Ha Kam Wi Tawk Pidgin Yet?

This video is the result of a student project at Waianae High School on the island of Oahu.

In 2009, researchers from the Charlene J. Sato Center for Pidgin, Creole, and Dialect Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa began working with students enrolled in the schools award-winning Searider Productions program. They asked the students to explore peoples attitudes about Pidgin, the creole language of Hawaii.

The students took a documentary approach, filming themselves, their friends, and their families.

Though linguists recognize Pidgin as a legitimate language, equivalent to any other, many people living in Hawaii tend to think of it as broken English. This film is an attempt to challenge this way of thinking by showing how Pidgin is used and valued in everyday life.

Low-Class Hawaii Pidgin English

Just ran across this clip on youtube… You may notice a few of the kids:

…Or so the teacher tells the class. This takes place in the 1970’s in Hilo. After class the popular girls who are members of the Ray of the Rising Dawn, make “Jerry” abandon his friend because he wants to be a member.