Hawaiian Pidgin English

See part 2 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYLrVXwjmUM

This is a video recording of my Puerto Rican great grandma Mary in Kohala (her parents immigrated into Hawaii from Puerto Rico to work on sugarcane plantations in the early 1900's). I wanted to document her strong pidgin dialog which is becoming a rarity even on the Big Island. She grew up raising children at a very young age and never learned how to read or write. Her pidgin is well preserved from the old sugarcane plantation camp days.

We went to visit her during Christmas 2007. She asked my dad to help replace her light bulbs throughout her apartment. She refers to light bulbs as "globes".

Just a note on what I've observed in pidgin dialects in various places in Hawaii. Kohala is considered a rural community on the Big Island (country-like). Kohala natives use the word "been" in place of the more commonly-used word "when" to indicate past tense. Example (He went): "He been go" would be used instead of "He when go".

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• hawaiian
• pidgin
• creole
• english
• rural
• hawaii
• big
• island
• kohala
• sugar
• plantation
• talk
• story

[GrandmaGiggles]

This one terrific example for people in the mainland to hear what local people really sound like. Our accent over here is not something easily described.

[mi777ke777]

Awesome vid....I'm Puerto Rican and have adopted Hawaii as my second island...!

[carloss1960]

Very interesting & beautiful accent. I never get tired of hearing about Hawaiian Puerto Ricans. It's a rich & complicated history. I am so interested in it. Your Grandma is really cute & she's obviously a treasure. Dude, take good care of her & treasure her because Grandmas are very delicate & need care. When we lost ours our family unfortunately disintergrated, Take care, God bless her & your family.

[cdrumz]

@wtfcowbb Gods loves you and God bless you in Jesus name brodee. and i just so you know i happen to have had a brodee from Tongan Crip n as soon as we met i told em i was rican n he said oh okay you different than mexicans cuz we both island .

[wtfcowbbq]

@cdrumz we aint the same just cause we just happen to live on islands bitch tongan is asian/melanesian and your mulatto so fuck you

[FurrOciousBunny]

ho brah can reach or wat?

[imawsome1000000]

People on vacation:Do they know proper gramer?

Tru Hawaiian: Naaa,broda,dem people ova dea ar talkin our hawaiian language......pidgin!

People on vacation: ummmmmm......i don't understand you.

[cdrumz]

WOW THATS WASSUP IM PEURTO RICAN AND FROM LA I NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF SUCH A BRINGING TOGETHER OF PEOPLE .LIKE MY TONGAN BOY TOLD ME "WE ALL ISLAND"

[mediadude4God]

Brah, Nobody Talk Ladat no mo, cause dey shame cause dey like sound haoule.

[trulychloe]

You went puna ho fo' tree years

[ChrysinaStevens]

So funny. People not from Hawaii can't understand 1/2 of this. Us locals - absolutely easy and clear! Love it. The house looks typical Hawaii decor, too. (sigh - now I'm homesick....)

[808lavaboy]

@frankwhite432 erebody talk lidat ah. I dunno bout Honolulu, but hea Beeg Ilan ees stio choken peepo talkin laidat ah. lol.