Kòman
sa ye la? – What’s the situation? How are
things?
Friday, August 1, 2014
What does "koman sa ye la" mean? The translation does not make sense in my head.
Alright I have a lot of questions for you to answer so please bear with me. 1) I'm going to Haiti very soon, and I am bringing fabric in order to get some pants made. As far as going to a tailor (taye?), what words should I know applying to clothes (width for example).
Tailor – tayè
Width – lajè
Length - longè
2) What does danre, ra mean?
danre – vegetables, produce
ra – close to, close to the edge of
3) How do you say "Are you sure"?
“Eske ou sèten?”
4) I tried using the word pyeje around my parents and they aren't familiar with it. What
other words can be used?
mete pyèj, tann pyèj
5) When you're buying things in Haiti, in what
currency is the price usually
labeled?Dola or goud?
Goud, or dola Ayisyen (Haitian dollar)
6) Konspirasyon?
Or konbinazon,konplo?
plot, conspiration
7) Janbe?
To
cross, to move across, to cut across
8) How do you say weird, strange, and awkward?
dwòl
Like I’ve said before, isn’t it a waste of time to learn Creole to communicate with Haitians when you can learn French and be equipped to communicate with Haitians and peoples from hundreds of countries.
Though you make a lot of sense, in 2010 the
youth group leader from a church planned a visit to Haiti. They downloaded a lot
of materials in French and translated a lot of the sentences to be used in
conversation for games especially (like soccer, basketball, jumping ropes,
etc..) – and had a hard time getting understood – they had to use a Haitian
Creole interpretor and could not use any of the French materials they brought
with them. Isnt it better to communicate with the people in a language they
understand so that the people are comfortable communicating with you too?
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English WordsI'm working my way through Marc Prou's book, SpokenHaitian Creole for Intermediate Learners. Will you please explain this dialog to me? A young boy: Sispann fè politik non, baton n'ap chèche. Alò, ou gen kote wi pou ou ta pran baton, gade gwosè w. A girl: Mezanmi oh! Ala yon ti moun frekan! M ta ka manman ou, epi w'ap gade gwosè m. The young boy: m pa di ou pa ta ka gran sè m, men afè manman an bliye sa. Thank you, Mandaly.
1.
“A young boy: Sispann fè politik non, baton n'ap
chèche. Alò, ou gen kote wi pou ou ta pran baton, gade gwosè w. “
Pulling the sentence apart:
Sispann
fè politik non... – stop the bureaucracy won’t you
Baton
n’ap chèche... [baton nou ap chache (when not contracted)] – the club you looking
for (lit.) – You looking for a beating (thrashing)
Alò,
ou gen kote wi pou ou ta pran baton... – thus, you have place, yes/indeed, to sustain a beating
(this sentence implies that the person is on the heavy side and can sustain
a beating because he/she'll can absorb a blow on the fat on their body rather than
on their bony part. It can be a sexual suggestion too … if people are referring
to how curvy one is)
Gade
gwosè w ... – look how curvy/fat
you are
Putting the sentence back together:
Sispann
fè politik non, baton n'ap chèche. Alò, ou gen kote wi pou ou ta pran baton,
gade gwosè w. Stop being political
wont you? You must be looking for a beating. Indeed you do have room to sustain
a couple of blows. Look how plump you are.
2.
A girl: Mezanmi
oh! Ala yon ti moun frekan! M ta ka manman ou, epi w'ap gade
gwosè
m.
pulling
te sentence apart:
Mezanmi
oh! – Oh my God! or Oh man! or Geez! Or Wow! Or Oh my!
Ala
yon timoun frekan! – ala (how!) frekan
(insolent) – What what a rude child!
M
ta ka manman ou – I could be your mother
epi
w'ap gade gwosè* m. – and you’re looking at how plump I am.
*gwosè means size
Putting the sentence back together:
Mezanmi
oh! Ala yon ti moun frekan! M ta ka manman ou, epi w'ap gade
gwosè
m. – Oh my! What an impertinent child! I could be your mother and you’re
looking at my curves.
3.
The young boy: m pa di ou pa ta ka gran sè m, men afè manman an bliye sa.
pulling te sentence apart:
M
pa di ou pa ta ka gran sè m – I don’t say you couldn’t
be my big sister.
Gran
sè – older sister
Gran
sè m – my older sister
Men
afè manman an - but that business of mother
bliye
sa –forget about it.
Putting the sentences back together:
M
pa di ou pa ta ka gran sè m, men afè manman an bliye sa. – I don’t
deny that you could be my big sister, but you could not pass for my mother,
forget about that!
..........
“A young oy:
Sispann fè politik non, baton n'ap chèche. Alò, ou gen kote wi pou ou ta pran
baton, gade gwosè w. Stop being political
wont you? You must be looking for a beating. Indeed you do have room to sustain
a couple of blows. Look how plump you are.
