Pidgin

Hawaiian Creole

English-based creole

FamilyEnglish-based creole Speakers~600K ScriptLatin CountriesUSA (Hawaii) Official inNo Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3hwc

Hawaiian Creole English (Pidgin, HCE; locally just "Pidgin") is spoken by ~600K in Hawaiʻi, primarily Hawaiʻi-born locals who code-switch between Pidgin and Standard English. It emerged in the late 19th c. on Hawaiʻi's sugar plantations through contact between Hawaiian, Cantonese, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, and Filipino plantation labor under English-speaking management. Distinct from English in tense markers (wen for past, going for future), copula deletion, and prosody influenced by Hawaiian and Asian substrate. Officially recognized as a separate language by the US Census Bureau in 2015 and by the American Dialect Society in 2015, ending a long stigmatization that had branded it merely "broken English."

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Hawaiian Creole

Water

wata

wɑtə

Fire

faia

fɑɪə

Sun

san

sɑn

Moon

mun

muːn

Star

star

staɹ

Night

nait

nait

Rain

rain

ɹeɪn

Snow

snow

snoʊ

Wind

wind

wɪn

Earth

graun

ɡɹaʊn

Stone

stone

stoʊn

Mountain

mountain

maʊntən

Sea

ocean

oʊʃən

Mother

madda

mɑdə

Father

fadda

fɑdə

Daughter

dawta

dɑːtə

I

I

ai

You

you

ju

We

we

wi

Name

name

neɪm

Head

head

hɛd

Eye

eye

aɪ

Ear

ear

iɚ

Nose

nose

noʊz

Mouth

mout

maʊt

Tooth

tut

tut

Tongue

tang

tæŋ

Hand

hand

hænd

Foot

foot

fut

Heart

haht

hɑːt

Bone

bone

boʊn

Blood

blad

blæd

Poop

doodoo

dudu

Love

love

lʌv

Tree

tree

tɹiː

Dog

dawg

dɔːɡ

Cat

cat

kæt

Fish

fish

fɪʃ

Bird

bird

bɜd

Butterfly

buttafly

bʌtəflaɪ

Egg

eg

ɛɡ

Bear

bear

bɛɹ

Horse

horse

hɔɹs

House

house

haʊs

Milk

milk

mɪlk

Honey

honey

hʌni

Salt

salt

sɑlt

Wine

wine

waɪn

Iron

iron

aɪən

Wheel

wheel

wiːl

Silk

silk

sɪlk

Book

book

buk

Eat

eat

iːt

Drink

drink

dɹɪŋk

Sleep

sleep

sliːp

One

wan

wɑn

Two

two

tu

Three

three

tɹi

Four

four

foɹ

Five

faiv

faiv

Hundred

hundred

ˈhʌndɹəd

Hello

howzit

haʊzɪt

Thank you

tanks

tæŋks

Good

good

ɡʊd

New

new

nu

Red

red

ɹɛd

White

white

waɪt

Black

black

blæk

Green

green

ɡɹiːn

Blue

blue

bluː

Ninety-nine

ninety nine

nainti nain

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: English-based creole

Meaning Hawaiian CreolePhilippine EnglishCanadian EnglishNigerian EnglishEnglishBahamian CreoleKenyan English
Water wata /wɑtə/ water /ˈwɔtɚ/ water /ˈwɑɾɚ/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ watah /wɑːtə/ water /ˈwɔːtə/
Fire faia /fɑɪə/ fire /faɪɚ/ fire /ˈfaɪɚ/ fire /faɪə/ fire /faɪə/ fyah /fajə/ fire /faɪə/
Sun san /sɑn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sɔn/ sun /sʌn/ son /sɔn/ sun /sʌn/
Moon mun /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/
Star star /staɹ/ star /stɑr/ star /stɑɹ/ star /staː/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑː/ star /staː/
Night nait /nait/ night /naɪt/ night /nʌɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/
Rain rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeːn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /reɪn/ rain /ɹeːn/
Snow snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoː/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoː/
Page 1/9

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Hawaiian Creole
I like try on da suit I wen see inside da shop across from da hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

Hawaiian Creole
I like try on da suit I wen see inside da shop across from da hotel
Mi waan try on di suit weh mi did si inna di shop cross from di hotel
I wan try di suit wey I see for di shop for front of di hotel
Mi laik traim dispela sut mi lukim long stua long het bilong hotel

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