Canoes, Paddles, and MLI Students! Oh my!

Alo-o-o-oha! We just got back from another one of our field trips! We headed down to the beach on Friday for some canoe paddling and a little fun in the sun. For many of us, this was the first time experiencing the thrill of paddling on the open sea.

After a brief lesson on the basics of canoe paddling, we jumped right in and went for it. You could feel the anticipation build as we entered the water to begin our adventure. We quickly got into the rhythm of paddling in unison, which allowed us to glide smoothly over the gentle currents. We even caught a few waves and rode them back to shore. And of course, the day wouldn't be complete without a little competition. We got to show-off all of our newly-learned canoe paddling skills by having a little race. We had choke fun! What does "choke" mean you ask? Lets find out with this blog's Pidgin lesson.

Choke - A large quantity of something, many, lots, copious
Ex.
1. Had choke guys at the party? - Yea, had choke!
Were there a lot of people at the party? - Yes, there were a lot of people there!
2. Get choke food ah!
Wow! There is so much food here!

If you have kept up with all of our past Pidgin English lessons, you now have quite a good arsenal of words under your belt. I will conclude this blog by writing my last paragraph completely in Pidgin. There will be words you already know, as well as some that you might have not heard before. Try to see if you can figure out the meaning of those words on your own. If you are able to understand what I write here, give yourself a pat on the back! I think you'll find that you can probably understand a lot!

Ho, we had choke fun going canoe paddling! I like go again! Bra, gaurans I going go again this weekend. Oh yea, this week is the last week of da session fo our MLI students! Den they get one week off from school! Ho, some lucky ah dem! We going have one pot-luck party this week so we can end dis session wit one bang! Every time we get one pot-luck party, get choke ono grinds! I no can wait for eat um all! No worries, I going take choke pictures and put um on top this blog. So you can check um out and drool over all the ono grinds we going get! K, dat's all fo now! Shoots!

Chicken Wings Anyone?

Hey there! Just this past week, two of our students participated in a chicken wing eating contest that was held here on the college campus. Itsuki and Ji Hun were nominated by the student body to represent MLI, and to go after the coveted iPod Nano (first prize!). What they neglected to tell us is that the chicken wings would be spiced with el scorcho buffalo sauce (‘ho dat bugga is hot!’). Itsuki ‘wen go fo broke’ but got hot lips, and Ji Hun thought he could eat slowly… but still came out in second place. No surprise that a culinary student won. “Ho, he wen win!” They did a great job and made MLI proud. Pictures speak louder than words, so check it out.

Here is another quick Pidgin English lesson. I think that this word is easy to use (because you can use it in so many situations), but can be quite difficult to understand at first. If you ever come to Hawaii, I am sure that you will hear this word at least once or twice while you are here. Da kine - This can be used in lieu of a noun, verb, adjective, pronoun...pretty much anything. It can also be used in place of "umm" or "hmm" in casual conversations. Because you can use da kine in place of virtually any word (especially nouns), you must understand the context of the conversation in order to understand what da kine is referencing.

Sounds confusing? Let’s go to some examples to help clear things up.



Situation: Jake was invited to birthday party by Karen last night, but he told his friend Mike that he wasn't sure if he would go or not.


Mike: Ho Jake, you when go to da kine (the party) last night?
Jake: Oh yea yea, I went
Mike: Was da kine's (Karen’s) party ah?
Jake: Yea yea, Karen.
Mike: What kind of party was?
Jake: Was one da kine (birthday) party.

It seems confusing at first, but it's easy to understand once you hear it a few times. It's very commonly used, so keep your ears open!

That brings me the end of this blog. Take care and I'll see you all again soon!

Upcoming Field Trip!

Hello! The arrival of spring in Hawaii makes it a perfect time to head down to the beach. Our students will be going on a field trip in a couple of weeks to learn how to paddle canoes in the oceans of Maui. We will also have lots of delicious food to eat while we relax our worries away on the beach. We'll take lots of pictures, so be sure to check back soon!

For today's Pidgin lesson, let me introduce you to a word that you probably haven't heard before.

Bumbai (Bum-Bye) - 1. Later, after, at some other time. 2. A conditional clause with a nuance of "if you do something, then this will happen." However, the most common usage of this word is to express a later point in time (definition 1).

1. Jack: Eh, you get one test tomorrow ah? You better go study.
Frank: Nah no worries, I going study bumbai.

Jack: Hey, you have a test tomorrow right? You should go and study now.
Frank: Don't worry about it, I'm going to study later.

2. Jack: Ho it's raining! I going play in the rain.
Frank: Eh no do that...bumbai you going get sick.

Jack: Wow its raining! I'm going to go outside and play in the rain.
Frank. You shouldn't do that because you might get sick.

Got it? Great! See if your Pidgin knowledge is up to par by seeing if you can understand this next paragraph:

Howzit! Spring is da best time fo go to da beach. On our MLI field trip, our students going paddle canoes jus like Ancient times. And of course going get choke ono grinds too!

That's all for now! There is going to be more fun updates soon, so stay tuned!

Spring has Arrived

Spring is here! The warm weather makes it perfect for hiking or relaxing on the beach.

In addition to improving their English skills through our language classes here at the Maui Language Institute, our students also have the opportunity to learn about the Hawaiian culture through our Hawaiian studies class. We also have a couple of new classes this session. One of these classes is our creative and performing arts class. Students are learning how to do things like writing and reading their own poetry. Writing poetry is a great tool for improving your English because you must use creative and colorful language to do so.

We also have a class that helps you prepare for the TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication). This class goes over important grammar points, helps you to identify common mistakes in grammar, and goes over practice tests.

