Mary Kawena Pukui was a noted authority on the Hawaiian language. She had a long professional association with the Bernice P. Bishop Museum and translated many Hawaiian historical documents. She coauthored, with Samuel H. Elbert, the Hawaiian Dictionary and Place Names of Hawaii.

Samuel H. Elbert, professor emeritus of Pacific languages and linguistics at the University of Hawaii, taught the Hawaiian language for many years and is considered one of the foremost authorities on the language today. He is author of the textbook Spoken Hawaiian and is co-author with Mary Pukui of Hawaiian Dictionary, and with Mary Pukui and Esther Mookini of Place Names of Hawaii.