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Wednesday, March 6, 2013

9:31 paske li t'ap moutre disip li yo anpil bagay. Li di yo: -Mwen menm, Moun Bondye voye nan lachè a, mwen pral tonbe anba men lèzòm, yo pral touye mwen. Men, sou twa jou mwen gen pou m' leve soti vivan nan lanmò. Can you translate the words, 'lache' an

lachè means flesh

Moun Bondye voye nan lachè a
The one that God sent in the flesh.
or
The one that was made flesh.

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

Is there a national curriculum that teachers must follow in the area of reading and writing? If so, where can I find it? I am interested in kindergarten - 5th grade.

For the kindergarten class at this time, there is no national curriculum (pwogram nasyonal) for reading and writing.  The curriculum starts at the premye ane (first year) which is after kindergarten.  Premye ane starts at six years of age (five, if the child started preschool at two).

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

How do you say "might," as in "I might be able to do that?" Is there a way to indicate that there is UNCERTAINTY here? Also it seems that native Creole speakers use "petet" differently than I would and don't necessarily understand how I use it. Any ideas?

Use ka (kapab or kab) to say might, might be able (see embedded link)
Petèt (maybe, perhaps), in Creole indicates doubt, probability, and possibility like in English.

I might be able to do that.
Mwen ka fè sa.
To add a sure uncertainty, add petèt:
Petèt mwen ka fè sa.

The auxiliary verb "ka" coupled with "petèt" should definitely get your point across:
1.
Petèt li ka fè frèt demen.
It might be cold tomorrow

2.
Li pa reponn telefòn nan.  Petèt li ka deyò.
She didn't answer the phone. She might be out.

Even without adding "petèt",  you can use "ka" on its own to indicate doubt:
3.
Mwen ka vin wè w nan mwa jen an.  M'a gade pou wè.
I might come to see you in June.  I'll see about it.

4.
Nou pa wè li depi de jou.  Li ka malad.
We have not seen him since two days.  He might be ill.

5.
Nou ka pa gen tan pou fè sa.
We may not have time to do that.

6.
Li pa't vini nan reyinyon an.  Li ka te bliye.
She didn't show up at the meeting.  She might have forgotten.

7.
Ou si se sa ou te tande?  Li ka byen te di yo lòt bagay.
You're sure that's what you heard?  She might have said something else.

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

How doyou say 'upside' and 'downside'? "One of the upsides of getting this job is that it is near my school." "The downside of obtaining a higher rank is that far more work is expected."

You can use :
upside
aspè pozitif
avantaj
pati ki bon an
sa ki bon an

and

downside
aspè negatif
dezavantaj
pati ki pa bon an
sa ki pa bon an

egz:
1. Avantaj genyen televizyon lakay ou sèke ou toujou byen enfòme, men dezavantaj la sèke li ka rann ou parese.
   The upside of having a TV at home is that you're well informed, but the downside is that it can make you lazy.

2. Aspè pozitif maryaj sèke ou pa blije poukont ou ankò, aspè negatif la sèke ou pèdi yon ki kras nan libète w.
    The upside in a marriage is that you don't have to be alone anymore.  The downside is that you've lost a little bit of your freedom.

3. Sa ki bon lè w gen machin nan New York se libète pou kondi ale nenpòt kote ou vle.  Sa k pa bon ladan l sèke li difisil pou jwenn yon kote pou gare machin nan.
    The upside of having a car in New York is that you have the freedom to drive anywhere you want.  The downside is that you can find a place park the car.

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Ki vetman ki apwopriye pou mete nan maryaj kretyen nan Ayiti?

Ayisyen toujou panse y'abiye pi chèlbè pase tout nasyon :)
Ledimanch pou y'al legliz, yo mete pi bèl wòb yo genyen.
Kretyen legliz Ayiti SIPOZE abiye yon fason rezève.  Laplipa nan fanm yo pa mete pantalon (sitou granmou yo).
Konsa, si w'ap asiste yon maryaj kretyen, e ou pa gen okenn fonksyon w'ap ranpli ki egzije mete yon koulè rad espesyal, donk ou ta dwe mete w byen banda pou w ka pay payèt tankou tout moun :)
Si m te ou, pou plis sètitid, m ta ranseye m ak mesyedam lemarye oubyen lamarye a.

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Tuesday, March 5, 2013

What is BLANCH in JOUNEN BLANCH. BLANCH & BLAN are the same, right?

Yes they are.
blanch (or blan) → white
yon fanm blanch → a white woman
yon mi blanch → a white wall
yon fèy papye blanch → a white piece of paper.

But blanch in "jounen blanch" means deprived or devoid of something
M pase yon jounen blanch.
I had a boring day.
I spent day devoid of food and fun.

same goes for "nuit blanch"
M pase yon nuit blanch.
I had a sleepless night.

and also "lari blanch"
Ledimanch, lari a sanse blanch nèt.
On Sundays, the streets are practically empty.

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

In good shape or robust (in Creole)

Enganm (or dyanm) adj.
robust
peppy
revitalized
fortified
In good shape

An bòn sante
In good health

I feel revitalized
Mwen santi m byen enganm.
Mwen santi m dyanm


I feel so much better now.
Mwen miyò kounye a.
Mwen fè mye kounye a.

