Managing Just A Few Alphabets

It’s possible that nobody in the world but us bothered to notice that only 11 letters were used to spell out all the visible Hawaiian words on this directional signpost. And what’s even more fascinating is that there are only 13 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet.

With only 13 letters to work with, it’s no wonder that Hawaiian words are pretty long, and some are tough to pronounce correctly. But at the same time, it seems to simplify the language. Wooden directions are common in Hawaii, and this one shows various towns in Kauai.