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Friday, December 28, 2012

I've seen the number one spelled "youn" and "en". What's the difference?

Yeah, you have en, youn, and yon
The only one you can most comfortably use before a noun (modifying a noun) is YON.
example:
Yo gen yon pititThey have one child.
Ou gen sèlman yon chansYou only have one chance.

You use "EN" when counting
example:
en - de- twa
one-two-three

"YOUN" does not usually modify a noun.
for example, we don't say YOUN liv, we say YON liv (one book)
We use YOUN instead of YON at the end of sentences, and as an object pronoun.
example:
Mwen rete youn.
I have one left.
You cannot say Mwen rete YON or Mwen rete EN.

Mwen va chwazi youn ladan yo.
I will choose one of them.
so, you cannot use EN or YON here.

So, you'll say:
Ban m youn.
Give me one.
or 
Ban m yon pòm.
Give me an/one apple.

YOUN is also used in the expressions:
Youn apre lòt → one after the another
Youn dèyè lòt → one after the other
youn sou lòt → one on top of the other
youn pa youn → one by one
youn ou lòt → one or the other
youn lòt → one another
youn di lòt → one tell the other
youn te ede lòt → one helped the other, they helped each other
etc...

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what does this mean in english. Appelez-moi s il vous plait

Appelez-moi s'il vous plait is French for Call me please.
In Creole we'd say Rele'm tanpri.

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what would be the most typical way to say "mind your own business"? Maybe another way to say it would be "take care of (handle) your business".

Mind your own business
Okipe zafè w.
Okipe zafè pa w.

Why don't you mind your own business?
Poukisa w pa okipe zafè pa w?

Take care of your business.
Regle zafè w.

M pral desann lavil paske mwen gen kèk zafè pou m regle.
I'm going downtown because I have to take care of some business.

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Can high-water pants be "pantalon twaka" e "pantalon wo dlo". Which is more popular to use? Mesi.

Pantalon twaka, of course.
I'm familiar with pantalon twaka.  I have not heard of the other one.
The Haitian actor Theodore Beaubrun who plays the role of Languichatte and other movies was famous for wearing pantalon twaka.  That's all he wore on the show Languichatte.

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What is bwase?

bwase is to stir
bwase ren means to move your hips (especially when dancing)

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Do you view Kreyol as a Romance language or a West African language? I have seen linguists divided on this issue. I view it more West African. What is your opinion? Mesi.

Well, the Haitian Creole mix certainly contains contribution from many parent languages.  Part of its grammar may be West African, but the majority of its vocabulary is not.
Why does it have to be a romance or West African language?  Why don't we simply see it as a language of survival and resilience, which brought people of different origins together for one common objective: freedom?  That's only my opinion :)

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Can "choset la" mean just one sock, or does it mean a pair? If it means a pair, then "yon choset" would be "a sock"? Pa vre? Mesi

I guess it can.
Usually Haitians say yon grenn chosèt when they want to say one sock.
Egzanp:
Poukisa w'ap mache ak yon sèl grenn chosèt nan pye w?
Why are you walking around with just one sock?

The same thing goes for shoes - yon grenn soulye (one shoe)

by the same token, they don't need to say chosèt yo, to indicate that it's plural.  Socks and shoes come in "sets", no?
example:
Kote chosèt ou?
Where are your socks?

Al met chosèt nan pye w.
Go put your socks on.

Lakay mwen se mozayik ki genyen, se sa'k fè m toujou gen chosèt nan pye'm.
I have tiles floor at my house, that's why I always have socks on.

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How do I teach my grandson to say Grandma

Grandma in Creole is grann or granmè.  Grann is more popular.

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So, It´s not so bad!!! :)a small tattoo in the back... but, I like your tip...Let´s see what do... thanks for help me! Carol Ferri

No, it's not too bad... "Creole spoken, Creole always understood" Creole people will definitively get the message on your tattoo.

Keep it up and Chapo ba!

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Thursday, December 27, 2012

What is lapcloth in Creole?

Is it one that serves as a napkin? yon napon
or one that serves as an apron? yon tabliye

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I have heard my mom use this verb "mandjangwe"; she says it means "mele" "to mix" in English but I am not sure. This word sounds great. So,what does this word really mean? What is all its definitions?

Where, in Haiti, is your mom from?
I've only heard this word once (or twice) from a guy who loved to write poems, songs, and stories in Creole. I think he was from Jeremie (I don't remember).  This guy loved to quote famous Haitian writers.  And sometimes he could spend hours speaking like if he came out of a Haitian-tale book.
Anyways, madjangwe, in Mr. Marcelin's book, meant sakaje, bay move soukous, depafini, filange, tchake.  In English that's to rattle, to agitate, to consume, to gnaw 

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Good ideas! Actually I maked my tattoo yesterday... I´m sad because I wrote wrong! "Jezi, renmen ou pouvwa pou chase tout pè"... I hope that not insult this people or their culture. I don´t want to be misinterpret. In Portuguese make sense. Thanks a lot.

Oh man! I don't know what to say....
But don't be sad about it. It is not insulting at all.  It's just sounds like a kind of "Creole baby talk"
Now if you can do damage control, ... Are you able to turn the word "POU" between "POUVWA" and "CHASE" into an image or something?  ... an image like a heart, a cross, a face, or anything at all.
That way, it will read: "Jezi, renmen ou pouvwa ♥chase tout pè."

If you're able to do that, you would save the tattoo.
The sentence will actually mean "Jesus, you love can chase all fears" with the word pouvwa (from the French pouvoir meaning to have the power/ability) translating "can".

If not, I guess it's still alright...

NOW MY NEXT QUESTION TO YOU IS: Where is that tattoo?  With all these words, I am thinking a large area like your back, belly, or ....butt?

Best of luck to you, my friend.  Stay positive :)

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Mandaly, I was not able to listen to zabèlbòk from the formspring link. Do you have in the acrobat file?

This is a lot of material....
You should be able to download it from youtube.
Some Haitian music store have it also.

 
Here's a sort of a written dialogue for it. (you won't find this written part anywhere else :)
Link: Zabèlbòk, written dialogue

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I will save the socks

sinonim pou kras

Kras gen anpil definition.

Kras (scum, impurities) → kras, salte, tach, pousyè
kras (stingy) → kripya, kolokent, peng, chich. chichadò
kras (tiny amt.) → tizing, ti kal, ti kras, enpe

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