You talk pidgin?

[Mokihana]

Re: you talk pidgin?

Sometimes I tink da ex-pats moa "local" den you guys who still ova in da 'aina. Plenny kine guys ova in da 'aina still trying foa figga out one way to bus' out from ova dere and hele up hea. Plenty us guys want to hele back to da 'aina but no can because no moa enough kala foa live.
Da odda neat ting about writing and talking in pidgin is you get so good fun, no moa time foa get in beefs! ("Wot, I owe you money?")

Miulang

Wen I first wen move to da mainland, errybody wen axe me weah I stay from cuz of my accent. Dey wen try force me foah lose um so I could talk like dem. Sheesh. I know dat sometimes no stay as strong as odda times, but eef I stay wit odda locals, no can help full on accent an pidgin. Peeps wen assume dat cuz of my accent an dat I can talk pidgin dat I stay illiterate. Hmmm... hakum I wen get A's in English da kine in college den? Funny kine, dat.

I love pidgin! No get pilikia foah rite um down.. jass seem to flow rite chru my fingahs to da keyboard. Jass axe anybody at

da lanai

Since so much of da time I gotta talk good English (cuz ho, no can ansah da phone wit "Eh howzit! How u stay?" in my office), den I look forwahd to da times I can kick back an talk da kine wit my friends in da firss language I wen learn. No mattah eef one person spell words one way, anden somebody else go spell um one naddah way. Is easy foah undastand.

One reason why I no get too much pilikia learning American Sign Language is cuz da syntax stay similar in many ways to Hawaiian an pidgin.

So bussum out, peeps!!!

[craigwatanabe]

Re: you talk pidgin?

Actualy ASL kinda follows the English syntax that's why it's called American Sign Language. I used to be a walking aide for the deaf and blind so I had to communicate with ASL by touch. One thing about ASL is that a lot of words were combined into one hand gesture such as "My name is" so it may seem as if the syntax is similar. One thing that most languages don't use that English proper does contain are idioms. If you told a deaf person to go jump in the lake when they ask you a favor, they'd give you a very puzzled look as if they were saying, "you want me to go swimming?" Same with many other languages. English uses these idioms but many foreign languages including Hawaiian don't.

Because there is no written form of Hawaiian Creole you can write it's pidgin in various ways and still be understood as Mokihana said. Whether its: other or oddah or odda or even uddah you still understand because of it's phonic content.

Das rite so like da braddah said, bus em out cuz no mattah how stay spelt we going all figga em out one way or da odda.

Imua!

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: you talk pidgin?

Because there is no written form of Hawaiian Creole you can write it's pidgin in various ways and still be understood as Mokihana said. Whether its: other or oddah or odda or even uddah you still understand because of it's phonic content.

Das rite so like da braddah said, bus em out cuz no mattah how stay spelt we going all figga em out one way or da odda.

Eh, you ever seen da phonetic spelling dat da UH linguistics guys use to write pidgin? Ho, now das hard to read. Reminds me of da pronunciation guides in da kine Webster's Dictionary.

[Mokihana]

Re: you talk pidgin?

Actualy ASL kinda follows the English syntax that's why it's called American Sign Language.

Imua!

Interesting wat u wen say. I wen learn ASL from one wahine whose parents are deaf... so ASL was her first language. Da syntax I wen learn was, foah instance: "Go store me". So das wat I wen mean about da syntax stay da same as Hawaiian, an real different from English. Is pretty similah to "hele au i ka hale kū‘ai", yeah?

[craigwatanabe]

Re: you talk pidgin?

You may be right, when I learned to "speak" in ASL we were taught the english syntax method. I think for those who became deaf and english was their native tongue, the syntax was developed that way for easier ASL intergration. When I was a guide I had to work with those who lost their hearing as opposed to those who's first language was ASL. When you're born without a particular sense, you don't miss it and could never understand life with it so guides like myself wouldn't be necessary for those people.

One night I took a group of deaf kids (mostly teenagers) from a school for deaf to a taiko drum performance at Leeward Community College. These kids spoke with ASL as their native language and I had a very hard time communicating with them. These kids could never understand the concept of musical beats and rhythm because they can't hear.

When we were seated many of these kids were puzzled as to why I was taking them to a musical event where they couldn't hear anything. Before the performance started I handed out those large 12-inch party balloons and instructed them to blow them up and place it against their chests and hands.

When the performance started, the sound of the drums echoed thrugh the auditorium and vibrated the balloons. Now these naturally deaf kids could "hear" the beats of the taiko drums for the first time in their lives. A lot of them cried.

