Structural Differences between Hawaiian Creole English and English
 Child Language Compared to Creoles
 Japanese Politeness

Structural Differences between Hawaiian Creole English and English
 
 

English	Hawaiian Creole English
The two of us had a hard time raising dogs.	Us two bin get hard time raising dog.
John and his friends are stealing the food.	John-them stay cockroach the kaukau.
He doesn’t want to play because he’s lazy.	He lazy, ’a’swhy he no like play.
How do you expect to finish your house?	How you expect for make pau you house?
It would have been better if I’d gone to Honolulu to buy it.	More better I bin go Honolulu for buy om.
The one who falls first is the loser.	Who go down first is loser.
The man who was going to lay the vinyl had quoted me a price.	The guy gon’ lay the vinyl bin quote me price.
There was a woman who had three daughters.	Bin get one wahine she get three daughter.
She can’t go because she hasn’t any money.	She no can go, she no more money, ’a’swhy.

Notice that:

• the past perfect tense of a verb in Creole is expressed by the particle "bin" and "wen," which precede the main verb, instead of by the suffix "-ed"
• nonpunctual, or progressive, aspect is expressed by the word "stay" instead of by the suffix "-ing"
• plurality is not expressed on nouns (see "dog")
• Note the lexical differences: "cockroach" is a verb, "kaukau" (from Chinese pidgin "chow-chow") means "food"


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Child Language	English Creoles
Where I can put it?	Where I can put om? (Hawaii)
Daddy throw the nother rock.	Daddy t’row one neda rock’tone. (Jamaica)
I go full Angela bucket.	I go full Angela bucket. (Guyana)
Lookit a boy play ball.	Luku one boy a play ball. (Jamaica)
Nobody don’t like me.	Nobody no like me. (Guyana)
I no like do that.	I no like do that. (Hawaii)
Johnny big more than me.	Johnny big more than me. (Jamaica)
Let Daddy get pen write it.	Make Daddy get pen write am. (Guyana)
I more better than Johnny.	I more better than Johnny. (Hawaii)

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Japanese Politeness

(taken from Bonvillain’s Language, Culture, and Communication)

 Contrasting expressions for persons:

 (1) a. ano hito ‘that person’ – plain

       b. ano kato ‘that person’ – honored

 Names and kin terms can cooccur with polite respect markers:

Last name/first name/kind term + san = honored

(2) a. Hanako-san

      b. otoo-san ‘father’

 Last name/first name/kin term + sama = exalted respect

(3) a. Hanako-sama

      b. otoo-sama ‘father’

Last name + sensei (literally = ‘teacher’, can be used politely for any high-status professional, such as a doctor, politician, writer, etc.)

(4) Satoo-sensei

Last name + senpai (literally = ‘senior colleague’, can be extended to any respected member of one’s group)

(5) Satoo-senpai

Nouns referring to objects can cooccur with the polite prefixes o- and go-. They are attached to objects associated with honored people.

 (6) a. sensei no go-hon
          teacher    HON-book
         ‘teacher’s book’

       b. sensei no go-sakuhin
           teacher   HON-work
          ‘teacher’s work’

 Honorification on some verbs – prefix o- or go- and the ending ni naru:

(7) a. Taroo wa   eki     made arui-ta
         Taroo TOP station to    walk-PAST
        ‘Taroo walked to the station.’

       b. Satoo-sensei wa    eki     made o-arui ni nat-ta
                               TOP station to    HON-walk-HON- PAST
            ‘Professor Sato (honored) walked to the station.’

Some verbs are marked for politeness with the suffix –(r)are:

(8) Satoo-sensei ga      hon    o       kak-are-ta
                         NOM book ACC write-HON-PAST
      ‘Prof. Sato (honored) wrote a book.’

Adjectives and adverbs that describe a respected subject are marked with the o- or go- prefix:

 (9) Satoo-sensei wa o-isogasii
                          TOP HON-busy
      ‘Prof. Sato (honored) is busy.

Respect toward grammatical objects is indicated with the prefix o-, go-, or hai- and the ending suru:

 (10) Watasi wa Satoo-sensei ni sono wake o o-tazune si-ta
          I       TOP                    DAT its reason HON-ask-HON-PAST
       ‘I asked Prof. Sato (honored) the reason.’

To show respect toward addresses, verbs co-occur with the ending masu and the polite pronoun anata is used:

 (11) Anata wa   irassyai masu ka
         you   TOP come   HON Q
       ‘Are you (honored) coming?’

Respect toward referents and addressees can be demonstrated indirectly by humbling the speaker:

 (12) a. Watasi ga iku
             I               go
           ‘I will go.’ - plain

        b. Watasi ga mairu.
            I                go (humble)
          ‘I will go.’ – humble

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