What is the state’s official spelling, “Hawaii” or “Hawai’i”? It’s neither. “Officially,” in the Hawaiian language, it’s actually spelled with an okina (‘)[1], not an apostrophe (‘). An okina is a glottal stop.Click to see full answer. Also question is, what is the proper spelling of Hawaii?The name of the state, Hawaii, is not written with an ‘okina between the two “i”, because our Statehood Act in 1959 used the spelling “Hawaii.” An Act of Congress is required to “correct” the name of the state to Hawai’i. Thus, the name of the state is Hawaii, while the name of the island of the same name is Hawai’i.Subsequently, question is, when did Hawaii become Hawai i? August 21, 1959 Subsequently, one may also ask, is there an Okina in Hawaiian? That little mark is called the ‘okina, and it’s actually an official consonant in the Hawaiian language. It represents what’s called a glottal stop.How do locals pronounce Hawaii?The most common I hear on the Big Island is: Ha-wah-ee. Newscasters from Honolulu: Ha-va-ee-ee, which some UH locals swear is technically correct. If you add tourists, oh dead god! Few folks care if you pronounce it incorrectly, and only the hardcore purists demand everything is pronounced perfectly.
Is Hawaii Spelled with an Apostrophe?
Sophia Al-Mansoor
Global Business & E-Commerce Reporter
Sophia analyzes international trade, startup ecosystems, retail transformation, and supply chain logistics for modern digital publications.
