Pronunciation of Kamehameha

Now, you might wonder why this isn't in the Lounge, but we're actually talking about the Hawaiian King named Kamehameha, not the blast from DBZ. A friend of mine and I are at a disagreement. He says that the pronunciation of his name is Kameamea, basically removing the hard "H" sound wherever it appears. I say it's Ka-Me-Ha-Me-Ha, with the hard H sound intact. But neither of us really have any hard knowledge of the Hawaiian language, so I was curious if anyone here happens to know the correct pronunciation. Settle our dispute!

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Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Kamehameha I (Hawaiian pronunciation: [kəmehəˈmɛhə]; ca. 1758 – May 8, 1819)

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Looks like there's a pronounced "h" in there to me. :kakapo:

This dispute... is over 9000!!!

Kah-May-Hah-May-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

I assume hawaiians dont drop h's since everyone pronounces aloha with the h

My significant other is from Hawaii, and says everyone over there, the natives included, pronounce it "Ka-may-uh-may-uh" (no h sounds), and also that the Hulihee Palace is pronounced "Hu-lah-ay-ay" again, no h sounds on h's that come after the first syllable.

Since this is coming from someone who still regularly speaks to their Native Hawaiian friends and lived there for fifteen years, and is quite fluent in the language, I assume it's correct.

But you know, grain of salt, etc.

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Originally Posted by DMKA

My significant other is from Hawaii, and says everyone over there, the natives included, pronounce it "Ka-may-uh-may-uh" (no h sounds), and also that the Hulihee Palace is pronounced "Hu-lah-ay-ay" again, no h sounds on h's that come after the first syllable.

Since this is coming from someone who still regularly speaks to their Native Hawaiian friends and lived there for fifteen years, and is quite fluent in the language, I assume it's correct.

But you know, grain of salt, etc.

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Well I guess the good folks of Hawaii pronounce it wrong then.

Yeah like with what DMKA said, the H is silent. Never once in Hawaii did I hear anyone pronounce the H unless they were pretending to be saiyan.

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Originally Posted by NeoCracker

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Originally Posted by DMKA

My significant other is from Hawaii, and says everyone over there, the natives included, pronounce it "Ka-may-uh-may-uh" (no h sounds), and also that the Hulihee Palace is pronounced "Hu-lah-ay-ay" again, no h sounds on h's that come after the first syllable.

Since this is coming from someone who still regularly speaks to their Native Hawaiian friends and lived there for fifteen years, and is quite fluent in the language, I assume it's correct.

But you know, grain of salt, etc.

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Well I guess the good folks of Hawaii pronounce it wrong then.

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We should all write a letter to the president about it.

http://i42.:bou::bou::bou::bou::bou:...u:/2ldwoit.png

Hehe.

I pronounce the H. I don't give a smurf all what you do.

I also pronounce faux like fox. Deal with it, bitches.

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Originally Posted by ShlupQuack

I also pronounce faux like fox. Deal with it, bitches.

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Me too.

I once dated someone who told me to stop and pronounce it "foe".

I dumped them.

I'm a linguistics student and this thread is MAKING MY HEAD EXPLODE.

Faux and fox aren't interchangeable, Shlup. :mad2:


Anyway, wiki says you pronounce the H. I really don't know much about Hawai'ian though, just that it has fewer consonants than English.

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Originally Posted by NeoCracker

Kah-May-Hah-May-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

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This is the only acceptable way to pronounce it.

It doesn't matter how it's pronounced; you're already dead.

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Originally Posted by Laddy

It doesn't matter how it's pronounced; you're already dead.

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Unless you're Cell. Or Vegeta. Or Frieza. Or everyone that's survived one. :p

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Originally Posted by ShlupQuack

I pronounce the H. I don't give a smurf all what you do.

I also pronounce faux like fox. Deal with it, bitches.

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You are straight evil incarnate.

Also, H is supposed to be pronounced. In fact, there is no silent 'h' in Hawaiian at all. Keep in mind that Hawaiian only has 12 letters total, not counting the 5 vowels in long form. 7 Consonants...they can't afford to not pronounce them. The Hawaiian 'h' is actually stressed harder than the English 'h'.
Ho
hawaiian conversation - YouTube
Class 1 (part one): An Introduction To The Hawaiian Language - YouTube

Perhaps the confusion is over pidgin Hawaiian? I don't know much about it, but it's what many people use now, not true Hawaiian, and I'm not sure how the 'h' is pronounced in the pidgin version.

I've honestly just chalked it up to accent anytime i've ever heard it. Ka-Me-Ha-Me-Ha has always just sounded like someone trying to enunciate everything properly. Ka-mea-mea just sounds like someone else speaking in a more relaxed manner. Then again, I'm from the southeastern US, so my opinions on proper pronunciation are kinda nullified.

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Originally Posted by NorthernChaosGod

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Originally Posted by Laddy

It doesn't matter how it's pronounced; you're already dead.

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Unless you're Cell. Or Vegeta. Or Frieza. Or everyone that's survived one. :p

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Too bad you're none of those things. Shut up, nerd. :colbert:

Bite me, dweeb.

Now now, play nice you two.