Many who speak Pidgin believe there are far more speakers than the 1,600 counted in the census surveys. Census officials have been counting Pidgin since 1990.Ĭhristine Gambino, a survey statistician at the agency, said with more people knowing that it’s acceptable to write down Pidgin on the federal questionnaires, future data will be more reflective of an accurate number of speakers.

Census isn’t in the business of recognizing languages. Some saw the census numbers as recognition for the language, though the U.S.

Pidgin in Hawaii, or Hawaii Creole English, has long been considered a substandard form of English. There are other pidgins in other parts of the world, including in the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. The news reports last fall helped spark a sense of pride among those who speak the language in their homes and among friends, and a discussion about its use and the stigma that limits its wider acceptance in the state. It’s become a lexicon that congeals the people who are from Hawaii,” he said. He said his videos resonated with those who grew up in Hawaii and were homesick for the sounds of the language. Her idea came after news reports showed that recent census data included the number of speakers in the islands who said they spoke Pidgin, a mix of the languages spoken by Hawaiian, Filipino, Chinese, Puerto Rican and other workers who toiled in the state’s sugar plantations.īumatai put up some videos online doing his routines in Pidgin, and one with English subtitles got 1.5 million views.

When local comedian Andy Bumatai was searching for a new way to attract the attention of audiences on the Internet, his wife suggested he find inspiration in something from the old days: Pidgin, the language of his youth.

How to speak pidgin language