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Thursday, December 6, 2012

Kreyon Bondye pa gen gòm

Tout sa ki fèt, li fèt nèt. Li pa ka defèt.
Se sa ekspresyon sa vle di.
Men sèjousi, pa gen verite nan ekpresyon sa a ankò.
Mwen panse ke limanite jwenn yon mwayen pou mete gòm nan kreyon Bondye a.
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In Louisiana, we have both vodou and hoodoo within the Creole culture. I have noticed you touching on this subject somewhat. I never hear about hoodoo from Ayiti. Is it practiced there? I know if we in Louisiana have it, we got it from youAlso, is there a word for hoodoo in HC? Because voodoo should be vodou; I believe that maybe hoodoo is a corrupted form of the word probably from english. mesi.

The religious practices of Haitian vodou is different from Louisiana's hoodoo and/or voodoo.
Haitian vodou is a religion, a way of life, a platform of communications with many engaging and distinct spirits for the believer. For many believers, this religion is about expression, escape and freedom.  It's not mainly about spells and magic. Hoodoo is not of Haitian origin.

Do Haitians say OULALA?

(What's the emoticon for laughing out loud :)
Doesn't everyone say ou la la at some point in their life?

Well, for the Haitian who doesn't say ou la la, there's wololoy!, ayayay!, yayay!, yoyoy!,  wipip!, koulangit!, koumanman!, komabo!, wifout! (not in front of the kids :), koulangèt! (not in front of the kids :)

egzanp:
1. Koulangit! Gad'on fanm!
2. Wipip! Gad'on chedèv!
3. Wifout! Gad'on dèyè!
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Is "katreven en" pronounced as a liason as in "restoran an"? I cannot find a pronunciation in Kreyol Ayisyen for "81" anywhere. mesi anpil

No, there's no liaison. It does not flow like in restoran  an. There's a quick pause between ...ven and the final en.  The sound is "detached".
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family ....?

Did you want to use a word other than fanmi?
fanmifanmi, lafanmi, parantay, ras, kòt fanmi
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What's the creole word for creepy?

creepy (scary?) → efreyan, ki fè pè
creepy (gives you goosebumps?) → ki bay frison, ki bay chèdepoul

1.
This guy is creepy.  He scares me.
Mouche sa a efreyan.  Li fè'm pè.


2.
This story is scary.  It gives me the chills...
Istwa sa a efreyan.  Li ban'm frison.
Istwa sa a efreyan.  Li fè m gen chèdepoul.

3.
Lè'm te tande ti fi a kriye, chèdepoul te leve sou tout po m
When I heard the girl cry, I had goosebumps all over.

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Would you say that lapoula and sanpransouf are synonyms?

Well they both can describe actions that are taken quickly
lapoula (la pou la) → without delay, right then, immediately
san pran souf → without taking a break, without losing momentum
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Great inspiring words from Bloodline. Love the small Creole acknowledgment at the 4:23 mark :)

There's none like you (best way to say in Creole)

There's none like you.
Pa gen lòt tankou w.
Pa gen lòt pase w.

There's none like him.
Pa gen lòt tankou l.
Pa gen lòt pase l.
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Front teeth and back teeth

front teeth  → dan devan
back teeth → dan dèyè

Lè li te tonbe a, li te pèdi tout dan devan l yo.
When he fell, he lost all his front teeth.
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Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Would you possibly know if my last name(RACHAL) pronounced phonetically like in Kreyol Ayisyen originally came from Ayiti? I spoke with a doctor from Dominikani who told me he had run across my last name among some Haitian Creole people there. Anyway, my last name (RACHAL) has no coat of arms and did not originate in Louisiana nor Canada. Over 90% of the people in LA that have my last name are Black. Mesi anpil

Rachal is most likely a French last name. This last name dates back to the late 1600s in France.  There are a few Rachals in South Africa, and Saudi Arabia too.
Rachal is also used as a first name for mostly boys in other European countries.

In order for this last name to originate from Haiti it would have to come from either the Tainos (the indians and first inhabitants of the islands of Haiti and the D.R before 1500), the spanish conquerors, the French colons, or the West Africans slaves.
...And if it did not come from the Tainos, its origin is not Haitian.

I think the best place to start unearthing this family tree is at the Archives Nationales of France.

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Lamayòt

lamayòt → a scary surprise inside a box.  During carnival time, a person (usually a masked man) walks around with a box, and children pay to see what's in that box.  Sort of a jack in a "big" box, but it never goes "pop!".
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how do say red snapper in creole

red snapper → sad, pwason sad
the red snapper → sad la, pwason sad la
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Can you recommend any online resources for Haitians to learn English? Mesi!

There are a lot of online resources out there.  There are a lot of free online courses, free worksheets, free audio materials on the web.  You should google ESL, ESOL, or ESL for Creole speakers and do a little bit of research so you'll find what's right for you.   I have not taken an ESL course online and I don't know anyone who has taken an online course recently - so I couldn't personally recommend any one course in particular.
Mèsi.  M'espere sa va mache pou ou.
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how do say iam so sad and depressed

Mwen espere se yon ti chagren tanporè :)

Is it temporary blues?
I am so sad and depressed.
Mwen gen anpil tristès ak chagren.
Mwen tris e afese.
Mwen tris e m santi m kagou.
ak
Mwen gen yon ti depression ak latristès.

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