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Wednesday, August 15, 2012

How do you say, "Good is good, always" in creole

'lapè nan tèt' avèk 'lapè nan lespri' se menm bagay? thanks!

wi wi :)
Toulede vle di trankilite oubyen an Angle peace of mind.
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

You said that an Haiti airport "porter" might be offended if he's called a "bouretye", but isn't a "bouretye" a "porter"?

Yes.
A bouretye is a porter, but a porter is not a bouretye.  Well, I should rather say, not everyone who works as a porter in Haiti would consider themselves a bouretye. 
Does that make a bouretye a bad thing? No.  But some people do consider it a lowly job.
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

is there a Creole word that is like "fiel" or something like that a parent would tell their child if they are proud of them? "Mwen fiel de ou?" I'm forgetting what I saw but thought it was something like that??

yes.
I think you mean 'fyè'.
fyèl is something else.

fyè - proud
fyète - pride

Mwen fyè de ou. 
Mwen kontan ou. 
I am proud of you.

Mwen kontan ak ou. 
I delight in you

Ou ban'm anpil  fyète 
You give me a lot of pride.
You make me proud.

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

Is n always silent??

Well,
It does not resonate in manman, tonton, pen, tan
but it does resonate is tann, fann, an'n, machin
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

I often use sweet to address my mom, dad, and children....I'll say, my sweet mommy/daddy or to my girls...There's my sweet girls. How can I say this in Creole? Mesi anpil!!

'dous' is the Haitian Creole word for 'sweet',
But the best way to say this is with 'cheri' or 'chouchou',

for example:
my sweet mommy → manmi cheri mwen or manman cheri mwen
my sweet daddy → papi cheri mwen or papa cheri mwen

my sweet girl → ti fi cheri mwen
my sweet girls → ti fi cheri mwen yo

There's my sweet girl → Men ti fi cheri mwen an.
There are my sweet girls. → Men ti fi cheri mwen yo.

you can also call your little girl (or boy) ti chouchou or ti cheri which pretty much mean little sweetie or little darling

There's my little sweetie → Men ti cheri mwen an
There go my sweet little ones → Men ti chouchou mwen yo

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

there was this song that used to come on the Haitian radio stations and it was sung by a man that started out saying "yè swa mwen te wè..." do you know what song that is?

If only I knew what radio station or program, whether it's Christian or non Christian radio program, and whether it's emitting from Haiti or overseas, I would have had a good lead :)
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

kouman mwen ka di, "don't worry, you are going to be ok."


Don't worry.  You're going to be ok.
Pa enkyete'w.  Bagay yo va pase byen pou ou.

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

Do you have a post on the usage of FIN (and VIN also) with some examples. Thanks!

vin → shortened form of vini,  means to come, to become

fin → shortened form of fini, means to finish, to be done to, be completed, and sometimes it may be translated in English as fully, totally, or completely.

Examples:
1. Si li fin manje, li kapab ale nan chanm li.
    If she's finished eating, she can go to her room.

2. Lè ou fin fè devwa'w, ou mèt gade televizyon.
    When you're finished doing your homework, you may watch TV.

3. Lè ou fin avèk liv mwen an, pote'l ban mwen.
    When you're done with my book, bring it to give me.
     When you're done with my book, bring it to me.

4.  Mwen fèt sot kwaze ak pitit gason Jacques la. Li fin wo nèt!
     I just crossed path with Jacques'son, He's done getting tall totally!
     I just met Jacques' son.  He's grown so tall!

5.  Mwen pa't fin konprann sa'w te di a.  Eske ou ka repete'l?
     I wasn't done understanding what you said.  Can you repeat it?
     I didn't totally understand what you said.  Can you repeat it?

6. Ou poko fin refè non. Rete nan kabann.
    You are not yet done recovering, stay  in bed.
     You have not fully recovered yet, stay in bed.

7. Lè'w fin pran tout medikaman an, rele klinik la pou'w mete yon randevou.
    When you're finished taking all the medication, call the clinic to set up an appointment.

8. Mwen p'ap janm fin remèsye'w pou tout sa'w fè pou mwen.
   I'll never be done thanking you for all that you've done for me.
   I'll never stop thanking you for all you've done for me.
 
Vin → come, become

9. Apre yo te fin pentire kay la, li te vin pi bèl kay nan katye a.
    After they were done painting the house, it became the most beautiful house in the neighborhood

10. Mwen vin mande'w sipò'w.
    I've come to ask you for your assistance.

11. Vin montre'm dan'w. → Come show me your teeth.

12. Vin gade li. → Come take a look at it.

13.  Vin ale. → Let's go.

14. Vin al gade l (or Vin ale gade li) → Let's go see it

15. Vin di'm sa'k pase. → Come and tell me what happened

16. Vin jwenn mwen. → Come to me.

17. Mwen vin kote'w. → I have come to you./ I come to you

18. Vin danse avè'm. → Come and dance with me.
   
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

Monday, August 13, 2012

what is the word for "progress report" in Haitian Creole?

progress report (on a student) → bilten eskolè,  bilten sou pwogrè eskolè
progress report (generally) → bilan, kont randi

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

Papa ‘m ak manman ‘m te mèt lage ‘m what does te mèt lage ‘m mean?

Is this the complete sentence?


This sentence could be translated two different ways.
It depends on whether or not the sentence you gave me is a dependent clause.

If the sentence in question is not complete (if there's another thought that complete that sentence) then "...te mèt..." becomes a conjunction, and it will be translated as 'Even if' at beginning of your English sentence.

example
1.  Papa'm ak manman'm te mèt lage'm, mwen p'ap dekouraje.
    Even if my dad and my mom abandon me, I won't be discouraged


On the hand, if the sentence in question is complete (nothing else follows after it),  then we'll translate te mèt lage as may let me go, may abandon me, or may disown me

example:
2. Papa'm ak manman'm te mèt lage'm.
   My dad and my mom may let me go.

I would love to know about the texts that surround that sentence..... Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

What is 'ekriti pat mouch'? Mesi!

Yon ekriti pat mouch se yon move ekriti.
Yon move ekriti se yon bad handwriting. :)

pat mouch means fly's legs literally
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

how do u say thug

You can say:  brigan, bandi, delenkan, raketè, or kriminèl
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Sunday, August 12, 2012

I speak French better than Kreyol. Do you know any website -- or even book -- that provides the etymology of Kreyol words? Or that compares French and Kreyol vocabulary? Thanks!

Yes, you will find a lot of these kinds of resources, PDF files which you can download, and some google books, if you search the following names:

Michel Degraff
Morphology in Creole Genesis
"On certain differences between Haitian and French predicative constructions"

Comment écrire Le Creole d'Haiti by Yves Dejean

Quelques considerations sur les rapports de domination français-créole by Midy Franklin

La Fause Querelle du Créole et du Français by Dorin B.

Creole Genesis and the acquisition of Grammar by Claire Lefebvre

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

eske bo kote kek pafwol yo ariv soti nan ki egziste nan kilti kweyol la? mouin konnin kek mo a pa lafwa ye epi mouin pap konnin kijan yo egziste


Mwen pa fin konprann tout sa ou mande mwen.  Mwen panse ou bezwen konnen orijin mo 'pa lafwa'?  Eske se sa?
Mo 'pa lafwa' a soti nan lang Franse a: Par la foi.
Gen kèk mo nan lang Kreyòl la ki gen orijin Franse.  Genyen lòt ki gen orijin Panyòl.  Enpi rès la soti nan anpil patwa Afriken.

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