In the chapter, “Cultural Processes and Linguistic Mediations: Pacific Explorations”, the main point that stood out to me was that, “language is conceptualized, objectified, and manipulated to constitute new social realities” (Makihara and Schieffelin). Therefore, a language is not concrete; it is more like a living entity. It behaves as humans do. As a language undergoes different pressures (whether it is social, economical, political, or cultural pressures), it changes to reflect the behaviors and beliefs of its speakers at that time.
This concept can be illustrated through the denotation and the various connotations of the word haole in the Hawaiian language. Its literal meaning is, “foreigner”. But in today’s society, the word haole also brings along negative connotations when used. One such interpretation depicts Caucasians as the root of many problems Hawaiians face today. I admit to being at guilt for the use of haole in this manner (especially when a haole interferes with my beach time). This shift in its meaning can be attributed to the history Hawaiians and Caucasians have had together, especially in the period of the overthrow of the Hawaiian government.
The Linguistic Society of America also provides a nice overview of how a language may go through changes. In particular, I like Thomason’s comparison of Olde English and Modern English because it shows how a language that we all know, English, may change over time. It is not often that we hear phrases like, “where art thou?” anymore.
To wrap up, Makihara and Schiefflin have given us a clear introduction to the roles different stresses have had on the languages of the Pacific.
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I think is so true when it stated the language is not concrete because language is never set in stone. Language is always changing and evolving around us based on lifestyles, generations, culture, etc. I found the example of the word, “Haole”, as a good example of different connotation of a word and how people can mean it different and take it the wrong way. Currently, I believe that with the youth nowadays, language is always changing. The medias, Hollywood, and the open minds of the younger generations are always coming up with new languages and words of their own or even jazzing up new words. Language changed a lot ever since the dawn of time and will always keep changing as time progresses. That’s what makes languages so interesting.
ReplyDeleteJust to nitpick a little, "Haole" literally means "no breath/life", or ghost. (Ha + ole; Breath + No) When Europeans first arrived the Hawaiians thought of them as ghosts, as no living person could be that light skinned in all of this sun! But this in itself shows the change of language, we know that the fairer skinned are indeed alive and while we could create words to be "Politically Correct" we continue on using the old words, albeit in a different context. Whether or not the original term had kauna (hidden subtext) in the 18/19th centuries when referring to foreigners is up for debate, but today we can agree that most local usage of the word has changed greatly from it's original meaning - to describe how someone looks.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very good point you made with language being an entity that changes and conforms to societal demands. Your example of the word "haole" definitely shows how a word can change from its original meaning to suit the needs of a society. I am originally from the mainland and I never heard the word "haole" until I came here for college, so I quickly realized that it was a term used by locals to describe Caucasians. You can probably think of many other words that have been taken out of their original context and redefined to mean something else. Even within our own generation, we have redefined words and created words of our own to reflect our emotions, behaviors, and beliefs. While I can understand the use of “haole” to represent the emotions many locals have towards Caucasians due to the illegal overthrow of the monarchy, it does not make the use of this word correct. Words that carry negative connotation (“haole”, the n-word, etc.) only continue to perpetuate negative emotions and attitudes that have existed through the years.
ReplyDeleteAS, I was previously aware of the fact that the word haole also means, “without breath”, but thank you for providing a supplementary definition. In my experience, “foreigner” has been the most widely used definition for haole; therefore, I decided to employ that definition in this post. Also, thank you for bringing up kaona, as it is a very integral part of the Hawaiian language and culture.
ReplyDeleteThe point you brought out about how “language is conceptualized, objectified, and manipulated to constitute new social realities" is very true. I believe that is what happened to the Pacific Island languages. When you think about how language changes, the first thing that comes to mind (my mind that is) is the image of a bunch of scholars sitting together discussing what elements of a language to keep, drop, and modify. But that probably didn't happen. Language evolved because of human influence. They changed it to match their values and beliefs like with the word "haole". The term "haole" is used to represent Caucasians even though that is not the original definition of the word. I learned "haole" at a very young age and came to take it as the English word for "white man". I didn't even learn the word "Caucasian" until much later.
ReplyDeleteI felt it would be interesting to talk about the original meaning of the word, especially since your piece is about the change in language. It also gives a little insight into how the first foreigners were portrayed, fair skinned and in odd uniforms as they touched ground, and how these people could not possibly be human - yet today the term is used to refer to light skinned people.
ReplyDeleteHuman contact is one of the major reasons language constantly changes throughout the Pacific and the rest of the world. It’s funny how the word “haole” came up in this discussion because I’m so used to local people referring to the word ‘haole’ for tourist or Caucasians. I never knew what the other real meaning meant. It goes to show how language changes through time and generations. These generations there are so many different slang words that kids make up that adults don’t know the meanings to. Language will continue to change and who knows what kind of different languages will be used in the future.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that people can change language. Language is different through the time period. Our language may not be understood by our children We may not understand language spoken by new generation. So I agree with Cwkdias' opinion that language is the living entity. This also refers back to the language chain. When you are exposed more to one language rather than others. Your language will be changed to be more compact with the fromer. For example, in China, thousands of years ago, people talked in a very complicated sentence. Now we have more simplied explaination. It demostrates that language is not concrete.
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