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-Alo?
-Bonjou Fanfan. Kijan w ye?
-Bonjou …se kilès sa a?
Hello.... who is this?
-Se Joujou...
It's Joujou.
oh Joujou! How are you doing? I haven't heard from you in a while. What are you up to?
I haven't been doing much at all. You know, I'm working hard.
It's been almost a year since you visited Haiti. When will you make a short trip here?
-Enben se poutèt sa mwen rele
w. M’ape rantre Ayiti jedi pwochen. Eske w ta ka vin chache m nan ayewopò a
tanpri?
Well, That''s why I'm calling. I'm coming to Haiti next Thursday. Would you be able to come pick me up at the airport please?
-Mwen ta byen renmen fè sa, men machin mwen anpàn semèn sa. Li p’ap
gentan repare distans pou w vini.
I would love to do that, but my car's broken down this week. It will not be repaired by the time you come.
-O! mwen regrèt tande sa. Men eske ou te kapab fwete yon tap-tap pou vin chache m?
Oh I'm sorry to hear that. But could you hire a tap-tap to come pick me up?
-Men wi! M’ap kapab. Se nan ki
vòl w’ap vini? E ki lè
vòl la ap ateri?
Sure, I'll be able to. Which flight are you coming in? And what time is the flight landing?
-M’ape vini nan Air France. Avyon an va ateri bò zòn katrè nan
apremidi konsa. Mwen bezwen yon moun
dekonfyans. Eske m ka konte sou ou?
I'm coming in Air France. The plane will to land at around 4 PM. I need someone I can trust. Can I count on you?
Sure! You may count on me my friend. Joujou, how long will you stay in the country?
I can't stay long. It'll be just five days. I don't have many days off from work.
-M konprann. Senk jou pa anpil, men mwen va kontan vizit ou. Mwen te byen sonje w.
I understand. Five days is not much, but I'll enjoy your visit. I have missed you.
-Mwen menm tou. Mwen sonje fanmi m ak zanmi m.
Me too. I miss my family and friends.
Where will you be you staying? I hope it's not in a hotel?
-Aktyèlman, se sa mwen t’ap panse
fè.
Actually, that's what I was thinking to do.
Joujou, I would be more than happy to have you stay at my home. Let's not dispute this. Agree?
-Mèsi Fanfan. Se dakò.
Thanks Fanfan. Agree.
-Bon, m’ava fè preparasyon pou m
resevwa w. M pa ka tann pou m wè w.
Good. I'll make preparations to welcome you. I can't wait to see you.
-Mwen menm tou. Mèsi
davans Fanfan. N’a wè jedi sidyevle?
Me too. Thanks in advance Fanfan. See you Thursday God willing
-Dakò Joujou. N’a wè.
Okay Joujou. See you.
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words
"Ou gen preske yon ane depi w pa vizite Ayiti."
ReplyDeleteThe "pa" in this construction is so hard!
I would write:
"Ou gen preske yon ane depi w te vizite Ayiti"
I think you're right. I hadn't thought of it that way.
DeleteSaying it the way you've suggested will make it less confusing to a foreigner and crystal clear to a Haitian.
Mèsi anpil.
O! O! Non non mezanmi! Ou pa bezwen fe sa. M' renmen wè li jan an moun natif natal ta di li. Men, li difisil pou nou blan yo!
ReplyDeleteIt's just that when I read it, it's hard not to see it as:
"It's been almost a year since you _didn't_ visit Haiti", which sounds like they come to Haiti all the time.
I see what you mean.
ReplyDeleteActually, your literal translation of that Creole sentence is accurate.
Here are some more examples of the same sentence construction. I find it more natural (to me) to use "PA" in these sentences.
Ou gen preske yon ane depi w pa wè m.
Gen preske yon ane depi m pa lapriyè.
Nou gen preske yon ane depi n pa monte machin.
Men eske ou te kapab fwete yon tap-tap pou vin chache m?
ReplyDelete( isn't 'fwete' should be written as 'frete' ?)
Yes, it is written that way also.
DeleteI can not find the play button.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened ?
I'm not sure. Are you using IE 8 or Safari?
DeleteYou might not be able to see it in IE 7.
m’ava fè preparasyon pou m resevwa w
ReplyDelete( Here can you explain
'm'ava" in detail ?)
kamsa hmanida
"ava, a, va" are future tense markers. They translate the future aux. "will"
ReplyDelete"ava" and "a" are often used with contractions" m', y', l', y', etc...
examples:
Mwen va
or
M'ava
or
M'a
I will
N'ava wè w pita.
or
Nou va wè w pita.
or
N'a wè w pita.
We'll see you later.
L'ava renmèt ou machin nan lè w peye lajan an.
He will give you back the car when you pay the money.
-M p’ap sa fè anpil tan. M’ap fè senk jou sèlman
ReplyDeleteHow can you translate fe here ?
kamsa hamnida
fè anpil tan → stay a long time
ReplyDelete