May/June 2026 Hawaii Parent 133 D id you know that worldwide, there are over 7,000 languages spoken? In Hawai‘i alone, more than 130 languages can be heard across our islands. English and ‘Olelo Hawai‘i are our two official state languages — a distinction recognized in 1978 — and nearly 25% of Hawai‘i residents speak a language other than English at home. Walk down a neighborhood street, and you may hear it: aunties chatting in Ilocano, uncles speaking Japanese, cousins mixing Pidgin and English, tourists navigating in their native tongue, and keiki babbling their first words. Hawai‘i truly is the melting pot of the Pacific. Our plantation history brought families from China, Japan, Portugal, Korea, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and beyond. Generations later, our islands continue to hum with cultural richness. For many families, especially new parents, the question becomes: How do we nurture cultural richness from the very beginning?
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