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Thursday, February 28, 2013

Coming from .... Going to ... (in Haitian Creole)


How does one translate these sentences? "Kevin takes a flight coming from Cleveland." and "LeBron takes a flight going to Miami." How is 'going to' and 'coming from' translated as prepositional expressions and in this context?



coming from or from → soti, soti nan, soti depi, sot depi
Coming from (be born at, originate from, belonging to, produced from)

going to → ale, ale nan, ale nan direksyon, rive, rive jouk



1. Mwen soti nan gran fanmi.
    I come from a large family.

2. Bannann sa yo soti Costa Rica.
    These plantains were grown in Costa Rica.
    These plantains come from Costa Rica.

3. Mwen soti Ayiti, men vrè orijin mwen se Lafrik Ginen.
    I come from Haiti, but my true origin is Guinea Africa

4. Soti nan ri DESSALINES ale nan ri TOUSSAINT, sa fè dizuit kilomèt.  Eske w ka mache distans sa a?
    From Dessalines Street to Toussaint Street, that's 18 kilometers.  Can you walk that far?

5.  Mwen te wè nan nouvèl maten an, yon ti gason 9 ane te kondi machin papa li soti depi New Jersey ale Connecticut.  Annarivan Connecticut lapolis te met lapat sou ni ti gason an ni papa l.
     I saw on the news this morning a 9 year old boy drove his father's car from New Jersey to Connecticut.  As they arrived in Connecticut, the police apprehended both the boy and his father.

6.  Mwen kapap resite bib la pakè soti depi Jenèz rive nan liv Apokalips.
     I could recite the bible by heart from Genesis to the book of Revelation.

7.  Ou te mèt kriye depi maten rive jouk aswè, m p'ap okipe w.
     You may cry from morning till night, I 'll ignore you.

8.   Lebron pran yon vòl k'ap soti Cleveland.
      Lebron takes a flight coming from Cleveland.
 
9.  Kevin pran yon vòl k'ap fè wout Miami.
     Kevin pran yon vòl ki prale nan direksyon Miami.
     Kevin takes a flight going to Miami. (a flight that's going to Miami?)

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

What are the some Creole words for 'dizzy' other than TOUDI? "I feel very dizzy after all that spinning around."

dizzy (woozy) → toudi, gen vètij, gen tèt vire, soule, dekonstonbre

1. Mwen ta konseye pa kondi machin premye fwa w pran remèd sa a.  Li ka byen soule w.
    I would advise you not to drive the first time you take this medicine.  It might make you woozy.

2. "I feel very dizzy after all that spinning around."
     "Tout vire tounen sa a toudi m anpil."

3. This makes me dizzy.
    Sa BAN M tèt vire.

4.  Does this make you dizzy?
     Eske sa BA W tèt vire?

5.  Zafè maryaj montay ris sa a ban m vètij.
     This roller coaster marriage makes me dizzy.

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

How is 'volunteer' translated? "I volunteered in a nursing home a couple of years ago."

to volunteer 
fè volontè
bay tan "w" gratis
pwopoze tèt "ou" (to volunteer oneself for a task)

egz:
1. Lè m te gen sèz lane sou tèt mwen, mwen te konn fè volontè nan yon lopital.  Yo te rele m Candy Striper.
   When I was sixteen I used to volunteer at a hospital.  They called me a Candy Striper.

2. Lè misye tande twoup la t'ap tounen Ayiti, li te pwopoze tèt li pou misyion an, paske li pale bon Kreyòl.
   When he heard that the troupe was going back to Haiti he volunteered for the mission, because he speaks Creole well.
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'to be seasick, airsick, carsick,and homesick'? As verbs and/or nouns?

seasickness → maldemè n., gen maldemè v.
airsick → malavyon
carsick → malmachin n., gen malmachin v.
motion sickness → mal transpò
to be homesick → gen nostalji, sonje lakay

egz:
1. Premye fwa mwen rive nan peyi etranje, sonje lakay fè m pa ka manje.

2. M panse se laperèz ki lakòz moun gen malavyon.

3. Chak kou Jozefin vwayaje sot Okap al Pòtoprens, malmachin fèl rann tout sa k nan lestomak li.

4.  Zafè pran ti chaloup pou al Lagonav la, m p'ap fè sa menm!  Mwen gen maldemè.

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What is the Haitian Creole equivalent to the English "Bless you!" or "Gersundheit!" in response to someone after they sneeze?

We say:
Bondye beni w.
Dye benis
Sometimes the person who sneezes say "Mèsi Senyè!".  Where I come from people think that sneezing is tied to longevity (longevity, at least, for the day they sneeze :)

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

'even' and 'odd' in Creole? "One, three, five, seven, nine, and eleven are odd numbers." and "Two, four, six, eight, ten, and twelve are even numbers."

even numbers → chif pè
odd numbers → chif enpè

1.

en, twa, senk, sèt, ak nèf se chif enpè.
One three, five, seven, and nine are odd numbers.

2.
Sou ranje goch la w'ap jwenn kay ak chif enpè yo, e sou bò dwat la w'ap jwenn kay ki gen chif pè yo.
On the left side you'll find the houses with odd numbers, and on the right side you'll find the houses with even numbers.

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Can I ask you to translate what you said at the end "kenbe la jouk sa kaba"?

I think "..jouk sa kaba" threw you off a bit :)

Jouk sa kaba → till the end, until the end.


