?? about slang used (Hawi: home, school, live)

[sl_wolfe]

Hi, I'm writing a novel, and I am need of some information. If anyone has answers or opinions to these questions, I would greatly appreciate your input. I've been to the North Shore, but I wasn't writing then, so I didn't get to gather this information.
I am curious what slang a twenty-five year old male might use if he is non Hawaiian but raised on Oahu. Also, what a twenty-five year old male might use if he is half Hawaiian. I am mainly looking for general greetings to friends their own age. Are they more likely to say aloha or hello? What slang may they use when joking around with each other and to a female friend? I'm curious if they might use more native words or English. My characters live on the North Shore and are surfers.
Again, any insight will be appreciated.

[Mikala43]

Eye of Hawaii - Pidgin, The Unofficial Language of Hawaii



It's hard to explain usage. We all use pidgen but to varying degrees and situations, and can depend on with whom we are hanging around.

I've heard it used in very high level board rooms, and among people who have it so thick I can barely understand it.

[WeSoHood]

I don't think 'half-hawaiian' or 'white' matters when it comes to pidgin and if you truly grew up there. It's not the Hawaiian language, but it's the language of Hawaii,

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by sl_wolfe

I am curious what slang a twenty-five year old male might use if he is non Hawaiian but raised on Oahu.

There are three key languages that could be in play for a young guy on Oahu... English of course, and Hawaiian, both official languages of the state, the latter mostly used by Native Hawaiians, and lightly used by English speakers primarily for place names and a handful of well known phrases. ... and pidgin (Hawiian Creole English as the linguists call it), which was the simple common language of the plantations, with words borrowed from every nationality working there.

Today pidgin is used by older Hawaiians who grew up speaking it at home before they learned English at school, and by their offspring, native born Hawaiians of all races as a Creole or jargon between themselves, and by young people, especially surfers, as a kind of hip insider slang.

Also, what a twenty-five year old male might use if he is half Hawaiian. I am mainly looking for general greetings to friends their own age. Are they more likely to say aloha or hello?

I'll leave it to the experts here to advise you more fully, but I think they would be more likely to say something like "Eh, Howzit?" or "Ho, Cuz!" I mean, that's what I say.

And yeah, sometimes people look stinkeye at me when I talk that way, but it's fun for me.

There have been several threads here recently in which people have been trading pidgin with each other, and you can also find some interesting YouTube videos which will give you some good background, such as this one...


How fo Speak Pidgin - YouTube

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by OpenD

There are three key languages that could be in play for a young guy on Oahu... English of course, and Hawaiian, both official languages of the state, the latter mostly used by Native Hawiians

Today pidgin is used by older Hawaiians who grew up speaking it at home before they learned English



I'll leave it to the experts here to advise you more fully, but

Is it Hawiians or Hawaiians?

[CyberCity]

Originally Posted by sl_wolfe

Also, what a twenty-five year old male might use if he is half Hawaiian.

Humm, that could depend on what the specific ohana makeup is that accomplished being "half Hawaiian". Ohana that is around you daily influences a lot of speech nuances.

[hunterseat]

I just saw the Pidgin 10 commandments that were so funny. My cubicle is next to a guy (Okinawan/Portuguese) and he goes OFF on some people on the phone! You can hear giggles coming from cubicles all over the office.

[Kayekaye]

That seems like a tall order, to write a book with some language you don't speak and are not exposed to. I've visited the island for decades and wouldn't attempt it. Seek out some youtubes like above and get yourself a Hawaiian editor to check your usage.

[hotzcatz]

There are a lot of nuances in pidgin and it won't sound right unless you get someone who speaks it to write it out for you. At least, IMHO. There's also regional differences in pidgin as well as some generational shift, too. But most of the folks reading your book probably wouldn't know all that anyway. Even respectable authors screw things up, Hemingway had girls in Hawaii wearing banana flowers in their hair.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Even respectable authors screw things up, Hemingway had girls in Hawaii wearing banana flowers in their hair.

I thought you said that was James Michener!