The Fishbowl Film Project

Pidgin and Education

Excerpts from a position paper by Da Pidgin Coup, Nov. 1999

Pidgin is the name speakers use for the language variety which is technically called Hawai`i Creole English or Hawai`i English Creole by linguists. Throughout this document we use the popular name, Pidgin, to refer to this variety. Pidgin examples in this paper are generally written in the writing system designed for linguists to represent the sounds of Pidgin. The use of this writing system (known as the "Odo orthography") enables the language to be accurately represented, and is likely to reduce the reader's feeling that Pidgin is bad English. However, members of Da Pidgin Coup are aware that this orthography is not widely used by Pidgin speakers. For this reason, where we quote Pidgin speakers interviewed by Laiana Wong, we use the modified English writing system, such as is widely used by well-known Pidgin writers, including Darrell Lum, Eric Chock and Lois-Ann Yamanaka.

Pidgin is a language, just as English is a language. Language is the carrier of culture, and Pidgin is the carrier of "local" culture. It is part of what makes Hawai`i different from the rest of the U.S. Denigration of Pidgin is denigration of its speakers, a majority of the population of Hawai`i. Pidgin is inclusive, a reflection of our historical attitudes and the value placed on getting along and trying to find common ground. It is non-hierarchical, and puts people on an even footing.

Given the unique value that Pidgin holds for its speakers and for the community as a whole, we should go beyond seeking mere tolerance in regard to its use and protection from discrimination for its speakers. We should in fact seek to provide a fostering environment that nurtures and appreciates the communicative skills that Hawaii's children bring with them to school. By recognizing and celebrating excellence in the use of Pidgin we encourage the child to develop those skills further. There's plenty of room for Pidgin and English to coexist peacefully and form a symbiotic relationship in which the two are mutually enriching. Should we begin to move in this direction, school would certainly become a more positive experience for all concerned.

Over the past 20 years, written Pidgin has become a means, both popular and accepted, of composing poems, stories, and essays. In Hawai`i and on the mainland, literature using Pidgin is increasingly seen on approved reading lists inside schools. Educators now see Pidgin in the context of multicultural education, or education which recognizes children's cultural identities.

Identity, for many, is intimately linked to language. The Pidgin speakers quoted below talk about the importance of their language to their identity:

I Hawaiian eh, but I no can speak Hawaiian. I speak Pidgin. That's my language. That's how I perform, brah!

It's like a way of life. It's like eating poi or going swimming. You hear it everyday. You can't get rid of it... It's like the air you breathe. It's around you constantly.

The present controversy offers Hawai`i an opportunity to explore and discuss both the role and value of Pidgin and the challenges of teaching our children to read and write.

3. WHAT IS PIDGIN?

Myth: Pidgin is a pidgin.

Reality: What is popularly called Pidgin (with a capital P) was historically a pidgin (technically called Hawai`i Pidgin English). But the vast majority of Pidgin speakers today are actually speakers of a creole (technically known as Hawai`i Creole English or Hawai`i English Creole, HCE or HEC).

Explanation: A pidgin is a new language which develops in situations where speakers of different languages need to communicate but don't share a common language. The vocabulary of a pidgin comes mainly from one particular language (called the "lexifier"). A pidgin is quite restricted in use and variable in structure.

Once a pidgin has emerged, it is generally learned as a second language and used for communication among people who speak different languages. Examples are Nigerian Pidgin (Nigeria has a variety of tribal languages) and Bislama (spoken in Vanuatu, a Pacific island nation having over 100 languages).

When children start learning a pidgin as their first language and it becomes the mother tongue of a community, it is called a creole. Like a pidgin, a creole is a distinct language which has taken most of its vocabulary from another language, the lexifier, but has its own unique grammatical rules. Unlike a pidgin, however, a creole is not restricted in use, and is like any other language in its full range of functions. Examples are Gullah, Jamaican Creole and Hawai`i Creole English.

Note that the words "pidgin" and "creole" are technical terms used by linguists, and not necessarily by speakers of the language. For example, speakers of Jamaican Creole call their language "Patwa" (from "patois") and speakers of Hawai`i Creole English call theirs "Pidgin."

