I had it ALL wrong in the beginning. Sorry. I thought the speaker was saying something else. Anyway, do Creoles say "W isit la.", or "Ou isit la."? Tou, ki fom ki itilize plis: "out", "dawou", "dawout" oswa "dout" pou "August"? Ki youn ta dwe mwen sevi ak? Yon gran mesi

In reference to : http://sweetcoconuts.blogspot.com/2013/11/mandaly-m-te-isit-la-depi-kat-jou-pou.html
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When they speak you will hear “W isit la.”.   It will sound like “wi-sit-la”.
But when they write, it’s not common to have W at the beginning of the sentence.

 

We use “out” and “dout” more.
Some people say Dawou or Dawout.  It happens often enough.  You will see it a lot in songs and poems, etc….

I don’t think you’ll find “dout” in a dictionary for the month of August.  It is from the French pronunciation of D’Août.  Nevertheless we do say “dout”.

An example:

Mwen fè an out.
Mwen fèt nan mwa out.
Mwen fèt nan mwa dout.
Mwen fèt nan mwa Dawou.
Are all correct for “I was born in the month of August”

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Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge about Haitian language. I have a question about food. Do you know if the white powder sometimes mixed with the "epis" called "absan" or "aksan" (not akasan) is monosodium glutamate?

Aksan....  Yes it is.  It is MSG.

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Mandaly. "M te isit la depi kat jou pou kont mwen." "I have been (right) here for four days by myself." Do I have the "M te isit la" right? The speaker on the Pimsleur audio is slurring across the "M te isit la"; It almost sounds like "M se sit la". If I have this right, "M te isit la", can I say it phonetically and be understood? I have also noticed this problem with "dwe" in some cases. I realize that no language is completely phonetic, but I like to be as close as I can be with pronunciation; but I want to sound right. School me on this one. Mesi anpil.

 “M te isit la” is definitely right.

If you said “M isit la depi kat jou pou kont mwen”.  That will be right also.

“Dwe” is pronounced (dwe or d-oo-ay) phonetically.

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

Hello! I've read through quite a few of your entries about pral/prale/aprale. I think I'm understanding that pral/prale/aprale are a combination of ap + ale. If ap + ale works like other verbs + ale, it would mean "going," right? So then, do pral and ale get combined? Pral + another verb (like fè) would be "going to do," right? So does pral + ale combine to make a new word? Or does it remain "pral ale?" And does it mean "going to go?" Thanks!

Ap + another verb may indicate future or a progressive tense depending on the context such as:

Nou ap tann ou depi maten. – We’ve been waiting for you since this morning.

Nou ap vini wè w pita. – We’ll come to see you later.

Nou ap manje kounye a.  Nou pa ka vin chache w nan ayewopò a.  – We’re eating now.  We can’t come pick you at the airport.

Pral / Prale (going to) – FUTURE

Nou pral danse. / Nou prale danse. – We’re going to dance.

Nou pral manje. / Nou prale manje. – We’re going to eat.

Nou pral dòmi. / Nou prale dòmi. – We’re going to sleep.

 

Pral ale (going to, going to go, will go)  /You can also use “Va ale” ….before a verb (as a verb helper).  As you already know “va” is a determiner for the future tense.  An example is: Nou va wè w demen. – We’ll see you tomorrow.

Nou pral al gade pou wè si yo toujou la. - We’re going to go see if they’re still there. Most often Haitians will simply say “pral” instead of “pral al”. It feels more natural.

Nou va al di yo sa. – We will go tell them.

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

Does a verb marker apply to just that verb or the entire thought? For example, if you said "I had a job where I waited tables." in HC, would you need “te” before both verbs or just the first one?

In this sentence it is best to use “te” with both verbs.  "M te gen yon djòb kote m t’ap sèvi moun."

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

I know that mèt is "may." Is te mèt "might?" How would you translate this from Psalm 139: "Mwen te mèt ap mache, mwen te mèt kouche, ou wè m, ou konnen tou sa m'ap fè."? Can mèt or te mèt mean anything else? Thanks!

