*Let us begin!*
Hiki iā ʻoe ke ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi?
Eh braddah, u talk Pidgin?
Puoi parlo Italiano?
Do you speak English?
*Can you describe the feeling you get from...
(1) The sound of droplets from a slippery waterfall?
(2) The sight of a snow-capped mountain range during sunrise, or
(3) Feasting your eyes on a Catholic church featuring artworks that are hundreds of years old?
All these questions above technically ask for the same thing: an ANSWER! Because of this, their intentions are the same, their goals are the same, and they all ask for a specific piece of information.
The only obvious difference...?
They are all written in different LANGUAGES: Hawaiian, Pidgin, Italian, English, and a fifth language that I call the unspoken language of REVERENCE.
I am extremely fortunate to have exposer in all of these languages. Since arriving in Italy, however, I've been forced to come to terms with the reality of being a multi-lingual individual, living in a multi-dimensional world. I figured in order for me to de-clutter the language mess that's in my head, I should talk about it on Kepa Aloha!
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| Io e le mie amiche a Parma, Italia! Me and my friends (feminine plural) in Parma, Italy! |
Now I must disclaim that my fluency in these languages vary slightly, and I have never studied linguistics formally, so I'm sure there are academic ways of expressing the topic of language. However, ʻaʻole wau ʻike i nā mea a pau (I do not see everything in existence), so the views and ideas reflected in this post are purely from my own personal experiences, observations, and reflections.
I will do my best to find the right words for the word that describes all words! (I know...that sounds really confusing, and this post may get a little messy...but stick with me, it'll be awesome!)
The pivotal moment of landing!
Why do I feel the need to address the topic of language after my first week in Italy? Because it's the very first barrier that anyone who studies abroad needs to overcome!
As a multi-lingual person, I have a unique challenge facing this barrier because of the additional neurological connections my brain contains that is responsible for learning languages. So in order for me to face that cultural barrier, I first need to take a solid look at all the languages floating around my brain.
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| Was one LUCKY BUGGAH fo get my own row on da plane ride! |
I'll begin the topic of language with Pidgin! Otherwise known as Hawaiian Creole English, Pidgin evolved from Hawaiʻi's sugar plantations as a means for English speakers to communicate with non-English speakers - among whom were kanaka maoli as well as immigrant plantation workers (Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, etc.).
To me, Pidgin is the most popular language that people from outside of Hawaiʻi recognize as being truly unique to such a multi-racial, ethnic, and cultural place. Words such as "shoots," "howzit," and "da kine" are based on a history of people finding a way to communicate with one another, despite existing language barriers. Because of this, I speak Pidgin with most of my family and friends who live, or are from, Hawaiʻi. Pidgin, in a way, celebrates and recognizes the unique language diversity that still exists in my homeland.
(For more info on Pidgin, click here)
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| Statue in Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi! |
It's the language I speak most often, but I personally view it as an elitist language. I make this claim for two obvious reasons: (1) English is spoken by some of the wealthiest nations on earth including Great Britain and the United States of America, and (2) the prevalence of English today is due to historical expansion of Western ideals upon cultures that were seen as "inferior" to English and American predecessors.
Among those cultures who were influenced by the English language was my own culture, Ka moʻomeheu Hawaiʻi.
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| He ʻohā pili wale... I am still a young taro growing from an older corm |
Here's the deal: ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi is my mother tongue. This is the language of my ancestors, and if there were more people around me that I could kamaʻilio (converse) with on a daily basis, it would definitely be the language of my preference.
This is because I could use ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi to express my feelings, thoughts, and stories in a way that would be most authentic to my identity as a kanaka maoli - a native Hawaiian. Unfortunately, because of historical impacts of colonialism/Western influence - and my own life choices to go to college outside of Hawaiʻi - I have no other choice but to speak languages outside of my chief heritage.
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| Kuʻu kahua aloha - my loving foundation I love my family! |
Growing up surrounded by a majority of English-speaking individuals, some people would say, "Hawaiian is not a useful language, it will never help you in your future!" Now, I understand why that argument exists, but in my own experience it's completely false.
When it came time for me to learn Italiano, my knowledge of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi gave me the tools necessary to learn much quicker than if I were to have grown up mono-lingual. Italian uses the same phonetics (speech sounds) in its vowel system that Hawaiian uses, making it easier for me to pronounce words. This system is actually used by many romance languages. If I didn't have a similar phonetic background in Hawaiian, I know my experience here in Italy would be completely different.
Here's another thing: not being able to speak Hawaiian as often as I'd like felt extraordinarily isolating during my middle school/high school years.
I experienced the struggle of having to communicate and express myself in a language that I wasn't entirely comfortable speaking. Being okay with feeling both uncomfortable and isolated in a place that doesn't speak your primary language is something I've come across again being abroad. In many ways, I feel better prepared to face this language barrier this time around!
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| Da biggest city in the Emilia-Romagna region = Bologna! |
The three places pictured below inquire such a respect.
Remember those last three questions I stated above? These three photos give the only explanation that will ever be needed. The beauty of this unspoken language is that it is completely open to your own interpretation...
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| Waiheʻe = "Slippery Water" *Taken during my last week at home before coming to Italy* |
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| The Pennine Alps...simply breathtaking |
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| Cattedrale Metropolitana di San Pietro - Bologna Cathedral |
Well...according to the Encyclopedia of Language, the word "Language" is defined as: "a system of signs, i.e. of institutionalized sensory patterns that ‘stand for’ something beyond themselves, so that they ‘mean’ something."
I love this definition because it shows us what we can do to appreciate language more. When we stop to really think about it, our ability to speak any language is often a tool we take for granted.
I mean...REALLY think about it! We are born, we learn how to pronounce specific sounds, we match those sounds to specific characters/words/diacritical marks and-BAM! you start understanding this thing called a "language" without ever giving it a second thought as to how incredible the process of gaining such an ability truly is!!
It also unveils the entire reason we use language in the first place: to search for MEANING beyond ourselves.
At the very core of a language is this idea of bringing meaning into life.
And I think MEANING is a language worth understanding...
Perhaps we should stop asking for definitions and start asking for meanings.
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| Mahalo, Thank you, Tanks ah, & Grazie for all your support! |
Ci vediamo, A hui hou, Until Next time, and SHOOTS!
Live with love,
P.S., Please check out my awesome sister's blog Happy Nathaniel and my cousin's NEW blog Hawaii Girl Meets World! THEY ARE BOTH SUPER AWESOME AND YOU'LL LOVE THEIR WRITING!
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