Pidgin: The Voice of Hawai'i

You can't really understand Hawaiʻi until you understand Pidgin, the language of Hawaiʻi's heart and soul. Born on sugar plantations, spoken by more than half of Hawaiʻi's population, part English, part Hawaiian, with other languages mixed in, Pidgin captures the essence of multi-ethnic Hawaiʻi and of President Obama.

"Pidgin: The Voice of Hawaiʻi," a one-hour documentary film produced by Marlene Booth and the late Kanalu Young, profiles this language of Hawaiʻi’s working people in its rise from plantation jargon to a source of island identity and pride. Along the way, English Standard Schools fueled anti-Pidgin sentiment and left behind a legacy of shame in speaking Pidgin.

But Pidgin did not die.

The premiere of "Pidgin: The Voice of Hawaiʻi" is presented by UH Mānoa’s Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge to honor Kanalu Young. A professor and director of graduate studies at Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, Young was a PhD in history, and wrote on the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, and colonization and decolonization in the Pacific. He also composed songs and chants, and was an adviser to the UH-Mānoa football team and helped develop its pre-game ha`a.

Ticket Information
Free

Event Sponsor
Hawai`inuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, Manoa Campus

More Information
Annette Lehano, 956-0980, alh@hawaii.edu

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