Girl:
Mezanmi oh! Ala yon ti moun frekan! M ta ka manman ou, epi w'ap gade
gwosè
m. – Oh my! What an impertinent child! I could be your mother and you’re
looking at m curves.
A young boy:
M pa di ou pa ta ka gran sè m, men afè manman an bliye sa. – I don’t
deny that you could be my big sister, but you could not pass for my mother,
forget about that!”
Kijan ou di "lavished" an kreyòl?
It depends on what the context is.
I am thinking "repann", "simen", "simaye", "benyen".
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words
I am thinking "repann", "simen", "simaye", "benyen".
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words
How do I say- it will be closed until further notice.
It will be closed until further notice.
L’ap fèmen jouk nou afiche yon nouvo avi.
Nou te pwofite moman an pou fè ti koze , e reviv tan lontan. (Can you please translate the above word by word ?) kamsahamnida
Nou
te pwofite moman an pou fè ti koze ,
We profited the
moment to make a little chat (literaly)
We
took advantage of the moment to chat a little
e
reviv tan lontan.
And relive old time
And
reminisce about old times
How do you say,"Take me with you"? How do you pronounce it?
Take
me with you.
Mennen
m avè w. (meh-neh –m-a-veh-w)
How would you translate the following, in Creole: "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." "Formal education will make you a living,Self education will make you a fortune." Thank you!
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."
"Lè w kwaze opòtinite ak preparasyon ou jwenn
chans."
"Formal education will make you a living,Self education will make you a
fortune."
Edikasyon ou resevwa lekòl va ba w ase pou viv.
Edikason ou resevwa nan eksperyans ou fè va
anrichi w.
"En" at the end of a sentence? I'm confused. Could you please explain? Mèsi an avans! Bib la Jan 9:2 Disip li yo mande li: Mèt, poukisa nonm sa a te fèt tou avèg en?
“en”, here, is an exclamation that express the
question.
It’s the equivalent of “huh” as in “Why did you come down here, huh?”
Se poutèt sa m'ap di nou: Jou jijman an, y'a peni nou pi rèd pase moun lavil Tir ak moun lavil Sidon yo. Can you please translate into English? " peni nou pi red pase" kamsahamnida
Bonjou, Kijan ou ye?
I think this is supposed to be “pini pi rèd pase”. With “pini” which means to “punish”
The word we should look at here is “rèd” which means “stiff, strenuous, severe, though, hard, etc..”
...pini
nou pi rèd pase – ...to punish you more severely than ….
Jou
jijman an, y’ap pini nou pi rèd pase moun lavil Tir …..
On judgement day you’ll be punished more severely
than the people of Tir …..
The English translation is passive, the Creole
is not.
Monday, July 14, 2014
pye fey amwaz . Ki jan pou mwen di sa an angle tanpri, mesi
Amwaz (plant lan, zèb la tou) se wormwood an Angle.
Friday, July 11, 2014
The best translation for the following verse: I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 Will be leading a class of children for Vacation Bible School, and usually try to put the Kreyol words to music! Thanks for your help.
Dakò :)
“I have told you
these things, so that in me you may have peace.
In this world you
will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Mwen di nou bagay sa yo dekwa pou nou gen lapè nan mwen.
Nan monn sa nou va genyen pwoblèm. Men pran kouraj! Monn nan
deja pèdi devan m.”
John 16:33
Jan 16:33
Jan sèz(16) vèsè tranntwa(33)
Thursday, July 10, 2014
I'm currently tracing my ancestry back (it's SO exciting!) and I've discovered that Martinique and Guadeloupe are two of the MANY places it traces back to. ^_^ I just found out about "Kreyol Gwadloupeyen" and "Kreyol Matnik." As far as learning the languages goes, will learning "Kreyol Ayisyen" help with these other two Creoles OR should I pursue those languages separately like you told me about French? OR are the three languages so similar I don't have to learn these two other Creoles at all?
You might be able to get the gist of the conversation or hear a word or two (or a sentence or two) when listening to some "mostly French-based" Creole languages if you were to speak Haitian Creole fluently, but you do have to specifically learn that Creole language separately in order to benefit from it.
Kenbe la tande!
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words
Kenbe la tande!
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words
Kisa sa a vle di? "Lamenm". Tankou sa a: "Lamenm, li bliye tout bagay."
It means “immediately, right away, on the spot”
Lamenm
Lapoula
Latou
Menm kote a
Soulechan
Imedyatman
Tousuit
Are all used about the same way.
Lamenm, li bliye tout
bagay.
She/he forgot
everything immediately
Lè’l pran kiyè enpi l reyalize li te cho anpil, lamenm li jete l atè.
When she grabbed the
spoon and she realized it was very hot she dropped it immediately
Fanm nante touche rad Jezi, e li te geri lamenm.
The woman touched Jesus' robe and she was healed on the spot.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)