Peppo's Pidgin to da Max and Pidgin to da Max Hana Hou, by many authors & contributors (but mainly Peppo, Ken and Pat)

Now… if you really want to have some fun with pidgin, these are two great books. However, if you do read them, it's best to head the warning at the beginning: "A WORD OF CAUTION TO THE NON-LOCAL. If you don't already speak pidgin, …[this book] is not a tourist guide to pidgin. So don't try to speak it after reading this book. You'll just get into trouble." It's good advice.

Both of these little books are in basically cartoon format and present commonly used pidgin words in dictionary order (there's really no other way to do it). Some definitions are really short, like "HANAI - Adopted." Others are longer (which is another reason that pidgin is great - it's efficient), such as "LIKE: To want or want to. Haloe: 'May I have the pleasure of this dance?' Pidgin: 'You like dance?'" (This is another funny technique the authors use a lot; the "haole" vs. "pidgin" example.) Here's another one: "These belong to me, and I'd appreciate it if you left them alone" vs. "Mine, you!" While reading these books, you'll be quite amazed at the versatility of pidgin, even if you can't quite understand it yet! And if you're from the Islands, you'll be rolling on the floor with laughter.

Hawaiian is a living language. As such, it is kept updated for the needs of the modern world by the Hawaiian Lexicon Committee, which was formed in 1987 for exactly that purpose and is located in Hilo. Their first dictionary of modern Hawaiian came out in 1996 and is now out of print. This is the first update to that dictionary, and it contains over 1,000 new words that were not in the first edition. So if you need the correct Hawaiian word for a scientific concept like plate techtonics (ku`ina una honua) or an everyday necessity like cappuccino (kapukino), this is your book! It's actually really interesting to just browse through it.

Pidgin Grammar, by Kent Sakoda & Jeff Siegel

Most non-linguists will find the first two chapters and the conclusion pretty fascinating, but may want to skim the rest of the book because it goes into word classes (which are pretty interesting, actually), phrases, sentence structures and da kine.  One of the most interesting sections in the book is called "The current situation." If you look around the newsstands and bookstores in the islands, you will discover that there are books and even magazines in pidgin now! In recent years, the authors explain, advocacy of pidgin has developed in Hawai`i. There is a group at the University of Hawai`i called "Da Pidgin Coup" that has written a position paper on "Pidgin and Education," which is available on the Internet. There are currently many flavors of spoken pidgin, from "heavy" to "light" and variations in between.  What helps make this book interesting is that the authors stick pretty much to the "heavy" variety in their exploration of pidgin grammar, so much of the content is somewhat exotic for non-pidgin speakers. There is a good pidgin word list and references at the end of the book.

THE VOICES OF EDEN, by Albert J. Schutz

\This is a definitive work on the Hawaiian language.   Professor Schutz gives a complete historical perspective on the Hawaiian language, right up to the present.  Hawaiian was perceived by early Europeans as a simple language; nothing could be further from the truth - Hawaiian is very complex.  You will discover that immediately if you make a serious attempt to learn it.  Reading this book will give you some incredible insights into the language and help you understand why it's so hard to learn (we're talking subtlety here).  For example, Hawaiian is presented as having only 7 consonants (h, k,  m, n, l, p and w) - this is really an oversimplification due to the European's unsophisticated ear.  There supposedly isn't a "T" in Hawaiian - only a "K."  Take a look at King Kamehameha's signature; it's a "T" and not a "K."  As another example, people on the west side of Kaua`i tended to use a "T" and the people on the east side tended to use a "K."  Lots of information like that in this scholarly book.   Be aware that it's ABOUT the Hawaiian language; it's not a book about learning to read or speak Hawaiian (scroll on down the page for some of those).

ALL ABOUT HAWAIIAN, by Albert J. Schutz

On the other hand, the 500 page book above might be too much for you.  In that case, this little guy is just the ticket; 67 small pages of just the basic stuff with references if you want to go further.  Most of the references are available right here too (just keep scrolling down).

HAWAIIAN DICTIONARY, by Pukui and Elbert

You HAVE to have a Hawaiian dictionary if you are going to be at all serious about Hawai`i.  This is it, THE Hawaiian dictionary.  Mary Kawena Pukui was born and raised in the Ka`u district on the Big Island.  Samuel Elbert is a world-renowned expert on Hawaiian culture.  The contributions that these two people have made to the preservation of knowledge about the Hawaiian culture cannot be measured.   What make this dictionary so wonderful and so indispensable is that it continually gives examples of the use of Hawaiian words in context (LOTS of full sentences and phrases).  This is one of the most amazing dictionaries that I have ever seen, in ANY language; a "MUST HAVE!"

`OLELO `OIWI - KE KAHUA, by Hokulani Cleeland

Like the adage says, "don't judge a book by it's cover!"  While the cover of this book isn't very exciting, what's inside is.   The title means "Native language - the foundation."  Hawaiian is actually a very subtle language, and many phrases, songs, etc. have a kaona, a hidden meaning.  This is also true of this book's title, which can also mean "one's own language development."   This is a basic (foundation) Hawaiian grammar book that has been extensively classroom tested.  It's designed to be used by both people who have access to native speakers of Hawaiian and by those who don't.  All of the material is well explained (including the complex Hawaiian grammar) and each chapter contains information on the cultural context of the material covered.  The author is one of the founders of the `Aha Punana Leo - the Hawaiian language immersion schools.   If you want to start learning Hawaiian beyond just the basics, this is a good book to start with.

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