The State of Hawaii (Hawaiian: Mokuʻāina o Hawaiʻi) became the 50th state of the United States of America on August 21, 1959. The archipelagic state is situated in the North Pacific Ocean, 2,300 miles (3,700 km) from the mainland, at . In the 19th century, Hawaiʻi was also known as the Sandwich Islands.
In dialects of American English, Hawaiʻi is pronounced at least three different ways: (IPA pronunciation: ). In the Hawaiian language, there is also some variation possible, but the most general pronunciation is or . This last Hawaiian pronunciation is often used by native English-speaking Hawaiʻi residents as well.