Hawaiian Pidgin (alternately, Hawaiʻi Creole English or HCE, known locally as Pidgin) is an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
-based
creole language
A creole language, or simply creole, is a stable natural language that develops from the simplifying and mixing of different languages into a new one within a fairly brief period of time: often, a pidgin evolved into a full-fledged language. ...
spoken in
Hawaiʻi
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
. An estimated 600,000 residents of Hawaii speak Hawaiian Pidgin natively and 400,000 speak it as a second language.
Although English and
Hawaiian are the two
official languages
An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...
of the state of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiian Pidgin is spoken by many Hawaiian residents in everyday conversation and is often used in advertising targeted toward locals in Hawaiʻi. In the Hawaiian language, it is called ōlelo pai ai – "pounding-taro language". Hawaiian Pidgin was first recognized as a language by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2015. However, Hawaiian Pidgin is still thought of as lower status than the Hawaiian and English languages.
Despite its name, Hawaiian Pidgin is not a
pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from s ...
, but rather a full-fledged,
nativized and demographically stable creole language. It did, however, evolve from various real pidgins spoken as common languages between ethnic groups in Hawaiʻi.
Although not completely mutually intelligible with
Standard American English, Hawaiian Pidgin retains a high degree of mutual intelligibility with it compared to some other
English-based creoles
An English-based creole language (often shortened to English creole) is a creole language for which English was the '' lexifier'', meaning that at the time of its formation the vocabulary of English served as the basis for the majority of the cr ...
, such as
Jamaican Patois
Jamaican Patois (; locally rendered Patwah and called Jamaican Creole by linguists) is an English-based creole language with West African influences, spoken primarily in Jamaica and among the Jamaican diaspora. A majority of the non-English wo ...
, in part due to its relatively recent emergence and the tendency for many of its speakers to mix Pidgin with Standard English.
History
Hawaiian Pidgin originated on
sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
s in 1835 as a form of communication used between Hawaiian speaking
Native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaii ...
residents, English speaking residents, and foreign immigrants.
It supplanted, and was influenced by, the existing
pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from s ...
that Native Hawaiians already used on plantations and elsewhere in Hawaiʻi. Since such sugarcane plantations often hired workers from many different countries, a
common language
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
was needed in order for the plantation workers to communicate effectively with each other and their supervisors.
Hawaiian Pidgin has been influenced by many different languages, including
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
,
Hawaiian,
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...
, and
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
. As people of other backgrounds were brought in to work on the plantations, Hawaiian Pidgin acquired even more words from languages such as
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
,
Ilocano,
Okinawan and
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
.
The article
Japanese loanwords in Hawaii
Loanwords from the Japanese language in Hawaii appear in various parts of the culture. Many loanwords in Hawaiian Pidgin (or Hawaiian Creole English) derive from the Japanese language. The linguistic influences of the Japanese in Hawaii began wit ...
lists some of those words originally from Japanese . Hawaiian Pidgin has also been influenced to a lesser degree by
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
spoken by
Puerto Rican settlers in Hawaiʻi . As there were eventually more immigrant families who brought their children to the plantations, these children learned the language from their parents as well as English at school.
Over time, a new pidgin language developed from all of the different language backgrounds which became many of the children's first language. This was the origin of Hawaiian Pidgin, which was used and is still used by many Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian people who live there.
Hawaiian Pidgin was created mainly to provide communication and facilitate cooperation between the foreign laborers and the English-speaking Americans in order to do business on the plantations. Even today, Hawaiian Pidgin retains some influences from these languages. For example, the word "stay" in Hawaiian Pidgin has a form and use similar to the Hawaiian verb "noho", Portuguese verb "ficar" or Spanish "estar", which mean "to be" but are used only when referring to a temporary state or location.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, Hawaiian Pidgin started to be used outside the plantation between ethnic groups. In the 1980s, two educational programs were established which were taught in Hawaiian Pidgin to help students learn Standard English.
