Hawaiian immersion students at Kalama Intermediate chant in Hawaiian during the dedication of a new mural on the school’s campus. The Maui News / Matthew Thayer archive photo

Once banned in public schools in Hawaii, the Hawaiian language continues to make a comeback, rising as a spoken language among households by more than 48% in less than 10 years.

The number of people speaking ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, or the Hawaiian language, at home was 18,400 in 2016 and 27,338 in a 2024 report, according to the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

A U.S. Census survey in 2024 reported that Hawaiian was the most common non-English language spoken among school-aged children in the state.

A survey also said 32,730 people spoke Hawaiian at home in the United States. According to the state Department of Education, enrollment in Hawaiian language classes climbed by 62% from 2,404 students in 2014-15 to 3,884 students in the 2024-25 school year.

“I think that’s awesome that the use of the language is growing,” said Liko Rogers, a teacher in the Hawaiian language immersion program for 27 years at Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Elementary. “I’ve been a witness to it. Our program in Lahaina has grown over the years.”

Rogers, who received recognition in 2015 by Na Kupuna O Maui for his contribution to the perpetuating Hawaiian culture, said that when he started teaching, there were two teachers in the Hawaiian language immersion program at his school. Now, the program has five teachers with 90 students.

Rogers said a number of parents who were once his students are now sending their children to the language immersion program. He added that a growing number of students speak Hawaiian at home and normalizing its use is important.

“We’re seeing that happen more and more,” Rogers said.

Similarly, the number of Hawaiian language immersion program pre-schools has grown, including ʻAha Pūnana Leo with 12 schools statewide.

The department said research shows that Hawaiian language immersion students perform academically on par with English-medium peers on key measures when assessments were conducted in their first language.

ʻAha Pūnana Leo founder Kiope Raymond recalled that the preschool emerged as a part of the Hawaiian Renaissance and was a part of the movement involving the Polynesian Voyaging Society and Protect Kaho’olawe ‘Ohana.

Raymond said the movement helped to broaden people’s interest in entering various professional fields such marine biology, law and environmental sciences.

In Maui County, several public schools in Maui County have Hawaiian language immersion programs including Hana High and Elementary, Pāʻia Elementary and Lāhainā Intermediate School and Lahainaluna High School, Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena Elementary and King Kekaulike High School, Moloka’i Middle and High, and Lāna’i High and Elementary School.

Private schools on Maui offering Hawaiian language immersion programs include Kamehameha Schools Maui and Ke Kula ‘o Pi’ilani.

In 1896, following the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, the Republic of Hawaii banned the Hawaiian language as a medium of instruction in Hawaiian public schools. Students were punished for speaking the Hawaiian language in school.

A state Constitutional Amendment in 1978 recognized Hawaiian as the first language next to English, giving the state two official languages and allowing immersion schools to receive state funding.

The state’s Office of Hawaiian Education budget for 2024-25 was $3.18 million, including funding for state and school-level positions and programs.

Former Hawaii Gov. John Waihee, who was then a leader during the state’s Constitutional Convention, said making Hawaiian an official language of the state was a great achievement, instilling self-pride and cultural revitalization.

“There was a time when Kamehameha Schools didn’t require learning Hawaiian language,” Waihee said. “In 1978, there were less than 10,000 natives who spoke Hawaiian.”

Waihee said one important reason for having a pool of native Hawaiian speakers is to interpret legal documents, including land cases, in Hawaiian.

Waihee said William Richardson, who was the chief justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court at the time, was worried the translation of Hawaiian documents would be done by essentially non-Hawaiian people.

Waihee said the promotion of the language continues to make Hawaii a unique place.

“Anybody whose children are in the schools are being exposed to Hawaiian language, culture and history,” he said.