;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Linguistics 432 than 600,000 people, including 100,000 or more who do not speak standard English, it Hawai‘i Creole is largely seen as inferior to English; many believe it is a form of incorrect, or, even, English: The Path to “broken English” (Campbell, 2006, p. 2063; Understanding Siegel, 2008, p. 56). It is no wonder then, that standard English, in some form or another, is By Britney Carey the instructional language used in Hawai‘i’s I. Introduction schools (Lewis, 2009, para. 7). The use of For many people who live in the standard English, and only standard English, Hawaiian Islands, Hawai‘i Creole English in the classroom, may not be the optimal (HCE) is a native or, at the very least, a second educational strategy for Hawai‘i. Research language learned early on. Known more suggests that HCE could be effectively utilized commonly as Pidgin, HCE reflects Hawai‘i’s in educational settings. Currently, however, rich heritage and culture as it is a “mixed- misinformation and a lack of awareness plate” of linguistic and social structures. about HCE among Hawai‘i’s schoolteachers, In the late 19th century, Hawai‘i’s sugar administrators, parents, and even students, plantations employed laborers from around is preventing such integration, and may be the world and as it was necessary for the hurting, rather than helping, our Islands’ keiki. laborers to communicate on the plantations, a This paper will address this problem and “makeshift” language began to form (Sakoda its possible resolutions, including programs & Siegel, 2003, p. 2; Crystal, 2008, p. 451). which call for the integration of HCE in the Hawaiian, Cantonese, and Portuguese classroom. influenced the development of this pidgin, II. Survey known as Hawai‘i Pidgin English (HPE) In November 2010, I attended and (Sakoda & Tamura, 2008, p. 41). HPE was even presented a “rough draft” of this paper at used for communications outside the plantation a conference held by the North Hawai‘i (Furukawa, 2007, p. 374). Speakers, using it at Community Children’s Council. Among the home, introduced HPE to their children, who attendees were teachers, English Language would teach it to the next generation (Sakoda Learner Program teachers, speech language & Siegel, 2003, p. 2). By the early 1900s, HPE pathologists, educational assistants, and had become “the primary language of many” state workers. As part of my presentation, living in Hawai‘i (Furukawa, 2007, p. 374). I administered a brief and optional Eventually, HPE began to replace other questionnaire about HCE; seventeen1 were languages as the native tongue of plantation returned. This survey was comprised of five children (Yokota, 2008, p. 22). This occurrence statements which participants were to rate, on marked the change from HPE to HCE, or, what a scale from one to five, to what extent they we in Hawai‘i call, Pidgin (Yokota, 2008, p. agreed with each statement (see Appendix A 22). When HPE underwent creolization, like for the complete survey). many pidgins, it developed an expanded and An analysis of survey responses showed more complex language structure (Sankoff & several interesting outcomes. For instance, Laberge, 1984, p. 306). the nine participants indicated that they Today, the linguistic situation disagreed with Statement 1 (Pidgin is not a surrounding HCE is one marked by language) while seven2 agreed with Statement controversy, misinformation, and outdated 2 (Pidgin is a dialect of English). The fact that attitudes. Although HCE is spoken by more 1 a majority believe HCE is both a language or modal (p. 56). Each marker has a specific and a dialect suggests that there is confusion function and rules which dictate how it may among participants about what constitutes be used (Siegel, 2008, p. 56). For example, the a language and a dialect. If the nature of marker nat may be used in three situations: (1) HCE is not understood by or known to the preceding the predicate in sentences which community, how can we expect this linguistic lack a verb, (2) preceding an –ing form of a situation to be addressed properly? verb (unless verb is preceded by ste), and (3) Statements 4 and 5 also elicited preceding sapostu (Siegel, 2008, p. 56). For interesting, and to some extent, surprising a more complete list of negative markers in responses. Before tallying up participant HCE, see Appendix B. answers, I fully expected that a majority Another misconception about HCE would agree with Statement 4 (Students who is that it is somehow inferior to standard speak Pidgin should have no trouble learning English (Da Pidgin Coup, 2008, p. 33). This in a classroom where standard English is the assumption is false. No one language variety only language used). However, this was not has ever been shown to be intrinsically the case: the majority of participants actually superior to any other, and no one