Public school children learned Hawaiian Pidgin from their classmates and parents. Living in a community mixed with various cultures led to the daily usage of Hawaiian Pidgin, which caused the language to expand. It was easier for school children of different ethnic backgrounds to speak Hawaiian Pidgin than to learn another language.
Children who grew up learning and speaking this language expanded Hawaiian Pidgin as it was their first language, or mother tongue. For this reason,
linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
s generally consider Hawaiian Pidgin to be a
creole language
A creole language, or simply creole, is a stable natural language that develops from the simplifying and mixing of different languages into a new one within a fairly brief period of time: often, a pidgin evolved into a full-fledged language. ...
.
Hawaiian Pidgin is said to have since been ''decreolized'' (Romaine, 1994), especially in Oahu, Hawaiʻi which holds the largest population of the islands.
This is due to capitalism and economic changes on the islands that were implemented by the United States.
Furthermore, tourism and technology have made the English language more utilized in Hawaii, which has led to the endangerment of Hawaiian Pidgin.
Hawaiian Pidgin was also not taught in public education nor does it have its own writing system.
Consequently, Hawaiian Pidgin was thought of as a "low social status" and is only a memory of the plantations that many want to forget.
This brought upon racial discrimination to those who spoke the language, which excluded children from school who spoke Hawaiian Pidgin.
Even though people were against Hawaiian Pidgin, the language has since been strengthened and supported by young people who honor Hawaiian Pidgin and its origins.
Demographics and status
A five-year survey that the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
conducted in Hawaiʻi revealed that many people spoke Hawaiian Pidgin as an additional language. As a result of this, the U.S. Census Bureau in 2015 added Hawaiian Pidgin to the list of official languages in the state of Hawaiʻi.
In the last few decades, many Hawaiian residents have moved to the US mainland due to economic issues. As a result, thousands of Pidgin speakers can be found in the other 49 states.
Historically, teachers and policymakers have debated whether growing up speaking Hawaiʻi Creole English hinders the learning of Standard English.
Phonology
Hawaiian Pidgin has distinct pronunciation differences from standard American English (SAE). Long vowels are not pronounced in Hawaiian Pidgin if the speaker is using Hawaiian loanwords.
Some key differences include the following:
*
Th-stopping
''Th''-stopping is the realization of the dental fricatives as stops—either dental or alveolar—which occurs in several dialects of English. In some accents, such as of Indian English and middle- or upper-class Irish English, ...
: and are pronounced as or respectively—that is, changed from a
fricative
A fricative is a consonant produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate in t ...
to a
plosive
In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or simply a stop, is a pulmonic consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases.
The occlusion may be made with the tongue tip or blade (, ), tongue body (, ), lips ...
(stop). For instance, ''think'' becomes , and ''that'' becomes . An example is "Broke da mout" (tasted good).
*
L-vocalization: Word-final ''l'' is often pronounced or . For instance, ''mental'' is often pronounced ; ''people'' is pronounced
ipo
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
* Hawaiian Pidgin is
non-rhotic
Rhoticity in English is the pronunciation of the historical rhotic consonant by English speakers. The presence or absence of rhoticity is one of the most prominent distinctions by which varieties of English can be classified. In rhotic variet ...
. That is, ''r'' after a vowel is often omitted, similar to many dialects, such as
Eastern New England,
Australian English
Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and ''de facto'' national language; while Australia has no official language, Engli ...
, and
British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
variants
Variant may refer to:
In arts and entertainment
* ''Variant'' (magazine), a former British cultural magazine
* Variant cover, an issue of comic books with varying cover art
* ''Variant'' (novel), a novel by Robison Wells
* " The Variant", 2021 e ...
. For instance, ''car'' is often pronounced ''cah'', and ''letter'' is pronounced ''letta''.
Intrusive r
Linking R and intrusive R are sandhi or ''linking'' phenomena involving the appearance of the rhotic consonant (which normally corresponds to the letter ) between two consecutive morphemes where it would not normally be pronounced. These phenomen ...
is also used. The number of Hawaiian Pidgin speakers with rhotic English has also been increasing.
