Hawaiian Pidgin

HAWAIIAN PIDGIN/CREOLE

by Bob Rivera and Anna Krezan

History of the Language

The Austronesian lanquages are divided into two branches: Formosan, the lanquages spoken by about 200,000 people in Taiwan; and; Melayo-polynesian,comprising the rest of the lanquages in the Austronesian family. The Eastern Malayo-Polynesian lanquages consist of the lanquages of Micronesia, some lanquages, and the closely related lanquages of Polynesia, such as Tahitian, Hawaiian, and Maori, which is spoken in New Zealand. The Western Malayo-Polynesian lanquages include Malay: Javanese; Balinese spoken in Malaysia and Indonesia; Malagasy, spoken
in Madagascar; the Chamic lanquages, spoken in Vietnam and Cambodia and Tagalog, on which Filipino, the national of the Philippines, is based.

The Structural System of Hawaiian Creole

Hawaiian Pidgin developed as the adult speakers of different languages borrowed words from each other as an attempt to communicate. The children of the Hawaiian Pidgin speakers are responsible for giving the Pidgin structure and developing it into a Creole. Hawaiian Creole developed a stable vocabulary.

pidgin------------------------------------------->Creole
child language acquisition

Some examples of the structural system of Hawaiian Creole are as follows:

Phoneme System--Hawaiian Alphabet consists of 12 letters, 5 vowels and 7 consonants. A, e, i, o, u, h, k, l, m, n, p, and w. The a and e have a stressed and an unstressed sound. I, o and u have only stressed sound. Glottel stops or unia are often shown as a short pause in pronunciation--Hawai’i. When pronouncing a dipthong, the second vowel is pronounced--ae--->e.There are repeated syllables in many of the long words, which often make then easier to remember and pronounce.

Morpheme System--Instead of adding the suffix-ed; the past perfect tense of a verb is expressed by the particle ‘bin’ and ‘wen’ which proceeds the main verb. Ex. Us two bin get hard time raising dog. ( The two of us had a hard time raising dogs.) Instead of adding the suffix-ing, the word ‘stay’ is used. Plurality is not expressed on nouns.

Syntax--The Word Order is Subject, Verb, Object--SVO.
--There is a systematic use of function words. For example fo is used as a state of affairs contrary to fact. People no like t’come fo go wok. (People don’t want [him] to go to work [for them]).
--Missing Prepositions--one rarely used prepositions such as: to, in, on, from. for. till. by and on. Ex. The guy gon’ lay the vinyl bin quote me price. (The man who was going to lay the vinyl had quoted me a price.)
--Negation is much like that in a child’s language. Nobody don’t never like me.

Listed below are web sites you can visit to learn more information about Hawaiian Creole.

PROFILE & HISTORY OF HAWAIIAN PIDGIN/CREOLE

Ling 101: Language and Mind
Easy read explanation of the evolution of Pidgin and Creoles, emphasizing Hawaiian Pidgin/Creole. http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~li101is1FA98 Archive

The People, Culture and Language of Hawai’i
Learn a little about Hawaiian customs. Learn a few ground rules about the language. http://members.aol.com/EARTHSUN/hawaii.html

Pidgin Lives
Historical Insights. Why keep Pidgin alive? When should one use Standard English? http://www.aaja.org/voices/wed23/pg9.html

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Short and concise definition of Pidgin/Creoles. http://www.3.itu.int/udhr/lang/hat.htm

Other History Sites
http://www.alohaquest.com
http://www.hawaiianhistory.org
http://www.mauimapp.com/modelo/chronology.html
http://www.pauwaters.com
http://www.bestahawaii.com
http://www.coconutlanding.com

STRUCTURAL SYSTEM OF HAWAIIAN PIDGIN/CREOLE

The People, Culture and Language of Hawai’i
Learn a little about consonants and vowels in Hawaiian Pidgin.
http://members.aol.com/EARTHSUN/hawaii.html

Ling 110 Linguistic Analysis: Sentences & Dialects
An easy to read outline of Hawaiian Creole’s history and language structure. Word order SVO, verbs, nouns, specific/non specific reference, preposition and negation are all briefly outlined. http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/linguistics/lectures/101ect24.html

Linguistics 204 Handouts
A comparison of structural differences between Hawaiian Creole English and English. Also a comparison of Child Language to English Creole. http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~denham/handouts.htm

Why Do Creoles Have Serial Verb Constructions?
In depth look into phonemes, morphemes and syntax. http://www.chessworks.com/ling/papers/why svc.htm

PRAGMATICS OF HAWAIIAN PIDGIN/CREOLE

Pidgin Lives
Historical Insights. Why keep Pidgin alive? When should one use Standard English? http://www.aaja.org/voices/wed23/pg9.html
Writing System OF HAWAIIAN PIDGIN/CREOLE

If you speak Pidgin, you think in Pidgin, you write in Pidgin
Short discussion of why this is a myth. http://www.111.hawaii.edu/esl/pidgin.html

The Sociocultural Context of Hawaiian Language Revival and Learning
An in depth description of a project to keep Hawaiian Pidgin alive. http://www.crede.ucsc.edu/Reports/1.6doc1.html

PSYCHOLINGUISTICS OF HAWAIIAN PIDGIN/CREOLE

The Sociocultural Context of Hawaiian Language Revival and Learning
An in depth description of a project to keep Hawaiian Pidgin alive. http://www.crede.ucsc.edu/Reports/1.6doc1.html

ASSORTED LINKS OF HAWAIIAN PIDGIN/CREOLE

Vocabulary!!! Vocabulary!!!

Hawaiian Creole vocabulary
Listen to phrases in Hawaiian Pidgin and then practice. Interactive!! http://www.extreme-hawaii.com/vocab/

How to Talk Conversational Pidgin
Listen to phrases in Hawaiian Pidgin and then practice. Interactive!! http://www.extreme-hawaii.com/vocab/

Educational Cyber Playground
Another great interactive site for your listening pleasure. Listen to nursery rhymes in Hawaiian Pidgin!
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Literacy/aboutdialect.html

The People, Culture and Language of Hawai’i
Learn a little about consonants and vowels in Hawaiian Pidgin.
http://members.aol.com/EARTHSUN/hawaii.html

DICTIONARIES (•• special note)

The Creolist Archives English Links
Shares many of the links from in Education Cyber Playground
http://www.ling.su.se/Creole/Links-Eng.html
••David’s Pidgin English Dictionary
••Pidgin English
••Pidgin
••Pidgin Dictionary

STORIES

The Creolist Archives English Links
Many types of stories, ranging from Nursery Rhymes to Bible Stories.
http://www.ling.su.se/Creole/Links-Eng.html

CUSTOMS

The People, Culture and Language of Hawai’i
Learn a little about Hawaiian customs. Learn a few ground rules about the language. http://members.aol.com/EARTHSUN/hawaii.html