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Tuesday, December 11, 2012

I have searched the 'from' posts but am still unsure how to say 'from me to you'. Is it something like 'nan men mwen a ou memn' That just doesn't sound right. Mesi.

Ah! This language is an art.  You can mix it with French and it'll sound beautiful, or you can use crude Creole and it'll sound poetic.
To your "Nan men mwen a ou menm" translation, I would say "Kreyòl pale, Kreyòl konprann".

From me to you.
De mwen menm a ou menm

This is from me
Sa se mwen k ba ou l.

Here's what I got for you.
Men sa m pote pou ou.

For you
Pou ou

A little gift for you
Yon ti kado pou ou

This is for you
Sa se pou ou.

This is my gift to you.
Sa se kado mwen ba ou.
some people may say:
Sa se kado pa'm pou ou.

Two words I wouldn't recommend you use on a gift card/gift to translate the words from me to you are soti or depi
See how they can be used in other circumstances:

From Pòtoprens to Okap
Soti Pòtoprens al Okap

They were open from nine to five
Yo te ouvè depi nevè jiska senkè

We walked from New York to New Jersey
Nou te mache depi New York rive New Jersey

link to other ways to say from: from (depi, soti, nan men, avèk)

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

sleep was in your eyes

Yeap :)  That is Haitian Creole wording.... Dòmi te nan je m I was sleepy

I was sleepy, that's why I went to bed. After a few minutes, I finally fell asleep.
Sleep was is my eyes, it's for that I went in bed. After some minutes, I succeeded to sleep :)
Dòmi te nan je m, se pou sa m t'al nan kabann.  Apre kèk minit, mwen te resi dòmi.

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

Se konsa?

Eske se konsa sa ye?
Is it how it is?

Eske se konsa sa fèt?
Is it how it's done?

Se konsa.
That's how.
That's it.

Se konsa sa fèt.
That's how it's done.

Se pa konsa sa fèt.
That's not how it's done.

Se konsa sa ye.
That's how it is.

Se konsa nou ye.
That's how we are.

Se konsa li ye.
That's how it is.

Se pa konsa li ye.
That's not how he is.

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

Monday, December 10, 2012

How do you say "extra". As in, I have 3 things, I only need 2 so the third is "extra".

extra → anplis

1. Mwen gen youn anplis.
    I have an extra one.

2. Mwen gen twa valiz men mwen sèlman bezwen de (2). Sa vle di mwen gen youn anplis.
    I have three bags but I only need two. This means I have an extra one.

3. Mwen gen yon valiz anplis.
    I have an extra bag.
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

How do you refer to the middle class in kreyol?

middle class - klas mwayen
the middle classklas mwayen an
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What does konsa Means?

Konsa (from French comme ça for like this/like that) basically means like this, like that, in this way

See the following links:
konsa in this way, in this manner
konsaso, thus

some examples:

1. Pa chita konsa. Li pa bon pou kolòn vètebral ou.
    Don't sit like that. It's not good for your spine.

2. Se konsa yo ye.
    It's like that they are.
    That's how they are.

3. Poukisa ou fache konsa?
    Why are you angry like that?
    Why are you so angry?

4. Se konsa.
    It's like that.
    That's how it is.

5.Yo di konsa lanmou se pou tout tan.
   They say like that love is a forever.
   They say love is forever.

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

When was creole invented?

Invented?  It would seem to make more sense if you said envante in Creole... Wouldn't it?
This sentence would then sound like "How did it come to be?" rather than "Who came up with the formula and when did that happen?"
Why was any type of Creole necessary?  and especially Haitian Creole, how did it unify groups of people from different backgrounds who came to have a common goal? It's a story of courage and determination....
Check out these books from the links below.  I think the first two, you can read for free on Google Books
Creolization
Defining Creole
Agency in the Emergence of Creole languages

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kijan mwen pral beswen tande ou moun kap pase mwen nan betiz. translate for me please

kijan mwen pral beswen tande ou moun kap pase mwen nan betiz.
Kijan mwen pral bezwen tande yon moun k'a pase m nan betiz?
How am I going to listen to someone who's poking fun at me?
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"ing" at the end of sentence...like "They wanted to tell me what they were thinking."

