Hawaiʻi Literacy
Hawaiʻi is following the national negative trend on declining literacy levels.
Pidgin or Hawai‘i Creole is a separate language but is similar to English. It is a common language spoken in Hawai‘i, but English and Hawaiian are the official languages of the state and English is the standard in schools. Certain words differ in pidgin. Some are pronounced differently or they have different meanings. Some words are from different languages, like Hawaiian, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, and more. Grammar is also different in pidgin than English.
“The dog is outside,” → “Da dog stay outside.”
“There was a car accident,” → “Had one car accident.”
“They went to the store.” → “They wen go store.”
“I try fo catch em.” → “I tried to catch it.”
It is important to read books because it introduces people, especially children, to grammar structures they are not familiar with. When a child is learning their native language, they emulate what is spoken at home. How the parents talk, which words they use to speak, and the topics they talk about are all absorbed by the child. But books can introduce new grammar structures, words, and topics. For example, a parent would hardly ever bring up a penguin in Antarctica, but a book might. Now that is two new words and ideas that the child has learned.
Some books bases around Polynesia and indigenous culture available on The Path To Literacy are:
Kamehameha Publishing
Kamehameha Publishing has their books read aloud by their authors. Check our their free resources too!
The Path to Literacy 