I was just thinking about Hawaii's pidgin English language and the Hawaiian words that became part of our everyday speech when we were little.
We also didn't use the words Kamaaina (local people) and Malihini (non-local people) very much.
We didn't greet each other with aloha or say mahalo for thank you.
Art and I were having lunch and thought of the Hawaiian words that were laced in our pidgin language that we grew up with.
I'll give you the definition and how it was spoken just for fun.
makule (old person): What that makule guy doing?
mauka and makai (Toward the mountain or the ocean): Where she live? Mauka side or makai?
pio (turn off): No forget to pio the light.
huli (turn over): You like eat some huli huli chicken?
pilikea (trouble): I heard he was in big pilikea for ditching class the other day.
hemo (remove): Who when hemo the cover from the bottle?
pau hana (after work): When pau hana, you like go see a movie?
kau kau (eat): What you like kau kau for lunch today?
pupule (crazy, reckless): That guy pupule for not getting the vaccine.
moemoe (sleep): The baby going moemoe now.
pilau (dirty): Oh my! That some pilau kind stuff.
kapu (forbidden): No go there. Kapu as why.
manini (small): That some manini kind fish she caught.
okole (butt): Get your okole over here or you going get scolding.
ono (delicious): Wow! This manapua really ono!
uku (lice): You no like ukus on your head.
holo holo (go somewhere for fun): You like go holo holo down Waikiki?
Pau (Finished): OK, I'm all pau with this blog post now. 😁
POSTSCRIPT: (To my local Hawaii readers) What Hawaiian words did you grow up with? Art (who grew up on the Big Island) says he used kolohe for bad, but we didn't use it in Waipahu. (I got verification from my brother.)
That was very interesting!!!
ReplyDeleteAn interesting read, Doty!
ReplyDeleteI guess my short time in Hawaii was only around tourists or people who spoke mainland English because I'm not sure I heard any of those words spoken.
ReplyDeleteLanguages are so interesting! Different areas (and even different families) have their own words and sayings. I remember the first time I visited Hawaii I bought some perfume called "Wicked Wahine." It smelled good in Hawaii but terrible once I got it back to Washington and cooler temperatures.
ReplyDeleteBlessings.....
ReplyDeletei enjoyed this, its shows like everything else, language evolves.
These are some fascinating words to mean various actions. I love that I now have learned a little pidgin Hawaiian. Right?
ReplyDeleteNow this makule gal is ready to book flight:) Well maybe not quite, but this was fun.
ReplyDeleteBack then, I think I was kolohe. Naughty. Drove my mother and teachers pupule.
ReplyDeleteWe also used "puka" for hole. "Watch out for da puka or you going fall in!" It has a much stronger ring than the word "hole" which is harder to hear and then has the homonym "whole".
"Beef" was fight. "So what, you like beef or what?"
"Moke" was a big rough fellow and "Tita" was a female version but she didn't have to be big.
And you got me thinking about the old days. We didn't have poke (seasoned raw fish cubes) back then or spam musubis. No McDonalds. And we walked around barefoot more. So simple back then.
Pidgin like any language evolves. We never used kolohe at all. I knew slightly more pidgin because dad grew up in Kona with Hawaiians. I remember pupule, hamajang, bakatare though Japanese,pake, portagee,haole, lolo,tita, katonk,moke(s). Still use a lot of howzit, making the shaka sign, pau, pau hana and puka. Lots of slang for other races but don't know if they were slurs. Buk buk for filipinos,yobo for Korean. I haven't heard of these terms from the 70s so maybe they were slurs?? Since my friends were mostly Japanese, we used lots of "local" Japanese which I found out are colloquisims or crude. Like benjo, Shi Shi, bocha, nenne. Just a mixture of languages mashed up.I don't hear these terms any more but maybe kids use more standard English these days?? -BB
ReplyDeleteIt’s true that benjo is kind of country crude, I think. I used otearai for bathroom when I was in Japan but discovered they now use otoire (otoilet). Languages do evolve.
DeleteMany languages have pigeon. It's an interesting pattern of communication. I like the way it sounds with the English. Interesting post and I'm curious how pigeon influenced your life.
ReplyDeleteOpala - Trash
ReplyDeleteKuleana - Responsibility
Keiki - Kid
Hele - Let's go
Lua - Toilet
Hapai - Pregnant
Hana Hou - One more time
When we were little, I always thought kuleana meant fault as in, “was his kuleana.” But now it’s as you say.
DeleteITA on kuleana with you Kay. My dad always used it as ' not my kuleana' or that's their kuleana so took it as not my problem. Also I use pilau a lot. BB
DeleteI was exposed to some pidgin in some of my reading way back then. It is fun to hear it but I would be lost now in understanding it.
ReplyDeleteI am interested in knowing how you managed to switch to pure English for teaching, and do you ever fall back into pidgin expressions?
When I moved to mainland it was relatively easy for me to switch to standard English. I remember hearing a recording of me speaking when I first arrived in Chicago and it just totally changed through the years. When I started teaching, teacher friends asked me to show them what pidgin sounded like. I couldn't do it. When I went home to Hawaii, my brother would laugh and tell me, "Speak local."
DeleteInteresting, thank you.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
I didn't realize some usage increased because of visitors more than what locals spoke. When I hear some K.C. Hawaiians put in some Hawaiian words, they speak so quickly, it's hard to catch their words. So, am I able to print this wonderful list of your words? Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteOf course you can print these out and also the other words that local bloggers have contributed in the comments. This was so much fun.
ReplyDeleteAll new to me.
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting, indeed!
ReplyDeleteAll familiar. Kay. Pio da light 🕯️
ReplyDeleteI forgot makule though
. tanks, eh?