of people one is not familiar with. Mastery of a secondary Discourse is literacy and further, the researcher asserts that mastery of contextualized skills in secondary Discourses is also literacy.; Data collection included interviews, observations, and email and correspondence. In addition the researcher maintained field notes and a journal. Data were analyzed through a coding process. Three categories of literacies emerged from the data: literacies which have died or are dying (fishing, taro farming, and lu'au or feasting), the literacy which has endured (hula), and the new literacy (Hawaiian language). For Hawaiian language and culture to survive, it needs more speakers in both primary and secondary Discourses. This project affirms that need.