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Friday, March 30, 2012

'On the way' as in: They're on their way. or It's on its way.

on the way → nan wout.


They're on their way.
Yo nan wout.


It's on its way.
Li nan wout.


I'm on my way.  Be patient.
Mwen an wout.  Pran pasyans.


The package is on its way.  I mailed it yesterday.
Pake a nan wout.  Mwen te poste li yè.


The kids are on their way.  They left two hours ago.
Timoun yo nan wout.  Yo te kite dezè d'tan pase.


The team is on its way.  Their bus left at 10.
Ekip la nan wout.  Bis yo a te kite a dizè.




On the way to... → Sou wout


We were on the way to Arcahaie when it started raining.
Nou te sou wout Lakayè lè li te koumanse fè lapli.


They were on their way home when they decided to head back.
Yo te sou wout lakay yo lè te deside tounen.


He was on his way to work when he got the call.
Li te sou wout travay li lè li te resevwa apèl la.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

mwen pa menm sou bo ou

Mwen pa menm sou bò ou.
I'm ignoring you.

'It has been' as in: It's been a long time. It's been days. or It's been a year. Mèsi boubout mwen :)

You can use "Depi ...." or  "Sa fè ...."

Depi de jou m pa wè w.
Sa fè de jou m pa wè w.
Mwen gen de jou depi m pa wè w.
It's been two days since I've seen you.

Depi twazan li malad.
Sa gen twazan li malad.
Li gen twazan depi l malad.
It's been three years since she's been ill.

It has been ...
Sa fè ...
Sa gen ...

Sa fè lontan depi mwen pa wè w.
Mwen gen lontan depi m pa wè.

It's been a long time since I haven't seen you.

Sa fè kèk jou depi mwen te dènye wè li.
Nou gen kèk jou depi dènye fwa nou te wè l.

It's been days since we last saw her.

Sa gen dezan depi m pa al nan plaj.
Mwen gen dezan depi m'ale nan plaj.

It's been two years since I been to the beach.

Sa gen twò lontan.
(Mwen) gen twò lontan.

It's been too long.



Sa gen lontan depi m te tande chan sa a.
Mwen gen lontan depi m pa tande chante sa a.

It's been a while since I heard that song.

mwen mande poukisa fanmi mwen se pa sere tankou li ta dwe? english translation

Mwen mande poukisa fanmi mwen se pa sere tankou li ta dwe.
I wonder why my family is not as tight/close as they should be.

PS: No need for "se" in the Creole sentence.

lets see how this will go

Lets see how this will go.
Ann gade kijan* sa pral pase
also:
Ann wè kijan* sa pral pase.

*and of course, you can always have kijan, kouman or kòman.

mwen vle diw sa kap fet

Mwen vle di w sa k'ap fèt.
I want to tell you what's going on /what's been going on.

How can i say "Sometimes" in Creole?

sometimes → pafwa, kèk fwa, dèfwa, gen de fwa or gendefwa, gen de lè or gendelè


Pafwa mwen panse avè w.
Sometimes I think about you.



Gen de fwa mwen pa konprann ou.
Sometimes I don't understand you.



Dèfwa mwen al promnen nan plaj la.
Sometimes I take a stroll on the beach.



Kèk fwa li salye m, men se pa tout tan..
Sometimes he says hello, but not always.

Vire tounen?

Vire tounen (as a verb and also a noun?)


vire tounen (literaly 'turn return')
to come and go 
to run an errand
to give the run around
to turn around
coming and goings


Gen yon bann vire tounen  lakay vwazen an.  M'ap mande m sa k'ap pase.
There's a lot of activity at the neighbor's house.  I wonder what's going on.


Mwen pral fè yon vire tounen la.
I'm going to run an errand.


Chak kou m mande l lajan m, l'ap fè m vire tounen
Every time I ask for my money, he gives me the run around.


Poukisa w'ap fè m vire tounen konsa?
Why are you giving me the run around?

'Chak kou ou vini' - 'Each neck you come'? Doesn't make any sense. Thoughts?

You're right it does not make any sense, because Creole 'kou', here, means 'time'.

Kou, kon, kòm → as, as soon as, like, as well as, when, time
ex:
chak kou / chak kon / chak fwa → every time, each time

Chak kou li vini, li toujou pote pen Ayisyen.
Every time he comes, he always bring Haitian bread.

Mwen te vole kou yon zwazo.
I flew like a bird.

Granmoun kou timoun dwe prezante.
Adults as well as children should be present.

Kou papa l pati, li koumanse fèt la.
As soon as his dad left, he started the party

Kou → a strike, a blow
Bay kou → to hit, to deal a blow, to afflict
ex:
Li ban m yon kou.
She hit me.

Pa ba l kou.
Do not hit her.

Vòle sa yo ban m yon kou. Yo devide kont bankè mwen.
These crooks dealt me a blow.  They emptied my bank account.



Kou → course, a session, curriculum
Kou Kreyòl la va dire twa mwa.
The Creole class will last three months.


Kou → neck
ex:
Mwen gen kou fè mal.
I have neck pain.

What does outreach mean in creole

Outreach can be translated in Creole as: Kanpay (a campaign), efò, zefò, jefò (collective effort)

Ask me anything

"Sèk" -- For me, "circle" has an "r" sound that "dry" doesn't, but "sèrk" doesn't seem right. Thoughts?

None of the Creole words "sèk" have an "r" or "r" sound.
You will definitely hear the "r" from people who are used to saying "cercle" in French.
So whenever you hear that "r" in "sèk", please know that it's the French in them talking :)

sèk (Sèch, chèch) → dry
sèk → circle, clan, entourage, company
sèk → suddenly, right then and there


Gòj mwen sèk. Mwen bezwen yon ti dlo.
My throat is dry. I need some water.


Ann fè yon sèk pou n priye.
Let's form a circle in order to pray.


Mwen pa vle fè pati nan sèk ou.
I don't want to be part of your clan.


Machin te kanpe sèk.
The car stopped suddenly.


Li t'ap jwe nan lakou a.  Men lè li te wè chen an li te kanpe sèk, epi li tanmen kouri.
She was playing in the yard.  But when she saw the dog she stopped suddenly, then she started running.
Ask me anything

"Sharpen your pencil. It's dull."

Sharpen your pencil. It's dull
Fè pwent kreyon w lan. Li pa gen pwent.

Pencil sharpener → tay kreyon
Sharpen a pencil → fè pwent kreyon an
Sharpen a knife → file yon kouto
a dull pencil → yon kreyon san pwent.
a dull knife → yon kouto ki pa file.

sharp → file, pwenti, pike
dull → san pwen, ki pa file, raz

What's "ata"? As in "Ata nou obeyi, li beni nou."

Ata even

The sentence that you're asking about doesn't seem to go well with 'ata'.


'Ata nou obeyi, li beni nou'
Even we obey, he blesses us.


Was it perhaps written differently?


Other examples with 'ata':

Ata manman m te nan fèt la.
Even my mom was at the party.


Fim te si tèlman tris, ata Big Joe te kriye.
The movie was so sad, even Big Joe cried.


M t'ap mache si dousman, ata yon ti tòti te mache pi vit pase w.
I was walking so slow, even a little turtle walked faster than me.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

how do you say pride?

pride → fyète, diyite, ògèy

Ask me anything

What is the phrase used to make sure someone is paying attention to a story being told?

Are you paying attention?
Are you following?
W'ap swiv? 
or
Eske w'ap swiv?
This question is directed at a single person.




Are you paying attention?
Are you following?
N'ap swiv
or
Eske n'ap swiv?
This question is directed at a group of people.