Hegemony and language politics in Hawaii

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This paper discusses issues of language and power in Hawaii and argues that enforced English language assimilation was one of the most important instruments through which American colonization was able to occur. Language politics in Hawaii, however, took a number of schizophrenic turns. The motivating force behind early language policies was the American oligarchy's need to acquire, centralize, and maintain power. This required that both official and unofficial language policies be manipulated in a variety of seemingly contradictory ways, depending on what the particular needs and concerns of the time happened to be. As circumstances presented themselves, the American business‐missionary‐government combine modified their policies to insure that certain objectives (e.g., conversion to Christianity, language and cultural assimilation, language and cultural diversity, annexation, etc.) served to perpetuate the status quo. This paper further argues that language served ‐ and continues to serve ‐ as a counter‐hegemonic strategy by disenfranchised groups in Hawaiian society to reclaim sovereignty over their culture, beliefs, and communication practices.

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