Bonjou! Learn to Speak Haitian Creole

Bonjou! ...Mèsi! ...E Orevwa! Search for English or Haitian Creole words translation. Also search the whole site for expressions, idioms and grammar rules. And ask questions about the language in the ASK QUESTIONS HERE section.

Most requested translations added here for your convenience: I love you → Mwen renmen w. I miss you → Mwen sonje w. My love!Lanmou mwen!

Friday, November 4, 2011

12 reasons why you shouldn't ignore the accents in Haitian Creole

Do you sometimes forget to put the accents on the letters in Creole?
Or, if you're like me, you can't figure out how to type an accented character on a Blackberry or an Android phone.
Nevertheless, a letter which is usually accented would be imperfect and naked if the accent is omitted.
It is like writing an undotted "i", or an uncrossed "t".

The accented letters in Haitian Creole, and I imagine in other languages too, are pronounced very  differently than their non-accented counterparts.  Check out these letters in the alphabet song and listen to the variance in sound:  Haitian Creole alphabet song.

Here are some links on how to create accented characters on your PC.
Windows ALT KEY codes
French accents codes
Making accent marks on your computer


Compare these twelve accented Haitian Creole words below and their non-accented counterparts.  See how their definition is very different

1. bo → kiss (n.), kiss (v.)
1. bò → side, border, edge


2. fo → fake (n.)
2. fò → strong, skilled


3. klete → to lock (v.)
3. klète → clarity, brightness


4. me → the month of May
4. mè → mother, nun


5. ke → tail
5. kè → heart


6. te → tea
6. tè → earth, soil


7. po → skin (n.)
7. pò → port, dock (n.)


8. ne → knot
8. nè → nerves


9. manto → coat, cloak
9. mantò → liar


10. vole → to fly
10. vòlè → burglar


11. twaze → to look down on
11. twazè → 3 o'clock


12. pan → peacock
12. pàn → failure, mishap, trouble

4 comments:

  1. This is an interesting post. It always bothers me when people ignore the accent in creole or switch "in" with "en"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Does it really?
    The "Chants D'Eperance" (Creole part) has a lot of that :)

    Gwo kout Chapo!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am switching from Pressoir-Faublas to IPN orthography. One of the things, I like the best is death of "é". I am writing (except on an iPhone) with a standard US keyboard. Those ALT codes like ALT+0+2+3+2 really slow me down! That alone increase my typing speed by 50%! :)

    Actually, I think I will use a scripting facility to program CTRL-e and CTRL-o for their respective accents. As I am always programming something anyway.

    http://www.autohotkey.com/

    If I get this done, I should be able to type Creole another 50% faster. :) I suppose for those with French keyboards this is no big deal. If I get it done, I will make it available to others.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awesome. Keep me posted on your programming project - perhaps you could help me one day :)

      Delete