Why you talk li' dat ? : uses and gratifications of Hawaiʻi Creole English

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the characteristics of Hawaiʻi Creole English (HCE) speaking respondents and the frequency of those respondents' HCE use in education, social, and professional situations as well as their reasons for using or not using HCE. A 33-item questionnaire was completed by 463 self-declared HCE speakers . who were 18 years or older and was distributed using purposive and snowball sampling. Although respondents' ages ranged from 18 to 76, 54.8% of the respondents were in their twenties, causing a strong bias within the sample. Respondents' HCE use is common with other HCE speakers. Usage is less common in student-teacher and employee-client interactions even when both parties speak HCE. Over three quarters of respondents reported a main reason for using HCE is to communicate better with other speakers. Over fifty percent of respondents reported a main reason for using HCE is to feel a sense of belonging.