On the Adequacy of Hawai'i Creole English

364 Pages·2014·2.84 MB·English

by  Ryo E. Stanwood

DigitalResources SIL eBook 61
®
On the Adequacy of Hawai‘i
Creole English
Ryo E. Stanwood
On the Adequacy of Hawai‛i Creole English

Ryo E. Stanwood
SIL International®
2014
SIL e-Books
61

2014 SIL International, Inc.®

ISBN: 978-1-55671-367-5
ISSN: 1934-2470

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Editor-in-Chief
Mike Cahill

Managing Editor
Bonnie Brown

Compositor
Judy Benjamin

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Acknowledgements
Work on this volume was supported by a grant from MGM (My Great Mom), who in the author’s opinion
is more deserving of this Ph.D. than he. I owe her my second greatest debt (second only to God Himself).
In similar fashion, I was deeply touched by generousity of a friend, Mr. Bill Huddy who, without
solicitation or strings attached, gave me a substantial sum of money to help me pursue my studies.
I would like to thank the Center for Oral History for providing me with a virtual treasure trove of
entertaining and useful data.
I would like to express my appreciation to Michael Forman for his encouragement, his interest in my
work, his insightful critiques of this study from the sociolinguistic point of view, and his willingness to
spend on me time despite a demanding schedule. Dr. Forman was especially instrumental in helping me
to locate and evaluate key sources of data for this study.
Over the years, Joe Grimes has offered me lots of practical advice and was pivotal in getting me
interested in the lexicon and introducing me to Wierzbicka’s work. I thank him for his contribution.
Within the NSM school, I am particularly indebted to three people for their patient, insightful, and
honest answers to my questions: Jean Harkins, Cliff Goddard, and Anna Wierzbicka.
Anna Wierzbicka revolutionized my thinking about language.
Jean Harkins was my first actual contact with NSM theory and did a lot of foot work to arrange my
visit to ANU despite being in the middle of her own dissertation.
Finally, I am eternally grateful to Cliff Goddard for suggesting the topic for this dissertation

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Abstract
Low prestige, non-standard speech varieties have been stigmatized by some psychologists and educators
as a cognitive handicap responsible for the poor academic performance of minority children. This study
investigates whether a particular non-standard variety, Hawai‛i Creole English (HCE), is equal to “real”
languages (such as Standard English) in its expressive capacity. The Natural Semantic Metalanguage
(NSM) specification is the only explicit hypothesis about the expressive apparatus underlying all natural
languages. It therefore offers us the only empirical means to carry out our investigation. This
investigation argues in exhaustive detail that all the primitives and all the primitive combinations of the
NSM specification are present in HCE.
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Contents
Acknowledgements
Abstract
1 Introduction

1.1 Concerning the present study
1.2 Contents of chapters
1.3 The hypothesis
1.4 The NSM specification
1.5 Falsification of hypothesis
1.6 Validity of results
2 An overview of Natural Semantic Metalanguage
2.1 NSM as an approach to semantic analysis
2.1.1 Naturalness
2.1.2 Substitutability
2.1.3 How substitution works for articles
2.1.4 Substituting one level at a time
2.2 Directionality
2.3 The search for semantic primitives
2.4 About the forms of primitives
2.5 Cross-linguistic equivalence
2.6 The NSM specification
2.7 Concerns about NSM theory
2.7.1 General concerns
2.7.2 Specific concerns about the current NSM proposal
2.7.3 Conclusion
3 Hawai‛i Creole English
3.1 History
3.2 Language attitudes
3.3 HCE and cognition
3.4 Standard English and cognitive development
3.5 Linguists on the equality of languages
3.6 Conclusion
4 The Data
4.1 Variation
4.1.1 Pattern of variation
4.1.2 What to study
4.2 Data Sources
4.2.1 About myself
4.2.2 Written corpus
5 Analysis sections
5.1 The primitives
5.2 Importance of primitives
5.3 History and status of primitives
5.4 Organization of following sections
5.5 I
5.5.1 Primitive Syntax
5.5.2 HCE candidates
5.5.3 Examples of ai/mi
5.5.4 Summary
5.6 YOU
5.6.1 Primitive Syntax
5.6.2 HCE Candidates
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5.6.3 Examples of yu
5.6.4 Summary
5.7 SOMEONE
5.7.1 Primitive Syntax
5.7.2 HCE candidates
5.7.3 Examples of samwan
5.7.4 Examples of prsn
5.7.5 Examples of sambadi
5.7.6 Examples of gai
5.7.7 Summary
5.8 PEOPLE
5.8.1 Primitive syntax
5.8.2 HCE Candidates
5.8.3 Examples of pipo
5.8.4 Summary
5.9 SOMETHING
5.9.1 Primitive Syntax
5.9.2 HCE candidates
5.9.3 Examples of samting
5.9.4 Examples of ting
5.9.5 Examples of wat
5.9.6 Summary
5.10 THINK
5.10.1 Primitive Syntax
5.10.2 HCE candidates
5.10.3 Examples of tink
5.10.4 Summary
5.11 KNOW
5.11.1 Primitive Syntax
5.11.2 HCE Candidates
5.11.3 Examples of no
5.12 Summary
5.13 SAY
5.13.1 Primitive Syntax
5.13.2 HCE Candidates
5.13.3 Examples of sei
5.13.4 Examples of tel
5.13.5 Summary
5.14 WANT
5.14.1 Semantics
5.14.2 Primitive Syntax
5.14.3 HCE candidates
5.14.4 Examples of laik
5.14.5 Examples of wan
5.14.6 Summary
5.15 FEEL
5.15.1 Primitive Syntax
5.15.2 HCE candidates
5.15.3 Examples of fio
5.15.4 Summary
5.16 DO
5.16.1 Primitive Syntax
5.16.2 HCE Candidates
5.16.3 Examples of du
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5.16.4 Summary
5.17 HAPPEN
5.17.1 Primitive Syntax
5.17.2 HCE Candidates
5.17.3 Examples of haepn
5.17.4 Summary
5.18 THIS
5.18.1 Primitive syntax
5.18.2 HCE Candidates
5.18.3 Examples of dis
5.18.4 Summary
5.19 THE SAME
5.19.1 Primitive Syntax
5.19.2 HCE Candidates
5.19.3 Examples of seim
5.19.4 Summary
5.20 OTHER
5.20.1 Primitive Syntax
5.20.2 HCE Candidates
5.20.3 Examples of ada
5.20.4 Examples of eos
5.20.5 Summary
5.21 ONE
5.21.1 Primitive Syntax
5.21.2 HCE Candidates
5.21.3 Examples of wan
5.21.4 Summary
5.22 TWO
5.22.1 Primitive Syntax
5.22.2 HCE Candidates
5.22.3 Examples of tu
5.22.4 Summary
5.23 MUCH/MANY
5.23.1 Primitive Syntax
5.23.2 HCE Candidates
5.23.3 Examples of lats
5.23.4 Examples of maeni
5.23.5 Examples of mach
5.23.6 Examples of pleni
5.23.7 Examples of aw
5.23.8 Summary
5.24 ALL
5.24.1 Primitive Syntax
5.24.2 HCE Candidates
5.24.3 Examples of aw
5.24.4 Examples of evri
5.24.5 Examples of aweiz
5.24.6 Examples of evribadi
5.24.7 Examples of evriwan
5.24.8 Examples of evriwea
5.24.9 Summary

