Islands Pidgin is a dialect of English spoken in the Hawaiian Islands. It consists of the shortening of many words commonly used in everyday English speech. Some examples include da” (meaning “the”), “odda” (meaning “other”), “Tre” (meaning “tree” and “three”), “bra” (meaning “anyone you know”), “da kine” (meaning “anything you don’t know”), “cus” (meaning “any friend”), and many others. Pidgin also has social barriers.
It is primarily spoken in the lower class neighborhoods consisting of Hawaiians and Filipinos. The dialect has been associated with the members of these neighborhoods and their problems, such as alcoholism, illiteracy, and a poor standard of living. I come from a diverse family background; my mother is Scottish, English, Italian, French, and more. My father is part Hawaiian and part Scottish. Being such, I have to choose which lifestyle is right for me.
There is a tug-of-war between the Hawaiian part of me and the Haole part of me. The two cultures that I consider myself a part of are Scottish and Hawaiian. Both are proud, interesting, and have their own prescriptions for behavior. The pidgin dialect is a major part of life in lower-class Hawaiian neighborhoods. For most children in these neighborhoods, it is the language spoken at home. However, other people on the islands view this dialect as a sign of poor education and upbringing. My mother did not want her son associated with such a group of individuals.
When I started school at Maunawili School, I began to pick up Pidgin and started speaking it at home. My mother took it upon herself to change me. At that time, she was teaching sixth grade at Keolu Elementary. She saw how her kids could not speak proper English, only Pidgin. Many of them also wrote in Pidgin, which I had begun to do. My mother saw this behavior and forced me to change.
My parents enrolled me in Punahou School, one of the best private schools in the nation, to facilitate this change. It may seem like they didn’t want me to grow up proud of my Hawaiian heritage, but that is far from the truth. They taught me to respect the culture for its beautiful aspects, such as the hula and the Hawaiian language. Additionally, my father taught me about the ‘aina (land).
He showed me how the Hawaiians of yesterday believed the ‘aina to be the physical representation of their beliefs in their gods. He showed me Pele’s (the fire goddess) home in Kilauea volcano, and her wrath when the lava from her vents destroyed many homes in Pu’u O’o, along with many other exciting aspects of the culture. I was told to keep with the traditions that make me unique, both Hawaiian and Haole.