1.
Kenbe la jouk sa kaba.
Hang in there until the end.

2.
N'ap lite pou jou sa kaba.
We'll fight until the end.

3.
Manman w te mennen yon vi kourajez.  Li te lite ak kansè a jouk sa kaba.
Your mom led a courageous life.  She fought the cancer until the end. 

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How would you say 'To have the nerves'? such as in: "The pastor has the nerves to criticize a church member after his own scandalous secrets was exposed. What a hypocrite!"

Have the nerves (it's about being courageous and ballsy, non?)
gen odas (have the audacity)
gen kouray (have the courage)
sanwont  (to be shameless)
pa gen nen nan figi (to have no shame)
gen kran (have the courage)
gen kè (to have the heart)
gen grenn nan bouda (ballsy)

1.  He had the nerve to say that?!
     Li te gen kouray di sa?!
     Li gen kè di sa?!
     Li gen odas di sa?!
     Li pa wont di sa?!

2.  After what happened, I can't believe they have the nerve to show up here.
     Apre sa k te pase a, m p ka kwè yo gen odas parèt la a.

3. If I had the nerve, I would go to his face and tell him what I think.
    Si m te gen odas, m ta va al nan figi l pou m di l sa m panse.

4.  I dare you to do that!  You don't have the nerve for this.
     M defann ou al fè sa!  Ou pa gen kè ou sa.

5.  You've got some nerves showing your face around here.
     Ala w gen grenn nan bouda w, pou w vin parèt figi w la a.

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

Is your pain getting better, worse, or staying the same? Thanks!

Is the pain getting better, worse, or is it staying the same?
Eske doulè a miyò, pi mal, oubyen eske li toujou menm nan?


Is your pain getting better, worse, or staying the same?
Eske doulè ou miyò, pi mal, oubyen menm nan?


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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

franse sirèt?

franse sirèt or franse mawon → bad french

egz:
1. Tan pou ap pale franse sirèt la, poukisa w pa jis pale Kreyòl?
     Instead of speaking bad French, why don't you just speak Creole?

2. Yon move Creole pi bon mil fwa pase franse mawon.
     Bad Creole is a thousand times better than bad french.

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

What are translations for 'To be fed up', 'to have enough of it','to have it up to here'? "After two days, I am fed up with this nonsense." or "I have had it up to here with your nonsense!" or "I've had enough of this! I'm leaving!"

BASICALLY, you can translate that in Creole as: bouke, lase, gen ase, gen kont, gen degou, etc....

Examples:
1.
I'm fed up with life.
M gen degou ak lavi a.
or you could aslo say
Lavi a ban m degou.

2.
I've had enough.
Mwen gen ase.

3.
I've had enough.  I can't take this anymore.
Mwen gen kont mwen. M pa kapab sipòte ankò.

4.
"I have had it up to here with your nonsense!"
"Mwen bouke ak tenten ou you!"

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

"Benyen ak san" does this mean "bathe with blood"

Oh my!  It could very well be.
But, in case it's not, let me give you another use for the word benyen, other than to shower:

benyen (v.)→ to be immersed in, to be covered in, to be saturated with
examples:

1. Mesye te antre nan estasyon lapolis la benyen ak san.
    He came into the police station covered in blood.

2. Jou desas sa a, anpil moun te rantre lakay yo benyen ak sann.
    On the day of that disaster many people went home covered in soot.

3. Tout kò fanm nan te benyen ak maling k'ap fè pi.  Menm doktè yo te pè touche l.
    The woman's body was covered in oozing sores.  Even the doctors were afraid of touching her.

4. Lè w ap fè wout provens Ayiti, distans pou rive nan destinasyon w, tou cheve w, tout plim je w, tout figi w va benyen ak pousyè.
    When you traveling the countryside road of Haiti, by the time you get to your destination, your hair, your eyelashes and your face will be covered in dust.

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manti kou chen?

same as in English, to lie like a dog
egz:
Lè mesye kandida yo ap pale politik, yo manti kou chen.

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Kisa REDEVANS ye? I don't think I've encounter this word before.

redevans → debt of gratitude, duty

egz:
1. Eske peyi Ayiti genyen Olandè yon redevans?
    Does Haiti owe the Dutch a debt of gratitude? 

2. Etidyan ki diplome nan lekòl medsin Ayiti dwe peyi a yon redevans.
    Students who graduate from the school of medicine in Haiti owe the country a debt of gratitude.

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Monday, February 25, 2013

Right and wrong? "The answer is right." "This is the wrong street." "My dad is always right." "He has the wrong exam sheet." what are the many ways to express 'right' and 'wrong' for people and things?

right (correct)  → kòrèk, bon, jis, gen rezon
right (morally good) → dwat, jistifye
wrong (not correct) → move, fo
wrong (immoral) → mal, mechan, enjis, pa bon

1. My dad is always right. (right - correct in opinion)
    Papa m toujou gen rezon.

2. The answer is right. (right - correct)
     Repons lan kòrèk.

3. This is not right (right - fair, just)
    Sa pa jis.

4. You've dialed a wrong number. 
    Ou konpoze move nimewo.

5.  The pharmacy gave me the wrong medication.
     Fanmasi a ban m yon move medikaman.

6.  What you did was wrong.
      Sa ou fè a te pa't bon.
      Sa ou fè a pa't bon.


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