1. "They wanted to tell me what they were thinking." 
     "You te vle di m sa yo t'ap panse."

2. She was just sitting there crying.
    Li te jis chita la, ap kriye.

3. I'm thinking of you.
    M'ap panse ak ou.

See link to posts about progressive forms

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

Kisa wap fè ak kowosòl yo anvan?

Kowosòl se youn nan bon fui w'ap jwenn nan peyi Ayiti.
Si lè'w keyi l, li toujou wòwòt (unripe), ou kapab toufe li (cover and keep it warm to ripen it) ak kèk papye jounal pou l ka vin mi (ripe).
Granmoun kou ti moun jwi benefis fèy kowosòl yo bay.  Yo itilize l pou fè te (tea) pou grip.  Yo itilize te sa a tou pou bay ti bebe ki gen kolik e ki pa ka dòmi leswa. Gen moun ki bouyi fèy kowosòl la, enpi yo benyen ak dlo a. Gen lòt ki fè konpress pou maladi tèt ak fèy yo.  Po kowosòl la gen anpil fib (fiber) ladan l.  Lè w'ap fè ji blende (smoothie), ou kapab blende enpe nan fèy yo tou.  Sa ede w pouse manje nan trip (intestines) ou trè byen.  Ou p'ap bezwen redi lè ou prale alasèl.
An Ayiti, yo sèvi ak kowosòl anpil pou fè ji blende ak krèm.  Mwen poko janm goute yon ji ki bon tankou kowosòl.
Lè ou fin sèvi ak kowosòl la, ou kapab plante grenn yo pou nou grandi plis pye kowosòl toujou.
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

did you ever watch languichatte? do you know what happened to all the characters, languichatte himself, azibe, melanie, etc.?

Yes I watched it regularly in Haiti.
The character Languichatte (Theodore Beaubrun) died some time in the late 1990s.  I think he had Parkinson disease.
Theodore Beaubrun was the spokesperson in many commercials on Haitian TVs.
He played in other Haitian films and pyesèt.  He was the one who played Simidò in the film Gouverneurs de La Rosée in the mid 1970s (1974 or 1975?)
The character Melanie (Ginette Beaubrun) who played Languichatte's servant was actually his wife in real life.
Matout, the character that played Languichatte's wife did a lot of theater work in Haiti and overseas many years after Mr. Beaubrun's death.
The characters who played  Melanie, Mantout and Azibe had reunited and did some plays together (I think in New York or Miami).
You might be able to find some of their work on Youtube
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

Zefè

zefè (from French effets for things) → belongings, papers, stuff, things, also effect, result
zafè (from French affaires for things) → things, personal things, business

1.  Eske ou te pote tout zefè w avèk ou?
     Did you bring all your belongings with you?
     Did you bring all your paperwork with you?

2. Eske medsin nan fè zefè deja?
    Did the laxative take effect already?
    Did the medication work already?
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Sunday, December 9, 2012

Lè madanm di mwen "se moun ki pa annafè ki domi byen", kisa li te vle di?

Sa madanm nan di an se sa wi. Moun ki annafè dòmi ak yon je ouvè, yon je fèmen; kè yo pa janm poze; Lè y'ap mache yo toujou ap voye je gade dèyè; nenpòt ti bri fè yo sote.

annafè se lè w achte zafè moun san w pa peye, lè w nan kèk biznis ki pa legal, lè w pa mezire zafè w nan bon ti mamit, lè zafè'w pa kòrèk, lè w fè twòp zewo tounen nèf, etc...
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I have learned the word "glo" in the Pimsleur HC course. I know the word "dlo" also. It seems to me that "dlo" is used more though. I prefer "glo", am I wrong?

The word "dlo" (from French , eau, d'eau or de l'eau for water) is more widely used throughout Haiti.

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Saturday, December 8, 2012

Hi, is it possible for a non-creole speaker to dream that he's speaking perfect Creole and understand every single word spoken?

O O!
1. I truly don't know how I would know the answer to this question.
2. Isn't everything possible in dreams?
3. I am curious... Did the dreamer understand everything he/she said while dreaming?   Or  Did the dreamer replayed the dream once he/she woke up and understood everything then?  If that happened, I would say that the dreamer has a gift.
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words