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Tuesday, June 18, 2013

How would you translate "is for" like "Anything that happens is for a reason." Do you use se?

Yes.

Anything that happens is for a reason.
Tout bagay ki rive se pou yon rezon.

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Regarding your answer for "sa k fe sa" meaning "why" - can you as a 'why' question with is. "Why didn't you go?" I can say "POUKISA OU PA TE ALE" or "SA K FE SA OU PA TE ALE "?

If you choose to use 'Sa'k fè sa', you should write it without "sa":

1.
Sa'k fè ou pa te ale?
Why didn't you go?

other examples:

2.
Sa'k fè w kontan konsa?
Why are you so happy?

3.
Sa'k fè ou pa't di l sa?
Why didn't you tell him/her that?

Remember the Creole term Se sa'k fè - that is why? see link.

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'yon ti jan a goch' Kisa li vle di isit la? "Nou pa p gen ta pase kay joanne paske wout kay li yon ti jan a goch"

agoch vle di 'a little bit out of the way" nan fraz sila a.

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Ale kotew vle, mouri kotew ou te dwe??

Ale kote w vle, mouri kote w dwe.
You don't get to choose how you die.

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Could you please explain ADEKE and use in a sentence?

Do you mean "adekè"?

adekè (lit. with two hearts) - with hesitation, with reluctance
It's used to indicate that you're rendering a service, or you're giving something away; but you're doing it without eagerness or willingness.
Example:

1. Si w'ap ede m ak de kè, pito w pa ede m ditou.
    If you're helping out and you have regret about it, it's better that you don't help me at all.

2. Nou bay mandyan an kòb la adekè paske nou pa konnen si se manje oubyen dwòg li pral achte avè l.
    We gave the beggar the money with reluctance because we don't know whether he's going to use it for food or drugs.

   
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"From" continues to confuse me...I found a Jan 2013 post where you used 'moun' as 'from.' Is this the same as 'soti'? Mesi.

You can use 'MOUN" when indicating origin such as
Mwen se moun New york
I am a person of New York (literally)
I am from New York.

Li se moun Alabama.
She is from Alabama.

So yes,  it means the same as "Mwen soti New York" or "Mwen soti Alabama"

If you haven't done so already, check this link: Using FROM in Creole
And I have also used "moun" in the audio post titled Nan Estasyon Bis la

Monday, June 17, 2013

Can you explain the rules for the mwen to m' contraction?

"MWEN" can be used as personal pronoun: I or ME
"MWEN" can be replaced with contraction "m".
example:
1. Mwen te wè li.
    or 
   M te wè li.
   I saw it.

2. Rele mwen lè w rive.
    or
    Rele m lè w rive.
    Call me when you arrive.

"MWEN" can be used as possessives: MY, MINE (singular or plural)
example
3. pitit mwen - my child
4. pitit mwen yo - my children
Do not use contraction after a word that end with a consonant.
The word "pitit" ends with "t" which is a consonant.  So you cannot say "pitit m".  You will always say "pitit mwen".

5. pye mwen or pye m - my foot
The word "pye" ends with a vowel "e" which is a vowel, so you can say "pye mwen" or "pye m"

6. kesyon mwen or kesyon m - my question
The word "kesyon" ends with a nasal vowel "on", so you can say "kesyon mwen" or "kesyon m"

Sometimes a definite article may come after MWEN:
7. kesyon mwen an or kesyon m nan. - my question
8. kesyon mwen yo or kesyon m yo - my questions

We do not use contractions after these prepositions POU, NAN, SOU at the end of a sentence:

9. Malèt la tonbe sou mwen.
   You cannot say
   Malèt la tonbe sou m.

10. Fè sa pou mwen tanpri.
      you cannot say
     Fè sa pou m tanpri

11. Lespri Bondye te desann sou mwen
     you cannot say
     Lespri Bondye te desann sou m.


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How many "yo" can a sentence handle? Does this sound grammatically correct to you? "Yo te louvri kay yo ak bra yo pou yo te ka akeyi moun yo ki te vin travay nan klinik yo"

wow... that's a lot of "yo" for that little sentence :)  You are probably reading it within the context of a paragraph. I would replace the first "yo" with the subject and remove the plural article "yo" which comes right after "moun".
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pousyè pye miyò pase pousyè chita?? -kisa ki 'pousyè chita'?

Se dwe pousyè ki akimile nan peryòd inaktivite.
Pawòl sa a sanble vle di ke "Se aktivite ak debouya ki mennen pousyè pye; donk kalewès ak parès mennen 'pousyè chita' ".
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Someone might say -Sa Sa fe?- or -Sak fe sa?- Do they mean the same thing?

These terms might have different meanings depending on context.
Besides the obvious, you can translate them this way too:
Kisa sa fè? (Sa sa fè?) - What does that matter?
and
Sa'k fè sa? (Kisa ki fè sa?) - Why?

If I were to use them in a sentence:

1. Sa sa fè si w pa gen soulye?  Ou kapab al legliz la pye atè.  Sa p'ap deranje okenn moun.
    Does it matter if you have no shoes?  You can go to church barefoot.  People won't mind.

2. -Mwen pa prale nan fèt la avèk ou jodi a. I will not go to the party with you today. 
    -Sa'k fè sa? Why is that?
    -paske m prale ak yon lòt moun. Because I'm going with someone else.



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Mandaly, this is three questions in one. (i found the accents BTW:) Is 'pèdi fil' the opposite of 'pran fil'?, Is it the same as 'pèdi fèy'? How can I use 'pèdi fil'?

pèdi fil is not opposite of pran fil
pran fil - to thrive, to progress

for example, you can say
Biznis li a pran fil.
Her business is growing or thriving.

pèdi fil - to lose esteem, to lose authority, to lose leadership, to lose control, to lose grip
Depi lè zafè eskandal adiltè a, pastè a pèdi fil.
Since the time of the adultery scandal, the pastor's leadership has suffered.

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Friday, June 14, 2013

"Bonèt li chavire dèyè tèt li" --?

Si bonèt yon moun chavire dèyè tèt li, pa pwoche moun sa a :)
Sa vle di moun nan fin anraje, li fin dechennen --anvan lontan l'ap fou.

Basically this means He/She's lost it, He/She's deranged.

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Hey I plan to spend the summer in the town of Thomassique and was wondering if there is any type of accent I should be prepared for?

Nothing significant.
You'll still be able to understand a native's Creole even if they speak with some sort of accent (in Haiti).
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

opere yon mirak oubyen fe yon mirak?