Pidgin
Hawaiian Creole
English-based creole
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
20 core words in Hawaiian Creole
Water
wata
/wɑtə/
Fire
faia
/fɑɪə/
Sun
san
/sɑn/
Moon
mun
/muːn/
Mother
madda
/mɑdə/
Father
fadda
/fɑdə/
Eat
eat
/iːt/
Drink
drink
/dɹɪŋk/
Love
love
/lʌv/
Heart
haht
/hɑːt/
Tree
tree
/tɹiː/
House
house
/haʊs/
Dog
dawg
/dɔːɡ/
Cat
cat
/kæt/
Hand
hand
/hænd/
Eye
eye
/aɪ/
Hello
howzit
/haʊzɪt/
Thank you
tanks
/tæŋks/
One
wan
/wɑn/
Good
good
/ɡʊd/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related English-based creole languages
| Meaning | Hawaiian Creole | English | English (Appalachian) | English (AAVE) | English (Yorkshire) | English (Irish) | English (Scottish) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | wata /wɑtə/ | water /ˈwɔːtə/ | water /wɔːɾɚ/ | water /wɑːɾɚ/ | water /wɔːtə/ | water /wɑːtəɹ/ | water /wɔːtəɹ/ |
| Fire | faia /fɑɪə/ | fire /faɪə/ | fire /faːɚ/ | fire /faːɚ/ | fire /faɪə/ | fire /fɑɪəɹ/ | fire /faɪɹ/ |
| Sun | san /sɑn/ | sun /sʌn/ | sun /sʌn/ | sun /sʌn/ | sun /sʊn/ | sun /sʊn/ | sun /sʌn/ |
| Moon | mun /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ |
| Mother | madda /mɑdə/ | mother /ˈmʌðə/ | mother /mʌðɚ/ | mama /mɑːmə/ | mother /mʊðə/ | mother /mʊðəɹ/ | mother /mʌðəɹ/ |
| Father | fadda /fɑdə/ | father /ˈfɑːðə/ | father /fɑːðɚ/ | daddy /dæɾi/ | father /fɑːðə/ | father /fɑːðəɹ/ | father /fɑːðəɹ/ |
| Eat | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ |
| Drink | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ |
| Love | love /lʌv/ | love /lʌv/ | love /lʌv/ | love /lʌv/ | love /lʊv/ | love /lʊv/ | love /lʌv/ |
| Heart | haht /hɑːt/ | heart /hɑːt/ | heart /hɑːɹt/ | heart /hɑːɹt/ | heart /hɑːt/ | heart /hɑːɹt/ | heart /hɑɹt/ |
| Tree | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ |
| House | house /haʊs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /haːʊs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /aʊs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /hʌus/ |
| Dog | dawg /dɔːɡ/ | dog /dɒɡ/ | dog /dɑːɡ/ | dog /dɔːɡ/ | dog /dɒɡ/ | dog /dɒɡ/ | dog /dɔɡ/ |
| Cat | cat /kæt/ | cat /kæt/ | cat /kæt/ | cat /kæt/ | cat /kat/ | cat /kat/ | cat /kat/ |
| Hand | hand /hænd/ | hand /hænd/ | hand /hænd/ | hand /hæːnd/ | hand /and/ | hand /hand/ | hand /hand/ |
| Eye | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aː/ | eye /aː/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /ɑɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ |
| Hello | howzit /haʊzɪt/ | hello /həˈləʊ/ | howdy /haːdi/ | what's up /wʌts ʌp/ | ey up /eɪ ʊp/ | hello /hɛloː/ | hello /hɛlo/ |
| Thank you | tanks /tæŋks/ | thank you /θæŋk juː/ | thanks /θæŋks/ | thanks /θæŋks/ | ta /tɑː/ | thanks /taŋks/ | thanks /θaŋks/ |
| One | wan /wɑn/ | one /wʌn/ | one /wʌn/ | one /wʌn/ | one /wɒn/ | one /wʊn/ | one /wʌn/ |
| Good | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ |
Page 1/3
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
أنا
أريد
أن أجرب
بدلة
رأيتها
في
محل
مقابل
الفندق
我
想
试穿
酒店
对面的
商店
里
看到的
那套西装
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
Я
хочу
примерить
костюм
который
я увидел
в
магазине
напротив
отеля
Hawaiian Creole
My
name
stay
Tanaka
اسمي
هو
تاناكا
我的
名字
是
田中
My
name
is
Tanaka
Mein
Name
ist
Tanaka
मेरा
नाम
तनाका
है
私の
