When I was a girl, one day I was playing with a cousin of mine who had just gotten back from a vacation with Mainland ʻʻ ohana. She told me that it was really hard to communicate with people over there. I asked her why, and she replied that we don’t use the same words. I asked her, “Like what?” and she said, “You know, da kine.”
I never did figure out if she was saying, “You know, da kine,” or if she was saying, “You know, ‘da kine.'”
So here are ten ways to use “Da Kine.”
- Noun – I wen pick up one case da kine.
- Proper Noun – I wen take malasadas to Aunty Da Kine.
- Noun Clause – I know da buggah like da kine me.
- Verb – I wen da kine ’em.
- Adverb – Da music was really da kine.
- Adverbial Clause – Whenevah I da kine, I stay all bus’ up.
- Subject – Da kine stay junk.
- Subordinator – I know da kine he stay here.
- Article – Da kine kaʻ ahuila stay blue.
- Referent – Da kine saw me.
There are many more ways to use “da kine,” but I think we have sufficient evidence that “da kine” is probably the most versatile word in the Pidgin Language.*
*Translation: Da kine stay some da kine!
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—Kumu Leilehua