Question

In the phonology of the Hawaiian language, there are only open syllables. Using

this information, can you work out how English "Merry Christmas" became

"Mele Kalikimaka" for people in Hawaii? Also, based on this slender evidence,

which two English consonants are probably not phonemes in Hawaiian?

Answer 1

Answer:

Since Hawaiian only has open syllables, “ Merry Christmas” likely became “Mele Kalikimaka ” because of closest-match phoneme substitution that occurs between languages and the requirement that Hawaiian words must end on a vowel (open syllables).