Background: Hawai`i was first visited by Europeans in 1778, and it quickly became an important stopover for ships involved in whaling and trading with Asia. At this time, some of the expressions from the Pidgin English of China and the Pacific were introduced to Hawai`i.

The first sugarcane plantation was established in 1835, and the industry expanded rapidly in the last quarter of the century. Thousands of laborers were brought from China, Portugal, Japan, Korea, Puerto Rico, Russia, Spain, the Philippines and other countries. With so many nationalities, a common language was needed on the plantations. At first, this was Hawaiian and Pidgin Hawaiian, but later in the century a new variety of pidgin began to develop.

In the 1870s immigrant families began to arrive and more children were born on the plantations. Children learned their parents' languages and picked up English at school. But the kind of English they spoke on the playground was influenced by the Pidgin English earlier brought to Hawai`i, by the Hawaiian spoken by their parents, and by their own first languages, especially Portuguese. By the turn of the century a new Hawai`i Pidgin English began to emerge with features from all of these sources. This pidgin became the primary language of many of those who grew up in Hawai`i, and children began to acquire it as their first language. This was the beginning of Hawai`i Creole English. By the 1920s it was the language of the majority of Hawaii's population.

For complete article, go to www.hawaii.edu/satocenter/ and click on “Da Pidgin Coup”

Da Pidgin Coup is a group of people, mainly University of Hawai`i faculty and students in the Department of Second Language Studies, who have been meeting regularly since Fall 1998 to work on aspects of Pidgin (also known as Hawai`i Creole English and Hawai`i English Creole). The main focus of the group is on linguistic, applied linguistic and educational linguistic issues in Pidgin and similar stigmatized language varieties. The group is convened by Professor Diana Eades of the ESL Department (ph 956-3242, email <eades@hawaii.edu>). Other contacts are Kent Sakoda of the ESL Department (ph 946 1883) and Professor Suzie Jacobs of the English Department (ph 956 3072, email <suzie@hawaii.edu>


