There was a time in our history that everyone here spoke Hawaiian, natives as well as foreigners.  Hawaiʻi was a free and independent nation  recognized  by the other nations of the world.  Shortly after the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy by the Americans in 1893, these traitors banned the Hawaiian language from being used in schools, in an attemt to eliminate the Hawaiian language and convert the people to Christian Americans.   English took over as the prevailing language.   As the older folks died off, so did the widespread use of the Hawaiian language.

The missionaries, who arrived here in 1820, set out to convert the oral Hawaiian language into a written one.  Hawaiians became prolific writers and newspapers popped-up all over Hawaiʻi.  In fact, not too many know that at one time, Hawaiʻi was the most literate country in tne world  We had a highter percentage of people who could read and write than any other country in the entire world.

Mrs. Pukui and all native speakers never used any diacritical marks, like the ʻokina (glottal stop) and kahakō (macron) because they knew their language.  The people of Niʻihau, who are native speakers, never have to use these pronunciation aids because they know their language and donʻt need help with pronunciation.  However, there came a time when the majority of people interested in Hawiaiian, did not know the language and since proper pronunciation determines definition, diacritical marks became invaluable tools to aid in pronunciation.

For example, in the sentence, ʻWe saw the moi at Kaʻaluʻalu.”  Todayʻs readers would not know the difference between moi, a type of fish or mōʻī a high ranking chief, without these helpers.

Another example is from Lilinoe Andrews.  Without diacriticals, how would one know the difference between:

Pau  –  finished

Paʻu  –  spot; smudge

Paʻū –  moist; damp

Pāʻū –  skirt

The ʻokina and kahakō are necessary tools to help with proper pronunciation and therefore, definition of Hawaiian words.

A couple of important facts in the use of diacritical marks seem to have escaped the people who are claiming that this is new pronunciation.  Here are the misconceptions:

I.  The early writers and maps had various spellings but none of them showed an ʻokina.

The reason none of them had the ʻokina was because ʻokina were not used at the time by anyone.

II.  Using the ʻokina changed the pronunciation.

This is not true.  Diacritical marks DO NOT change pronunciation.  They are used to make sure the words are prononced properly.  

The following is proof that the pronunciation wasnʻt changed by the ʻokina:

DICTIONARY OF THE HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE

Beginning with a 6,00 word, “Vocabulary of Words in the Hawaiian Langage” in 1836, Lorrin Andrews, in 1865, issued a 15,000 word “Dictionary of the Hawaiian Language.”