Why isn't the Hawai‘i Pidgin translation more popular?

[ImAllLikeOkWaitWat]

Some important verses are

Romans 10:9 Dat mean, if you talk strait wit yoa own mout, “Jesus, he my Boss,” an you trus deep inside yoa heart dat God wen bring Christ back alive afta he wen mahke, den God goin hemo you from da bad kine stuff you stay doing.

John 3:16 “God wen get so plenny love an aloha fo da peopo inside da world, dat he wen send me, his one an ony Boy, so dat everybody dat trus me no get cut off from God, but get da real kine life dat stay to da max foeva.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Dass why, whoeva stay tight wit Christ, dey one new guy. Da old tings no stay no moa! Look! Da new tings wen come.

Romans 8:28 Us guys know dis too: God make everyting come out all good fo da peopo dat get love an aloha fo him. Befo time, God wen go make plan wat he goin do fo dem, an he wen tell um awready, “Come wit me! Be my guys!”

Romans 8:38-39 I shua bout dis: No mo notting can make God stop loving us guys. No matta if we stay alive o we mahke, no matta if get angel guys o leada guys in da sky, o if get spirits wit power dat go agains us, no matta wateva stay happen now o goin happen bumbye, 39 no matta get guys wit power up dea inside da sky, o down dea inside da groun, no matta get all kine odda kine tings dat God wen make -- no mo notting dat can hemo us from God, so he no love us no moa! Cuz us guys stay tight wit Jesus Christ, da Spesho Guy God Wen Send, an he our Boss.

2 Corinthians 4:18 So we looking at an tinking bout da kine stuff you no can see, not da kine stuff you can see. Da stuff you can see, ony goin stay litto wile. But da kine stuff you no can see, dat kine goin stay foeva.


Wouldn't more people be interested in the bible if they had a translation like this instead?

There has always been an effort in the church to get more young people involved. What better way to make that happen than using this translation instead of the KJV or NIV?

This is on biblegateway by the way so it is legit.

Source:
Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 1 - Hawai‘i Pidgin

 

[Pilgrim]

It's all part of the Great Commission

 

[ImAllLikeOkWaitWat]

It's all part of the Great Commission

I can't help but wonder how many people might have stayed in the faith if they had this translation to help them loosen up a bit and lighten up and just enjoy the bible.

 

[ImAllLikeOkWaitWat]

Some other verses that have brought me to tears in the past are:

1 Corinthians 11:23-25
23 You know, was da Boss Jesus wen tell me bout dis, an I wen tell um all to you guys. Da Boss Jesus, dat same nite befo dey wen set um up fo kill um, he wen pick up one bread. 24 He wen tell God “Mahalo plenny!” an broke um. Den he say, “Eat dis bread. Dis, my body. Dey goin broke um, an dat goin be fo you guys, fo rememba me.” 25 Same ting afta dey wen eat, he wen take da wine cup, an he wen say, “Dis cup mean dat God wen make one new kine deal fo you guys, an I gotta bleed an mahke fo make um happen lidat. Weneva you guys drink um, do um fo rememba me.

Philippians 3:2
2 Eh! Watch out da kine peopo dat ack pilau kine! Dey da kine peopo dat everytime do bad kine stuff. Dass da kine peopo dat say you gotta knife up da body. 3 Dey tell, “Fo be Godʼs guy fo real kine, gotta cut skin.” But you know, us guys, we da guys dat get Godʼs Spirit. Dass jalike da mark fo show dat we Godʼs guys fo real kine, not dem. Cuz wen we do stuff fo God, da Spirit help us do um, dass why. Us guys can feel real proud cuz we stay tight wit Godʼs Spesho Guy, Jesus Christ. We no tink we okay jus cuz somebody wen do someting to our body.

 

[Pilgrim]

I don't know how many, nor about the popularity... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hawai‘i Pidgin is a beautiful language. I'm prayerful the local population is greatly ministered to by the Hawai‘i Pidgin translation and that they are also ministered to by other translations of God's Holy Word to man.

Version Information
Native speakers of Hawai‘i Pidgin numbered around 600,000 in 2011, 100,000 to 200,000 with low proficiency in standard English. Nonnative speakers are estimated at between 300,000 and 400,000. They live in Hawaii, Alaska and the United States mainland. Alternate names are Pidgin, Hawai‘i Creole, and Hawai‘i Creole English.