* Hawaiian Pidgin has falling
intonation in questions. In yes/no questions, falling intonation is striking and appears to be a lasting imprint of
Hawaiian (this pattern is not found in yes/no question intonation in American English). This particular falling intonation pattern is shared with some other
Oceanic languages
The approximately 450 Oceanic languages are a branch of the Austronesian languages. The area occupied by speakers of these languages includes Polynesia, as well as much of Melanesia and Micronesia. Though covering a vast area, Oceanic languages ...
, including
Fijian and
Samoan (Murphy, K. 2013).
*In certain words, the sound /ts/ assimilates into /s/. Examples include: ''what's'' becoming ''wass'' and ''it's'' becoming ''iss'' . This feature is also found in
African-American Vernacular English
African-American Vernacular English (AAVE, ), also referred to as Black (Vernacular) English, Black English Vernacular, or occasionally Ebonics (a colloquial, controversial term), is the variety of English natively spoken, particularly in urban ...
(AAVE).
*
Others include: , , and .
Grammatical features
![Hawaii Pidgin crop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Hawaii_Pidgin_crop.jpg)
Hawaiian Pidgin has distinct grammatical forms not found in SAE, although some of them are shared with other dialectal forms of English or may derive from other linguistic influences.
Forms used for SAE "to be":
*Generally, forms of English "to be" (i.e. the
copula) are omitted when referring to inherent qualities of an object or person, forming in essence a
stative verb
According to some linguistics theories, a stative verb is a verb that describes a state of being, in contrast to a dynamic verb, which describes an action. The difference can be categorized by saying that stative verbs describe situations that are ...
form. Additionally,
inverted sentence
An inverted sentence is a sentence in a normally subject-first language in which the predicate (verb) comes before the subject (noun).
:''Down the street lived the man and his wife without anyone suspecting that they were really spies for a forei ...
order may be used for emphasis. (Many
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
n languages use stative verbs instead of the copula-
adjective
In linguistics, an adjective (list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that generally grammatical modifier, modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Tra ...
construction of English and other Western languages.)
: ''Da behbeh cute.'' (or) ''Cute, da behbeh.''
: The baby is cute.
Note that these constructions also mimic the grammar of the Hawaiian language. In Hawaiian, "nani ka pēpē" is literally "beautiful the baby" retaining that specific syntactic form, and is perfectly correct Hawaiian grammar with equivalent meaning in English, "The baby is beautiful."
*When the verb "to be" refers to a temporary state or location, the word ''stay'' is used (see above). This may be influenced by other Pacific creoles, which use the word ''stap'', from ''stop'', to denote a temporary state or location. In fact, ''stop'' was used in Hawaiian Pidgin earlier in its history, and may have been dropped in favor of ''stay'' due to influence from
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
''estar'' or ''ficar'' (ficar is literally translated to English as 'to stay', but often used in place of "to be" e.g. "ele fica feliz" ''he is happy'').
: ''Da book stay on top da table.''
: The book is on the table.
: ''Da watah stay cold.''
: The water is cold.
For
tense-marking of
verb
A verb () is a word (part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual descri ...
,
auxiliary verb
An auxiliary verb (abbreviated ) is a verb that adds functional or grammatical meaning to the clause in which it occurs, so as to express tense, aspect, modality, voice, emphasis, etc. Auxiliary verbs usually accompany an infinitive verb or a p ...
s are employed:
* To express past tense, Hawaiian Pidgin uses ''wen'' (went) in front of the verb.
: ''Jesus wen cry.'' (
"Da Jesus Book", John 11:35)
: Jesus cried.
* To express future tense, Hawaiian Pidgin uses ''goin'' (going), derived from the
going-to future
The ''going-to'' future is a grammatical construction used in English to refer to various types of future occurrences. It is made using appropriate forms of the expression ''to be going to''.Fleischman, Suzanne, ''The Future in Thought and Langu ...
common in informal varieties of American English.
: ''God goin do plenny good kine stuff fo him.'' (
"Da Jesus Book", Mark 11:9)
: God is going to do a lot of good things for him.
