Bèl bonswa "TiWil". Mwen toujou kontan tande w :)
M'espere ke zafè etid ou ap byen mache, e ke ou jwenn òpòtinite pou w fè yon ti detant detanzantan.
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Wi, mwen te resevwa liv Zig Lavi a, sa gen kèk semèn. Mwen te li e reli l ankò. Se defitivman youn nan liv prefere mwen. Otè a pouse w pou gen anpil senpati pou li nan istwa a. Tout pandan m t'ap li liv la, mwen t'ap espere pou yon finisman....e, mwen pa't desi. Mwen mete liv sa nan menm kategori ak Rete Kote Lamèsi nan sans difikilte Kreyòl la. Mwen konprann pouki liv sa ta yon ti jan difisil pou li (pou yon etranje). Li gen anpil ekspresyon ki pa ka tradui motamo ladan l, e se pa tout mo nan liv sa ke w va jwenn nan yon diksyonè. Kreyòl misye se Kreyòl granmoun lontan, men li pa twò di pou dekode.
Mwen ta byen renmen tande kisa ki koze difikilte sa yo pou ou?
Dakò, kenbe a.
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words
M'espere ke zafè etid ou ap byen mache, e ke ou jwenn òpòtinite pou w fè yon ti detant detanzantan.
.
Wi, mwen te resevwa liv Zig Lavi a, sa gen kèk semèn. Mwen te li e reli l ankò. Se defitivman youn nan liv prefere mwen. Otè a pouse w pou gen anpil senpati pou li nan istwa a. Tout pandan m t'ap li liv la, mwen t'ap espere pou yon finisman....e, mwen pa't desi. Mwen mete liv sa nan menm kategori ak Rete Kote Lamèsi nan sans difikilte Kreyòl la. Mwen konprann pouki liv sa ta yon ti jan difisil pou li (pou yon etranje). Li gen anpil ekspresyon ki pa ka tradui motamo ladan l, e se pa tout mo nan liv sa ke w va jwenn nan yon diksyonè. Kreyòl misye se Kreyòl granmoun lontan, men li pa twò di pou dekode.
Mwen ta byen renmen tande kisa ki koze difikilte sa yo pou ou?
Dakò, kenbe a.
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words
"motamo" - word for word?
ReplyDelete"finisman" - ?
Wi wi :)
Deletemotamo → word for word
finisman → ending, end, conclusion
Mèsi pou pataje lide ou avèk mwen menm.
ReplyDeleteBon, pou yon elèv kreyòl, selon mwen menm, liv sa chita sou yon lòt nivo. Se pa yon istwa avèk yon chimen dwèt. Se pa "ti nèg la fè sa, epi li fè sa." Pi souvan otè a ap dekri lanati lavi ak ajisman moun avèk lide abstrè ak imajri imajinatif. Pa egzanp, kòm li konmanse liv la:
"Boyo lavi vire lanvè. Trip foumi gaye sou boulva. Ti pis wòwòt pouse plim anba zèsèl anvan bajou kase jou pou ba yo boujonnen." (paj 7)
Bon... kisa ...?
Liv la plen ak fraz kom fraz sa yo. Souvan mwen pa fouti swiv kote li mennen mwen. Mwen mete lespri m nan zig Msye Poris, li souke li byen souke, epi kite mwen atè ak tèt vire. :)
Kanmenm, lè mwen kapab konprann liv la, mwen apresye li anpil. Sitou, mwen apresye mesaj otè a. Pa reziye tèt ou. Pran pasyans. Respekte toutmoun, nou isit ansanm. Kenbe la. Bouki dire yon anne, yon lòt grenn jou p'ap tchwe li.
Se kòm chimen pou aprann kreyòl. :) Gen anpil tray, men fòk nou pike pou pi douvan.
Ala yon bon liv, e mwen ka di li ede mwen aprann anpil vokabilè epi pase sa li fè mwen reflechi sou karaktè lavi epitou konte tout benediksyon pa'm.
Aprè yon sekou, m a li li ankò.
