Thursday, September 6, 2012

Eske ou ka esplike "rive sou fal," kòm "Tijan rive sou fal." Mèsi!

fal is Haitian Creole for belly, stomach, chest
Was that the complete sentence?
Sounds like Tijan had gotten to the peak/depth of a location?

Sometimes we also say "rive sou tèt" which means to arrive at a location in a rush
I wonder if that's what the author meant.

Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

2 comments:

  1. The context is a boy is being unknowlingly mocked (because his sister and himself appear so dissimilar yet he claims they have the same father), and all the other boys in the in area stop their games and come listen to what is happening. So "to arrive in a rush" is probably the best understanding. This is also from "... Tèt Pastè Bab pati"

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    Replies
    1. Ah I see...
      I'm beginning to like that book. I just looked it up. And I will get a copy. I like the author's Creole.

      I guess we can explain "rive sou fal" (and rive sou tèt) as: you are in such a haste and out of breath, it seems that you didn't walk to get there, it seems that you flew (rive sou tèt), or slided on your belly (rive sou fal). ....figuratively...

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