Monday, October 1, 2012

This looked like an easy task until I tried to pen it down. I know that 'Jezi vivan' means 'Jesus is alive', but how would you say 'My Jesus is alive'? ...Jezi m vivan ?

If you're going to use the contraction "m", then you should say it with the article: Jezi m nan vivan.
My Jesus is alive.
Jezi mwen an vivan. (non contracted)
Jezi m nan vivan. (contracted)
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

4 comments:

  1. TiwilOctober 2, 2012 at 11:02 AM

    Are the "an" and "nan" acting as the definite article (The Jesus of mine...) or in association with "vivan?"

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  2. TiwilOctober 3, 2012 at 10:47 AM

    Is Jesus generally referred to as "the Jesus" in Creole? Or only in certain contexts (with possessive "mwen, ou, nou, etc.")

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    Replies
    1. MandalyOctober 3, 2012 at 10:55 AM

      People usually say plainly: Jezi (Jesus), with no article.

      The article usually accompanies the possessive adjective. Here are some examples:

      If you were to say "my car" in Creole, you'll say:
      machin mwen
      or
      machin mwen an

      our house will be translated as:
      kay nou
      or
      kay nou an

      your picure will be translated as:
      foto ou
      or
      foto'w la

      So, these articles are an extension of the possessive adjectives rather than the nouns.

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