* To express past tense negative, Hawaiian Pidgin uses ''neva'' (never). ''Neva'' can also mean "never" as in Standard English usage; context sometimes, but not always, makes the meaning clear.
: ''He neva like dat.''
: He didn't want that. (or) He never wanted that. (or) He didn't like that.
* Use of ''fo'' (for) in place of the infinitive particle "to". Cf. dialectal form "Going for carry me home."
: ''I tryin fo tink.'' (or) ''I try fo tink.''
: I'm trying to think.
Sociolinguistics
The language is highly stigmatized in formal settings, for which
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...
or the
Hawaiian language
Hawaiian (', ) is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language o ...
are preferred. Many researchers believe the continued delegitimization of this creole is rooted in the language’s origin story and colonial past, as it was once a plantation language. Therefore, its usage is typically reserved for everyday casual conversations. Studies have proven that children in
kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...
preferred Hawaiian Pidgin, but once they were in grade one and more socially conditioned they preferred Standard English.
Hawaiian Pidgin is often criticized in business, educational, family, social, and community situations as it might be construed as rude, crude, or
broken English
Broken English is a name for a non-standard, non-traditionally spoken or alternatively-written version of the English language. These forms of English are sometimes considered as a pidgin if they have derived in a context where more than one ...
among some Standard English speakers.
However, many tourists find Hawaiian Pidgin appealing – and local travel companies favor those who speak Hawaiian Pidgin and hire them as speakers or customer service agents.
Most
linguists
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
categorize Hawaiian Pidgin as a
creole, as a creole refers to the linguistic form "spoken by the native-born children of pidgin-speaking parents". However, many locals view Hawaiian Pidgin as a
dialect
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
. Other linguists argue that this "standard" form of the language is also a dialect. Based on this definition, a language is primarily the "standard" form of the language, but also an
umbrella term
In linguistics, semantics, general semantics, and ontologies, hyponymy () is a semantic relation between a hyponym denoting a subtype and a hypernym or hyperonym (sometimes called umbrella term or blanket term) denoting a supertype. In other wor ...
used to encapsulate the "inferior" dialects of that language.
The Pidgin Coup, a group of Hawaiian Pidgin advocates, claims that Hawaiian Pidgin should be classified as a language. The group believes that the only reason it is not considered a language is due to the
hegemony
Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one State (polity), state over other states. In Ancient Greece (8th BC – AD 6th ), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' city-state over oth ...
of English. "Due to the hegemony of English, a lack of equal status between these two languages can only mean a scenario in which the non-dominant language is relatively marginalized. Marginalization occurs when people hold the commonplace view that HCE and English differ in being appropriate for different purposes and different situations. It is this concept of 'appropriateness' which is a form of prescriptivism; a newer, more subtle form." These Hawaiian Pidgin advocates believe that by claiming there are only certain, less public contexts in which Hawaiian Pidgin is only appropriate, rather than explicitly stating that Hawaiian Pidgin is lesser than Standard English, masks the issue of refusing to recognize Hawaiian Pidgin as a legitimate language. In contrast, other researchers have found that many believe that, since Hawaiian Pidgin does not have a standardized writing form, it cannot be classified as a language.
Literature and performing arts
In recent years, writers from Hawaiʻi such as
Lois-Ann Yamanaka
Lois-Ann Yamanaka (born September 7, 1961) is an American poet and novelist from Hawaii. Many of her literary works are written in Hawaiian Pidgin, and some of her writing has dealt with controversial ethnic issues. In particular, her works confro ...
, Joe Balaz, and
Lee Tonouchi
Lee A. Tonouchi (born circa 1972) is a Hawaii-born writer and editor, who calls himself "Da Pidgin Guerilla" because of his strong advocacy of the Hawaiian Pidgin language.
Tonouchi graduated from Aiea High School in 1990.
He promotes the idea th ...
have written poems, short stories, and other works in Hawaiian Pidgin. A Hawaiian Pidgin translation of
The Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
(called ''
Da Good an Spesho Book'') has also been created, in 2020, by
Wycliffe Bible Translators
Wycliffe Global Alliance is an alliance of organizations that have objective of translating the Bible into every language. The organisation is named after John Wycliffe, who was responsible for the first complete English translation of the whole ...
