Haiti is not francophone. Haiti is Haitian(-Creole)ophone. This is something to be proud of,.....

"Haiti is not francophone. Haiti is Haitian(-Creole)ophone. This is something to be proud of, a testimony of the creativity and intellect of Haiti's ancestors - a group of people from different linguistic communities, forced together and enslaved, who created a new language to intercommunicate and eventually liberate themselves. 

Haiti and the international community's dealings with Haiti will be much better off once this is understood and celebrated. 

I have just spent several months in France, and honestly, I think Haiti is as francophone as France is anglophone. 

Yes, most people in France know some English. Many people in Haiti know some French. By presuming it is ok to use only English in France, you are dismissive of the cultural legitimacy of their language. 
If you presume it is ok to use only French in Haiti, you are dismissive of the cultural legitimacy of Haitian Creole. "

-TiWil 

Mandaly says: Thank you TiWil. It needed to be said. Some foreigners are misled into thinking that they will be prepared to navigate in this Caribbean island if their French is good only to find out that they were wrong.
This happened to a group of missionaries in the summer of 2010. They were leading a youth group to Haiti and had searched the internet for French songs and leaflets - when they got to Haiti there were a lot of confusion.
I guess if you're going to deal with the very few elites and political officials then your French will open some doors in Haiti, but if you want to deal with the people then you need to use the Creole language.

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

Hello, Im looking for a song in the Chant D'Desparance, but i don't know the Title. The song goes..Nau ou menm ki Genyen Lavi pou kesa Map Soufri. Can you tell me what page I can find this song in the Chant D'desparance?

#48 Echo Des Elus

Jezi se ou sèl ki fòs mwen

Poukisa w’abandone mwen

Chak jou m leve m’ape kriye

Ouvri je w pou wè mizè mwen

Nan ou menm ki genyen lavi

Poukisa mwen menm m’ap soufri

Kounye a mwen prèt pou mouri

Pa kite m peri senyè

Dlo nan zye’m sèvi nouriti

E m konnen ou gen tout pouvwa

Retire sa’k pa bon nan mwen

Pou m kapab sèvi ou Senyè

Si se peche m ki fè m’ap soufri

Mwen vini mande ou padon

O bon Sovè di yon mo pou mwen

Pou m pa wont devan lènmi m yo

Zanmi mwen Jezi ap rele w

De bra li louvri l’ap tann ou

Pa kite Satan touye ou

Vini li va ba ou lavi

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

How do you say someone speaks the language fluently? Li pale angle kouraman or is it Li pale Angle kourat?

Li pale Angle kouran. - He/ She speaks fluent English

Li pale Angle kou rat. -  He / She speaks English extremely well.

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

I will appreciate the correct way to say "your mother's exquisite eyes" ......

Some attributes to translate the English word exquisite in Creole are also used to generally for the word beautiful in H. Creole:
bèl, delika, atiran, kokèt, admirab

I would translate that as:
bèl zye delika manman w

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

What does "Tijwa" mean

Sounds like someone's nickname to me... which translates "little joy"


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

This is actually not a question. I just want to express my appreciation.......

"This is actually not a question. I just want 

to express my appreciation for the time and effort that goes into this blog
site. I have been using your site as a resource for a WHILE now (maybe 2 years)
and it has been an enormous help to me!! I think it probably takes a lot to be
diligent and consistent with something like this, and I just want you to know
how grateful I am to you, as I'm sure, many others are as well!! For the last 5
years, I have worked with an orphanage on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. I
travel there maybe a couple times a year. At first, even though I didn't
understand a WORD that was said, it was absolutely amazing getting to know the
kids and watching them grow --- that is, until body language and hugs could no
longer bridge the gap left by the language barrier. I was desperate to
communicate with them on a deeper level and this blog site has been a HUGE aid
in helping me do just that!! Mwen toujou gen anpil aprann, men, kounyea lè m wè
timoun yo, mwen ka konprann majorite yo di mwen a e piti a piti map aprann
kiminike kè mwen avèk yo. Thank you for what you are doing here :) God
bless!!"

Mandaly says:  Mèsi anpil. I appreciate your comment. Kontinye aprann toujou :)

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

What is another common expression that I can use for the word voryen

Men wi! Absolutely!
Kokorat!
Avadra!
Vagabon!
Sanmanman!
Malandren!
Fritè!
etc...


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

what is meaning of a man putting his red briefs under woman mattress or baby mommy mattress

I guess he's marking his territory :)
Basically he wants to own her for life.
They do more than that ...sometimes his and her "briefs" are sewn together and placed under the mattress... very desperate move.

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

Ki jan ou di "nevermind" an kreyol? lol. M konprann kounye a :)

Nevermind 
Ou pa bezwen okipe w
Or
Kite sa.

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

I miss your posts Mandaly! I hope all is well with you and your family. Thank you for all the work you put into the blog over the last 4 years!

Dakò, mèsi anpil :)

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

I don't really understand this - does "kot" mean side of the family? Li se sè franck kot manma,mwen se frè franck kot papa sa vle di jonatha pa sè mwen.

Yes.

Frè kot papa meaning brother from the father's side ... a stepbrother
Li se sè m kot manman m meaning she's my sister from my mother's side meaning we have the same mom but not the same dad ... a step sister

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

I can't understand this because I don't know what "yen" is. Pou manman w, ou tap mande m ou yen pou grann ou. For your mother, you were going to ask me “yen” for your grandmother?

Looks like the word "yen"  should have been "anyen".

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

Map pose w ton kesyon ou par kraze Jonathan?

I don't get it either. Perhaps they meant to sa "pa kraze m ...."



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

It appears to me that most of the time the adjectives in Creole don't follow the gender of the noun. But sometime it does. Like I see "Mwa pwochen" and I see "Semèn pwochèn". Are there some rules for this or does it only comes from common usage? Also does the gender of the nouns are inherited from French or is there somewhere I can find a dictionary that gives the gender of the nouns?

Principally there's no agreement between the gender of nous and adjectives in Haitian Creole but we do have a very few instances where the French articulation is preserved in the Haitian Creole language and it just seems as if there are some sort of agreement where the adjective would change depending on the gender of the noun.  It is not so in Haitian Creole.

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

How do you say: "You are out of your mind¨" AND "you are not in your right mind" ? I am trying to relate these expressions to a discourse I have in Haitian creole concerning the subject of "bonsans". Mesi anpil pou tout travay ou fe pou Nou.

You are out of your mind 
(Ou pèdi bon sans ou)
Ou fin tòltòl nèt
Tèt ou pati
Ou pèdi tout fakilte w
Tèt ou pa byen
Lòlòj ou fin chavire

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