Haitian Creole

Thursday, May 15, 2014

How do you say, "In tracing my bloodline origins, I've found that I have SO MANY FLAGS to wave!"?

Do you mean “flag waving” as in being patriotic?

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What does frè mean when describing a person? I was told cool or interesting?

As an adjective, yes, it would mean cool or fresh-faced

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Friday, May 9, 2014

Bonjou! I wanted to ask about the North Haitian Creole dialect and the way it is spoken differently than in Pòtòprens. What are a variety of words or spellings of words that are used and written that are different from the standard Haitian Creole dialect that is written and spoken in Pòtòprens, the capital? I heard that instead of "Li pral wè w avèk mamit la", the northerners would write or say "i pray vwa w ake kanistè a"? What are some words to say or write in the North Haitian Creole dialect?

First and foremost they have a different accent.

Yes, they do say vwa instead of wè, ake instead of avèk, avè or ak, kanistè instead of manmit, and “i” instead of “li”, and pray instead of pral

Other different terms they use (that I can tnk of):.

They might say kòk instead of kokoye

They say kawo, we say fè (fèarepase);

They say kinan for possessive

they say twade we say wayal

They say kwoke when talking about sexual intercourse

They say dite we say te

They usually say fèrenk instead of fèk

They will say “y” when using the contracted third person object pronoun “l”.

They might also say chapitè when talking about yon oungan

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Wednesday, May 7, 2014

I just read your interpretation of a proverb. Since you’re on the subject how would interpret this Haitian proverb? Kout machet nan dlo pa gen mak.

“Kou manchèt nan dlo pa kite mak?”, it means “when a man sleeps with a woman, he leaves no trace”

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Mandaly. I have 2 questions pertaining to the same subject. Nan fraz yo: "Ou ka achte yon jilet aswe a." ak "Ou pa ka achte jilet aswe a." Is it right that in negative statements you do not use "yon"; if so, is it all the time in this manner for correct Kreyol? My other question is: "M pa ka." ak "Ou pa ka."; I thought you could not use a contracted form at the end of a sentence. Or, is this an exception to the rule in proper Kreyol? I realize that there are grammatical exceptions (if this is the case), but I do not want to sound like a hillbilly speaking Kreyol. Mesi anpil.

Answer to the first question:

No. Using “yon” or not will have to depend on whether you’re talking about non-specific nouns and how many of these “non-specific” nouns you’re referring to or are you using a general term for them.

You can actually say “M pa’t ka menm achte yon grenn jilèt aswè a“. – I could not even buy one single blade tonight.

Other examples:

M pa gen yon dola sou mwen. – I don’t have a dollar on me.

Pa gen yon kretyen vivan nan lari a aswè a. – There’s not a single soul in the street tonight.

M konnen se yon papiyon ou wè lè w gade imaj la. Mwen menm m pa wè yon papiyon, se yon fèy mwen wè. – I know you see a butterfly when you look at the image. As for me I don’t see a butterfly, I see a leaf.

So you ARE able to use “yon” in negative sentences.

And you will not use “yon” if you’re using a non-specific noun in general term or if it’s plural, etc....

For example.

M pa bezwen jilèt. - I don't need blades.

M pa wè moun deyò a. - I don't see anyone outside

Nou gen kola pou tout moun. - We have sodas for everyone

Answer to the second question.

You are right. You should say “M pa kapab” instead.

"kapab" will go at the end of the sentence instead of "ka".

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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Chwal ki gen dis mèt mouri nan poto meaning plzz

Chwal ki gen dis mèt mouri nan poto “The horse which has ten masters dies at the hitching post” – A task with too many “handlers” gets neglected.

Basically, delegate specific people to do specific tasks and the task will get done, or at least you’ll know who to blame if it’s not done.

This makes me think of another Haitian Creole proverb. It deals with task delegation also: Si tout moun a cheval ki moun ki va fèmen baryè? “If everyone is on a horse, who will close the gate?”

Basically, everyone wants to be riding the horse but whose job is it to close the gate after all the horses have passed through?

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Sunday, May 4, 2014

Question: Can you explain to me what "kob sol" is?

Kòb – money

Sòl – a short-term money saving method among a group of people

Money used to pay “sòl”.

Sòl is a short-term money saving method that a group of friends use.

Each person in the group contributes a predetermined amount of money at a specified time. The money will go to one person in the group each time it’s collected until everyone has received their “hand” (yon men).

So, a group of 10 people makes a payment of $500.00 on the 1^st of every month –each person will take turn receiving a payment of $5000.00 on the 1^st of every month until everyone is paid. At that point, the group will most likely start the “sòl” over. As you can imagine, the first person that gets paid is usually the neediest person and the last payment will be a receipt of a nice $5000.00 saving.

It’s helpful when people who do not have access to banks do it (in Haiti). Some Haitians do it even when they have access to banks because they know the money will not be available to them until a specified time. It works for them if they’re trying to build a small saving or if it’s dangerous to go to the bank (as it can be in Haiti) when crooks, hiding in every corner, watch your comings and goings from the bank.

Many Haitians from all over the US do it, Africans too (They have another name for it). Mostly women do it. Some use it as a way to keep their spouse from spending their money too :)

Sometimes a friend may invite you to participate in a sòl. They try to gather a lot of people because large groups yield large payments, but it can be a gamble if you don’t know the people you’re dealing with.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Question: Can you explain to me what "kob sol" is?...":

If I’m in a sol that has 31 ppl at $400 a month someone gets pay every 3 weeks . I’m the last person to get pay how much money should I be receiving ?

Mandaly says:
Oh man! a sòl. Tèt chaje!
Next time save in the bank. Isn't it more secure?
What if something happen to one of the participant, how will yo ensure that you get your money?
The payments should not be made every month, it should be made every three weeks when someone gets their hand.

Well, if you are the last person, you should be receiving 31 payments (from 31 people), which includes 1 payment from YOURSELF. That's 30 x 400 = $12,000. And if you chose to bring your last payment TO YOURSELF, it should be 12, 400.

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