Tuesday, March 8, 2016

I am listening to Yves Dejean's lecture. I cannot translate the proverb he quotes, "Baton ou gen nan men w se avè l ou bay kou". Èske w ede mwen? Mèsi!

Hi. Sorry for the late response :)

Sometimes Haitian say: Baton ou gen nan men w lan, se avè l ou pare kou - You use the club that you have in your hands to block a blow.
or sometimes they say: Baton ou gen nan men w lan, se avè l ou bay kou - You use the club that you have in your hands to give a blow.
Both meaning that you use your the resources, skills, or talent you already have to work to your advantage, to get you ahead, or to get you out of a jam.  Wouldn't it be harder to use resources that you don't have to get what you want? :)

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

1 comment:

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