I have recovered (from an illness)
Mwen gaya.
Mwen refè.



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I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Mwen di nou bagay sa yo pou nou kapab genyen kè poze.  Nou va gen anpil soufrans sou tè sa a.  Men pran kouray!  Lemonn gentan pèdi devan mwen. Jan 16:33

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Monday, March 4, 2013

If I wanted to start a sentence with "GET", like 'GET THE CAR FIXED' or 'GET THE PICTURE' what creole word do i use? resevwa or jwenn?

I think of these types of sentences as expressions.  Get the car fixed, Get out of here, or Get the picture have totally different verbs in use.  They are different expressions.  Just because the English starts with "GET" does not mean that we will start by translating "GET" in Creole:

1. Get the car fixed right away please.
     Repare machin nan tousuit tanpri.  

2.  Get out of here.
      Soti la a.
      Wet kò w la a.

3.  Get me out of here.
      Retire m la a.

4. Get this party started.
     Koumanse fèt la.
     
5. Get the picture?
     Ou konprann?

SO, you probably have to learn each of these  verbs separately.

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"ou ka nan enka, ou ka nan deka, apre sa res la se pwoblem" Should I say though i understand what is said, i don't get it :)

That's a pun.
I don't think it can be translated in English.
I'm not sure how well i can explain this either :)

It feeds on the fact that "KA (fourth)" the denominator in ¼ (enka), 2/4 (deka), 3/4 (twaka) is read as "KA" as in "trouble, tèt chaje, etc..."  and guess what would 4/4 be?  If you guessed "kaka", you're right:

Mezanmi nou nan ka!
Nou ka nan 1/4
Nou ka nan 2/4
Nou ka menm nan 3/4
men si nou nan 4/4, nou chire!

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"She'll be happy one minute and crying the next" how can you translate "One minute she's this.... and the next minute she's that" mesi.

You can use:
yon moman ..... lòt moman an ....
kèk fwa ..... lòt fwa a .....
tanto ..... tanto ....

1.
Yon moman li kontan, lòt moman an li gentan ap kriye.
Kèk fwa li gen dwa kontan, lòt fwa a l'ap kriye
Tanto li kontan, tanto l'ap kriye.
She's happy one minute and crying the next

2.
Zanmitay yo a dwòl. Tanto yo byen, tanto yo pa byen.  Se konsa li toujou ye.
Their friendship is bizarre.  They're friends one minute and enemies the next.  It's always like that.


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Sunday, March 3, 2013

What is chemet chemetres?

chèmèt chèmètrès (or chè mèt chè mètrès)
Think of French cher maître, chère maîtresse → dear master, dear mistress (if that helps)
In H. Creole it means sole proprietor of, owner, master, landlord

1.  Mwen se chèmèt chèmètrès kay la.  Mwen gen dwa fè sa m vle avè l.
     I am the owner of the house.  I can do whatever I want with it.

2.  Lè papa Tijan mouri, tout Kòporasyon an va rele l chèmèt chèmètrès.  
     When Tijan's father dies the whole Corporation will be his.

3. Machin mwen rele m chèmèt chèmètrès. Se sèl mwen ki ka deside si pou m vann ni ou pa.
    The car is mine.  Only I can decide if I should sell it or not.
    
4. Nan lane 1803, peyi Etazini te vin chèmèt chèmètrès teritwa Lwizyàn nan.  Lafrans pa't gen kontwòl sou pòsyon tè sa a ankò.
    In the year 1803, the United States became the owner of the Louisiana territory.  France no longer had control over this portion of land.

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"Li ta pito pase yon lane sou yon bato chaje ak yon dal moun fou tan pou l ta pase yon kadè avè w" Can you tell me what is "TAN" in this sentence? thanks

tan, here, can be translated as instead

Here are some examples of its usage.

1. Tan pou l te etidye, li te pito gade televizyon.
     Instead of studying, he had rather watched TV.

2. Tan pou ap pale tenten la, poukisa ou pa al chache yon travay pou w fè.
     Instead of talking nonsense, why don't go find some work to do.
   
    and one more....

3. Nèg sa tèlman parese, li pito mouri grangou tan pou l fè zefò pou nouri tèt li.
     This guy's so lazy he rather die of hunger instead of making the effort to feed himself 

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Pran san w .... (in English)

Pran san w.
Kalma w.
Kalme w.
Rete trankil.
Take your time (take it easy, slow down)

1. Li te tèlman grangou, li pa't pran san l pou l kraze manje li a.
    He was so hungry that he didn't take his time to chew his food.

2. Ou pa bezwen prese.  Pran san w.
    You don't have to hurry.  Take your time.

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I'm new! Just found your sweet site. Going to Haiti in 2 weeks. Do you have an audio file for Ti limyè’k nan kè’m nan? Bisous!

This song is known in Haiti as "Bondye te Ban Mwen Limyè".
#66 Kè Kreyòl, in the Chans Desperans
A homemade, non professional recording was posted for you :)

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