The funerals in Hawaii are quite different from the mainland. Since this was a wake I assumed it would be like the mainland where you go to sit with and comfort the bereaved, and after a time leave. However, this wake was just like a local funeral where there was a service and then refreshments afterward. The refreshments were a fabulous all out buffet dinner. I was sorry we had dinner before we went. Ah well, we had a 2nd dinner anyway.
It was great seeing Helen again as well as several other high school friends. We were able to reminisce and laugh about everything. At one point someone we met this evening asked where we were from. When I told her we came back to Hawaii after 35 years away in the Midwest she said, "I could tell when I heard you speak that you weren't from here." That shook me up a little. I know my accent is more standard after being away from Hawaii for such a long time but is it that obvious? I told her I could speak pidgin. I just need time. Well, I've had over a year now to get back into the groove but it's still not back yet although Tif and Jon will laugh sometimes when I'm speaking to them on the phone. If you speak a forced pidgin English, I believe locals can tell. Therefore, I have to let it come back on its own.
What is pidgin?
Here is the definition for pidgin from Wikipedia:
"Pidgin (or Hawaiʻi Creole) originated as a form of communication used between English speaking residents and non-English speaking immigrants in Hawaiʻi. It supplanted the pidgin Hawaiian used on the plantations and elsewhere in Hawaiʻi. It has been influenced by many languages, including Portuguese, Hawaiian, and Cantonese. As people of other language backgrounds were brought in to work on the plantations, such as Japanese, Filipinos, and Koreans, Pidgin acquired words from these languages. Japanese loanwords in Hawaiʻi lists some of those words originally from Japanese. It has also been influenced to a lesser degree by Spanish spoken by Mexican and Puerto Rican settlers in Hawaiʻi."
The thing is, pidgin and standard English can define who you are. People form an opinion of you as soon as you open your mouth here in the islands. They'll know if you're local kamaaina and an insider or a malihini outsider. Does this remind you of Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady?
So how come I no can talk pidgin yet? I don't know. You just wait and I going talk pidgin mo bettah latah.
First I must say Kay that the title of this post sure caught my eye! I enjoyed learning what pidgin is, and I am sure you will be talking pidgin in no time!
ReplyDeleteFirst, I certainly recognize the location of the photo you attached to this post, Kay. (Waikiki Beach)
ReplyDeleteSecond, it's quite common to be served refreshments after funerals here, although I don't think I've ever seen a full-blown buffet!
And third, I can't wait for you to speak more pidgin to us. It's wonderful.
I'd love to hear you talking pidgen.
ReplyDeleteWonder how it has developed in the last 35 years.
Funny thing about languages and how you speak them. As hard as I worked to get rid of my Texas accent when I was involved in little theater and in spite of the many, many different places I have lived and how long it has been since I lived in Texas, people still tend to ask the same question --"are you from Texas?"
ReplyDeleteFun post as always, Kay! your pidgin is getting better every day!
Have a great weekend!
Sylvia
haha. Funny post. My lawyer-boss at my last law firm said I was too "haole-fied" - not a compliment, I guess.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry your friend has lost her mother, but wow, 95 years is wonderful. That sounds like our wakes; the first day folks go to the house, that night there's a small prayer service and all-night (food-filled!) visit, then the funeral next day.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, I loved this post. You've reminded me of the first time I ever heard pidgin, in a documentary about the islands, their mythology and history; it was fascinating.
What bugged me was there were subtitles on all the interviews, which I suppose was because of the occasional 'haole' and 'kapu' and 'akamai' etc. but it seemed weird, when what they were saying was clearly English...ish LOL. I'd love to hear more of it.
you are too funny. my hubby's was texas but hasn't lived there for 40+ years so he's lost most of his accent except for a couple of words that are too cute. I don't think we should judge others by their accents but instead appreciate their uniqueness...
ReplyDeleteOk, this was all new to me. I´ve never heard of this language and it sounds fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI´m sure it will come back to you with time.
Kay i am sure you will learn to (speak)pidgin better and better in future....it is a completely new information to me PIDGIN..never heard of it before.English is a very popular language out here but in conversation a lot many Hindi words are used along..we call it HINGLISH ,so i think i understand what do you mean by Pidgin.