, Inc. Also an adaptation of
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Twelfth Night, or What You Will
''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...
'', titled in Hawaiian Pidgin "twelf nite o' WATEVA!"
Several
theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
companies in Hawaii produce plays written and performed in Hawaiian Pidgin. The most notable of these companies is
Kumu Kahua Theater Kumu Kahua Theatre is a community theater located in the city of Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu on the island of Oahu in the state of Hawaii. Kumu Kahua Theatre is best known for producing Play (theatre), plays by local Hawaii-based playwrights, especi ...
.
The 1987 film ''
North Shore'' contains several characters, particularly the surfing gang Da Hui, that speak Hawaiian Pidgin. This leads to humorous misunderstandings between the
haole
''Haole'' (; Hawaiian ) is a Hawaiian term for individuals who are not Native Hawaiian, and is applied to people primarily of European ancestry. Background
The origins of the word predate the 1778 arrival of Captain James Cook, as recorded in s ...
protagonist Rick Kane and several Hawaiian locals, including Rick's best friend Turtle, who speaks Hawaiian Pidgin.
Hawaiian Pidgin has occasionally been featured on ''
Hawaii Five-0
Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to:
* Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series), ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series
* Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series), ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an Ame ...
'' as the protagonists frequently interact with locals. A recurring character, Kamekona Tupuola (portrayed by
Taylor Wiley
Taylor Wily (born Teila Tuli, June 14, 1968) is an American actor, former sumo wrestler and mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He is from Laie, Hawaii and is of American Samoan descent. He is commonly known for his recurring role as Kamekona ...
), speaks Hawaiian Pidgin. The show frequently displays Hawaiian culture and is filmed at Hawaii locations.
Another film that features Hawaiian Pidgin is Netflix’s ''
Finding ‘Ohana'', a film that depicts the story of a brother and sister duo from Brooklyn who embark on a journey to reconnect with their Hawaiian heritage, this includes learning about Hawaiian Pidgin, as it was integral to their family history.
Milton Murayama
Milton Atsushi Murayama (April 10, 1923 – July 27, 2016) was an American novelist and playwright. A Nisei, he wrote the 1975 novel ''All I Asking for Is My Body'', which is considered a classic novel of the experiences of Japanese Americans ...
's novel ''All I asking for is my body'' uses Hawaiʻi Pidgin in the title of the novel.
R. Zamora Linmark
R. Zamora Linmark, born in Manila, is a Filipino American poet, novelist, and playwright. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. He is the recipient of a Japan-United States Friendship Commission, a winner of a ...
employs it extensively in his semi-autobiographical novel ''Rolling the R's''; two of the major characters speak predominately in Pidgin and some chapters are narrated in it. The novel also includes examples of
Taglish
Taglish or Englog is code-switching and/or code-mixing in the use of Tagalog and English, the most common languages of the Philippines. The words ''Taglish'' and ''Englog'' are portmanteaux of the words ''Tagalog'' and ''English''. The earliest ...
.
Two books, ''
Pidgin to Da Max
''Pidgin to Da Max'' (full title: ''Peppo's Pidgin to Da Max'') is a humorous illustrated dictionary of Hawaiian Pidgin words and phrases, published in December 1981, by Douglas Simonson, Pat Sasaki, and Ken Sakata. With the definitions of most o ...
'' and ''Pidgin to Da Max: Hana Hou'', humorously portray Hawaiian Pidgin through prose and illustrations.
As of March 2008, Hawaiian Pidgin has started to become more popular in local television advertisements as well as other media.
When Hawaiian Pidgin is used in advertisements, it is often changed to better fit the targeted audience of the ''
kamaāina.''
See also
*
Da kine
Da kine () is an expression in Hawaiian Pidgin (Hawaii Creole English), probably derived from "that kind", that usually functions grammatically as a placeholder name (compare to English "whatsit" and "whatchamacallit"). It can also take the role ...
