Understand Hawaiian Pidgin
Pidgin or "creole" is the "unofficial" language of Hawaii. While many residents use English or Hawaiian, many locals speak Pidgin. Hearing it in person for the first time may sound funny or strange. Here is an article of how to understand it.
Steps
- Know that Remember Articles to Words in a Foreign Language and Begin Each wikiHow Step with a Verb gets replaced with slang. Da replaces "The", Fo' replaces "To", and Wen replaces "When". Other verbs can be replaced, for example, "Braddah, you lik' go beach?" is pidgin for "You want to go to the beach?"
- Understand the common adjectives and names towards people. Lolo means idiot and Kolohe means troublemaker. In the islands, there is an "ohana" (family) slang towards others. Auntie and Uncle are used towards females and males that are older than you in a respectable way, for example your Behave Well Around Your Parents' Friends, a supermarket cashier, or a bus driver. Brah or Braddah are used for laid-back conversations or to get someone's attention.
- Don't forget the differences between similar words. Hapai means pregnant while Hapa means half. Talk story means chatting or casual conversation and Talk stink means talking bad about someone else.
- Learn some Hawaiian phrases that are brought into Pidgin. Puka means hole, usually found in shirts or other items. Hana Hoe means "one more time" and mostly said at concerts or gigs when the crowd wants to hear one more song. Another is "Kannakattack", which means "eat till you sleep".
- "Th" is not typically pronounced like "th" as in "the" in standard English when at the start of a word. The "h" is silent meaning "throw" is pronounced "trow" and "three" is pronounced "tree". If the "th" is in the middle of the word, it is pronounced as a "d" (but usually spelled as "dd". "Rather" is pronounced "raddah", "gather" is "gaddah", "father" is "faddah".
- If someone tells you there is "no moa" of something, they are saying that there is "no more", but that does not imply that there EVER WAS ANY in the first place (as would be implied in standard english). "No moa" means that there is none and there may have never been ANY.
- i.e.(at a Home Depot): "You guys carry leopard skinned panties?"
- (Home Depot employee): "No moa ANY kine panties...dis is Home Depot not Backseat Betty's"
Tips
- Respect locals and those that use Pidgin. Don't use pidgin when insult could be taken. If you are unsure if you know it well enough, you don't.
- Lilo and Stitch from Have Fun at Disney World has Hawaiian songs and Pidgin talk throughout the movie.
- Pau Hana means "finished with work for the day". Some bars have "Pau Hana Fridays" to celebrate the beginning of the weekend and holds "Happy Hours" a little longer than usual.
- It's advisable not to speak Pidgin unless you can say it and know what it means. Anyone that tries to talk Pidgin with no confidence may appear more of a tourist.
- Please don't say anything that you are not sure of the definition. Saying the wrong thing to the wrong kind of person or crowd may get you in trouble.
- Da bestest way to learn how fo speak pidgin is move dea and stay dea...long time...and surround yourself wit good local people. Pidgin is typically used more heavily in blue collar trades (but not entirely), so if you work in an auto repair shop, construction, a local kitchen, or at least wit all da aunties at the DMV or Traffic Court you going learn QUICK or get tossed aside. If this transition is "too much" for some people, pidgin CAN be learned gradually by working at surf shops, in Waikiki, as a waiter, or anyplace where there is a mix of pidgin and standard English being spoken.
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