We come to yet another installment of Pidgin 101! Let's keep today's lesson simple and sweet. The word I would like to talk about today is garans.

Garans - Guarantee, for sure, definitely
Ex.
1. Daniel: Ho, you when ace yo test?
George: Ho garans! Was so easy!

Daniel: Hey, did you ace your test?
George: Definitely! It was so easy!

That’s all for now folks! See you later!

Spring Semester Party!

It's hard to believe that another session has come to an end here at the Maui Language Institute. To end the semester with a bang, we had another one of our famous potluck parties. As usual, we were treated to an array of delicious food from all around the world. Some of our students also provided us with wonderful entertainment showcasing their amazing talents. Many of the students also got to try Twinkies for the first time. However, it was met with mixed reviews. But we all had a lot of fun and made lots of great memories.


We also had to say goodbye to a few students who completed our program. Whenever we have to say goodbye to someone special in our lives, I am reminded of a quote from the American author Richard Bach: "Don't be dismayed by goodbyes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends."

Guess what time it is? That's right, it's time for a brand-new Pidgin English lesson! If you have been keeping up with each lesson, then you already know some useful words that you can use in your daily conversations.


In this blog, I would like to talk about my favorite subject...food! In Hawaii, the backbone of our local cuisine is something called "plate lunch." A plate lunch is a set meal that usually includes a main entrée (beef, pork, fish, etc.), two scoops of white rice, and a scoop of macaroni salad. Nowadays, there are many different variations that can be found throughout restaurants in Hawaii. There are plate lunches with green salad instead of macaroni salad (for the health conscience), plate lunches with mashed potatoes, and even plate lunches with ethnic side dishes like kimchee (Korean fermented vegetables), sunomono (Japanese vinegared salads), and sushi.

A standard way to order food in English is to say something like "I would like a ______ please." Or "I'll take a/the ________ please." In Pidgin English, this phrase can be translated as "I like one _______." Let's take a look at a sample conversation using this phrase.

Employee at McDonalds: Hi, what can I get for you today?
Michael: Hi, I like one hamburger and one diet coke please.

Translation:
Employee at McDonald's: Hi, what can I get for you today?
Michael: Hi, I would like a hamburger and a diet coke please.

A little warning about using this phrase. The way you say this phrase and the tone you use is very important. If you are ordering something in a restaurant or are asking someone to give you something, this phrase should be said in a polite tone.

Here is one last word that many people already know, but it is definitely a good one to remember.

Mahalo or Mahalos - Thank you, Thanks!

Jack: Hey I just when bake some cookies, you like try some?
Nick: Oh yea, mahalos! Ho, some ono!

Translation:
Jack: Hey I just baked some cookies, you want to try some?
Nick: Hey thanks! Wow it's super delicious!

Well everyone, we have come to the end of another blog. But don't worry, we'll be back again soon with more updates. So until next time, take care and mahalo!

Whale Watching!

Hi everyone! We just got back from our first field trip of the year. On Friday, we went out with the Pacific Whale Foundation on one of their whale watching ecotours. We were able to see lots of
whales energetically jumping and frolicking throughout the Maui ocean. We even got to see a group of 4 or 5 whales swimming together. For those of us who decided to brave the

return trip by sitting near the front of the boat, we were treated to a very refreshing saltwater shower.

I bet everyone practiced and memorized all of the Pidgin English words in last week's blog right? We'll continue to add more words and grammar to each of our blogs so that you'll be speaking Pidgin English in no time.

Let's start off today's lesson by introducing some new words.

Howzit? - How are you? How's it going? Whats up?

Ex.
1. Hey, howzit!?
Hey! How are you?

For those of you who are native English speakers, this word can easily be remembered because it sounds very similar to the greeting, "how's it going?" The only difference is that when you say "howzit?" you don't need to add the word "going" for the listener to understand you.

John: Eh, howzit!
Mike: Howzit!
John: I stay hungry, you like go grind?
Mike: Shoots!

Translation:
John: Hey! Whats up?
Mike: Whats up?
John: I'm pretty hungry. Do you want to get something to eat?
Mike: Sure, sounds good!

I'll end this blog here, but don't worry! We'll be back with more updates and Pidgin English lessons soon. Till next time!

Aloha!

MLI Hawaiian Studies Potluck!

Aloha! Just this past week our Hawaiian studies class had a potluck filled with lots of ono "delicious" fare from all over the world. They had everything from Vietnamese spring rolls, to Hawaiian musubis to Turkish hot cheese buns. We also had to say goodbye to two of our students who completed our program. We wish them the best of luck for and we hope that we can meet again one day!



One of the things that makes Hawaii so great is its diversity of people and cultures. If you ever come to Hawaii, you may notice that many of the people here speak in a different dialect of English. This dialect is called Pidgin English, or Hawaii Creole English. Pidgin English has been influenced by the many different cultures and languages that are in Hawaii. Some of these languages include Hawaiian, Portuguese, Cantonese, Japanese, Filipino, and Korean.


Want to learn some Pidgin? Let's start off with some basic words and that are commonly used in Hawaii.

Grinds (noun) - Food or a meal. Grinds - (adjective) Something delicious.
Ex.
1. Where's the grinds?
Where is the food?
2. This sandwich is grinds!
This sandwich is delicious!

Here is something interesting about this word in Pidgin English. If you change grinds into a non-plural word (grind instead of grinds), it becomes a verb.

Grind (verb) - To eat
Ex.
1. You wanna go grind?
Do you want to eat (something)?


Pau (rhymes with cow) - Finished, done
Ex.
1. You pau your homework?
Are you finished with your homework?

2. You pau eat? or You pau grind?
Are you finished eating?


That's all for now folks! Have fun with these words and stay tuned for more updates!