variety has disagreed with Statement 4. Similarly, while I been shown to be significantly more complex expected participants to agree with Statement than any other in grammatical terms (Da 5 (Pidgin has no place in the classroom), the Pidgin Coup, 2008, p. 33; Baugh, 1999, p. majority disagreed here. These results suggest 9-10). that there is hope for successful classroom A statement made by State Board of integration of HCE. Education Chairman Mitsugi Nakashima Although this survey was done purely demonstrates that even those in the education for illustrative purposes, and is in no way sector are not immune to misconceptions bred definitive, it is worth considering. If nothing of bias. To Nakashima, “if you speak pidgin, else, the results of this survey indicate that you think pidgin, you write pidgin” (Da Pidgin there does appear to be a lack of awareness Coup, 2008, p. 35). Nakashima’s statement about HCE present in the community. intended to imply that the use of HCE was to blame for poor student scores on national III. Discrediting Myths and standardized writing tests (Eades, 1999, p. Misrepresentations in HCE 6). Such a claim is, of course, unfounded for Perhaps one of the most common a number of reasons. For example, there are misconceptions about HCE is that it is simply substantial differences between writing and a decrepit variety of English (Siegel, 2008, speech, including the neurological processes p. 56). This, of course, is not true. For almost involved in the facilitation of each act (Da half a century now, “sociolinguists have Pidgin Coup, 2008, p. 35-36; Baugh, 1999, p. been showing that creoles such as [HCE] are 12). legitimate, rule-governed languages that differ According to Fromkin, Rodman, & in systematic ways from the language from Hyams (2008), because “children learn to which most of their vocabulary is derived” speak instinctively without being taught,” (Siegel, 2008, p.56). For instance, HCE has a learning to read and write may not be equated unique set of grammatical rules which sets it with learning to speak (p. 791). In other apart from its lexifier language, English (Siegel, words, the acquisition of human language is 2008, p. 56; Burridge & Kortmann, 2004, p. innate; the mastering of reading and writing, 573). One such set of rules may be observed however, is not (Fromkin, Rodman, & Hyams, in the formation of negatives in HCE (Siegel, p. 791). If the only way a child acquires the 2008, p. 56). According to Siegel (2008), HCE necessary skills for reading and writing is has at least four markers for negation, any one through study, then it is not the students who of which may occur before a verb, auxiliary, 2 have failed the educational system, but rather, and shortcomings within the institution of the other way around. education and the community (Siegel, 2008, A fourth misconception is one which p. 61). directly addresses HCE in the classroom. It has Educational programs advocated for been shown that the concern that the use of Hawai‘i which would integrate HCE into non-standard language varieties, such as HCE, the classroom have been shown to aid in in schools will hinder students’ acquisition acquisition of the standard, therefore giving of the standard has kept such languages from students a chance to get ahead (Siegel, 2008, being used in educational settings (Siegel, p. 61). HCE-speaking students would not 2008, p. 59). The fear is that features of the be isolated in these programs as all students non-standard variety will be inappropriately would participate in the same classroom transferred when speaking or writing in the activities and be encouraged to use the variety standard language, effectively interfering with of language they are most comfortable with a student’s acquisition of the standard (Siegel, (Siegel, 2008, p. 61), which will be discussed 2008, p. 59). There is, however, no evidence further in section IV. that using HCE in the classroom would increase the likelihood of such interference, IV. Discussion: HCE and Education and, subsequently, would not affect a student’s IV.i. How can HCE be used in education? ability to acquire standard English (Siegel, There are several types of educational 2008, p. 59-60). In fact, studies of programs programs which integrate and utilize creoles which incorporate non-standard varieties into and other non-standard varieties into the the classroom actually show the opposite classroom. Siegel (2008) discusses three (Siegel, 2008, p. 60). Successful programs specific types of programs: instrumental have been carried out in the US Virgin Islands, programs, accommodation programs, and Belize, the United States, and even Hawai‘i awareness programs (p. 57-59). (Siegel, 2008, p. 60). Instrumental programs use the local There is further trepidation within non-standard language variety as a medium the community based on the concept of of instruction (Siegel, 2008, p.