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5.25 GOOD 
5.25.1 Primitive Syntax 
5.25.2 HCE Candidates 
5.25.3 Examples of gud 
5.25.4 Summary 
5.26 BAD 
5.26.1 Primitive Syntax 
5.26.2 HCE Candidates 
5.26.3 HCE Examples 
5.26.4 Examples of baed 
5.26.5 Summary 
5.27 BIG 
5.27.1 Primitive Syntax 
5.27.2 HCE Candidates 
5.27.3 Examples of big 
5.27.4 Summary 
5.28 SMALL 
5.28.1 Primitive Syntax 
5.28.2 HCE Candidates 
5.28.3 Examples of smaw 
5.28.4 Examples of lido 
5.28.5 Summary 
5.29 VERY 
5.29.1 Primitive Syntax 
5.29.2 HCE Candidates 
5.29.3 Examples of veri 
5.29.4 Examples of rio 
5.29.5 Examples of rili 
5.29.6 Summary 
5.30 WHEN 
5.30.1 Primitive Syntax 
5.30.2 HCE Candidates 
5.30.3 Examples of wen 
5.30.4 Examples of taim 
5.30.5 Examples of samtaim 
5.30.6 Summary 
5.31 AFTER 
5.31.1 Primitive Syntax 
5.31.2 HCE Candidates 
5.31.3 Examples of aefta 
5.31.4 Examples of aeftawad 
5.31.5 Summary 
5.32 BEFORE 
5.32.1 Primitive Syntax 
5.32.2 HCE Candidates 
5.32.3 Examples of bifo 
5.32.4 Summary 
5.33 WHERE 
5.33.1 Primitive Syntax 
5.33.2 HCE Candidates 
5.33.3 Examples of pleis 
5.33.4 Examples of wea 
5.33.5 Summary

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5.34 UNDER
5.34.1 Primitive Syntax
5.34.2 HCE Candidates
5.34.3 Examples of anda
5.34.4 Examples of andanit
5.34.5 Examples of bilo
5.34.6 Summary
5.35 ABOVE
5.35.1 Primitive Syntax
5.35.2 HCE Candidates
5.35.3 Examples of abav
5.35.4 Summary
5.36 PART
5.36.1 Primitive Syntax
5.36.2 HCE Candidates
5.36.3 Examples of pat
5.36.4 Summary
5.37 KIND OF
5.37.1 Primitive Syntax
5.37.2 HCE Candidates
5.37.3 Examples of kain
5.37.4 X (IS) kain (OF) Y
5.37.5 X (IS) THE SAME kain (AS) Y
5.37.6 Summary
5.38 LIKE
5.38.1 Primitive Syntax
5.38.2 HCE Candidates
5.38.3 Examples of laik
5.38.4 Examples of jaslaik
5.38.5 Summary
5.39 BECAUSE
5.39.1 Primitive syntax
5.39.2 HCE Candidates
5.39.3 Examples of bikaz
5.39.4 Examples of kaz
5.39.5 Summary
5.40 IF
5.40.1 Primitive Syntax
5.40.2 HCE Candidates
5.40.3 Examples of if
5.40.4 Summary
5.41 NOT
5.41.1 Primitive Syntax
5.41.2 HCE Examples
5.41.3 Examples of don/di’n
5.41.4 Examples of no
5.41.5 Examples of neva
5.41.6 Examples of nat
5.41.7 Examples of nating
5.41.8 Summary

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