ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi ʻOe? Duolingo Unveils Hawaiian Language October 9, 2018

Just in time for Indigenous People’s/ Discoverer’s Day, Duolingo released two endangered Native languages on their global language-learning platform: Navajo and Hawaiian.

Partnering with Kamehameha Schools and Kanaeokana (a network of Hawaiian language, Hawaiian culture, and Hawaiʻi-based schools), Duolingo held a launch event at SALT at Our Kakaʻako on Monday.

We were excited to see the enthusiasm of the dozens of attendees at learning more ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language). People of all ages gathered around laptops and smartphones to explore the language and test their knowledge.

Duolingo is not the first language-learning platform to have Hawaiian on its lengthy list of languages, but it is the most-used platform in the world with over 200 million active users – according to its website.

The courses are part of Duolingo’s effort to to keep endangered languages alive, said Michaela Kron, the public relations manager for Duolingo, in an interview with the Pittsburgh Business Times.

The version released Monday is a beta version that is only available through the website. Hawaiian is due to be released on the app later this week.

If you have further interest in learning or practicing ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, be on the lookout for our release of the first full bilingual (diacritically-marked) Hawaiian and English Bible! The launch will be Tuesday, November 20, 2018.