Editing Lahaina, Hawaii (section)

==== Modern name, etymology and pronunciations ====
Protestant missionaries sent by the [[American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions]] (ABCFM) began organizing a way to write the Hawaiian language with English letters between 1820–1826 after they reached Hawaii.{{sfn|Schütz|1995|pp=98–133}}{{sfn|Tracy|1842|pp=122-123}}

{{blockquote|"The long English sound of i is represented by ai, as in Lahaina, where the second syllable is accented, and pronounced like the English word high".{{sfn|Tracy|1842|p=123}}}}

According to ''Thrums Hawaiian Annual'' of 1921 the proper pronunciation of Lahaina is La-hai-ná.{{sfn|Thrum|1921|p=86}}

Lahaina has different pronunciations depending on how [[Diacritic|diacritical marks]] are applied.{{sfn|U.S., Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and Hawaii Department of Transportation|1991|p=8}}

Lahaina is a combination of two Hawaiian words, “lā” which means sun, and “hainā” which means cruel. The varied spellings Lāhainā and Lahaina are commonly interchanged when written in modern English, although the traditional spelling “Lāhainā” is still considered proper.