Media Advisory: Hawaii or Hawaiian?

Media Contact:

Janice Lee
AAJA Deputy Executive Director
JaniceL@aaja.org
(415) 346-2051 x110

SAN FRANCISCO (October 18, 2006) – With this week’s 6.6 earthquake in the Big Island in Hawaii, the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) takes this opportunity to inform the news media about the proper usage of the word “Hawaii” v. “Hawaiian.”

AAJA members find that various media have been using the two words interchangeably, referring to residency, ethnicity or heritage. The two words have different meaning when describing a person. “Hawaiian” is used to describe someone of native Hawaiian descent. Others living in Hawaii are referred to as “Hawaii residents.”

For example, when referring to the state’s governor, Linda Lingle, the proper usage would be “Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle.”

Some suggestions on usage:

• Hawaii earthquake (since earthquakes are not indigenous to Hawaii)
• Hawaii residents (since residents are not all necessarily native Hawaiian)
• Hawaiian pineapple (referring to homegrown pineapple), or Hawaiian coffee
• Hawaiian islands (referring to the islands in the state of Hawaii)
• Hawaii conference, but conference on Hawaiian issues
• Hawaii State Government, but Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement
• Hawaiian music or Hawaiian dance

The following styleguide from the University of Hawaii can also be used as additional resource:

http://www.hawaii.edu/offices/eaur/styleguide.html

About AAJA

The Asian American Journalists Association is a non-profit professional and educational organization with approximately 2,000 members today. Founded in 1981, AAJA has been at the forefront of change in the journalism industry. AAJA's mission is to encourage Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) to enter the ranks of journalism, to work for fair and accurate coverage of AAPIs, and to increase the number of AAPI journalists and news managers in the industry. AAJA is an alliance partner in UNITY Journalists of Color, along with the Native American Journalists Association, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and National Association of Black Journalists. For more information, visit www.aaja.org.