Shifting language ideologies and the perceptions of Hawaiʻi Creole among educators at the university level in Hawaiʻi

• Hawaʻi Creole has been stigmatized due to language ideologies in Hawaiʻi.
• Recent language activism is attempting to change perceptions of Hawaiʻi Creole.
• We show that university faculty have significantly positive perceptions toward Hawaiʻi Creole.
• Positive perceptions suggest a shift in the underlying language ideologies that long stigmatized Hawaiʻi Creole.
• The positive results can be partly attributed to increased language activism on behalf of Hawaiʻi Creole.

Ideologies about language have burdened Hawaiʻi Creole (HC) with a social stigma such that it has been considered inferior to English and inappropriate in public domains of society. Recent efforts at language activism within Hawaiʻi, however, have attempted to raise awareness in support of HC as a viable language. In light of this activism, this study reports interviews with 18 faculty members at a university in Hawaiʻi and finds, in contrast to earlier survey research that noted predominantly negative attitudes toward HC, mostly positive views about HC's place in education. With many interviewees remarking that HC should be treated as its own separate language and that it should occupy a position equal to English in the university and also in society, the findings are discussed in regards to the possibility of a shift in language ideologies in Hawaiʻi and the role of language activism in promoting such a shift.