名前は
田中
です
Моё
имя
—
Танака
Hawaiian Creole
I
eat
breakfast
every morning
at seven o'clock
أتناول
أنا
الإفطار
كل صباح
الساعة السابعة
我
每天早上
七点
吃
早饭
I
eat
breakfast
every morning
at 7 o'clock
Ich
frühstücke
jeden Morgen
um 7 Uhr
मैं
हर सुबह
7 बजे
नाश्ता
करता हूँ
毎朝
7時に
朝ごはんを
食べます
Я
завтракаю
каждое утро
в 7 часов
Hawaiian Creole
Wea
stay
da closest
station
أين
تقع
أقرب
محطة
最近的
车站
在
哪里
Where
is
the nearest
station
Wo
ist
der nächste
Bahnhof
सबसे नज़दीकी
स्टेशन
कहाँ
है
一番近い
駅は
どこ
です
か
Где
находится
ближайшая
станция
Hawaiian Creole
Dis
coffee
real
ono
هذه
القهوة
لذيذة
جداً
这
咖啡
很
好喝
This
coffee
is
very
delicious
Dieser
Kaffee
ist
sehr
lecker
यह
कॉफ़ी
बहुत
स्वादिष्ट है
この
コーヒーは
とても
おいしいです
Этот
кофе
очень
вкусный
Hawaiian Creole
I
stay study
Japanese
at da university
أنا
أدرس
اللغة اليابانية
في الجامعة
我
在大学
学
日语
I
study
Japanese
at university
Ich
studiere
Japanisch
an der Universität
मैं
विश्वविद्यालय में
जापानी
पढ़ता हूँ
私は
大学で
日本語を
勉強しています
Я
изучаю
японский язык
в университете
Hawaiian Creole
Tomorrow
da wedda
gon be
sunny
سيكون
الطقس
غداً
مشمساً
明天
天气
会
晴天
Tomorrow's
weather
will be
sunny
Morgen
wird
das Wetter
sonnig
sein
कल
मौसम
धूप वाला
होगा
明日の
天気は
晴れ
でしょう
Завтра
погода
будет
солнечной
Hawaiian Creole
My madda
cook
dinna
every day
تطبخ
أمي
العشاء
كل يوم
我妈妈
每天
做
晚饭
My mother
cooks
dinner
every day
Meine Mutter
kocht
jeden Tag
Abendessen
मेरी माँ
हर रोज़
रात का खाना
बनाती है
お母さんは
毎日
夕食を
作ります
Моя мама
готовит
ужин
каждый день
Hawaiian Creole
I
like
go
to
Japan
next
year
أنا
أريد
أن أذهب
إلى
اليابان
العام
القادم
我
明
年
想
去
日本
I
want to
go
to
Japan
next
year
Ich
möchte
nächstes
Jahr
nach
Japan
fahren
मैं
अगले
साल
जापान
जाना
चाहता हूँ
私は
来
年
日本
に
行き
たいです
Я
хочу
поехать
в
Японию
в следующем
году
Hawaiian Creole
You
can
talk
English
هل
تستطيع
التحدث
باللغة الإنجليزية
你
会
说
英语
吗
Can
you
speak
English
Können
Sie
Englisch
sprechen
आप
अंग्रेज़ी
बोल
सकते हैं
あなたは
英語が
話せ
ます
か
Вы
умеете
говорить
по-английски
Compare with closely-related languages
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
Hawaiian Creole
My
name
stay
Tanaka
Mi
niem
a
Tanaka
My
name
na
Tanaka
Nem
bilong mi
Tanaka
Hawaiian Creole
I
eat
breakfast
every morning
at seven o'clock
Mi
nyam
brekfas
evri maanin
a sevn a klak
I
dey chop
breakfast
every morning
for seven o'clock
Mi
kaikai
brekfas
olgeta moning
long seven kilok
Hawaiian Creole
Wea
stay
da closest
station
We
di
niiris
stieshan deh
Wetin
be
the nearest
station
Klosap
stesen
i stap
we
Hawaiian Creole
Dis
coffee
real
ono
Dis
kafi
well well
nice
Dis
coffee
sweet
well well
Dispela
kopi
i gutpela
tru
Hawaiian Creole
I
stay study
Japanese
at da university
Mi
stodi
Japaniiz
a yuniversiti
I
dey study
Japanese
for university
Mi
stadi
tok Japan
long yunivesiti
Hawaiian Creole
Tomorrow
da wedda
gon be
sunny
Tumaro
weda
a go
soni
Tomorrow
weather
go
shine
Tumora
weda
bai
san i kam
Hawaiian Creole
My madda
cook
dinna
every day
Mi mada
kuk
dina
evri die
My mama
dey cook
dinner
every day
Mama bilong mi
kukim
kaikai bilong nait
olgeta de
Hawaiian Creole
I
like
go
to
Japan
next
year
Mi
waan
go
a
Japan
nex
year
I
wan
go
to
Japan
next
year
Mi
laik
go
long
Japan
long yia
bihain
Hawaiian Creole
You
can
talk
English
Yu
kyan
chat
Inglish
You
fit
tok
English
Yu
save
toktok
Inglis
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