*
Maritime Polynesian Pidgin
Maritime Polynesian Pidgin was a Polynesian-based pidgin that was the main contact language for European exploratory and whaling expeditions to the Pacific before the establishment of pidgin English
Pidgin English is a non-specific name used ...
, a Hawaiian-, Tahitian- and Maori-based pidgin that predated pidgin English in the Pacific.
Citations
References
* ''Da Jesus Book'' (2000). Orlando: Wycliffe Bible Translators. .
* Murphy, Kelly (2013). Melodies of Hawaiʻi: The relationship between Hawaiʻi Creole English and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi prosody. University of Calgary PhD dissertation.
* Sakoda, Kent & Jeff Siegel (2003). ''Pidgin Grammar: An Introduction to the Creole Language of Hawaii.'' Honolulu:
Bess Press
Bess Press is an American publisher, based in Hawaii, that issues various books on Hawaiian and Pacific history and culture. It was founded in 1979 by Benjamin "Buddy" Bess, who came to Hawaii in 1976 from New York
New York most commonly ref ...
. .
* Simonson, Douglas et al. (1981). ''Pidgin to da Max.'' Honolulu:
Bess Press
Bess Press is an American publisher, based in Hawaii, that issues various books on Hawaiian and Pacific history and culture. It was founded in 1979 by Benjamin "Buddy" Bess, who came to Hawaii in 1976 from New York
New York most commonly ref ...
. .
* Tonouchi, Lee (2001). ''Da Word.'' Honolulu:
Bamboo Ridge
''Bamboo Ridge'' (in full ''Bamboo Ridge: Journal of Hawai'i Literature and Arts'') is a Hawaii-based literary journal and nonprofit press. It was founded in 1978 by Eric Chock and Darrell H.Y. Lum to publish works by and for the people of Haw ...
Press. .
* "Pidgin: The Voice of Hawai'i". (2009) Documentary film. Directed by Marlene Booth, produced by Kanalu Young and Marlene Booth. New Day Films.
* Suein Hwang "Long Dismissed, Hawaii Pidgin Finds A Place in Classroom" (Cover story) ''Wall Street Journal – Eastern Edition'', August 2005, retrieved on November 18, 2014.
* ''Digital History,'' Digital History, http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3159 2014, retrieved on November 18, 2014.
* ''Eye of Hawaii,'' Pidgin, The Unofficial Language, http://www.eyeofhawaii.com/Pidgin/pidgin.htm retrieved on November 18, 2014.
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* Jeff Siegel, ''Emergence of Pidgin and Creole Languages'' (Oxford University Press, 2008), 3.
* ''Hawaiian Pidgin,'' Hawaii Travel Guide http://www.to-hawaii.com/hawaiian-pidgin.php retrieved on November 18, 2014.
Further reading
* Murphy, Kelly (2013). Melodies of Hawaiʻi: The relationship between Hawaiʻi Creole English and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi prosody. University of Calgary PhD dissertation.
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External links
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Pidgins and Creoles in Education (PACE) Newsletter e-Hawaii.com Searchable Pidgin English DictionaryThe Charlene Sato Center for Pidgin, Creole and Dialect Studies a center devoted to pidgin, creole, and dialect studies at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, Hawaii. Also home of the Pidgin Coup, a group of academics and community members interested in Hawaii Pidgin related research and education
Da Hawaii Pidgin Bible(see ''Da Jesus Book'' above)
"Liddo Bitta Tita"Hawaiian Pidgin column written by Tita, alter-ego of Kathy Collins. ''
Maui No Ka 'Oi Magazine
The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, whic ...
'' Vol.12 No.1 (January 2008).
"Liddo Bitta Tita" audio file*Collection o
Hawaii Creole English recordingsavailable through
Kaipuleohone Kaipuleohone is a digital ethnographic archive that houses audio and visual files, photographs, as well as hundreds of textual material such as notes, dictionaries, and transcriptions relating to small and endangered languages. The archive is stored ...
{{English-based creoles
Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from s ...
English-based pidgins and creoles
Languages of Hawaii
Languages of Oceania