Reid Ginoza at 00:55, 10 April 2006

2006-04-10T00:55:53Z

Jennifer Wada at 10:47, 8 March 2006

2006-03-08T10:47:21Z

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presented in the school system in
accordance with the ideology espoused
by the English speakers controlling
the department.
The development of pidgin assured
the cultural survival of Hawaiians and
those who chose to identify with them
as locals, when the only alternative
seened to be to completely give up a
cohesive Hawaiian identity that relied
on the existence of a unifying
language. Pidgin assured a Hawaiian
identity, but it was used against
local people by the English speakers
in the same way that Hawaiian had
been. Individuals were chosen for
jobs based on their skills in English,
not pidgin, although the majority of
those with whom one might deal in the
position might speak pidgin. Just as
had been done earlier in
distinguishing between English
language schools and Hawaiian language
schools during the monarchy,
government English Standard schools
for those speaking Standard English
were established during the 1920's by
the territorial government for those
who aspired to higher positions. (See
chapter on "Education," above).
Entrance to these schools was by a
test of English ability. Very few
Hawaiians could pass the test, and it
was even more difficult for most
plantation .children, whose parents had
absolutely no formal contact with
English. Most of those who passed
were the more middle-class Americans
who had migrated to Hawai'i to fill
new white collar jobs in the territory
when these were vacated by the
Hawaiian speakers. The older, more
well-to-do American families, however,
sent their children to the prestigious
private schools.
Although the development of pidgin
saved the Hawaiian identity from
eradication, the replacement of
Hawaiian with pidgin added fuel to the
philosophy that things Hawaiian are
primitive and have no place in the
modern world. Without a knowledge of
Hawaiian, students cannot examine
Hawaiian literature and records of
modern Hawaiians functioning within
their own indigenous language and
culture. Their knowledge of
themselves had to be filtered through
an English viewpoint, which is
strongly prejudiced towards itself an
against Hawaiian culture. Thus,
pidgin cuts Hawaiians off from their
ancestral roots and aesthetic culture,
along with the adaptive tradition to
technological society that is also
their heritage.
Pidgin also handicaps local
children's social standing, because it
is viewed as an inferior version of
English. Hawaiian can never be viewed
as an inferior form of English and to
speak Hawaiian using Enaish rules is
to speak inferior Hawaiian. Because
it is its own full languaqe, Hawaiian
determines its own boundaries and
contains its own gradations of
language use within itself. There is
no anomaly to having an opera in
Hawaiian, formal debates in Hawaiian,
written literature in Hawaiian, or
high church services in Hawaiian, and
all of these have been done in the
language. There is even a certain
preference for Hawaiian over English
for the ceremonial opening of the
legislature or new buildings, for
example. Pidgin would never be
seriously used in today's social
context for any of these purposes.
The only time that pidgin is
consciously used in print or on,stage
is for a comical effect; otherwise
listeners interpret it as speaking
down tc them.
Pidgin puts local people at the
bottom of the English-language status
structure, which is somewhat ironic in
view of the fact that English itself
{{p|200}}

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 by the English speakers controlling
 the department.
 The development of pidgin assured
 the cultural survival of Hawaiians and
@@ Line 44: / Line 45: @@
 sent their children to the prestigious
 private schools.
 Although the development of pidgin
 saved the Hawaiian identity from
@@ Line 65: / Line 67: @@
 technological society that is also
 their heritage.
 Pidgin also handicaps local
 children's social standing, because it
@@ Line 92: / Line 95: @@
 is for a comical effect; otherwise
 listeners interpret it as speaking
-down tc them.
+down to them.
 Pidgin puts local people at the
 bottom of the English-language status

Template:Nhsc-v1-200 - Revision history

Reid Ginoza at 00:55, 10 April 2006

Jennifer Wada at 10:47, 8 March 2006