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Saturday, May 3, 2014

One of my friends often says "gen bezwen" instead of just "bezwen." I believe she is from a different region of Haiti... is this just a form of accent?

We say it like that sometimes.
Pa egzanp:
Gen moun ki gen bezwen finansyèl, gen moun ki gen bezwen medical, e genyen ki bezwen sosyal.
Di m sa w gen bezwen, e m’a di w sim ka ede w.

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Yon moun te dim "mwen wè ou vle pyejem." Kisa li vle di?

Yon “pyèj”a trap, a lure
Pyejeto entrap, to trick

Mwen wè ou vle pyeje’m.” – “I see you want to entrap me

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Why is "lan" used in this translation of this scripture? "Se tout tan peche m lan devan je m." — Sòm 51:3. Is it literally saying, "The sin of mine is constantly in front of me"? Couldn't it also just say, "Se tout tan peche m devan je m."?

When it comes to using the HC definite article “nan” or “lan”, some Haitians primarily use “lan”.

They will say “ponm lan” – the apple , while others may say “ponm nan
Or “fanm lan” – the woman, while others say “fanm nan
Or “zanmi m lan” – my friend, while others say “zanmi m nan

Or “peche m lan” – my sin, while others say “peche m nan

I don't think the bible you're reading from uses "nan" as a definite article at all.  

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Monday, April 21, 2014

Poukisa yo aprann timoun ayisyen pou pa gade nan je ni pou yo pa kwaze pye yo, et pou pa soufle?

Granmoun pa tolere timoun gade yo nan je. Se timoun odasye ki fè sa dapre yo menm.  Sa demontre yon timoun ki gen aksyon sou li. 
Men m poko janm jwenn yon nasyon ki ka pèdi tan l ap defigire yon moun delatètopye tankou Ayisyen.  Depi yo gade w, yo gendwa di si w "gwo" oubyen si w "piti".  Etranje va gade w anba linèt, men Ayisyen di w, Bondye ba l je, se pou l gade.  Ya kanpe sou ran pou yo gade w. Sèlman yo p’ap gade w nan je.
Men pou di w vre, m gen pwoblèm ak moun ki pa ka gade m nan je lè y’ap pale avè m.  Lè yo fè sa yo sanble y’ap kache m yon bagay.

Zafè kwaze pye a se menm bagay la. Si w gen respè pou moun ki pi gran pase w, ou chita devan l nan yon fason ki onore l….. yon fason ki soumèt. Se konsa m te leve.

Pou koze soufle a, m pa konn sa pou m di :)  Gramoun mwen ta flanke m yon kalòt si m pwenti bouch mwen ap soufle devan yo.  E si m ta mande yo, “poukisa m ka soufle sou granmoun?” yo ta flanke m on lòt souflèt.  Donk se granmou yo ki konnen sekrè a, paske yo pa’t janm ban m chans envestige sa :)


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Ki kote m kapab trouve roch galet?

Ou pral fè yon “resèt”?

Wòch galèt se nan larivyè ou ranmase sa.

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Sunday, April 20, 2014

What is santi pise?

What’s the context? Besides the obvious meaning, you can find this in a name-calling type of situation.

Someone might call another “ti santi pise” meaning vagabond, worthless person

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“Se sa m bliye m pat fe” can you explain the usage of this term, specifically when can I use it? Thanks Mandalay.

Your example literally means it’s what I forgot I didn’t do basically meaning that I did everything

Or in the future tense Se sa m bliye m p’ap – (literally, it’s what I forget I will not do) meaning that I will do everything.

Pa egzanp:
Misye te tonbe joure m. Se sa l bliye l pa’t di’m. (notice past tense) – He began to curse at me. He really let me have it/ or He didn’t mince his words.

Another example of how it’s used:
John had not seen his wife for two weeks. When he called her on the phone to say he was coming home, he playfully said to her, Lè m rive lakay se sa m bliye m’ pa’p fè w. (notice future tense)- meaning that he’s  really going to indulge with her.

One more example:
N’ap desann Jakmèl pou wikenn nan avèk kèk ti medam. Napwen travay. Nanpwen obligasyon. Nou pral pran plezi nou nèt. Se sa n bliye n p’ap fè. Meaning We’re going to party hard (or something like that)


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how do u say lonbay in english

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Bonjou, Mandaly! I'm reviewing Singular Definite Articles and I'm confused about one of the examples for the Special Note about the vowels "i" and "ou." You said words that end with "i" or "ou" and is preceded by a nasal sound will use "AN." Here's my confusion. You used "LENNMI AN" instead of "LENNMI A.


Although the H. Creole article “an” is used for words that end with a nasal vowel such “pen an, kan an, pon an”; it’s  also used for words that end with a non-nasal vowel which is preceded by a nasal sound:

Examples:

You'll say "zanmi an" instead "zanmi a", because of the nasal sound "zan..." in zanmi
You'll say "fanmi an" instead of "fanmi a" because of the nasal sound "fan..." in fanmi.

We say:
jou a
or jou an
avangou a 
or avangou an
bouk la
or bouk lan
soukous la
or soukous lan
lanmou an because of the nasal sound "lan..." in lanmou

Thus “lennmi an”

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Ki jan w di "the matter at hand" Eske w Gen yon fraz pou sa nan kreyol?


The matter at handsijè, kesyon; sijè ki sou tab la, kesyon ki sou tab la

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Thursday, April 17, 2014

what is dyayi? I've seen many different translations. i know it means to dance or move your body some way but what does mean "mwen pral dyayi sou ou"?


 M pral djayi sou ou” seems to mean “I’m going to flip out on you” (to be angry or furious).  I’m not sure what the context is.

It also translates to shake, to have the shakes, to go into a trembling fit.
Egzanp:
Fanm nan t’ap kriye nan antèman pitit li a.  Li t’ap djayi atè a.  Se dis gason ki t’oblije kenbe l anvan l te vin resi kalme.

Djayi” can also mean “to dance”.

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What are some synonyms for "ugly" besides "lèd" regarding people or thing? for example, "That house around the corner is ugly." "Flavor of love or flavor flave is an ugly person." What are some degrees of ugliness in creole(if there is any)?


What are some synonyms for "ugly" besides "lèd" regarding people or thing? for example, "That house around the corner is ugly." "Flavor of love or flavor flave is an ugly person." What are some degrees of ugliness in creole(if there is any)?

Degrees of ugliness?  Is that about comparatives?

You should listen to Maurice Sixto’s Sentaniz where the mistress of the house calls Sentaniz ugly in many many different ways….

In Haitian Creole we may use  koukou, makawon,  mafweze, kaka zonbi, mangousa, malfouti,  chwèt, makoubi, etc….

As for describing an ugly object, we might use gwosomodo

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