"Mahalo kēia hui ʻana."
Translation:I appreciate our meeting.
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"Mahalo i kēia hui ʻana" is grammatically correct, and is an accepted answer. It often happens that common phrases lose words (sometimes they get swallowed in speech) that you might expect if you are approaching the language from a more formal grammar perspective. "Mahalo ke Akua" is one of these cases. As someone who has learned the language in a classroom, I would expect the article of address, "e", to come before "ke Akua", but it is not usually heard that way.
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Just wondering, why are there so many "Iesu pū" and "Ke Akua pū" in this lesson but no "You are welcome" and the likes? Coming from a region in Germany where "Grüß' Gott!" is used interchangeable with "Hello" or "Good day" I can see where it's coming from but I wouldn't expect "Grüß' Gott" to be taught in a German course. Is "Ke Akua pū" used as a common phrase to wish somebody well?
The phrases "Mahalo ka hui ʻana" and "Mahalo kēia hui ʻana" are commonly heard among the poʻe Niʻihau when parting. The Niʻihau community is one of the few (if not the only) remaining community of native speakers with an unbroken line of language inheritance from their mākua and kūpuna.
Is it something you will commonly hear walking around just anywhere in Hawaiʻi? No.
First I am very appreciative of folks providing this new language course. I do find it hard to understand how the Duo algorithm would allow phrases such as "I appreciate our meeting" to be considered building block phrases to learning a language? I think with more usage the basic early lessons will change and reinforce more necessary and practical words and phrases encouraging the learner. Right now the lessons sometimes present a 3 phrase choice quiz on a phrase that has not been introduced and then it is introduced following the quiz. The basic pronouns are not clearly formally introduced but are part of phrase. I understand this is a free program (I do support it with the Plus donation) and this is an evolving class. BTW I was surprised at the early intro of religious phrases such as Jesus be with you. Also did not seem like necessary to a the basic first few lesson sections as many learners come from diverse backgrounds and cultural beliefs. I think to keep the learner motivated the time put in should yield as much success in understanding the basics of the language as possible.
If people learn the language so they can connect with local people, then this phrase is VERY important! Ok, so it's not "where's the bathroom" or "another beer please."
Not sure any of us learning this language can judge at all what the most useful phrases are to learn. The native Hawaiians were forced into Christianity, as an indigenous people, and some adopted it. Hence, the Christian phrases are indeed useful. In other words, Judaism and Islam were not heavily promoted on the islands. Plus, isn't it interesting from a linguistic standpoint how the Hawaiian expression of the name Jesus is much more aligned with the "Jesu" European pronunciation (J/I) than the English/American (dge) pronounciation?
I just wanted to add a personal note to these interesting conversations--the peek into local culture and religion is one of the main reasons I became interested in this course, and I am also a plus user.
More broadly, I think we have to be careful talking about religion being "forced" on people. Modern economic systems and foreign political influence were forced but Christian conversion was, in the end, a choice of the people themselves (structural factors, including colonialism played their part, but nobody was baptized at the point of a gun).
Oceania is the most Christian region on earth. Just as the Arabic Duolingo lesson includes phrases like "Praise be to Allah," it makes sense to learn some idiomatic phrases here. And it erases people's agency to insist that their personally chosen religious ideas are "forced."
It's a little different, I think. I can say that in my personal experience, I usually hear this phrase "Mahalo kēia hui ʻana" or "Mahalo kēia launa ʻana o kākou" at the end of conversation, rather than at the beginning. Listening to recordings from the radio show, Ka Leo Hawaiʻi, I have sometimes heard similar phrases like "Hauʻoli kēia hui ʻana" used at the beginning of conversation. And they're not phrases used only for meeting someone for the first time. Folks can listen to Ka Leo Hawaiʻi here: http://ulukau.org/kaniaina/
I'll copy my reply to a previous comment above:
It's a little different, I think. I can say that in my personal experience, I usually hear this phrase "Mahalo kēia hui ʻana" or "Mahalo kēia launa ʻana o kākou" at the end of conversation, rather than at the beginning. Listening to recordings from the radio show, Ka Leo Hawaiʻi, I have sometimes heard similar phrases like "Hauʻoli kēia hui ʻana" used at the beginning of conversation. And they're not phrases used only for meeting someone for the first time. Folks can listen to Ka Leo Hawaiʻi here: http://ulukau.org/kaniaina/