While there is Hawaiian language support built into Apple computers, creating a dedicated Hawaiian keyboard was difficult. So the Apple company moved on to the next best option: moving language support to the iPhone.

Keola Donaghy, an assistant professor with the Ka Haka 'Ula O Ke'elikolani College of Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo, worked with Apple for three years to help develop the new Hawaiian language support.

"The biggest issue is making it available in contemporary society," Donaghy said.

Hawaiian language support is included in the iPhone 3.0 update, so iPhone 3G S owners automatically have it in their menu options.

The update can be installed on older iPhone 3G and iPod Touch devices to write with diacritical marks — the kahako and 'okina.

"Users do not have to install custom fonts and keyboard in order to display 'olelo Hawai'i with contemporary orthography on the iPhone and Macintosh," Donaghy said. "That used to be a big barrier for users over the years — having to install custom software and perhaps later having to upgrade it."

The language support can be used for text messaging, e-mailing, tweeting and Web surfing in Hawaiian.

Donaghy said using diacriticals is a great way to help people learn how to communicate in Hawaiian.

"To type a vowel with a kahako over it, touch any vowel on the keyboard and hold a finger over it for a second or two, and that vowel will appear in a pop-up list with several diacritic characters," Donaghy said. "Drag a finger over the vowel-macron combination then raise the finger off the keyboard."

Among other Hawaiian language support projects for electronic devices, Donaghy is also working on turning the online Hawaiian dictionary, www.ulukau.org, into a mobile interface.

"For those of us using or speaking the language, we like to use it on other aspects, too," Donaghy said. "We would like to be able to interact with others, and by doing so, we make the language viable with tools in daily lives."