The language enjoys vigorous use. It is the native speech of about half of those born or brought up in Hawaii, regardless of racial origin. It is used unofficially in courts, sometimes with interpreters. It is used in personal communications, blue collar, farm, and fishing work, and among friends in nearly all social groups. Plays, novels, short stories, and essays are produced constantly. It is accepted by many as an important part of local culture, a distinctive local language; but it is looked down on by others. 50% of children in Hawaii do not speak English when entering school, yet English as a second language is generally not taught to Pidgin-speaking children. Most songs are in Hawaiian or English. It is used in some radio and television programs. The literacy rate in Pidgin is unknown; in standard English it is estimated at 66%–75%. The writing system uses Latin script. There is a published grammar. The New Testament was published in 2000.

SOURCE: Hawai‘i Pidgin (HWP) - Version Information - BibleGateway.com

 

[ImAllLikeOkWaitWat]

The lords prayer:

 

[Radagast]

Why isn't the Hawai‘i Pidgin translation more popular?

1) It's new: the Hawai‘i Pidgin New Testament is from 2000 and translation of the Old Testament is not yet finished.

2) Churches in Hawaii have a tradition of using other versions, and those traditions don't easily change. I guess people may slowly get into the habit of reading it privately. It's sold 80,000 copies so far, although many of those have been to tourists.

3) It's not a fantastic translation. Trying to communicate the ideas of the Bible in Hawai‘i Pidgin doesn't always work as well as in English or in other creoles, because of vocab limitations. I'm not wild about John 1 in the Hawai‘i Pidgin New Testament, for example. Then again, "Da Pidgin Bible talk strait to da heart fo plenny peopo. Fo dem, English talk mo to da head."

 

[brinny]

1) It's new: the Hawai‘i Pidgin New Testament is from 2000 and translation of the Old Testament is only half done.

2) Churches in Hawaii have a tradition of using other versions, and those traditions don't easily change. I guess people may slowly get into the habit of reading it privately. It's sold 80,000 copies so far, although many of those have been to tourists.

3) It's not a fantastic translation. Trying to communicate the ideas of the Bible in Hawai‘i Pidgin doesn't always work as well as in English or in other creoles, because of vocab limitations. I'm not wild about John 1 in the Hawai‘i Pidgin New Testament, for example. Then again, "Da Pidgin Bible talk strait to da heart fo plenny peopo. Fo dem, English talk mo to da head."

What is the Hawai‘i Pidgin translation of John 1?

 

[Radagast]

What is the Hawai‘i Pidgin translation of John 1?

Check it out here.

 

[brinny]

Check it out here.

Interesting. Who is the "Guy"?

Thank you for sharing that.

 

[Radagast]

Interesting. Who is the "Guy"?

Thank you for sharing that.

It seems to be used as a pronoun for “Godʼs Talk,” meaning the Word. I've seen that particular translation issue handled better in other creole languages.

 

[brinny]

It seems to be used as a pronoun for “Godʼs Talk,” meaning the Word. I've seen that particular translation issue handled better in other creole languages.

I was wondering about that. It seems it would be crucial to differentiate what is meant by the "Word", and what is meant clearly in John 1:1

 

[Radagast]

I was wondering about that. It seems it would be crucial to differentiate what is meant by the "Word", and what is meant clearly in John 1:1

For comparison, here's John 1:1 in a different creole language (Papua New Guinea Pidgin). It's a far more literal translation, and consistently adopts "Tok" as the local equivalent of "Word":

Bipo bipo tru (In the beginning), taim olgeta samting i no kamap yet (before anything began), Tok i stap (was the Word). Tok i stap wantaim God (The Word was with God) na Tok em yet i God (and the Word was God).

 

[brinny]

For comparison, here's John 1:1 in a different creole language (Papua New Guinea Pidgin). It's a far more literal translation, and consistently adopts "Tok" as the local equivalent of "Word":

Bipo bipo tru (In the beginning), taim olgeta samting i no kamap yet (before anything began), Tok i stap (was the Word). Tok i stap wantaim God (The Word was with God) na Tok em yet i God (and the Word was God).

Excellent inclusion of the crucial point of John 1:1.