Pidgin in the Classroom

Abstract

Like plate lunches, aloha shirts, and lei, Pidgin is an important part of local identity in Hawai'i. While some people still think of Pidgin as "broken English," many now realize that it is a distinct creole language, similar to others that have developed in multilingual environments, and call it Hawai'i Creole or HCE (Hawai'i Creole English). Whatever you call it, Pidgin is integral to the development of modern Hawai'i and therefore it is surprising that there is nothing about it in the school curriculum. Even more surprising, however, is that in many schools, Pidgin is frowned upon and the language is kept out of the classroom.