		Pidgin and Education Excerpts from a position paper by Da Pidgin Coup, Nov. 1999 Pidgin is the name speakers use for the language variety which is technically called Hawai`i Creole English or Hawai`i English Creole by linguists. Throughout this document we use the popular name, Pidgin, to refer to this variety. Pidgin examples in this paper are generally written in the writing system designed for linguists to represent the sounds of Pidgin. The use of this writing system (known as the "Odo orthography") enables the language to be accurately represented, and is likely to reduce the reader's feeling that Pidgin is bad English. However, members of Da Pidgin Coup are aware that this orthography is not widely used by Pidgin speakers. For this reason, where we quote Pidgin speakers interviewed by Laiana Wong, we use the modified English writing system, such as is widely used by well-known Pidgin writers, including Darrell Lum, Eric Chock and Lois-Ann Yamanaka. Pidgin is a language, just as English is a language. Language is the carrier of culture, and Pidgin is the carrier of "local" culture. It is part of what makes Hawai`i different from the rest of the U.S. Denigration of Pidgin is denigration of its speakers, a majority of the population of Hawai`i. Pidgin is inclusive, a reflection of our historical attitudes and the value placed on getting along and trying to find common ground. It is non-hierarchical, and puts people on an even footing. Given the unique value that Pidgin holds for its speakers and for the community as a whole, we should go beyond seeking mere tolerance in regard to its use and protection from discrimination for its speakers. We should in fact seek to provide a fostering environment that nurtures and appreciates the communicative skills that Hawaii's children bring with them to school. By recognizing and celebrating excellence in the use of Pidgin we encourage the child to develop those skills further. There's plenty of room for Pidgin and English to coexist peacefully and form a symbiotic relationship in which the two are mutually enriching. Should we begin to move in this direction, school would certainly become a more positive experience for all concerned. Over the past 20 years, written Pidgin has become a means, both popular and accepted, of composing poems, stories, and essays. In Hawai`i and on the mainland, literature using Pidgin is increasingly seen on approved reading lists inside schools. Educators now see Pidgin in the context of multicultural education, or education which recognizes children's cultural identities. Identity, for many, is intimately linked to language. The Pidgin speakers quoted below talk about the importance of their language to their identity: I Hawaiian eh, but I no can speak Hawaiian. I speak Pidgin. That's my language. That's how I perform, brah! It's like a way of life. It's like eating poi or going swimming. You hear it everyday. You can't get rid of it... It's like the air you breathe. It's around you constantly. The present controversy offers Hawai`i an opportunity to explore and discuss both the role and value of Pidgin and the challenges of teaching our children to read and write. 3. WHAT IS PIDGIN? Myth: Pidgin is a pidgin. Reality: What is popularly called Pidgin (with a capital P) was historically a pidgin (technically called Hawai`i Pidgin English). But the vast majority of Pidgin speakers today are actually speakers of a creole (technically known as Hawai`i Creole English or Hawai`i English Creole, HCE or HEC). Explanation: A pidgin is a new language which develops in situations where speakers of different languages need to communicate but don't share a common language. The vocabulary of a pidgin comes mainly from one particular language (called the "lexifier"). A pidgin is quite restricted in use and variable in structure. Once a pidgin has emerged, it is generally learned as a second language and used for communication among people who speak different languages. Examples are Nigerian Pidgin (Nigeria has a variety of tribal languages) and Bislama (spoken in Vanuatu, a Pacific island nation having over 100 languages). When children start learning a pidgin as their first language and it becomes the mother tongue of a community, it is called a creole. Like a pidgin, a creole is a distinct language which has taken most of its vocabulary from another language, the lexifier, but has its own unique grammatical rules. Unlike a pidgin, however, a creole is not restricted in use, and is like any other language in its full range of functions. Examples are Gullah, Jamaican Creole and Hawai`i Creole English. Note that the words "pidgin" and "creole" are technical terms used by linguists, and not necessarily by speakers of the language. For example, speakers of Jamaican Creole call their language "Patwa" (from "patois") and speakers of Hawai`i Creole English call theirs "Pidgin." Background: Hawai`i was first visited by Europeans in 1778, and it quickly became an important stopover for ships involved in whaling and trading with Asia. At this time, some of the expressions from the Pidgin English of China and the Pacific were introduced to Hawai`i. The first sugarcane plantation was established in 1835, and the industry expanded rapidly in the last quarter of the century. Thousands of laborers were brought from China, Portugal, Japan, Korea, Puerto Rico, Russia, Spain, the Philippines and other countries. With so many nationalities, a common language was needed on the plantations. At first, this was Hawaiian and Pidgin Hawaiian, but later in the century a new variety of pidgin began to develop. In the 1870s immigrant families began to arrive and more children were born on the plantations. Children learned their parents' languages and picked up English at school. But the kind of English they spoke on the playground was influenced by the Pidgin English earlier brought to Hawai`i, by the Hawaiian spoken by their parents, and by their own first languages, especially Portuguese. By the turn of the century a new Hawai`i Pidgin English began to emerge with features from all of these sources. This pidgin became the primary language of many of those who grew up in Hawai`i, and children began to acquire it as their first language. This was the beginning of Hawai`i Creole English. By the 1920s it was the language of the majority of Hawaii's population. (c) Da Pidgin Coup 1999. Reprinted by permission of Da Pidgin Coup. For complete article, go to www.hawaii.edu/satocenter/ and click on “Da Pidgin Coup” Da Pidgin Coup is a group of people, mainly University of Hawai`i faculty and students in the Department of Second Language Studies, who have been meeting regularly since Fall 1998 to work on aspects of Pidgin (also known as Hawai`i Creole English and Hawai`i English Creole). The main focus of the group is on linguistic, applied linguistic and educational linguistic issues in Pidgin and similar stigmatized language varieties. The group is convened by Professor Diana Eades of the ESL Department (ph 956-3242, email <eades@hawaii.edu>). Other contacts are Kent Sakoda of the ESL Department (ph 946 1883) and Professor Suzie Jacobs of the English Department (ph 956 3072, email <suzie@hawaii.edu>