ReplyDeleteI always think of the funeral meal as a sort of housewarming for the bereaved person, intended to remember all the fun things about the person who has died and to leave them feeling a bit warmer when you go.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, people are often defined by the way they speak, and not always for the best. We tend too often to have preconceived ideas about people because of the accent they use.
CAN, Sistah, Can!
ReplyDeleteJus` letum rip. Shoots, bet Art is GOOD at da kine, eh?
Aloha, Neighbors
Comfort Spiral
Kay, I had a heck of a time with a student who was trying to help her brother stand up, but was inadvertently choking him. It was a pretty tense moment because they were under some play ground equipment and I couldn't get to them. I kept saying, "Marisol, let your brother go." She would only pull harder.
ReplyDeleteFinally I snapped, "Mari, led ya brudda go!" And she did. She also moved out of the way so I could remove him without someone else getting hurt.
It was a moment inspired by panic. I have never been able to repeat it.
I suppose your time on the mainland forever changed you Kay, perhaps you are a better person for all your experiences! That funeral sounds like it was a celebration of a good long life.
ReplyDeleteI became familiar with pidgin many years ago when I read Michner's "Hawaii". I could figure it out when I read it, but maybe not so well when hearing it. I will leave speaking it to the "natives".
ReplyDeleteWow Kay, I'd never heard of Pidgin before. That's quite an interesting story. Thanks for the lesson! I bet Pidgin will come back to you before you know it!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your friend's mother. It sounds like her family was comforted by everyone celebrating her mom's long life.
Something you said reminded me of my brother's former fiance. My brother was engaged to a Hawaiian girl, & my brother said the same thing you did about the Locals knowing immediately if you are an outsider and forming a strong opinion right there and then.
Of course, the girl's mom did not like any of us & I was told
"bribed" her daughter to come home from Texas and break the engagement. The family had accepted my brother while he lived in Hawaii, then when he and his fiance moved to Texas, it was a different story.
I later found out that the fiance did not like any of us either. I think the only reason she came home with my brother was to make her family mad. What a shame that she was like that; she fooled us all.
Anyway, that's just a memory that was triggered by that statement.
Sry, didn't mean to write a book!
I remeber you talking pidgen to me ! It was hard to understand but s funny that you don't quite have it back yet!
ReplyDeletejust like a dialect..
ReplyDeleteI never knew the dialect has a name. Very interesting, pidgin. I've noticed here in the south that our southern twang isn't as strong as it used to be. I guess it's because of television. Oh, we still "ya'll" and "can't" (with a long a), but overall, it isn't as strong. I bet it won't be long before your pidgin is back.
ReplyDeleteEverybody: Pidgin really is a dialect and it does evolve. In fact, every island's pidgin is a teeny bit different. For instance "shave ice" on Oahu is "ice shave" on the Big Island.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling I'm not going to be as natural with it as I was as a child. Helen says I never did really really speak pidgin even in high school. My mom says I must have been watching too much TV and picked up standard English from Roy Rogers, I Love Lucy or Star Trek (Yae, Susan). I beg to differ. I think I did pidgin just fine, thank you.
Whatever the case, I don't think pidgin is quite so strong here either with the advent of mass communication.
I won't attempt to speak it much yet because a phony is easily detected. Art has kicked (uh...tapped) me when I tried too hard. We'll see how it goes. My brother keeps telling me I need more practice. I guess it's like driving.
Ah, Pidgin. "Pigeon English" as it was taught to us at school.
ReplyDeleteGovernment brochures, public notices and suchforth are printed in pidgin here (sometimes ONLY in pidgin). Reading it isn't easy, as some of the spelling is.. er.. a shade TOO phonetic. But to hear it, no problem.
Our pidgin varies from the one next door, which has Five Million speakers is a dominant language in it's own right, and swamps our little dialect.
A couple of my favourite words (non-pigeon spelling):
"house (of) money" (for bank)
"bullamacow" (for cattle)
"talkfunny" (for comedy)
Steve: They put public notices out in Pidgin? Wow! I rather like those examples you wrote. That's very interesting and fun. I'd like to hear it.
ReplyDeleteLast night they featured a golfer from Australia on TV. She's in the Hawaii now. I think her last name is Hou or something like that. She looks like she belongs in Hawaii but she had a nice strong Aussie accent. Loved it!