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  • In, on, up, down?

    Awhile ago, there was a thread in here that talked about the nuances of using "in" or "on" when referring to locations in Hawai'i.

    Lee Cataluna just did a very funny column which describes how speaking pidgin can prevent you from making a gaffe when talking about the town and the state you live in.

    Miulang
    "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

  • #2
    Re: In, on, up, down?

    On my business cards I have two phone numbers one for Honolulu and one for the Big Island.

    The funny part is that you never say: On Hawaii, it's always On the Big Island. So I say In Honolulu or On the Big Island. Never On Oahu because nobody says that. It's always In Honolulu.

    I guess the Big Island has two distinct locations (Kona and Hilo) but you just don't want to say In Hilo because you exclude Kona so you just say On The Big Island.

    But for some reason you always say In Honolulu, seemingly excluding all the rest of Oahu such as Windward Oahu or the Leeward Coast. But when you say In Honolulu you're actually indicating to the City and County of Honolulu which is all inclusive to the island of Oahu.

    But then so is County of Hawaii. Problem is that the island of Hawaii isn't a city like Honolulu is. So as Lee Can of Tuna said (eh blame Guy Hagi for that one) when it's geographical you say "On" but when it's political you say "In".

    I stay on the Big Island but I stay in Keaau.
    Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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    • #3
      Re: In, on, up, down?

      Hi guys! I'm new here in this forum.

      Yeah, prepositions are real pain in the backside for the non-native English speakers or for some speakers who follow a variety of English which do not have exactly the same rule like the Standard English. Incurring mistakes with the use of the prepositions in any utterances is one of the most common mistake committed by non-native English speakers. This is due to the fact that the English language has one of the most complicated grammar. Its history is traceable but the politics behind it is very complicated. By the way, what is Standard English (SE) anyway? Is it British English or American English? The bigger question now is really who really owns the English language? At the moment, India has the biggest population of English speakers and they also have their own variety of the English language?

      The use of the preposition or 'nuisance words', as we can call it, gives away the identity of the speaker. Here in the UK, Indian English is flourishing not just because of the increasing number of Indian immigrants coming to live here, but also, most call centres for big companies are already based in India. Sometimes, it's a bit annoying when I ring customer service for some fault with any services or purchased equipment. The person on the other end have very good command of English but sounds like speaking another language. Sometimes it's fun, but, sometimes it could be irritating.

      I am a non-native English speaker myself and it's quite interesting how my English grammar has evolved from Filipino English to American English and eventually British English. I just wonder whether, how easily I could adapt to the Hawaiian English when I eventually live there. It would be interesting.

      By the way, I really find the local or non-local thread very interesting and amusing. I'm amused because I can relate to some of it and interested how Hawaiian locals mix their languages with English, Hawaiian and coined words. Just being sad, I think the structure of it follows the same pattern as in any mixed language such as Taglish, Japanese-English, Chinise-English etc...

      Sorry if I digress and sent you to sleep. I just got carried away.
      Last edited by Lowena; December 19, 2005, 07:17 AM.

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