Thursday, December 8, 2011

How to best translate "vices" in Creole?

vice → vis, mès or move mès, move abitid.

He's got two great vices, women and drugs.
Li gen de move mès, fanm ak dwòg.

Abitid se vis. (Haitian Creole idiom)
Habits are vices

What spoiled child!
Ala timoun gate!
or
Ala timoun gen move mès!

2 comments:

  1. What's a "mès", exactly? "Habit"? If there are move mès, are there bon mès?

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  2. "mès" could be a immoral vice, or just a routine habit. It's usually a habit that's hard to break. It is not always a bad thing.

    I have actually heard Creole speakers describe good habits as "bon mès". But you can always say instead "bon abitid".

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