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Sunday, December 23, 2012

SI youn moun byen mennen, that s good right?

Men wi, that's good :)
Si yon moun ap byen mennen, sa vle di tout bagay ap mache byen.  Pa gen danje, ni grangou, ni tèt chaje.
Men si yon moun ap mal mennen, sa vle di y'ap viv nan lamizè, onswa yo pa gen siksè nan lavi a.

Gendefwa ou ka di konsa, "Mari m ak malmennen avè m" onswa "Mari m ak malmennen'm nan kay la.".  Sa vle di Mari a ap maltrete w onswa li pa byen viv avè w.
Konsa tou, ou ka di, "Yannick gen chans paske li jwenn yon mari ki byen mennen avè l.".  Sa vle di, Yannick jwen yon nèg ki byen boule avè l, yon nèg ki trete l  e pran swen l byen.

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haitian creole common slang phrases?

It's too early for me in this Creole journey to determine what's slang, what's Creole rèk, what's Creole lontan, what's Creole fransize, etc....
What you might consider as slang in Creole, others might see it as poetry, or a variant, or a cache of treasure in this well of Creole language heritage that might lead us to understand how our ancestors communicated.
But if you know of some H. Creole slang phrases, please share them with me ...

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Saturday, December 22, 2012

Are Haitians more familiar with miles or kiolmeters? How do you say each in HC. Mesi.

More familiar with kilometers (kilomèt in Creole)
milemil in Creole
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'press' (this button to take the picture); 'touch here to turn it on or off'. Mesi.

press → peze, touche
press this button → peze bouton sa a, or touche bouton sa a
press this button to that the picture → peze bouton sa a pou pran foto a
touch here to turn it on → peze la pou limen li or  peze la pou ouvri li
touch here to turn it off → peze la pou etenn li or peze la pou fèmen li

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Bonjou Mandalay! Can you please translate the following Bible verse for me? As you teach... Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms,Continued: hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:16-17 Thank you! ~Wendy

Awesome :)

Pandan n'ap anseye... Se pou n kite pawòl Kris la ak tout richès li yo demere nan nou pandan n'ap egzòte youn lòt ak lasajès, e pandan n'ap chante sòm, kantik ak lòt chante Sentespri a ban nou pou nou remèsye Bondye ak tout kè nou.  E kèlkeswa sa nou fè, an pawòl e annaksyon, fè li nan non Senyè Jezi a,  san n pa manke bay Bondye Papa a remèsiman nan Li.  Kolosyen 3:16 a 17.

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how do you say y thats not true?

This gift is from your mother and father

This gift is from your mother and father 
Kado sa a se manman ak papa w ki ba ou li.

Here's a little gift from your mom and dad.
Men yon ti kado manman ak papa w ba ou.

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Eske ou gen kek fraz Kreyol pou montre kouman itilize mo PARE? I get it when people say ESKE NOU PARE. I think I get PARE KO OU or PARE BOUDA OU, but can you still use them in a sentence TANPRI? Mesi!

In sentences #1 & #2, pare men means to ready your hand, to extend your hand in order to receive something.
examples:
1. Lè yo rive bò kot tiyo a, yo pa't gen gode, men yo te pare men yo pou pran yon ti dlo pou bwè.
2. Lè touris la te met men nan pòch li, tout pòv nan lari a te gentan pare men yo.  Yo te panse li ta pral ba yo lajan.

In sentence #3, pare lapli means to wait the rain out, to take shelter from the rain.
examples:
3. Mwen p'ap gentan rive nan estasyon bis la, se sa'k fè m'ap pare lapli a kay zanmi m nan.

