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Sunday, April 28, 2013

Kisa vle di 'fe twalet' egzakteman?

twalètto take a bath, to clean up, to wash up, to take care of your hygiene
fè twalèt can also mean to wash up your private parts, especially when Haitians say fè twalèt deba (which applies mostly to women).
Fè twalèt deba (for many since there's no running water) will consist of sitting on chamber pot that is filled with water and ... you know... take good care of the V. 

Examples:
See how we use it like a pronominal verb with the pronouns after it (underlined).

1. Al fè twalèt ou.
    It's like saying: Go wash yourself up.  or Go do your wash (lit.)   
    Go wash up.

2. Mwen poko fè twalèt mwen.
    I haven't washed up yet.

3.  Kilè li te gen tan fè twalèt li?
     When did she have the time to wash up?

4. Al fè twalèt de ba w.
    The same goes here with the pronouns.  They will follow "deba".
    Go wash up.

5.  Chak maten manman tifi a fè'l al fè twalèt deba l nan larivyè a.
      Every morning the girl's mother have her wash up in the river.
    
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Ki sa ki tout siyifikasyon pou mo 'nève' a?

nève (or enève) (intransitive) → to become very angry, to be mad, to be upset
nève (or enève) (transitive) → to irritate s.o,  piss off

1. Misye te nève, donk li ba chen an yon kout pye.
    He was mad, so kicked the dog.

2. Gen moun ki p'ap travay ki resevwa bon asirans lasante.  Mwen menm, m'ap travay di e m pa menm gen mwayen pou al kay dantis chak ane.  Sa nève'm.
     There are some people who aren't working who receives good health insurance.  I'm working very hard and can't even afford a yearly dental visit.  This pisses me off.

Also, nève can also be use to translate nervous (as in nervous system)
3.  Maladi a te atake system nève li.
     Maladi te atake tout nè li.
     The disease attacked his nervous system.

and of course, we have the word neve (without the accent on the first "e") which is Creole for nephew.
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Saturday, April 27, 2013

What's the Haitian Creole word for 'to give up'? "He was surrounded, so he gavehimself up." or "They gave up the search when it got dark." or "He gave up his seat to an old man." or "I gave up my faith years ago." or "OK, I give up, you

There are many ways you can say "to give up" in H. Creole.
to give upsede, abandone, bay legen, bat ba, kite sa, lese tonbe

1. He was surrounded, so he gave himself up.
    Yo te sènen li donk li bay legen.
    bay legen, bat ba → to cede, to surrender, to yield

2. to give up something
     abandone bagay la
     kite bagay la tonbe

3. Give it up.
     Kite sa.
     Lese l tonbe.

4. He gave up his faith years ago.
    This one seems to say that he's abandoned his faith years ago.
    Li abandone relijyon li kèk ane pase.

5.  I give up. You win.
     more like .....I surrender
     M bay legen.  Se ou k genyen.

6.  He gave up his seat for an old man. 
     Li abandone plas li pou yon mesye pèsonaj.
     Li kite plas li bay yon mesye pèsonaj.
     Li sede plas li bay yon mesye pèsonaj.

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Friday, April 26, 2013

How would you say "I didn't like the car." Also what are the contraction and long forms for negatives? Ex: pa't = pa te. Thanks

I didn't like the car.
Mwen pa te renmen machin nan.
Mwen pa't renmen machin nan.

negatives: long form and contraction
past tense
Mwen pa't konnen. (contraction)
Mwen pa te konnen. (long form)
I didn't know.

Future
Mwen p'ap kapab ale. (contraction)
Mwen p'ape kapab ale. (contraction)
Mwen pa ap kapab ale. (long form)
I will not be able to go

Progressives
Mwen p'ap etidye kounye a. (contraction)
Mwen pa ap etidye kounye a. (long form)
I'm not studying now.

Mwen pa t'ap dòmi lè w te rantre yèswa. (contraction)
Mwen pa te ap dòmi lè w te rantre yèswa. (long form)
I was not sleeping when came in last night.

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In one of your previous posts, I learned a new expression 'ti tak'. .....

In one of your previous posts, I learned a new expression 'ti tak'.
It pushed me to make a list of other expressions that express the same
meaning,which I have collected:
ti kal, ti zing, ti gout, ti moso, ti kras, ti
bab, ti chikèt, ti(yon) filèt, ti lougal, ti (yon)kwendak, ti pwèlyèm, ti yota,
ti yik, ti tak
. I know that haitian creole is a rich language; so, are there
other expressions of small quantity that exist that is not on that list? I feel
like there are more; I hope there are more.


Of course, there's always more in Creole :)
I wish I knew them all.  The more you travel to different regions of the country, the more you'll learn.
I'll add a few to your list:
ti lòsyè
ti kraze
ti krabinay
ti zuit
minizuit
miniminizuit
I think they also say piti piti zuit

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What are words for 'somewhat' or 'slightly'? "He felt somewhat .....