That was an experience all of us appreciated and one I'll never forget.

[Mokihana]

Re: you talk pidgin?



That was fantastic, you taking the deaf kids to the taiko drum concert! Good for you! I bet it was as much a blessing to you as it was for them.

You musta learned SEE (Signing Exact English), then, as opposed to ASL. As you know, ASL is a language unto itself, with its own grammar and syntax... it's one of the reasons I consider myself multi-lingual.

Thanks for sharing about the concert... you blessed me, too!

[Nohealani]

Re: you talk pidgin?

LOL...eh u talk pidgin? I just recently returned from a student exchange at the University of Auckland...and although I speak standard english I found that when a friend from Hawai'i and I spoke together, we'd forget who was around and out came "pidgin to da max" we only noticed it when we finally stopped talking and everyone around us had this look of utter confusion with a touch of intrigue...they would always say..."what language we're you just speaking...and we'd say.."oh pidgin...its a hawaiian secret!" and start laughing because of the look on their faces. Hey... but Maori as well as Pacific Islanders I have found also have their own Broken English dialect too...To all my Auckland Ohana....No Worries....CanCan...Always Da Kine...Much Love,


Cheers,
Nohealani

[adrian]

Re: you talk pidgin?

bump. I like see wat oda people like say hea.

[Pomai]

Why? Boddah You?

My best and most genuine pidgin comes out when I'm furious and cussing at idiot drivers on the road (windows rolled up of course).

Otherwise people would think I'm from the mainland if I try to talk pidgin casually.

It's good to emphasize a story though, depending on who you're talking with. "Da kine" "laddat". or "Brah!"

Absolutely proper English in the office or when discussing an important matter (with a doctor, banker, etc.).

[backwoodlessons2]

Re: you talk pidgin?

Sometimes I talk Da Kine language...Pidgin

[GypsyLika]

Re: you talk pidgin?

Pidgin is my first language. I learned standard by totally immersion; I lived in Oklahoma. Nobody could undastand me so I had to adjust. I learned to speak just like them. Den wen I use to go back home my friends would all say, "Eh you stay pidgin out wit one Okie accent!" oops had to adjust da accent.

My kids are raised mainland and at home I basically talked pidgin to dem and dey friends. My kids would scold me for talking la dat because da friends no undastand. But I told my kids as much az dey stay hangout at our house if dey listen dey going learn. Sure enough wen my kids friends stay our house & need fo'use da bathroom, dey would say "I gotta go shishi!"

My kids undstand basic Pidgin. #1 daughta worked at a call center and she said a man from Hawaii called and had the hardest time talking straight English. So she toldem' "I undstanda pidgin cause my mahdah local, go head talk pidgin BUT go slow."

My #2daughta helped organized a National Aids Conference held in da Minneapolis area. They had a large Hawaii group there. They noticed her jewelry and Tshirts and thought she was from Hawaii too. She explained it was her "mahdah" da one. She called to tell how much fun she had with the Hawaii group and they gave her all kinds of munchies and stuff. She said, "Mom I made dem laugh cause I asked dem, am I suppose to call you guys Aunty or Unco?"

Its all about the audience and who you talking to? In da mainland when somebody asks me to talk Pidgin and there's nobody to Pidgin out with, it comes out kind of awkward and outta contexts if no moe somebody fo'talkstory wit.

O'wot wuz da question......yeah I tawk & write pidgin, why ha'come?

[Pomai]

Re: you talk pidgin?

Why? What? Hah? What.. WHAT! Boddah you? What? Why? Hah?

[zztype]

Re: you talk pidgin?

Why? What? Hah? What.. WHAT! Boddah you? What? Why? Hah?

Who? Me? Talk pidgin, ladat?

Nah.

[1stwahine]

Re: you talk pidgin?

I beg your pardon...Whack Whack!

Auntie Lynn

[Leo Lakio]

Re: you talk pidgin?

If I try to talk pidgin, I risk getting the crap beat out of me. One of my first lessons upon becoming a regular visitor to Hawai`i, as well as part of the Hawaiian community in the PacNW.

I do think, however, that I could develop a vocabulary of "Haole Pidgin." Phrases like (spoken with a sharp, clipped, over-enunciated Midwestern accent):

> How IS it?
> What? Bother you?
> Why, yes, as a matter of fact, I rather DO enjoy beef! (followed by a sock to the eye, necessitating the application of said beef to said eye, in an attempt to reduce swelling.)