the origin of the term 'hapa'

[kasia]

is the term hawaiian? and did it originally apply to mixes other than asian/white? and was it ever considered deragatory? and if so, when and how did it stop being so?

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by kasia@Sep 6 2002, 02:40 AM
is the term hawaiian? and did it originally apply to mixes other than asian/white? and was it ever considered deragatory? and if so, when and how did it stop being so?
i thought the term is japanese?

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Sep 6 2002, 08:01 AM
Originally posted by kasia@Sep 6 2002, 02:40 AM
is the term hawaiian?  and did it originally apply to mixes other than asian/white?  and was it ever considered deragatory?  and if so, when and how did it stop being so?
i thought the term is japanese?
japanese sometimes use the term haafu. not hapa. that refers either to Haitian American Psychiatrist's Association (http://www.acronymfinder.com/af-query.asp?p=dict&String=exact&Acronym=HAPA) or a mesh used to hold trout eggs (http://216.239.35.100/search?q=cache:cKx9rWMrtbwC:pdacrsp.orst.edu/pubs/technical/19tchhtml/9RCR6A.html+hapa+trout+&hl=en&ie=UTF-8). it's also the hawaiian pronunciation of "half."

[kimpossible]

Ha·pa (hä´pä) adj. 1. Slang. of mixed racial heritage with partial roots in Asian and/or Pacific Islander ancestry. n. 2. Slang. a person of such heritage. [der./Hawaiian: hapa haole (half white)]

I think it started in conjunction with haole and applied originally to mixed island folks. I first heard the term from Hawaiians I met or Japanese-American friends who said I should stop using AmerAsian because it was dorky and sounded too much like children from military occupations.



<!--EDIT|Hello_Hapa|Sep 6 2002, 07:42 AM-->

[maldito]

Original term back in Hawaii was hapa haole, referring to a half caste person. Hapa of course is the Hawaiianized word for "half". There were other "hapas" in Hawai'i. You were either Hapa haole, or hapa something else...and usually they were meant for a part Hawaiian person. In the Hawaiian language the word "hapa" is not only used to designate "half" but also part, which is how everyone uses it today.

Although since many significant Hawaiians were hapa haole, it is they who usually get called a hapa, but more specifically hapa haole. Of course the term was carried over to the western part of the U.S. Initially in Hawai'i, to get an Asian-Caucasian person, they more than likely had Hawaiian blood too, which was my grandmother. I say that b/c as far as immigration was back in the 1800s, the distribution between males and females were very lopsided (sp?). Basically you had lots of Chinese men and Caucasian men, so to have a Chinese-Caucasian person back in the 1800s was unheard of. For part Hawaiians you were either half Chinese or half Caucasian.

Also, anything of the "western" culture that has become "Hawaiianized" is referred to as Hapa Haole too.

Although I don't refer myself as a Hapa, technically I am a multi-generational hapa person.

[thaite]

I didn't even hear of the term until just over a year ago or so. So I started using it because I'm close enough to the west coast that people understand, and it sure beats giving people the long explanation.

[kimpossible]

Originally posted by buoywonder@Sep 11 2002, 12:05 PM
I didn't even hear of the term until just over a year ago or so. So I started using it because I'm close enough to the west coast that people understand, and it sure beats giving people the long explanation.
ditto

[maldito]

Originally posted by buoywonder@Sep 11 2002, 08:05 PM
I didn't even hear of the term until just over a year ago or so.
I didn't realize people were using it here till a year or 2 ago via the internet. I thought it was just in Hawai'i we used it, but it apparently spread rather quickly to the continental US.

[Hiroshi2]

Me too. I only heard it here on the Net. I'm sure nobody here in the South, even the Asian kids, would know what the hell I"m talking about. But I guess you guys over on the West Coast use it????

I use it on this forum because it seems like most people know what I'm talking about.

[angel nympho]

Funny that not a lot of people have heard this word in use. I don't think this is where the term originates from or anything, but it's interesting that the word in a Korean translation means... loosely translated "mixed." I...think...

[luv]

I've actually never heard of Hapa until I joined YW.

[BeTheReds]

I invented it actually.

On my 3rd or 4th birthday they wanted to sing the birthday song and I did it...

Hapa Durfay to you..
Hapa Durfay to you..

[angel nympho]

I heard it's Japanese, too.

[YuheiCarreau]

I invented it actually.
On my 3rd or 4th birthday they wanted to sing the birthday song and I did it...
Hapa Durfay to you..
Hapa Durfay to you..

That's awful. I've never heard a heavy Korean accent before; is that what one sounds like, or are you just being weird?

I heard it's Japanese, too.

There's a word 'happa' in Japanese, but that means 'leaf'. I'm pretty sure it's Hawaiian (although I am far from an expert in Japanese); there are a lot of JAs living in Hawaii so maybe that's the mix-up.

[lethal]

I'm sure this is wrong, but someone told me that hapa stood for Half Asian Pacific American.

I'm sure this is wrong, but its kinda interesting that the acronym fits.

[maldito]

I guess HAPA is the acronym for half asian pac. american, although I think the american part is redundant anyway.

Happa is Japanese origin meaning "leaf" and hapa is Hawn. origin. Japanese from Hawaii brought the word "hapa" over to the western US.

In HI, most people don't use "hapa", they'll use hapa haole for a half Caucasian or part Caucasian person usually mixed with Hawaiian blood. Back when the word was first introduced in the 1800s it was used for anyone who was part Hawaiian, but they didn't say "hapa haole" which is specifically for part Caucasian people.

[BeTheReds]

Originally posted by YuheiCarreau@Dec 13 2002, 08:01 PM
I invented it actually.
On my 3rd or 4th birthday they wanted to sing the birthday song and I did it...
Hapa Durfay to you..
Hapa Durfay to you..

That's awful. I've never heard a heavy Korean accent before; is that what one sounds like, or are you just being weird?



There's a word 'happa' in Japanese, but that means 'leaf'. I'm pretty sure it's Hawaiian (although I am far from an expert in Japanese); there are a lot of JAs living in Hawaii so maybe that's the mix-up.
That was not a heavy Korean accent. Ha, I'd have to speak Korean natively to do that.

It was a typical 3 year old not knowing what the words are and giving his closest approximation.

I spose a Korean accent would be..

hap pi basu de i too yoo....

But then again can't get the full sound from only that...