As reported recently in The Maui News, the local pidgin word “hammajang” has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary. The OED lists “hammajang” as an adjective meaning “in a disorderly or shambolic state; messed up.”

I’m still sorting through mixed feelings about this.

On one hand, as a proud proponent of pidgin (Hawaii Creole English, or HCE), I’m delighted that my native language has been legitimized — sort of — by an internationally recognized and respected resource. And “hammajang” is one of my favorite pidgin words; the OED even spells it the way I prefer (alternate forms are “hamajang” and “hemajang”).

But I keep thinking of other words that, perhaps, should have been included. Like “hybolic,” which is the word I’d use to describe OED’s published definition of “hammajang.”

“Hybolic” means “to talk like one intellectual-kine haole,” according to “Pidgin to Da Max,” the classic HCE reference book created in 1980 by Douglas Simonson (aka Peppo), Pat Sasaki and Ken Sakata. A sequel, “Pidgin to Da Max Hana Hou,” was published a dozen years later, and both books were combined for the 25th anniversary edition of PTDM in 2005. The series was published by Bess Press, which also printed Lee Tonouchi’s “Da Kine Dictionary: Da Hawai’i Community Pidgin Dictionary Projeck.”

Naturally, all four books occupy a special place on my shelves, but the DKD is closest to my heart, and not just because Tonouchi, “Da Pidgin Guerrilla,” is an admired colleague and a friend. What I love about the DKD is that it truly was a community project; Tonouchi solicited and received submissions from HCE speakers worldwide and included their names as well as the schools they attended and the years in which they graduated. Because, as every local knows, “what year you wen grad?” is as important a question as “where you from?” and “who your fam’ly?” when you meet someone for the first time.

For example, here’s the DKD entry for “hammajang:” Stay all junk awreddy; all busted up. My bruddah wen fix my bike now stay mo’ hammajang. See also boddos, boroboro, had it, hamahjag, hammaz, junkalunka, katsu. (Linda Relacion Oosahwe, Waipahu 1971)

In a blog about the Oxford effort to add more regional terms as part of its 90th anniversary celebration, an associate editor stated that the earliest example of “hammajang” usage found by the dictionary’s editors was in a 1988 short story. Obviously dey nevah check wit’ Linda or Lee. Or me. I remember using the word as a teen, and I wen grad Baldwin only couple, tree years aftah Ms. Oosahwe.

Oops, I’m slipping into bilingual mode. Apologies to our non-pidgin-literate readers. I guess I’m being reverse-hybolical. Back to the original topic.

“Hammajang” is a great pidgin word, but not nearly as common — or useful — as “da kine,” which would have been my first choice. Yes, technically it’s a phrase, not a word, but the OED did include phrases like “Debbie Downer” and “bunny chow” in its list of new words.

Incidentally, “howzit” also made the 90th anniversary list, but OED credits the word to South Africa, not HCE, although the meaning and usage are exactly the same. But dass one whole noddah column.

I think I will begin a lobbying effort to include “da kine” in the next update. First, though, I have to come up with a standard English definition because I don’t think the OED will accept, much less understand, the DKD entry:

“da kine: Can take da place of any kine word in one sentence. Can be verb, adjective, noun, or wotevahs.”

There’s more, much more, thanks to Jason Nomura (Waiakea 1994), but you catch da driff. No sense be redundant, li’dat.

And I know what you’re thinking, but “li’dat” doesn’t qualify for Oxford inclusion because it’s simply the pidgin pronunciation of the English phrase “like that,” and it means the same thing. Not like “da kine,” which probably does come from the English “the kind” but has a meaning all its own.

As Peppo and PTDM put it, “Da kine is the keystone of pidgin. You can use it anywhere, anytime, anyhow. Very convenient. What would we do without DA KINE?”

Indeed, without “da kine,” we would be all hammajang.

* Kathy Collins is a storyteller, actress and freelance writer whose “Sharing Mana’o” column appears every Wednesday. Her email address is kcmaui913@gmail.com.