pidgin english

aloha to the merry month of may

~ jama


In Hawai’i, children and sweethearts are also referred to as "lei." (photo: Makena G.)

Wow. Seems like I just wished you a "Happy Lei Day," and now the month of May is coming to an end.

Just in case you’re cruising by on this long weekend, thought I’d serve up a little snack. Here are several pics from this year’s Lei Day Festival in Hawai’i. They had their usual lei making contest at Kapiolani Park on Oahu, and I must say how impressed I am with the high level of artistry and creativity displayed in the entries.

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talkin’ bout barack

~ jama ~ 15 Comments


The Obamas visiting the U.S.S. Arizona last year.

So, the past few days I’ve been wondering something.

When orator extraordinaire Barack Obama is in Hawai’i, does he ever speak any Pidgin? I mean, can you imagine him saying something like:

Ho, dis haupia cake broke da mout!
We go holoholo bumbai.
No can.

It’s hard to imagine, but I tend to think he must speak some Pidgin when he’s with old friends. I haven’t lived in Hawai’i for 30+ years, and I never speak Pidgin here in Virginia, yet whenever I’m back home visiting family and friends, I naturally begin to shorten my phrases and assume that unmistakable Pidgin "accent." It’s in my DNA, and I think it’s in Barack’s, too. Len wholly disagrees, citing that Barack is too conscious of his public image to utter so much as a syllable in Pidgin, since the press would pick up on every word he says.

Like Pidgin is bad, or something? Not so.

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