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Thursday, April 25, 2013

"Ayisyen nan bouch pa anpeche w etranje sou papye?" Eske sa pale de trayizon?

M pa kwè.  M panse li vle di ou pa abandone peyi w ak tradisyon w senpleman paske ou natiralize.
Ou se etranje sou papye, men yo se Ayisyen nan san.

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

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

I've come across the creole word "boy"... possibly a food or cooking ingredient.. DO you know what it is?

bat fe red? Misye bat fe red.

bat fè rèd? → to pump iron, to lift weights, to be into muscle building

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

si yon moun di "li ap bat bouch li", eske sa vle di li ap manje onswa li ap pale?

Mezanmi o! Sa difisil anpil :)

Pou mwen menm, premye bagay ki vin nan tèt mwen se yon moun k'ap pale anpil, ki ap pale san rete.

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Some Verb tenses in Haitian Creole

OK! I am trying to gather together and sort into a chart all the Kreyol tenses. What I have so far is: Simple Present-(speak) pale Present Progressive-(speaking) ap(a) pale Conditional-(would speak) ta pale Conditional Future-(was going to speak) ta pral Simple Past (spoke) te pale Past Progressive (was speaking) te ap (t' ap) pale Simple Future (going to speak) ap(a) pale, pral pale, (a)va pale, al pale, Simple Future (will speak) a pale Present Negation (don't speak) pa pale Past Negation (didn't speak) pa te (pa t) pale Future Negation (will not speak) pa pral ou pa ap (p' ap) pale Do I have them all? And are they in the right categories? Whew! :)

There are more tenses in Haitian Creole :)
Let me just rewrite the ones that you have (in Creole) and maybe add a couple more:

tan prezan / prezan senp (present tense)
Ou pale Kreyòl.
You speak Creole.

prezan imedya  / pwogresif (Progressive)
W'ap pale Kreyòl.
You are speaking Creole.

patisip prezan (present perfect)
Ou pale Kreyòl pandan ventan e kounye a ou pral aprann Franse.
or
Ou te pale Kreyòl pandan ventan e kounye a ou pral aprann Franse.
You've spoken Creole for twenty years, and now you will learn French.

tan enperatif (Imperative)
Pale avè l pou w ka konnen sa'k te pase.
Se pou w pale avè l pou w ka konnen sa'k te pase.
Speak to him so that you know what happened.

Ke Bondye beni w.
Se pou Bondye beni w.
May God bless you.

pase senp (past tense)
Ou te pale Kreyòl.
You spoke Creole.

pase anteryè (past perfect)
Mwen te pale avèk li anvan li te monte machin nan.
I had spoken to her before she boarded the car.

pase / enpafè(Past progressive)
Mwen t'ap pale avè li lè polisye yo te rive.
I was speaking to him when the police arrived.

fiti senp (Future)
Ou pral pale Kreyòl trè byen lè w konplete kou a.
Ou va pale Kreyòl trè byen lè' w konplete kou a
W'ava pale Kreyòl trè byen lè w konplete kou a.
W'a pale kreyòl trè byen lè w fini konplete kou a.
W'ap pale Kreyòl trè byen lè w konplete kou a.
You will speak Creole very well when you complete the course.

fiti anteryè (Future perfect)
M te pral pale avèk li, men li refize gade 'm.
I ws going to speak to her, but she refused to look at me.

tan kondisyonèl prezan (conditional)
Ou ta pale Kreyòl pi vit si w ou te fè pli szefò.
You would speak Creole faster if you had made more effort.


tan Kondisyonèl pase (Past conditional)
M ta pral pale Kreyòl avèk madanm nan si l pa't joure m.
I would have spoken Creole to her if she hadn't cursed at me.


 
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Ki sa vle di alafendèfen?

alafendèfen (from French à la fin des fins)
in the end
in the long run
finally
eventually

Also in Creole, anfennkont, boutanfen, finalman, desideman, alalong, evantyèlman, pou fini

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Is the word for 'elf' farfade? What does 'goumandiz' mean

farfade (farfadet?) in French, yes.

Do you mean "elf" as in mystical creatures in H.Creole?  If yes, then Haitians are more likely to say louten, louten ak bab, lespri, baka, lezanj (as long as we're talking about mystical creatures)

goumandizgreed, gluttony

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what is fè mikalaw?

fè mikalaw → to abound, to be plentiful
Another word we use is agogo or fè kenken

Manje fè mikalaw nan fèt la.
Te gen manje agogo nan fèt la.
Manje fè kenken nan fèt la.
There were plenty of food at the party.

Jounalis fè mikalaw devan lopital.
There were many reporters in front of the hospital.

Boutèy byè vid fè kenken tout atè lakay fanm nan.
There were many empty beer bottles all over the floor at the woman's home.

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Can you explain "wayan" in Creole?

Do you mean the interjection "Wayan!" that some people say while pulling down one of their bottom eyelids with their index finger?

Wayan! (or Ou p'ap sis!)
It means You ain't gonna get nothing!

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Kisa vle di 'ayewodwòm'?

Will you translate this for me please? "Anketè yo di, blesu li a, sanble kòmkidire se li ki ta tire sou pwòp tèt li." Mèsi.

ankèt → investigation
anketè → investigator
blesi (not blesu) → injury, wound
kòmkidire (or kòmkwadire) → as if, seemingly
tire → to shoot (with a gun or rifle)
pwòp tèt → own self

"Anketè yo di, blesi li a, sanble kòmkidire se li ki ta tire sou pwòp tèt li."
"The investigators say, his injury, seems as if it's him who would shoot at his own self."
"The investigators say, his injuries seem as if they were self inflicted."
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I see that to say GET OUT (or as you put it 'get the hell out'), you can say SOTI LA or RALE KO LA. I came across another creol word that meant GET OUT (jedpi or gepi?). Do you have other terms for the same expression? mesi.

Get out! (Scram!)
Bat zèl ou!
Disparèt devan m nan!
Pati!
Fè m pa wè w!
Kraze rak!
Degèpi!
Dekanpe la!
Bay teren an!
Bay tè a!
Rache manyòk ou!
Fann kò w non!
etc...

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I see the term 'ayibobo' can be used for "halleluia or congrats" My friends say I shouldn't use it because it's voodoo related. But my dictionary made no mention of any restrictions for this term.

Yes, it's Halleluiah, Bravo, Congrats in voodoo circle.  It's not for Christian use.  Someone might kicked you out of church if you start screaming Ayibobo!.  They'd think that you are possessed by a loa :)

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What is SOUSOU in Haitian Creole? Someone told me it means money. I'm here to tell you when I used it, people did not know what I was talking about.

When Haitians say "sou", they might be talking about money, as in Mwen pa gen yon sou. I don't have a penny.

Sousou (or ti sousou) is a butt-kisser, someone who flatters another usually to get something in return.
As verb we say fè ti sousouto flatter, to kiss ass

Here's an example of the usage in a sentence:
1.Fanfan ap fè ti sousou dèyè madanm nan.  Petèt l'a voye yon zo atè a pou li.
   Fanfan is kissing the lady's butt. Maybe she'll throw a bone at him.

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What does pitit deyo mean? and also what does enmene moi mean?

pitit deyò → illegitimate child
enmene moi (FYI: That's not Creole) take me, lead me

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