Men, mwen ta di pou tout lezòt elèv ki vle monte wout literati kreyòl Ayisyen, pa konmanse ak liv sa a. :)
On another note, if you use a Bryant Freeman Haitian to English dictionary you can find pretty much every word. I use a hardbound fifth dictionary with over 57,000 entrees. I would never have made it through the Koleksyon Souf Nouvo without it. His dictionaries are far far far beyond any others that I know of.
***Mèsi pou pataje lide ou avèk mwen. pa "avek mwen menm"
DeleteOu komik lè ou di ...li souke lespri w byen souke, enpi li fese w atè ak yon tèt vire :) W'ap pale tankou Poris ta pale :)
DeletePou mwen menm, mwen te li liv la ak yon lòt prezans lespri.
Kòm ou konnen Ayiti pa gen bon jan lekòl segondè andeyò. Donk, sa vin tounen yon kilti poutèt pa'l,... pou yon moun andeyò chache yon moun dekonfyans nan yon vil pou mete timoun ni dekwa pou l kontinye lekòl.
Konsa gen moun nan vil yo ki pwofite sèvi ak timoun nan kòm restavèk, bòn, oubyen jeran lakou. Genyen ki pa janm voye timoun nan lekòl menm, men yo sèlman jwi pwovizyon ki rantre nan kay la gras a prezans timoun nan.
Lakay papa m, nan Pòtoprens, nou te resevwa anpil anpil fanmi ki te kite andeyò pou vin fini etid yo. Menm jan ou wè istwa a dewoule a, se te konsa. Papa m pa te abize okenn nan yo, men vatevyen ak monte desann yo, se te menm ak istwa zig lavi a..... Paran timoun yo vizite yo chak mwa konsa...apre sa paran yo tounen lakay yo andeyò avèk yon lapenn ki vizib (paske yo pa konnen si timoun byen trete oubyen si'l mal trete).
Te gen yon fanmi ki te mennen twa pitit gason l lakay la pou yo fini etid yo. Fanm sa a ak manmman Poris se tèt koupe. Li te travay di nan jaden, desann Pòtoprens pou vann sa'l plante, enpi pote ti pwovizyon lakay la pou ti gason li yo avèk pou papa m tou. Youn nan ti gason sa yo te vini yon avoka. Kounye a li se yon jij nan zòn sid AYITI.
Donk, lè mwen te koumanse li liv Zig lavi a, se kòmsi se yo istwa mwen te konnen deja.... yon istwa ki chanje aktè.
Mwen twouve li te touchan anpil, fason manman an t'ap ancheri ak dòlote ti gason an pou l ba l fòs pou kontinye. Mwen byen sèten kè l te dwe ap rache, men li te konnen ke kite ti gason nan lanfè sa a, se sèl fason li va vin yon eleman pwodiktif e edike nan lavi a. Se bagay ki pou fè nenpòt moun kriye.
Mwen vle ekri yon lòt kòmantè sou paj sèt la :)....
Premyèman, ou gen rezon. Si yon etranje vle fè literati Kreyòl, l'ap bezwen yon bon diksyonè tankou pa Bryant Freeman nan. Malgre diksyonè sa a ta yon tijan chè, men li se yon bon envestisman.
ReplyDeleteMwen pa konnen kisa ou panse osijè paj sèt la, men mwen te wè sa li ekri a kòm yon avètisman pwoblèm, peripesi, ak deblozay ki pral vini.
E mwen renmen lefèke li re-ekri menm bagay la ankò nan paj sannèf la pou konkli istwa a....
Mwen vle ekri li an Angle, paske mwen ta renmen konnen si se menm bagay la ou te konprann tou.
Angle m pa twò fin bon nèt....
".....Boyo lavi vire lanvè...."
Men fason mwen wè li:
"The shoes of life are on the wrong foot. the small ant lay waste on the boulevard, his intestines scattered. The immature flea has started puberty before its time - it starts to grow underarm hair before the day opens to let it bloom - The needle with useless "eyes" is in the hands of dressmaker with crooked finger. It takes a lot of patience to slice thinly a tree bark that is not healthy. But when you already put your feet in the water, you can't put your gear on reverse. They've already shot the pistol, all arrangement has scattered, the comforting piece (or is it the back-up piece) has no chans. Tighten your belt. Clench your teeth. Harden your emotion. Should we cry....never. Toughen your feelings. Put your trembling under your feet. Suffocate your fear! Fiber (tough) rope for the shy. Do as the wicked do. Beat up all those (under your care)that fail.