"What are words for 'somewhat' or 'slightly'? "He felt somewhat
awkward in his suit." or "Our work has progressed somewhat." or "The course is
somewhat more difficult than I was told it would be."  or "He weighed slightly
less than his wife who was a foot shorter."


somewhat → yon ti jan
slightly → yon ti jan, enpe, yon ti kras, lejèman

1. "He felt somewhat awkward in his suit."
    "Li te yon ti jan malalèz nan kostim li an."

2. "He weighed slightly less than his wife who was a foot shorter."
    "Li te peze lejèman mwens pase madanm ni ki te kèk pous pi kout pase l."


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What are words for 'to lead to'? "Drug use often leads to crime." or "Poor eating habits may lead to health problems." or "Continued hatred of a certain group of people will one day lead to genocide."

to lead tokoze, lakòz

"Poor eating habits may lead to health problems."
"Move rejim alimantè kapab koze pwoblèm lasante."

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What are some words for 'bane' and 'boon' respectively?

"What are some words for 'bane' and 'boon' respectively? "The bane of
my existence."  or "Fighting this war in the Middle East is a bane to the
American economy." and "Finding the dry cave was a boon to the weary travelers."
or "Anesthetics are a great boon to modern surgery."


banelamizè, kalamite, bosko, devenn
boonbenediksyon, avantaj, bone, koutchans


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What are words for 'woods'? "I was lost in the woods."

woodsbwa, raje

I was lost in the woods.
Mwen te pèdi nan raje a.

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How does one translate "what does the subject on abortion has got to do with writing about black slaves?" Emphasis on "got to do". What are ways to say it?

has to do withgen pou wè ak, ki relasyon ki gen ant, ki koneksyon ki gen ant

1. What does one has to do with the other?
     Kisa youn gen pou wè ak lòt la?

2. "What does the subject on abortion has got to do with writing about black slaves?"
     Kisa ekri sou esklav nwa yo gen pou wè ak koze avòtman an? 
     Ki koneksyon ki gen ant ekri sou esklav nwa yo ak koze avòtman an?
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Thursday, April 25, 2013

What are words for 'update(nouns and verbs)'? "There is some news update on the Boston bombings." and "The Windows operating system updates itself every day."

update v. (in the news) → mete okouran
an update (in the news) → yon nouvèl devlopman
update n. (software) → mizajou
automatic update → mizajou otomatik
to update  (software)→ aktyalize

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What are words for "step'? " ........

What are words for "step'? "The first step is to think about what
you want to write about. The second step is to do some research on your chosen
topic. The third step is to take notes on what you find to support your
arguments. The fourth step is to write a draft. The final step is to compose the
final product."
What are words 'step' in this sense? "The reputation of a man depends on the
first steps he makes in the world."

Steps pa (pace of feet)
First stepspremye pa
He tool his first steps. → Li te pran premye pa li yo.

Steps faz, etap, tranch (level, phase, part)
What you describe in the first part of your questions might be translated as faz, etap or tranch.
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How does one say 'outline(essay, term paper, etc)' in creole? Also, how does one say 'thesis statement' in creole?

an outline yon ekspoze, yon apèsi
to outline souliyen, mete an gran liy

Outline the important points.
Mete pwen enpòtan an gran liy.
Souliyen pwen enpòtan yo.

thesis tèz
thesis statementtèz prensipal la

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What are words for 'consecutive days' and 'alternate days'? "I go to school on consecutive days but I go to the gym on alternative days."

consecutive daysjou suivi, joun apre lòt
five consecutive dayssenk jou suivi, senk jou youn apre lòt
alternative daysjou altène, jou altènatif yo.

"M'al travay lendi, mèkredi ak vandredi, e mwen pran klas Kreyòl nan jou altène yo."

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Google di ‘konkou’ vle di ‘contest’ men gen anpil lè m te wè mo sa-a nan yon fraz epi siyifikasyon sa-a pa t fè sans. Èske ‘konkou’ gen lòt siyifikasyon?

Mwen pa ka panse a lòt siyifikasyon pase contest, competition, tournament, championship etc...

Ou kapab itilize li tankou yon vèb lè ou di bay konkou, pote konkou.  La a, li vle di: to help, to support, to sponsor, to collaborate with

Pa egzanp:

1. Lè te gen tranblemanntè Ayiti a, anpil peyi te pote konkou.
    A lot countries had come to help during the time of the earthquake in Haiti.

2. N'ap pote konkou bay Legliz la.
    We will help the church.

3. Vin pote nou konkou.
    Come help us.


Genyen yon lòt mo an Kreyòl ki ekri konsa: koukou.
koukou (owl) → vle di tou, yon moun ki lèd anpil, yon moun ki pi lèd pase yon makak, yon moun ki nan yon move kondisyon

Si yon Aysiyen rele ou "koukou", sa se yon gwo ensilt...

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