After reading the article, it made me realize how much words have been taken from the various languages like Japanese, Chinese, and Portuguese to create "new" words that everyone seems to understand. I really like how the article mentioned the importance of Pidgin in local culture as a way of the locals identifying themselves as locals just by the way they speak. It just shows that Hawaii has its own unique language, just like the other creole languages mentioned in the article that are found all around the United States. Pidgin is just as much a language as English.
The Pidgin Coup 1999The article also mentioned the names of a few people in the group The Pidgin Coup, and one of the was Gary Pak. During my first semester of my freshman year in college, I was a student of Pak in his ENG 100 class. We were given many reading assignments that were written by local writers, and the first thing I remember, was that a lot of them were written sort of in Pidgin. Words that sounded Pidgin, but written in traditional English. I also got a chance to meet the a couple local writers and talked to them about why they used Pidgin in their work instead of regular English. All of them said it was because it was easier for the local audiences to understand what was going on if they used a language that all locals use and are able to understand rather than big dictionary words that only a hand full of people could get.
After reading the article, I wasn't aware that so many words were Hawaiian. It's also pretty cool to know that most people in Hawaii know what adobo is. Coincidentally, I just had malasadas yesterday. I had an idea of the beginnings of pidgin but not really the evolution and emulsion into everyday language.
ReplyDeletePidgin is something that many people think of when referring to the Hawaiian Islands. It has grown into something that defines and combines different ethnic backgrounds. I remember when I first read the book Pidgin to Da Max when I was little. I think it's interesting to learn about the various creole languages. Sakoda and Siegel stated that, "In total, an estimated 41.7 million people speak creole languages." I never knew that creole languages were that diverse but I think that pidgin is something that adds to the culture and the society for the better.
ReplyDeletePidgin in the Hawaiian islands is a language part of our everyday lives. As stated in the article, pidgin is an important tool in local culture and key to identify locals-the language of people born and raised in Hawaii. Being born and raised in Hawaii, I feel that it connects each and every one of us in a way that we can only understand each other. Pidgin is a unique language that someone from the mainland or if you were to move to the mainland, that individual can immediately identify you as a local from Hawai’i. It is such a distinct language that sometimes people from the mainland who are exposed to Pidgin tends to grown on them and start to use it in their vocabulary.
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting how Pidgin developed simply as a language to communicate with people from different countries who worked together on the sugar plantations. I think it’s cool how Pidgin is a mixture of a variety of ethnic languages. I agree with Sakoda Siegel that, “pidgin gradually became the mother tongue of most people born in Hawaii” (2). The Pidgin English language is a way to be identified as a local. It is so commonly used throughout the people of Hawaii that nowadays Pidgin is being used more in the media, books, television and music. Unlike other languages, Pidgin does not have to be taught. By just being exposed and surrounded by people who speak Pidgin, it will rub off on them and soon they will be speaking Pidgin too.
ReplyDeletePidgin connects the many different cultures and languages of Hawai'i into one identity that is unique to its speakers. Speakers of pidgin also use it as an identification marker that separates themselves from those who are merely just residents of Hawai'i. The example that Akiemi mentioned of her friend using Pidgin as a means of "smooth talking" her way out of a speeding ticket has happened to me before also. Unsurprisingly, it works. We do it because we know that Pidgin can also identify who our friend is. Many people who don't understand the importance of Pidgin think lowly of Pidgin speakers. They see it as a "stupid" language.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the site you provided is quite interesting. I never knew that UH had such a group. It just shows that Pidgin is becoming an important creole language of Hawai'i.
My great-grandparents came from Portugal to Hawaii to work on the sugar cane plantations, so it makes sense that nearly everyone in my family speaks some sort of Pidgin. The only people that don’t are my mom and I, because we lived on the mainland for about ten years. I notice when she’s with her friends from Kauai she’ll speak Pidgin but other than that she speaks proper English. My grandpa speaks Pidgin constantly, he never changes. This article and your blog made me think more about the influence of Portuguese on Pidgin, and how other languages contributed to this creole. I definitely think Pidgin is a way for locals to establish identity here. But I also think some locals want their children to speak proper English so that they can get ahead in life. But if Pidgin is part of the culture, should it be discouraged?
ReplyDeleteBeing born and raised in Hawaii I grew up with pidgin or Hawaii Creole English. It was like my second language, after English and before Illocano. Pidgin is just part of the lifestyle here in Hawaii. It's just one of the special things about living in Hawaii that others around the world can only dream of having. Many tourist and first time visitors to Hawaii like college freshmen want to learn and speak Pidgin. Being an RA of one of the dorms, many of my residents ask me to teach them about Pidgin. I just tell them don't worry it will come to you after living in Hawaii for quite sometime. You just pick it up and it comes naturally. A month of school has gone by and my residents has pick up some Pidgin and is learning more about the language of Hawaii as each day go by.
ReplyDeleteThe article really impressed me. Pidgin, a new language system resulted from sugarcane plantation. It is amazing to find out Chinese, Portuguese and Hawaiian have much more impact in the development of modern Pidgin than other languages. Actually, what surprised me is the largest immigrants--Japanese in Hawaii does not have such great impact as Chinese and Portuguese. Pidgin is also an identity of local people here. Like many peers mentioned above, pidgin is the mixture of the different ethnicity. I think it also reveals Hawaii is a "melting pot".
ReplyDeleteLanguage is developed for communication. I think Pidgin was born in the situation for the people from different countries to communicate. In my opinion, it is great to have pidgin as you local people's identity. Since I am living here right now, I hope I have chance to learn pidgin.:)
I don't fully agree that pidgin is an easier way to get local audiences to understand what you are trying to convey. I say this because I had an experience at work that made me think otherwise. I understand and speak pidgin well as I have lived in Hawaii all my life. However, at work, I had a customer who could only speak pidgin and proceeded to give me directions on how to make his sandwich. He said "ho brah do you tink you can put da meat on da ada side of da kine." I first moved the meat from one side to the other side of the bread. However, that's not what he wanted. Long story short, what he really wanted was meat on both sides of the bread. If he could only speak proper English I would have understood what he wanted faster. I think locals who only speak pidgin need to realize that not everyone speaks it and should be able to switch to proper English.
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