"What do you think when the vowel "i" ending
a word but preceded by a nasalized consonant? For example, "fanmi an"
or "mi an". "
You would think that the article for fanmi is “a”, but it is “an”... because
of the nasal sound in the first syllable of the word. The same goes for zanmi, jenou (where “ou” is
nasal), lanmou, mi (“m” is nasal), etc… When you see these words, you might be looking at the vowel at the end, but you should think about the sound instead. If ou start with a nasal sound, you're prone to end with a nasal sounds. When you say "zanmi", it feels more natural to add "an" at the end then to add "a".
.......
What do yo think when when a word ends in a
nasalized consonant, it is not only followed by "nan" but also
"lan" indifferently? I have heard haitians and even me using both of
them interchangeably. For example, "machin nan/lan", "plim
nan/lan" or "moun nan/lan".
In some regions of Haiti, they don’t
use “nan” for article. Where I am from,
we use it. Mr Paultre who translated the
1999 version of the KJV bible does not use “nan”. He uses “lan”. I don't think you'll find "nan" as a definite article in that version of the Creole bible.
....
What about words ending in "ng" or
"gn", do they take "nan" as well as "lan" or only
"nan"? For example, "Bilding nan or lan", "Djòging nan
or lan" or "boling nan or lan". In case you didn't know, they
translate "building", "jogging", and "bowling"
respectively.
The rule for the words that end in “ng” is the same
as the rule for the words that end in “n” or “m” sound.
It’s either “nan”
or “lan” depending on where you’re
from.
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words
