Mele Kalikimaka

"Mele Kalikimaka" is a Hawaiian-themed Christmas song written in 1949 by Robert Alex Anderson. The song takes its title from the Hawaiian phrase, "Mele Kalikimaka," meaning "Merry Christmas.[1]" The phrase is borrowed directly from English, but, since Hawaiian has a different phonological system (in particular, Hawaiian does not possess the /r/ or /s/ of English, nor does it have the phonotactic constraints to allow consonants at the end of a syllable), "Merry Christmas" becomes "Mele Kalikimaka."[2] One of the earliest recordings of this song was by Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters in 1950 on Decca 27228 (78 rpm) / 9-27228 (45 rpm) and has been covered by several artists including Bette Midler and The Beach Boys. The song is notably featured in L.A. Confidential and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Notable versions

External links

References

  1. ^ Elbert, S. & Pukui, M.; Hawaiian Dictionary, page 481
  2. ^ Golston, Chris; Yang, Phong (2001), "White Hmong loanword phonology", in Féry, A.D. Green; van de Vijver, R., Proceedings of HILP, 5, University of Potsdam: Potsdam, pp. 40–57