Before the adoption of the Hawaiian alphabet and its diacritical markings, introduced by the missionaries in the early 1800s, the only form of written language in Hawai`i was the petroglyph (ki`i pōhaku).

The Hawaiian language utilizes five vowels:

A – pronounced as a short or soft a, as in ah
E – pronounced as a long a, as in hay
 I – pronounced as a long e, as in see
O – pronounced as a long o, as in hope
U – pronounced oo, as in moon

Seven consonants:

H
K (sometimes a T)
L
M
N
P
W – usually a W sound at the beginning of words, a V sound inside words and in music

AI – pronounced ah>ee
AE – pronounced eye
AO – pronounced ow
AU – pronounced oh
EI – pronounced a, as in hay
EU – pronounced ee>yew
IA – pronounced yea, as in hooray
IĀ – pronounced yah
OE – pronounced oh>ay
`OI – pronounced oy, as in toy
OU – pronounced oh>oo

` – the `okina or glottal stop, requiring a slight pause
-  –  the kahakō or macron, used to place emphasis on a vowel

The links below provide some basic vocabulary definitions, phrases and links to additional resources, including Hawaiian typefaces: