Hawaiian Pidgin: Difference between revisions

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'''Hawaiian Pidgin''' (alternately, '''Hawaiʻi Creole English''' or '''HCE''', known locally as '''Pidgin''') is an [[English language|English]]-based [[creole language]] spoken in [[Hawaii|Hawaiʻi]]. An estimated 600,000 residents of Hawai{{okina}}i speak Hawaiian Pidgin natively and 400,000 speak it as a second language.<ref name=":0Sasaoka 2019">{{Cite journalweb |last=Sasaoka |first=Kyle |date=2019 |title=Toward a writing system for Hawaiʻi Creole |url=https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/25a8f799-25da-4f99-985e-3e7ec71118cf/content |journal=}}</ref><ref name=":14Velupillai 2013">{{Citecite book |last=Velupillai |first=Viveka |date=2013|titlechapter=Hawaiʻi Creole |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?{{GBurl |id=NZkeAAAAQBAJ&dq=Velupillai%2C+Viveka.+2013.+%22Hawai%E2%80%99i+Creole&|pg=PA252}} |journaleditor-last=Michaelis |editor-first=Susanne Maria |editor-link=Susanne Maria Michaelis |title=The Survey of Pidgin and Creole Languages |pagesvolume=252–2611: English-based and Dutch-based languages |publisher=Oxford University Press |publication-place=Oxford |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-19-969140-1 |oclc=813856184 |pages=252–261 |via=Google Books partial preview }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/hwc|title=Hawaii Pidgin|work=Ethnologue|access-date=2018-06-25|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Velupillai|first=Viveka|title=Hawaiʻi Creole structure dataset|date=2013|url=https://apics-online.info/contributions/26|work=Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures Online|place=Leipzig|publisher=Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology|access-date=2021-08-20}}</ref> Although English and [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] are the two [[official languages]] of the state of Hawaiʻi,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hawaii.gov/lrb/con/conart15.html|title=Hawaii State Constitution|access-date=2 October 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705235552/http://www.hawaii.gov/lrb/con/conart15.html|archive-date=5 July 2007}}</ref> Hawaiian Pidgin is spoken by many Hawaiian residents of Hawaiʻi in everyday conversation and is often used in advertising targeted toward locals in Hawaiʻi. In the Hawaiian language, it is called '''{{okina}}ōlelo pa{{okina}}i {{okina}}ai''' – "hard taro language".<ref name="pukui">{{Cite book |last1=Pukui |first1=Mary Kawena |last2=Elbert |first2=Samuel H. |date=1991 |title=New pocket Hawaiian dictionary: with a concise grammar and given names in Hawaiian |language=English |location=Honolulu |publisher=University of Hawaii press |isbn=978-0-8248-1392-5 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0Sasaoka 2019"/>

Although not completely mutually intelligible with [[American English|Standard American English]], Hawaiian Pidgin retains a high degree of mutual intelligibility with it compared to some other [[English-based creoles]], such as [[Jamaican Patois]], in part due to its relatively recent emergence. ThereSome isspeakers also tendency for manyof Hawaiian Pidgin speakerstend to [[Code-switching|code switch]] between or mix the language with standard English. This has led to a distinction between pure "heavy Pidgin" and mixed "light Pidgin".<ref name=":4" />

Hawaiian Pidgin originated on [[sugarcane]] [[Sugar plantations in Hawaii|plantation]]s in 1835 as a form of communication used between Hawaiian speaking [[Native Hawaiian]] residents, English speaking residents, and foreign immigrants.<ref name="nō ka ʻoi">{{cite web |url=http://www.mauinokaoimag.com/Maui-Magazine/January-February-2008/Da-Muddah-Tongue/ |title=Da Muddah Tongue |first=Kathy |last=Collins |work=www.mauinokaoimag.com – Maui nō ka ʻoi Magazine |date=January–February 2008 |oclc=226379163 |location=Wailuku, HI, USA |access-date=October 18, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605130329/http://www.mauinokaoimag.com/Maui-Magazine/January-February-2008/Da-Muddah-Tongue/ |archive-date=June 5, 2013 }}</ref><ref name=":14Velupillai 2013"/> It supplanted, and was influenced by, the existing [[pidgin]] that Native Hawaiians already used on plantations and elsewhere in Hawaiʻi. Since such sugarcane plantations often hired workers from many different countries, a [[trade language|common language]] was needed in order for the plantation workers to communicate effectively with each other and their supervisors.<ref name="langnet">{{cite web|url=http://www.hawaii.edu/satocenter/langnet/definitions/hce.html#bkgd-hce|title=Hawai'i Creole English|access-date=20 November 2014}}</ref> Hawaiian Pidgin has been influenced by many different languages, including [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]], [[American English]], and [[Cantonese language|Cantonese]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}} As people of other backgrounds were brought in to work on the plantations, Hawaiian Pidgin acquired even more words from languages such as [[Japanese language|Japanese]], [[Ilocano language|Ilocano]], [[Okinawan language|Okinawan]] and [[Korean language|Korean]].

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eyeofhawaii.com/Pidgin/pidgin.htm|title=Eye of Hawaii – Pidgin, The Unofficial Language of Hawaii|access-date=20 November 2014}}</ref> Even today, Hawaiian Pidgin retains some influences from these languages. For example, the word "{{lang|hwc|stay"}} in Hawaiian Pidgin has a form and use similar to the Hawaiian verb "{{lang|haw|noho"}}, Portuguese verb "{{lang|pt|ficar"}} or Spanish "{{lang|es|estar}}", which mean "to be" but are used only when referring to a temporary state or location.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}

A five-year survey that the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]] 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.<ref name=":0Sasaoka 2019" />

In the last few decades, many Hawaiian residents of Hawaiʻi have moved to the US mainland due to economic issues.<ref>{{cite web|last=kamamaluula|title=Where the Other Half Live: The Hawaiian Diaspora in the US [Part 1] {{!}} Kamamaluula News|url=https://kamamaluula.com/where-the-other-half-live-part-one/3732/|access-date=2020-09-29|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-10-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016200403/https://kamamaluula.com/where-the-other-half-live-part-one/3732/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2020-02-21|title=Hawaii Isn't The Only Place Where Local-Born People Are Leaving In Droves|url=https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/02/hawaii-isnt-the-only-place-where-local-born-people-are-leaving-in-droves/|access-date=2020-09-29|website=Honolulu Civil Beat|language=en}}</ref> As a result, thousands of Pidgin speakers can be found in the other 49 states.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hawaiian Creole Language - Dialects & Structure - MustGo|url=https://www.mustgo.com/worldlanguages/hawaiian-creole/|access-date=2020-09-29|website=MustGo.com|language=en-US}}</ref>

! colspan="4" |Vowels<ref name=":3">Grama, James M., (2015). Variation and changchange in Hawai'i Creole Vowels. Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations Publishing (3717176)</ref>

Note that theseThese 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."

* To express past tense, Hawaiian Pidgin uses ''wen'' (went) inbefore frontthe [[infinitive]] form of the modified [[verb]].

== Regional Varietiesvarieties ==

Another example is [[shave ice]] being “ice shave” on the [[Big Island (Hawaii)|Big Island]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Laitinen |first1=Denise |title=The great Big Island ice shave crawl |url=https://www.honolulumagazine.com/the-great-big-island-ice-shave-crawl/ |access-date=8 July 2024 |work=Frolic Hawaii |publisher=Honolulu Magazine |date=May 8, 2019}}</ref>

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]] 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."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hargrove|first1=Ermile|last2=Sakoda|first2=Kent|date=1999|title=The Hegemony of English|journal=Journal of Hawai'i Literature and Arts|volume=75|pages=48–68}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Citation|last=Romaine|first=Suzanne|title=Changing Attitudes to Hawai'i Creole English|volume=20|date=1999|work=Creole Genesis, Attitudes and Discourse|pages=287|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|isbn=9789027252425|doi=10.1075/cll.20.20rom|series=Creole Language Library}}</ref> Many [[linguists]] argue for the need to destigmatize Pidgin. One way to do so, linguists argue, includes the use of Pidgin in the classroom.<ref name="Hiraishi 2024">{{cite web |last=Hiraishi |first=Kuʻuwehi |title=Linguist explores if Pidgin speakers have an advantage in learning ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi |website=Hawai&#x27;i Public Radio |date=2024-03-28 |url=https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/local-news/2024-03-28/linguist-explores-if-pidgin-speakers-advantage-in-learning-hawaiian/ |access-date=2024-06-28}}</ref>

In recent years, writers from Hawaiʻi such as [[Lois-Ann Yamanaka]], Joe Balaz, and [[Lee Tonouchi]] have written poems, short stories, and other works in Hawaiian Pidgin. A Hawaiian Pidgin translation of [[The Bible]] (called ''[[Bible translations into the languages of Hawaii#Hawaii_Pidgin|Da Good an Spesho Book]]'') has also been created, in 2020, by [[Wycliffe Bible Translators]], Inc. Also an adaptation of [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Twelfth Night, or What You Will]]'', titled in Hawaiian Pidgin "twelf nite o' WATEVA!"<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1995-05-31/entertainment/ca-7742_1_twelf-nite-o-wateva|title=Theater Review : 'Twelf Nite' a New Twist on Shakespeare|date=May 31, 1995|author=F. Kathleen Foley |work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=29 December 2015}}</ref>

Several [[theater]] companies in Hawai{{okina}}i produce plays written and performed in Hawaiian Pidgin. The most notable of these companies is [[Kumu Kahua Theater]].

The 1987 film ''[[North Shore (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]] protagonist Rick Kane and several Hawaiian locals, including Rick's best friend Turtle, who speaks Hawaiian Pidgin.

* ''Da Jesus Book'' (2000). Orlando: Wycliffe Bible Translators. {{ISBN|0-938978-21-7}}.

* Simonson, Douglas et al. (1981). ''Pidgin to da Max.'' Honolulu: [[Bess Press]]. {{ISBN|0-935848-41-X}}.

* Tonouchi, Lee (2001). ''Da Word.'' Honolulu: [[Bamboo Ridge]] Press. {{ISBN|0-910043-61-2}}.

* "Pidgin: The Voice of Hawai'i". (2009) Documentary film. Directed by Marlene Booth, produced by Kanalu Young and Marlene Booth. New Day Films.

* ''Eye of Hawaii,'' Pidgin, The Unofficial Language, http://www.eyeofhawaii.com/Pidgin/pidgin.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028084445/http://www.eyeofhawaii.com/Pidgin/pidgin.htm |date=2018-10-28 }} retrieved on November 18, 2014.

* [http://www.hawaii.edu/satocenter/ The Charlene Sato Center for Pidgin, Creole and Dialect Studies], a center devoted to pidgin, creole, and dialect studies at the University of Hawai{{okina}}i at Mānoa, Hawai{{okina}}i. Also home of the Pidgin Coup, a group of academics and community members interested in Hawai{{okina}}i Pidgin related research and education

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160106193211/http://www.mauimagazine.net/Maui-Magazine//Department-Archive/index.php?tagID=249 "Liddo Bitta Tita"] Hawaiian Pidgin column written by Tita, alter-ego of Kathy Collins. ''[[Maui No Ka 'Oi Magazine]]'' Vol.12 No.1 (January 2008).

*Collection of [https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/32708 Hawaii Creole English recordings] available through [[Kaipuleohone]]