We are breaking new ground here," said Pila Wilson, professor of Hawaiian lan guage and linguistics at UH-Hilo. "Ours is the first degree program anywhere to be taught in a Native American language. All of the classes will be conducted entirely in Hawaiian."

Only 12 students will be enrolled in the first year of the new two-year program, offering a master's degree in Hawaiian language and literature.

It is designed to produce teachers of the Hawaiian language for state schools, primarily at the university level.

The curriculum, in preparation since 1986 when the state Legislature's task force on Hawaiian studies challenged educational institutions to "encourage further study of Hawaiian language, literature and culture," was approved by the UH Board of Regents last month.

"We will be fulfilling a real need, a need for more experts, educators and researchers in the field," said Phillip Taylor, dean of UH-Hilo College of Arts and Sciences.

Taylor said the rigorous program also will ready students for other jobs requiring Hawaiian language skills, such as in tourism, entertainment, urban planning, law, social services, medicine and political science.

"Until now, the UH system has not had a source for Hawaiian language teachers," Wilson said. "Today, we realize a growing need for teachers of native tongue. The language is called upon to translate original laws and songs, more Hawaiian language immersion programs are starting up across the state, and even some of the revival churches are conducting services in Hawaiian. We have the responsibility now to educate people in the language."

Classes will be taught by the five teachers in the UH-Hilo Hawaiian Studies Department. UH-Hilo faculty from outside the department will serve on the thesis committee and supervise students' research.

The program will also use the resources of the Hale Kuamo'o Hawaiian language center established at UH-Hilo by the Legislature in 1989.

The Board of Regents has approved hiring two additional faculty members for the graduate program. But because of severe budget restraints across the university system, UH-Hilo is seeking financial assistance from outside sources. "The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has extended a preliminary show of interest in supporting our program," Wilson said. "We will also seek financial support from other areas."

While students need not be of Hawaiian ancestry to enroll in the program, officials said, admittance will be highly selective.

"Our focus for enrollment is on quality, not quantity," Taylor said. "In terms of quality, the emphasis will be on a student's mastery of the Hawaiian language."