In sentences #4, #5, #6, & #7, pare means to ready, to get ready, to get your act together, to make arrangement
4. Mezanmi, ekonomi peyi pa bon. N'ap viv nan tan difisil. Pare kò nou pou sa k'ap vini.
5. Lè bis la te rive nan estasyon an, tout moun te pare lajan yo depi anvan yo te monte.
6. Medam, pral gen anpil bèl mizik nan fèt la aswè a, pare kò nou pou n danse jouk solèy leve.
7. Lè Fanfan te kraze bèl po flè manman l la, li te konnen l'antrave.  Se pousa li te pare bouda l pou l pran baton.

In sentences #8 & #9, pare kou means to block a punch or a strike.
8. Boksè a te pare chak kout pwen oponan l nan te voye.
9. Si w pa konn pare kou, ou pa konn goumen.
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Friday, December 21, 2012

Any good website for more on the language?

Is "okenn" always used in sentence with "pa"? Would not this be a double negative as in French?

Most of the times "okenn" is comfortably paired with "pato translate none, no, any
You know, Kreyòl se Kreyòl e Franse se Franse.
So, you'll always find sentences like these:

1. M pa gen okenn konpasyon pou li.
    I don't have any compassion for him.

2. Li  pa'tokenn moun nan kay la.
    She saw no one in the house.

3. Pa gen okenn bagay ki ka fè'm pè kounye a.
    There's nothing can scare me now.
 
But, there are many instances where "okenn" is used without "pa" in a sentence.
Some examples:

4. Anvan ou marye okenn fanm, ou dwe chache konnen fanmi l.
    Before you marry any woman, you must seek to know her family.
   
5. San okenn esperyans, mwen pa wè kouman ou pral jwenn dyòb sa a.
    With no experience, I don't see how you will get this job.

6. Eske gen okenn moun ki konnen ki jou jodi a ye?
    Does anyone know what today is?


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mwen fini avew ?

is there a haitian proverb to describe when a person's word is good as done, its a guarantee. Like you can take their words to the bank

Pawòl granmoun?
In Haiti, pawòl granmoun is wisdom, prophecy, and pretty much set in stone

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All sales are final.

I tend to write "ki jan" (two words) instead of "kijan". The same with "w ap", instead of "wap". I tend to keep words apart versus combining them. Am I wrong? Mesi.

I believe that one day there will be guidelines about whether to combine these words or not, but since the Creole language is a work in progress we only find suggestions and recommendations (usually from Creole linguists, interpreters, and educators like Yves Dejean, J. C Bernard, Roger Savain, etc....)
One word may have one or two different spellings because of the variation in the Creole spoken in different regions.  For example, you'll find many ways to say the next day in Creole thanks to these variants: "lelandemen, lelandmen, nan landmen, nan demen".  And there are many instances where all of the different terms for one word are very popular.  Some examples:

bonmache or bon mache to translate cheap
lindemyèl or lin de myèl for honeymoon
larezon or rezon for good judgment
zanj, lanj, anj, lezanj, zany for angel
tenb or tenm for postage stamp
zwazo or zwezo for bird
chimen or chemen for path
ponko, ponkò, poko, pako for not yet

Both "kijan" and "ki jan"  are acceptable.  Some of our most respected Haitian writers write "wap", some "w'ap" or "w-ap", an others write "w ap".

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This make sense: “Poze la monkonpè, si ou pa vle yon tanpèt jouman manman ou farine tout vwazinay la. M gen yon pwoblem serye la.”

It doesn't?
“Poze la monkonpè, si ou pa vle yon tanpèt jouman manman ou farine tout vwazinay la. M gen yon pwoblem serye la.”
Literally, it says "Rest there my friend, if you don't want a tempest of insult of your mother to sprinkle the neighborhood. I have a serious problem."
It seems that this is coming from a preoccupied mother of a boy, and I would translate it as:
"If you don't want your mom to sprinkle the neighborhood with a storm of profanities, you'd better simmer down.  I'm dealing with a dilemma here."
or
"If you don't want your mom to shake up the whole neighborhood with a storm of profanities, you'd better simmer down.  I'm dealing with a dilemma here."

Which words threw you off? Was it "tanpèt jouman manman w"?

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