Three Voices One Woman

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Three Voices, One Woman, Taking Back the Power of Language
“What is most pertinent to the tongue’s movement, function, and power is that no single muscle works alone” (qtd. in Kanae).
At the end of the day I come home to find my mom relaxing on the couch. “How was your day Melissa?”
“It was good, me and Amin went to a movie. H…” my mother abruptly cuts me off with a look of disgust that bores into my gut even at the age of thirty.
“Me and Amin?”
“Amin and I went to a movie, gosh Mom you’re never gonna stop that are you?” This scene has occurred with different names, places, and members of my family so many times in my life it is impossible to count. Language to my family is almost sacred, and Standard English is the only language for communication, …show more content…
Kanae cites several academic sources throughout the book. They give the reader credible sources to support her academic viewpoint about the positive and negative effects that speaking Pidgin has on the lives of Hawaiians, while also showing opposing viewpoints. This is followed with an introduction of her as a child talking about experiences with her little brother in Pidgin, for a Hawaiian reader this brings the story home to Hawaii, showing that she is local and for haoles (like me) this language introduces a new world. It’s possibly the first time the reader has ever seen Pidgin in a published piece and “when local Hawaii students hear the rhythms of their own voices in their own literature, they are pleasantly shocked” to find it there (Kanae). Towards the end of the book the focus is brought to the present with a narrative about her brother’s baby shower. While speaking with her family about her essay we see that Kanae wants to accomplish (What?) with her writing, “Hal’s speech therapist wanted to get Hal to talk. English School System tried to silence local children,” and she wants to give them a voice. The book gives the reader a glimpse of pidgin history and the difficulties presented by language in her brother’s life. Together this shows us the power of language and why no one should ever be silenced for how they speak. Every
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