![]() I don't remember when I first heard Pidgin or became aware of it," (Scanlan). "Language is not just the way we speak but a compendium of who we are. ![]() It became a representative of how the cultures interacted with each other. Pidgin belonged to everyone who felt like they were on or close to an equal base. There may have been variations in pidgin on the plantations, but it was still an equalizer amongst social groups. Differences in Hawaiian Pidgin amongst ethnicities exemplify its influence as an identity former. Makot is of Japanese decent but part of his ethnicity can be seen in his Filipino background. The treatment of elders is just one example of the many aspects of identity that make up a culture. Respect for elders was an important aspect of Japanese culture that Kiyo had learned while Makot does not possess this for his mother as they lived in the Filipino camp. The scene with Kiyo then goes on to describe an interaction between Kiyo and Makot’s mother, “I would never treat my mother like that but then my mother would never act like that (Murayama 11). Along with this were different ways of interacting. There were differences in the way that each cultural group was used to living and this was reflected in the atmosphere of their camps. It was a spooky place, not like Japanese Camp” (Murayama 10). Toward the end of this section, Kiyo ventures to Makot’s house describing, “I went into the Filipino Camp and was scared. Kiyo has been told by his parents not to hang around Makot because he is a bad influence and his parents do not approve of Makot’s family. Murayama exemplifies the divide in camp life through his first story, “I’ll Crack Your Head Kotsun” as the main Japanese character Kiyo is friends with a boy named Makot who is also Japanese but lives in the Filipino camp. While this was the main purpose, the separate camps served as a way to preserve a piece of each culture and its traditional identity. Rather there was some seclusion that occurred between the camps on plantations mainly as a way of keeping workers from uniting. The variations in Pidgin exemplify that the plantations were not simply a “melting pot” as it has been said of the mixing of so many cultures. “As some countries presences were more prominent than others, so was their contribution in the formation of creole” (Drager).Īlthough Pidgin brought people together through language it did not mean that there weren’t breaks in communication. Murayama gives us a glimpse into what is known as “Japanese pidgin” on the Maui plantation where the story is set. “The details are important because the forms or dialects of pidgin differed among groups and over time” (Murayama105). With varied amounts of workers from different backgrounds came variations of Pidgin. Other laborers came from Korea, Puerto Rico, Germany, Russia, and Spain, as well as from throughout the Pacific (Drager). The languages with the largest populations of speakers on the plantations were Cantonese, Portuguese, and (slightly later in time) Japanese and Philippine languages. The day-to-day communication that occurred amongst planation workers resulted in a dialect that exemplified the new mixed identity on the plantations. Not only was it difficult to learn the language and its rules properly, there were also issues of trying to understand people who had a variety of accents when speaking English or Hawaiian. Before looking at this dialect of pidgin in the everyday interactions of plantation workers, its important to understand exactly how the language helped in forming a new identity.Įach cultural group experienced a different set of linguistic issues while attempting to learn English and Hawaiian. Set on a Maui plantation the story gives readers a peek into the everyday interactions of plantation workers from a variety of nations. Milton Murayama exemplifies the progress of Hawaiian Creole English and its importance in the formation of identity in his book All I asking for is my body. However, this was easier for all the different cultures as a sort of middle ground for communication. This melding led to speech containing many elements of English language. The creole language that eventually evolved from this contact situation came to be called Pidgin and is still spoken today (Drager). While some peoples had time to prepare and started learning English before moving to Hawaii, others had a complete lack of the language until setting foot on the land. The issue of verbal communication was immense as sugar plantations began hiring workers.
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