Comments on: Obama Calls Grandma Toots

By: Thomas Cummings

Thomas Cummings — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:25:21 +0000

Language, spoken and written is beautiful as you say. And, I want to be in the same "room" as it rises and spreads to the next level.

By: Thomas Cummings

Thomas Cummings — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:20:32 +0000

Eh Lee. You do the same thing. I.e., your writing and speech patterns reveal where you -- WE -- come from. And it's good fun how we talk to each other, and move our bodies, and joke around (did you see how Obama tease ("kid") his wife on the t.v?....that's Hawaii); also, how we say howzit, and all that stuff. Indeed, Obama comes out of that unique Hawaii way of communicating.

By: Thomas Cummings

Thomas Cummings — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:09:21 +0000

Learning...we're all about that aren't we? Thanks for the "Toot" instead of "Toots" correction. I agree, Hawaii helped shape Obama. I giggle everytime I see him on National TV expressing himself as locals do.

By: Thomas Cummings

Thomas Cummings — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:06:08 +0000

Yep, language does evolve. That's the nature of us humans. We're a wonderfully, colorfully articulate species are we? Tom

By: Watermark Publishing

Watermark Publishing — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:36:05 +0000

That's the beauty of the craft of writing, isn't it? No matter how much you've achieved, there's still always room to learn from others!

By: Michael Little

Michael Little — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:58:01 +0000

Thanks, Watermark Publishing. The fun (not always the devil) is often in the details. It's easy to take for granted how this island culture shapes our lives, to overlook how much it changes us, but Barack Obama, after all these years, has not forgotten.

So much to learn about this island culture. In January I will have lived here 30 years, including the first five on Maui, where much of what I needed to learn had to do with language and how it reveals culture. I taught English at Maui High and Baldwin in those years, but I was a student in disguise, and I believe I learned more than any of my students. I remember one journalism student at Baldwin who has been one of my best teachers--Lee Cataluna.

By: Watermark Publishing

Watermark Publishing — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:49:58 +0000

I never knew that "tutu" wasn't an original Hawaiian word! As Michael notes, the evolution of language is incredible.

By the way, though, Obama's nickname for his grandmother was "Toot" (without the "s"). His relationship with her and other elements of his formative years in Hawaii are covered in local journalism veterans Stu Glauberman and Jerry Burris' book, "The Dream Begins: How Hawai'i Shaped Barack Obama."

http://www.hawaiireaders.com/blog/2009/09/22/the-dream-begins/

By: Michael Little

Michael Little — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:21:51 +0000

Thank you, Thomas! So refreshing after all the birther nonsense that's been spewed about lately. I wondered about the Toots nickname when I first heard Obama use it. I love the way language evolves. It's exciting to look at where we've been and where we are now.