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Thursday, February 7, 2013

Willing? "I am willing to leave at once if that is what you want." or "The manager is willing to speak to you."

To be willing → prepare, dispoze, vle,  pran desizyon

1. Eske ou dispoze vwayaje si yo ofri w pozisyon an?
    Are you willing to travel if you were offered the position?

2. "I am willing to leave at once if that is what you want."
    "Mwen prepare pou m kite tousuit si se sa w vle.

3. "The manager is willing to speak to you."
    "Manadjè a dispoze pou pale avè w.

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On the one hand...on the other hand...construction? "On the one hand, he's delighted to have been offered this job in Tampa, but on the other hand, he's sad to have to go so far away."

On the other hand → dayè, poudayè, pakont

Janjan pa yon nèg entelijan, men sè l la pakont se yon jeni.
Janjan is not smart, but his sister on the other hand is a genius

on the one hand .... on the other hand → yon kote / yon bò .... yon lòt kote / yon lòt bò

Yon kote mwen kontan ou prale nan kolèj la, men lòt kote a m'ap tris lè m wè ou ale.
On the one hand I happy you're going away to college, but on the other hand I'll be sad to see you go.

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Is "oganizasyon" pronounced "o-ga-ni-za-syon", or "o-gan-i-za-syon"? In other words, is there a nasal vowel in the "gan"; if so, should not there be two "n's" in the word to represent the nasal vowel? Maybe I am being too phonetic with this. Mesi anpil

Pa gen pwoblèm :)
It is pronounced the first way, as you have it:  "o-ga-ni-za-syon"

Kenbe la pi rèd.

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Kisa w'ap tann? → What are you waiting for?

1.
Kisa w'ap tann?
Kisa w'ape tann?
Sa w'ap tann?
What are you waiting for?

2.
Kimoun w'ape tann?
Kimoun w'ap tann?
Kilès w'ap tann?
Who are you waiting for?

3.
Ki kote ou va tann mwen?
Where will you wait for me?

4.
Tann mwen!
Rete tann mwen!
Ret tann mwen!
Wait for me

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How does one translate these sentences? "Jim has as little food as Sam." or They've got as little water as we have." or "We'll return your file in as little as 12 hours." This comparative construction is opposite of 'as much as'

I don't think we should talk 'opposites' here. As little as (no more than, not over, within), or as much as (however much) are used in different ways.  And they are also different from when comparing quantities.
1.
I'll be back in as little as 2 hours.
M'ap tounen nan dezèdtan.

2.
You can buy a radio for as little as five bucks.
Ou kapab achte yon radyo pou pa plis pase senk dola.

3.
This song is so easy, kids as little as five can play it on a guitar.
Chante sa a tèlman fasil, timoun ki gen pa plis pase senkan kapab jwe li sou yon gita.


And using as much as, in that sense:

4.
You can eat as much as you want.
Ou kapab manje mezi w vle.

5. 
As much as we don't want to admit it, there seems to be no hope for the country.
Malgre  nou pa vle admèt sa, sanble pa gen espwa pou peyi a.
   
6.
As much as I want to help you, my hands are tied.
Malgre jan m ta vle ede w, men m mare.

And using these for comparing quantities, I would say:

as much as, as little as → menm mezi, menm valè, menm fòs, menm kantite, menm, menm ak, 
7.
Jim has as little food as Sam.
Jim gen menm valè manje ak Sam

8.
They have as little water as we have.
Yo gen menm mezi dlo avè nou.

9. 
I have as little food as you do, so I can't share mine with you.
M gen menm fòs manje avè w, kidonk m pa ka pataje pa'm nan avè w.

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Hi,Mandalay!(Love your site!) What is the difference, if any, between "rale" and "rache"? If I "rale cheve mwen" am I pulling it out?

Mèsi :)

rale → to pull, to yank
rache → to rip off, to pull up, to tear out

Rale cheve doesn't necessarily mean to pull it out. Maybe some people like to play with their hair and pull them (rale yo) without yanking them out (rache yo).  Or maybe it's someone else doing the pulling... O O mezanmi!  I'm not even going to ask :)

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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

What are some verbs for 'to cram'? "He stayed up all night cramming(swotting, mugging) for the final exam and then slept right through it." Also what are some verbal expressions for 'to pull an all-nighter'? "I pulled an all-nighter to study for my math."

to cram → bachote, bat bèt

1. "He stayed up all night cramming for the final exam."
     "Li pase tout nuit la ap bachote pou egzamen final la."


to pull an allnighter → bat nayt, pase yon nuit blanch

2. "I pulled an all-nighter to study for the math exam."
     "M pase yon nuit blanch ap etidye pou egzamen matematik la."

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"Koute yon lot fwa anko." or should it be "Koute yon lot fwa." Or , are both correct? Mesi.

Both are correct H. Creole grammar.

Koute m yon lòt fwa.
Listen to me one more time 


Koute m yon lòt fwa ankò.
Listen to me one more time again.


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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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