Basic concepts

I'd like to think that things and the words that describe them have some kind of relationship. Like simple, basic things that you encounter on a regular basis have simple, basic (often one-syllable) words that can be pronounced quickly and without much effort. The more outlandish a concept, the more difficult is the word for it. Consider, for example the German words "Brot" (bread) vs. "Arbeitnehmerveranlagung" (tax declaration for employees).

My knowledge of Hawaiian culture is limited to a tiny handful of things. It's apparently called the Aloha State, it used to be a kingdom until 1893, the song "Aloha Oe" was composed by a Hawaiian princess, and steel guitar player Sol Hoopii was the youngest of 21 children.

The booklet included with a CD of Early Hawaiian Classics has now taught me an interesting thing about the Hawaiian language, and thus probably also about Hawaiian culture. I quote:

Wahine Ui is ... a classic falsetto song featured by every major Hawaiian singer. The title means "beautiful young woman" — wahine translates as "woman," ui roughly translates as "the beauty of the 17-21-year-old."

So much about simple, basic words for simple, basic concepts. And so much about what other cultures consider to be simple, basic concepts. Such as ui.