Summary Of Lisa Kanae's 'Sista Tongue'

Retardation: The Misconception of Hawaiian Creole English Lisa Kanae’s Sista Tongue defends the use of Hawaiian Creole Language (HCE). Throughout her piece, Kanae highlights the history of HCE, her personal experiences, and its effects on local children. She explains how what was once a language that promoted solidarity among Hawaii’s early plantation community is now perceived as impairment. Sista Tongue challenges this belief by stating that HCE is not an indicator of one’s level of intelligence. This essay will focus on a specific excerpt in Sista Tongue and how Kanae refutes the claim.

An excerpt by Madorah E. Smith titled, “Some Light on the Problem of Bilingualism As Found from a Study of the Progress in Mastery of English Among Preschool Children of Non-American Ancestry in Hawaii”, explains the hypothesized reason behind the language impairment of Hawaii locals. In summary, Smith’s article implied that the use of Hawaiian pidgin in the home led to language deficiency of young children. Smith compared the mastery of the English language among Hawaii’s non-haole children and Caucasian monoglots. The study’s result showed that non-haole children made more mistakes when

Kanae explains that the use of pidgin English does not mean an individual is retarded. As she tells her story of her little brother, Harold-Boy, she demonstrates how people instantly judge intelligence on proper speech. Kanae highlights the sole purpose of HCE, to create unity among Hawaii’s early immigrants that worked in the plantations. HCE was created so that workers could communicate efficiently within an ethnically diverse community. She voices her claim saying, “speakers of Creole languages should never be perceived as mere casualties of insularity, ignorance, and social isolation.” Kanae continues by describing HCE as an account of “resourcefulness, intellect and competence that both reflect and sustain local Hawai’i