In this case it translates even, even if, whether (conj)

Mèt (as a noun) – meter (metric system), owner, teacher, master

1.     Longè teren an plis pase 6 mèt. - The terrain is more than 6 meters in length..

2.     Kote mèt magazen an? – Where’s the store owner?

3.     Eske se ou ki mèt kay la? – Are you the home owner?

Mèt (adj) – skillful

4.     Nan zafè repare oto, moun sa yo se mèt. – When it comes to fixing cars, these people are proficient.

Mèt, Te Mèt (v. helper) – may, can

5.     Ou mèt ale. – You may go.

6.     Nou mèt antre. – You can come in.

7.     Nou te mèt koumanse manje. –You may start eating.

8.     Eske m te mèt prete bekán ou? – Can I borrow you bicycle.

Mèt  (conj) – even, whether

9.     Mwen te mèt ap mache, mwen te mèt kouche… -Whether I am standing up, whether I‘m lying down …..

10. Ou te mèt fache, m p’ap ka kite w ale nan jounen an. – Even if you’re angry I cannot let you go to the field trip.

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

Is "msuspek" a word or slang term in creole? Does it mean something?

No it's not a slang

Msuspek (m sispèk, mwen sispèk) - I am suspicious of, I have suspicion

sispek - to be suspicious of

 

example:

1. Poukisa ou sispèk mwen konsa?

   Whay are you so suspicious of me?

 

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Mandaly, is there an English word for the H. Creole word 'cheran'? mesi.

I am not sure what the English word would be.

cheran (adj.) - someone with whom you can't haggle over the price of an item.  A person who is "cheran" sells his item/service at a high price and is unwavering and persistent at keeping that price.

an example

Machin nan pa menm mache enpi w'ap mande wi mil dola pou li.  Ou twò cheran monchè. - The car doesn’t even run and you're asking eight thousand dollars for it.   You are too “cheran”.

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How do you use gwo san in a sentence? Does it have different meanings?

gwo san (adj.) - short-tempered

Use the verb "gen" or "genyen"  with GWO SAN.

1.

M pa vle annafè ak Joanne.  Li gen gwo san. – I don’t want to deal with Joanne.  She is short-tempered.

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grenadye alaso? otaj? rime? planche?

Grenadye alaso! - Soldiers, attack! (From French Grenadiers á l'assaut!)

 
There's this song (song of war from Haiti) you may have heard.

Grenadye alaso soldiers attack
Sa ki mouri zafè a yo (bis) Those who die , so what
Nanpwen manman, napwen papa there’s no mom, there’s no dad
Sa ki mouri zafè a yo Those who die, so what

 

Otaj – hostage

Rime (need to have this in a sentence). There’s arimen (to stack up), and anrimen (to have a cold), or fè rimay (to make gestures)

planche – wooden floor

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jibye?

jibye - any wild animal hunted for food, game

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How do you say PREREQUISITE in Creole?

Prerequisite - prereki

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Okay I'm trying to understand this Facebook post in creole it says “We monche ou pap tounen nan DuPont menm”

Sometimes we say “wè” instead of “wi”.

“wè monchè, ou pa tounen nan Dupont menm”

“yes friend, you have not come back to Dupont at all.”

“Yes, you have not gone back to Dupont at all.”

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Mandaly madame what is "ou pasab" - Is it a compliment?

A compliment  .... maybe (that depends on a lot of things)

pasab - satisfactory, not bad, acceptable
Ou pasab - You're ok

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The amazing lessons on your blog continue! Thank you so much, Mandaly! Would you be able to recommend a few Creole translators or translation companies that could handle things like translating longer reports and forms from English-to-Creole and Creole-to-English? If you recommend them, I would feel more comfortable working with them. Mesi anpil!

Wi :)  Leson yo ap kontinye nèt ale.

I like the work of the translators at Freelang.net and that of ALTA Language Services.
I have proofread their work.
The team at ALTA can get a little expensive, but they are good.


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