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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

ou fe dibyen se byen wa jwenn, ou fe dimal se mal wa jwenn sou te a.

Mwen pa gen anyen pou m ajoute nan sa ki pale la a, esepte ke sa pa toujou pase konsa.  Moun ki fè byen pa toujou jwenn rekonpans, e moun ki fè mal la pa toujou peye pou malfezans li.  Se vre ke tout moun ap jwenn jijman apre lanmò, men gendèfwa mwen ta prefere Bondye jije mechan an pandan li sou latè toujou,  E ba li chatiman li devan je m.  Konsa mwen wè lajistis fèt douvan je m.

Lè moun nan mouri san l pa peye pou krim li, ki jistis ki gen nan sa?  Menm si moun nan ta leve ankò apre lanmò, se pa kò l ki va leve, men se nanm li ki va leve. L'a gentan bliye sa'l te fè a nètale.
Angle a di "the punishment should fit the crime".  Si moun nan te fè yon krim ak KÒ E NANM, fòk li peye ak KÒ E NANM!  Mwen poko konprann efikasite ki genyen nan toumante nanm nan san w pa toumante kò a tou.  Mezanmi! si m te Bondye, ala yon Bondye san mizèrikòd mwen ta ye :)

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what's anbandoulye?

anbandoulyèto be strapped over the shoulder
egz:
Li t'ap mache ak fizi anbandoulyè a.
He was walking with a rifle slung over his shoulder.

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Correct me if I'm wrong, I''ve been working on sentences such as: "Mwen gen yon maladi ki pran m" meaning "I fell sick"? Is the Creole right?

Yes it's right.
You may also use verbs other than pran. You probably already know that.

Mwen gen yon tèt fè mal ki pran m.
Mwen gen grip ki pran m.
Mwen gen yon grangou ki bare m.
Mwen gen yon pipi k kenbe m.
Mwen te gen yon lafyèv cho k tonbe sou mwen.

Eskize m. M toujou ap konplike bagay yo.  Se defo m :)

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Do you know the lyrics to the kids song twa fwa pase la in Creole?

I don't think it was ever in Creole.

Trois fois passez là
C'est la dernière qui restera 
J'ai perdu ma fille
Levez levez Marianne
Ouvre la porte grande pour la reine
passez, passez, passez.....

When the last child  passes under the "hand-made" bridge and you stop him/her, then you ask:
"Lalin ak solèy, sa'w pito?"
Then the child chooses one. After that child is gone to stand behind whoever is the "lalin" or "solèy", the song starts again.

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Tuesday, February 5, 2013

all of them (in Creole)?

all of themyo tout

1.  We want to thank all of them.
     Nou vle remèsye yo tout.

2.  I threw all of them out.
    M te mete yo tout deyò.

3.  All of them came to surround me.  They were asking me if I was ok.
     Yo tout te vin antoure m.  Yo t'ap mande si m te oke.

4.  Not all of them were happy about this.
    Se pa yo tout ki te kontan ak sa.


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YON SEL PITIT or YON SEL PITIT LA? want to say I have only one child

It can be either (YON SEL PITIT or YON SEL PITIT LA)

Mwen gen yon sèl pitit.
or
Mwen gen yon sèl pitit la.
both are correct.
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Monday, February 4, 2013

la marine pa metye'w?

Lamarin pa metye'w is an expression which basically means that's not your strong suit, that's not your forte.
A woman, for example, might say this to a man if she wants to hurt his ego.  By this she means "you're not that good of a lover", "you're not a chick magnet", etc....

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Comparison of equality with adjectives and adverbs. "English is as easy as German." or "Jean is as rich as he is hard-working." or "Jean reads as slowly as Luc." or "Jeanne writes as carefully as she does efficiently."

Ah! this one, unlike the previous ones that we discussed, has a few different ways we can structure it in H. Creole.
After reading the comment in that post about an mezi ...an mezi, this man wrote to me about what he said to his Haitian girlfriend today.  He said, "Plis ou pale, plis dan'm ap fè m mal.".  I thought that was clever.  ....but can a babbling girlfriend cause you to have a toothache?   Who knows :)

as ... as → menm jan ak, menm fason ak, men mannyè ak, tankou, kouwè, kòm, kon,  some people even say os ... ke, otan....ke, otan... otan

1. "English is as easy as German."
    "Angle fasil tankou Alman."
    "Angle fasil kouwè Alman."   
    "Angle fasil otan ke Alman."

2. "Jean is as rich as he is hard-working."
    "Otan Jean travay di, se otan li gen lajan."

3.  "Jean reads as slowly as Luc."
     "Jean li dousman tankou Luc"

4. "Jeanne writes as carefully as she does efficiently."
    "Otan Jeanne ekri avèk atansyon se otan li ekri avèk talan."

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Sunday, February 3, 2013

"I am a child at heart"?

"I am a child at heart"
"Nan fon kè'm, mwen se yon timoun."

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Moun adefas?

yon moun adefas (moun ak de(2) fas) se yon ipokrit.
Se menm bagay ak yon trèt, yon kouto de bò oubyen yon kaka bèf
See links to two-faced


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Mwen pa fouti dòmi (I'm unable to sleep) - Audio

Click here to download…

Click on the PLAY button, listen and follow along :)
 

-Mwen pa fouti dòmi …
  I'm unable to sleep...  

- O O mezanmi! Ki moun k’ap frape pòt la?
   Oh my goodness! Who's knocking at the door?

