“We Pau ?”: Culturally Responsive Language Assessment of Pidgin (Hawaiʻi Creole)–Speaking Children

Abstract

The purpose of this tutorial is to introduce speech-language pathologists to the salient characteristic of the creole language of Hawaiʻi. This language variety is called Hawaiʻi Creole by linguists, but speakers of the language variety generally call it Pidgin. This tutorial reviews the available literature on this understudied language variety to provide a brief overview of Pidgin's historical development and social context and its clinically salient linguistic features. Suggestions for culturally and linguistically responsive assessment of Pidgin-speaking children as well as suggestions for further reading on Pidgin are also provided.