I took this photo of directions in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi at Ala Moana Shopping Center. “Mauka” means “towards the mountains” in ʻŌlelo, and “Ewa” can refer to the Western direction. This example stood out to me because it reflects efforts to revitalize the Hawaiian language in public spaces. Since Hawaiian was once banned in schools, seeing it used publicly today helps normalize and celebrate Hawaiian culture. I thought about how many visitors/tourists go to Ala Moana. Having these ʻŌlelo directions in public encourages people to learn and recognize the language. It showed me how public signage can help preserve language.
Multilingual Hawaiʻi
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Amelia O
United States
Honolulu
Normally, I am used to seeing QR codes that link to digital menus in other languages, so I was very surprised when I saw this physical stand in full Japanese at the Ala Moana Cane’s location. I took a moment to think about how many international visitors I see at Ala Moana daily. I realized I had not really thought about why multiple languages appear on menus. Taking this photo made me realize that multilingual signage is used to welcome different groups of people. I thought about how businesses here adapt to different communities to reflect the diversity in Hawaii.
Multilingual Hawaiʻi
25102
United States
Honolulu
Birthday card at longs drugs. Used when you forgot someone’s birthday or are sending them a late gift. Symbolic authentic. J.A.S
25103
United States
Honolulu
On the next page it says “Da kine”. Card that can be used in almost any situation. Authentic symbolic. J.A.S
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United States
Honolulu
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Multilingual Hawaiʻi
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United States
Honolulu
Domain is an advertisement, and the audience is pidgin speakers - AB
24870
アメリカ合衆国
Honolulu
I found this flyer on the bulletin board on campus. I suppose this is expressive sign because they use “kine” to share the local identity. SS
Multilingual Hawaiʻi
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gabikolani
United States
Honolulu
Signage in Hawaiian and English at Kolowalu Dog Park.
Multilingual Hawaiʻi
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kylee
United States
Honolulu
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Multilingual Hawaiʻi
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gabikolani
United States
Honolulu
Signage in Hawaiian and English at Kolowalu Dog Park.
Multilingual Hawaiʻi
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kylee
United States
Honolulu
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Multilingual Hawaiʻi
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gabikolani
United States
Honolulu
Notice about restroom access in English and Japanese at Ala Moana Hotel.
Multilingual Hawaiʻi
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United States
Honolulu
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149545
kylee
United States
Honolulu
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Multilingual Hawaiʻi
156457
gabikolani
United States
Honolulu
Multilingual trolley stop. 'Oli'oli means joyful, happy, glad, or delightful. It does not mean trolley in Hawaiian.
Multilingual Hawaiʻi
38442
United States
Honolulu
Located in a tourist destination mall in Honolulu.
Multilingual Hawaiʻi
38443
United States
Honolulu
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Multilingual Hawaiʻi
38444
United States
Honolulu
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Multilingual Hawaiʻi
38445
United States
Honolulu
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Multilingual Hawaiʻi
45869
United States
Honolulu
(SP) (Check in #2) This a framed semi-permanent poster visible on entrance to a student market/convenience store domain. The majority of this poster is in English, likely so that students from anywhere, even the mainland or other countries, can understand its main message easily. However, the word “Shaka” and the Shaka hand sign take up large section of the post, encouraging shoppers to look for the Shaka to know you’re buying from local sources. An iconic Pidgin word/symbol is used here to drive home the fact that circulating money back to Locals is very important, and this message would have been less impactful if they had used a non-Pidgin word, since Pidgin is often considered “the language of Locals”.
Lingscape
