Page:The American language; an inquiry into the development of English in the United States (IA americanlanguage00menc 0).pdf/225

 The American dialect developed in Hawaii is thus described by a writer in the Christian Science Monitor.

Honolulu, despite the score or more of races which intermingle in absolute harmony, is a strictly American community. English is the language which predominates; and yet there are perhaps a hundred or more Hawaiian words which are used by everyone, almost exclusively, in preference to those English words of similar meaning.

"Are you pau?" asks the American housekeeper of her Japanese yard man.

"All pau," he responds.

The housekeeper has asked if the yard man is through. He has replied that he is. She would not think of asking, "Are you through?" Pau—pronounced pow—as used in Honolulu conveys just as much meaning to the Honolulan as the English word through. It is one of the commonest of the Hawaiian words used today.

In Honolulu one does not say "the northwest corner of Fort and Hotel Streets." One says "the makai-ewa corner." Makai means toward the sea. Ewa means toward the north or in the direction of the big Ewa plantation which lies toward the north of Honolulu. Thus the makai-ewa corner means that corner which is on the seaward side and toward Ewa. Instead of saying east or the direction in which the sun rises, Honolulans say mauka, which means toward the mountains. To designate south, they say waikiki, which means toward Diamond Head or Waikiki Beach.

One often hears a little boy say he has a puka in his stocking. The housekeeper directs the yard man to put the rubbish in the puka. It is a simple Hawaiian word meaning hole. Another common word is lanai. In English it means porch or veranda. One never says, "Come out on the porch," but "Come out on the lanai."

The two words pahea oe are used as a term of greeting. In the States they say, "How do you do?" "How are you?" or "Good day." In Honolulu, "Pahea oe?" conveys the same meaning. The response is Maikai no, or "Very good," or "All right."

On the mainland the word aloha is not new. It is used as a word of greeting or as a word of farewell. "Aloha oe" may mean "Farewell to you," "How are you?" or "Good day." The word is not as common among the Americans as some of the others, but is used to a more exclusive extent by the Hawaiians.

A large number of Americans have an entirely wrong interpretation of the word kanaka. In its truest and only sense it means man. It can be interpreted in no other way. In Hawaiian a man is a kanaka, a woman a wahine. The word kane is also often used as man, and coupled with the word keiki—keiki kane—means boy. The Hawaiians have often been referred to as kanakas, which on the mainland has developed into more or less of a slang word to designate the people of the Hawaiian race. This, however, is totally incorrect.

The kamaaina, or old-timer, usually refers to his hat as his papale. His house is his hale, and his food is usually designated as kaukau, although this