Pendrop9

Hapa

In Hawaii, the word "Hawaiian" refers exclusively to those of Native Hawaiian ancestry, not the locals who were born and raised there. In fact, if you were born and raised in Hawaii, you are called "local" while those who are of Native Hawaiian ancestry, born and raised in Hawaii or not, are called "Hawaiian". Therefore, the term "Hawaiian locals" is inaccurate because it implies that only people of Native Hawaiian ancestry use the term "hapa" with the definition of "a person of mixed ethnic heritage" when everyone in Hawaii does. This distinction particularly needs to be made clear because those who consider "hapa" a misappropriation of Hawaiian culture are Native Hawaiians, not locals.

The sources are using the words "Hawaiian local" in the same vein as "Californian", in which case "In Hawaii" is more appropriate to use since pretty much all residents of Hawaii use "hapa" this way. Saying "In Hawaii" also avoids this confusion of whether these "Hawaiian locals" are of Native Hawaiian ancestry or not.

The sources do not document the usage of the word "hapa" beyond California. The new usage appeared in California, but has not been shown to have spread beyond it. Perhaps Californians who moved away to other states are using the word in their new places of residence or some non-Californians who have exposure to California have adopted their usage, but that can be true of any phenomenon. It is inaccurate to present the California usage of "hapa" as ubiquitous without further documentation.

Request for opinion

Hello Pendrop9,

I made suggestions on the talk page based on your earlier edit of hapa to help alleviate the edit warring by several anonymous IP users including the previous poster. Can you please review and comment on it? Thank you. TAG speakers (talk) 15:44, 6 October 2013 (UTC)