mele Kalikimaka

Hawaiian

Etymology

Borrowed from English merry Christmas.^[1] The pronunciation has deviated from the original English pronunciation due to the phonotactics of Hawaiian.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈme.le kaˌli.kiˈma.ka/, [ˈmɛ.lɛ kəˌli.tiˈmɐ.kə]

Phrase

mele Kalikimaka

merry Christmas

References

^ Language Log, Mele Kalikimaka!, by Mark Liberman, published 2010-12-25, accessed 2013-03-12.

[1] Language Log, Mele Kalikimaka!, by Mark Liberman, published 2010-12-25, accessed 2013-03-12.

[1]