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 ka.li.kiˈma.ka/, [ˈmɛlɛ kəˌlitiˈmɐkə]
Phrase
mele Kalikimaka
- merry Christmas
References
- Language Log, Mele Kalikimaka!, by Mark Liberman, published 2010-12-25, accessed 2013-03-12.