Arts & Communications: Literary Writer
Arts & Communications
Literary Writer:
Lee Tonouchi
by Mike Yoshiura
GROWING up, the first Pidgin word that Lee Tonouchi learned was "bumbye." He picked it up from his grandmother, and at the time, Tonouchi didn't even know that there was such a thing as Pidgin English.
"To dem [his family], even though they all talked Pidgin and they all knew Pidgin, Pidgin was neva a thing that you should try practice and learn more of," said Lee "Da Pidgin Guerrilla" Tonouchi, co-editor of "Hybolics," a magazine dedicated to the literature and culture of Hawai'i.
For decades, Pidgin English has been stereotyped as a language only spoken by the lower class people of Hawai'i. Pidgin (or, Hawai'i Creole) is a contact language, or a mixture of Hawaiian dialect with the other languages spoken by the plantation workers that immigrated to Hawai'i in the 19th century.
Not anymore…
Tonouchi, 34, has dedicated his life to dispelling the stereotypes, as he gains recognition for a language that most people would rather not recognize. By day, the literary writer teaches English at Kapi'olani Community College and Hawai'i Pacific University; but he has also contributed feature stories, food reviews, and editorial columns for local publications like The Honolulu Weekly, The Hawai'i Herald, and The Honolulu Star-Bulletin. "Be prouda who you are, brah. Da mo languages you know, da mo smarter you are. Pidgin is ah-nada language brah," said Tonouchi. "Don't be like me, be the best you brah!"
A MIND-BLOWING EXPERIENCE
Tonouchi graduated from Aiea High School in 1990 and went on to attend the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. In his sophomore year of college, Tonouchi was blown away after he heard Eric Chock's poem, "Tutu on da Curb." "I wuz in Rob Wilson's English 256 Poetry and Drama class, and he wuz reading stuff from The Best of Bamboo Ridge. I was like 'hooo brah' Tu-tu-on-da-Cuuurb," he says as he slows down to recite the title of the poem. "I wuz like dis is one Pidgin poem brah. Get guys writing in Pidgin? Fo me dat wuz mind blowing. I was like, if I can do poems in Pidgin, what's goin stop me from doing my odda stuff in Pidgin."
"Da Pidgin Guerrilla"
With a nickname like "Da Pidgin Guerrilla," there must be an intriguing story behind that. "When I wuz in college, da Ka Leo did one newspapa article about me. Dey went go ask Rob Wilson some questions about me, and Rob Wilson said, 'Lee he's like ahhh Pidgin Guerrilla.' Later on my friend Lisa Kanae said, 'Lee's not ahhh Pidgin Guerrilla, he's daaa Pidgin Guerrilla.' From there, the press just went pick on dat one ah."
Small Kid Time
As a kid, Tonouchi grew up in Aiea spending much of his time with his grandparents and cousins. He remembers emulating local comedians like Rap Reiplinger and Andy Bumatai. "Growing up, I used to watch da local comedy specials ova, and ova, and ova again. Now it's all on DVD ah, but back den I had um on tape ah. I neva like watch um too much, bumbye it make da tape come all junk ah? I must have watched um dozens of times."
A Fada Knows Best
Even before Tonouchi wrote his first Pidgin poem, he received some career advice from his father. "When I was young ah, my fada said, 'Lee why not be one writer. You no need go work, just stay home and write.' I said, but dad…I don't know how fo write."
Even if his son didn't know how to write at the time, the elder Tonouchi planted a seed that would germinate, grow, and someday blossom.
Changing The Perception
"People always say, Lee, why you always use so much Pidgin ah? People equate talking Pidgin with being not so intelligent ah? So I guess my thinking is, you know, you can either change yourself den, or you can change da perception. Changing da perception is a little more hard ah. I just devoted my life to changing da perception, even if das a little more challenging."