Is that how you read it?
It seems as though he's talking about himself:
First, he's the ant that lie with the intestine scattered...
Then he's the flea that is forced to grow up too soon
He's the needle with useless eyes - the eye of a needle), because he was not to smart.
The gunshot is everything that was set in motion ....
Then he talks about toughening up.
Your thoughts?
Wow, beautiful.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I have to say that I mostly did not understand the first paragraph. Many words were unfamiliar to me and they had several definitions in the dictionary. As these sentences are not really in a revealing context, it was hard to pick out which definition the author intended.
In general, however, I understood it roughly as you translated it, but with a high degree of uncertainty, so I was not able to put together any symbolism.
In the first sentence, for example, the Freeman dictionary gives a couple translations of boyo as either (n) intestines, entrails, guts; or rubber sandal or shoes.
Because the next sentence is about "trip foumi," I read the first sentence as "The guts of life are inside out." I still don't know though.
Seeing your translation really inspires me. I think this is the meaning and symbolism the author intended. It is really nice that he begins and ends the book with this.
As for the issue of Haitian country children going to city schools... one of my best friends in Haiti is an example of this. He lives in an "orphanage" in Hinche so that he can go to school, though his mother and siblings live in the countryside. He just finished Filo, but is scared to move to Port-au-Prince though it makes the most sense academically for him.
A lot of sad stories, but I do not really think I should share them on a public blog. As for the restavèk system... slavery still in Haiti. But I suppose it depends on the home you get into and how bad the conditions were for you otherwise.
There is misery and compromise in Haiti that can be difficult for people raised elsewhere to understand or relate with.
So this book is a beautiful story about hope and perseverance. I hope if I keep studying I will be able to appreciate it more fully in the future.
I hope I did not sound like I was defending the system of restavèks, but if the child is brought into a caring home that gets them to school and feeds them, it may be better than the alternatives that are immediately available -although very sad for the family of the child.
DeleteI wish I could have appreciated what these "andeyò" families went through back then, but I didn't until I read this book.
ReplyDeleteSecondary schooling IS the better alternative, as you said. It's a chance at education, a chance at life. It is through this "system" that many now big shots in Haiti have become educated, though they may deny it.
Yes I agree. Great book about "hope and perseverance". A story of love and nurturing and determination in the face of adversity. I was very happy to see at the end that he did well for himself. I hope you get to enjoy it FULLY one day soon.
Ennan en jou :)
TiWil is an inspiration to me. I am reading much simpler stories. But the idea of how much the dictionary helps is true. It's easier to master new vocabulary when you discover it in the context of meaningful conversation or when you're glued to something you're reading. TiWil mentioned a "a hardbound fifth dictionary with over 57,000 entrees." I wonder which one that is, and where it was bought. I have the Bryant Freeman dictionaries, as you know, Mandaly.
ReplyDeleteBonjou Dory! Se TiWil.
DeleteRegarding my dictionary, I bought it at the KU bookstore many years ago. Bryant Freeman has since released a sixth edition - perhaps this is what you have? It is available here in a three volume paperback set for $45:
http://www.kubookstore.com/p-58222-haitian-to-english-dictionary-3-volume-set.aspx
I do prefer the sturdier hardback version that comes as one giant tome, but I do not know where you can find them nowadays. The KU bookstore might print one on request, but I do not know at what price.
Good luck on your Creole studies. It can be difficult to find resources if you are somewhere between a beginner or advanced level. If you want, you can tell me the sort of stuff you are reading now and I can recommend other things that might be at your level or help you advance.
Pase yon bon jounen!
-Will (TiWil)
TiWil and Mandaly, thanks
ReplyDeleteI'm getting into crunch time with my summer volunteer work at NJ migrant camps, during the blueberry season. Will, I might take you up on your offer in the fall...
I recently priced the Bryant Freeman 3-volume English to Haitian Creole dictionary and I believe it was something over $49 PER VOLUME. I'll have to check back, but meanwhile I do have my own copy.
Dory