an Air Force major, said he and his wife moved here about a year ago and have been "continuously annoyed by your paper's consistent use of terms like 'makai' in your stories, leaving those of us who don't speak Hawaiian clueless as to what you're referencing."

The major pointed out that he has lived overseas and is familiar with assimilating with other cultures but believes it is not proper to use Hawaiian-language words in stories.

"I didn't think I'd have to do that when I got back to the United States, of which Hawai'i is still a member, last time I checked," he wrote.