-Vwazin! Se mwen menm.  Ouvè pòt la pou mwen silvouplè.
  Female Neighbor! It's me.  Open the door for me please.

-Bonswa vwazen. Ala yon vizit sipriz ou fè aswè a!
  Good evening male neighbor.  What a surprised visit you made tonight!

-Bonswa vwazin.
 Good evening neighbor.

-Kijan ou ye vwazen?
  How are you neighbor?

-Enben, mwen pa byen ditou ditou.
 Well, I am not well at all.

-O! Eske ou malad?
  Are you ill?

-Non vwazin.  M pa malad non.
 No neighbor. I'm not ill.

-O O! Eske ou pran move nouvèl?
 Did you get some bad news?

-Non vwazin, mwen pa resevwa move nouvèl.
  No neighbor, I didn't get any bad news.

-O O! Eske apatman ou gen pwoblèm?
 Is there a problem with your apartment?

-Non vwazin.  Apatman m pa gen okenn pwoblèm.
 No neighbor. There's no problem with my apartment.

-Men vwazen,  gwo lannuit sa a, ou vin frape pòt mwen.  Ou di m ou pa byen ditou.  Sa w genyen? 
 But neighbor, at this time of the night, you come knocking at my door.  You tell me that you are not well at all.  What's wrong?

-Vwazin, mwen pa byen paske mwen pa fouti dòmi avèk chen ou yo k’ap jape tout lannuit lan.
Neighbor, I'm no well because I'm unable to sleep with your dogs that are barking all night.

-O mezanmi eskize mwen.  Mwen pa’t reyalize si  chen m yo  t’ap anpeche w dòmi.  Mwen va fè yo rete silans.
 O dear I'm sorry.  I didn't realize that my dogs were keeping you from falling asleep.  I'll make them quiet down.

-Tanpri fè sa.  Mwen dwe al travay demen maten byen bonè e li preske minui.
 Please do that.  I must go to work really early tomorrow morning and it's almost midnight.

-Wi,  vwazen, ou p’ap tande yo ankò. E vwazen, kòm ou deja reveye, poukisa ou pa antre?  Enpi mwen ta fè yon bon ti te majolèn pou ou.  Mwen garanti w.  Sa va fè w dòmi tankou yon ti bebe.
 Yes neighbor, you won't hear them anymore.  And neighbor, since you're already awake, why don't you come in?  And I'll make some good oregano tea for you. I guarantee you.  It'll make you sleep like a baby.

- Vwazin, mwen fatige anpil.  Mwen dwe leve bonè demen.  Mwen sèlman bezwen  dòmi anpè. Tanpri, kontwole chen w yo…. enpi m'ava jwenn somèy. Bòn nui vwazin.
 Neighbor...  I'm really tired.  I must get up early tomorrow.  I simply need to sleep in peace.  Please control your dogs... And I 'll get some sleep.  Good night neighbor

-Dakò. Pase bòn nui vwazen.
 Okay.  Good night neighbor.

Listen to Manno Charlemagne's Organizasyon Mondyal yo

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Saturday, February 2, 2013

How about constructing "as promised"? As in "As promised, I will come see you in April". "Kom mwen te pwomes, m'a va vini pou we ou nan Avril" maybe?

you're very close :)

As promised → kòm pwomi, kòm mwen te pwomèt

"As promised, I will come see you in April".
"Kòm mwen te pwomèt, m'a va vin wè w nan mwa avril"
or
"Kòm mwen te pwomèt m'a va vin wè w an Avril.

and, I thought you might be interested to know this popular Haitian proverb about pwomès. You may have heard it already:
In Haiti, we say Pwomès se dèt → Promises are debts.

kenbe la.

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which is best to use? chak jou or toulejou?

Yo se menm bagay la wi.

Mwen panse avè w toulejou. (I think of you every day)
Mwen panse avè w chak jou Bondye mete. (I think about you every God's given day)
Mwen panse avè w chak jou. (I think about you every day)

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Do you know any Creol exp. about accepting people for who they are - about not changing who people are?

How about Lè w'al lakay avèg, fèmen je w. (Haitian proverb)

Lè w'al lakay avèg, fèmen je w.
When you go to the blind man's home, close your eyes.

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What do you miss the most? Which do you prefer the most? Who do you like the most? What's the Creole sentence structure for these?

Kisa ou pi ....? → What do you .... the most?
Ki moun ou pi ....? → Who do you .... the most?
Kilè ou pi ....? → When are you most ....?

1. Kisa ou pi sonje nan peyi w?
    What do you miss the most about your country?

2. Kilès ou pi renmen?
    Who do you like the most?

3. Kilè, nan jounen an, ou pi fatige?
    When are you most tired during the day?

4. Kilès ou pi prefere? kafe ou te?
    Which do you prefer the most? coffee or tea?

5. Ki kalite mizik ou pi renmen koute?
    Which type of music you like to listen to the most?

You can also use "pi plis" instead of "pi".  If you use "pi plis", you'll place it after the verb


1. Kisa ou sonje pi plis nan peyi w?
    What do you miss the most about your country?

2. Kilès ou renmen pi plis?
    Who do you like the most?

3. Kilè, nan jounen an, ou fatige plis?
    When are you most tired during the day?

4. Kilès ou prefere pi plis? kafe ou te?
    Which do you prefer the most? coffee or tea?

5. Ki kalite mizik ou renmen plis koute?
    Which type of music you like to listen to the most?

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