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Friday, October 23, 2015

What are words for "mindful" and "mindless" in creole?

Hi, I appreciate the examples that you gave with this question - I would rather have your own original sentences with your examples, otherwise we would have to cite and give references. Thanks.

According to the example that you gave you may translate mindful as sansib, konsyan, gen konsyans, gen respè or respekte. Depending on the context of the sentence you might have to use different Creole terms for the word mindful.
As far as the word mindless is concerned, a generic term is neglijan or manfouben.

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Sorry, this is not a language question exactly-- just could not find any information on the topic elsewhere! Is there a specific reason that women who practice vodou wear certain types of headscarves? If they give up their head wrap, what is the significance?

I am not well versed in voodoo terminology or practice.
According to Saint-Lot (2003), The garments that the vodou worshipers wear, "hats, tailcoats, kerchiefs, capes, make-up, knapsacks, canes, jewelry and machetes , among other items" contribute to the elegance of the ceremony.
Clothes color, changing costumes, or lack of clothing, all have meanings - depending on the loa that is represented and depending on the rank of the worshiper.

Check out this book that I'm referencing: Saint-Lot (2003). Vodou a sacred theatre: The African heritage in Haiti. Coconut Creek, FL: Educavision.

ISBN: 1-58432-177-6

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My question concerns the use of yo as a plural. If you say: I saw three boys .....

“My question concerns the use of yo as a
plural.
 
If you say:
 
I saw three boys in the courtyard yesterday. Two boys
were arguing and the third was trying to stop them.
 
How woud you translate
the part: Two boys were arguing there ?
 
'De timoun yo' te dispite or simply
without the yo
De timoun te dispite.
 
Thank you very much.”

mandaly says:

Hi,
Yes, using “yo” sometimes is complicated for foreigners because we use it as 1) definite plural article (the), 2) personal pronouns (they, them), and 3) possessives (their). If you have all these elements in one sentence, that can get tricky. I think it might be helpful to not translate word for word then. If you do translate word for word, try to rephrase the sentence after translation.

“I saw three boys in the courtyard yesterday. Two boys
were arguing and the third was trying to stop them.”

Translation:

Mwen te wè twa (3) ti gason nan lakou an yè. De (2) ladan yo t ap diskite, e twazyèm nan t ap eseye mete lòd.

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What does “ Samedi jou baissé levé” means? There is also a song of shleu-shleu with that name.

In Haitian Creole we write  bese leve. In that context, it means housework, house chores, work or labor that requires physical efforts,  domestic work like cleaning, laundry (lesiv washing clothes by hand), etc.....

When I was growing up in Akayè our Saturdays was very busy with house chores, shopping at the market, cooking preparation (you know.... netwaye vyann pou semenn nan), cleaning, mopping and getting ready for Sundays. We also washed our hair on Saturdays.  We took our weekly medicine which was a laxative made of castor bean oil and some blended leaves....good stuff :)

Yes, jou bese leve se jou travay nan kay enpi, se jou tou,  pou fè lesiv ak ale nan mache.

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Hi! Do you know or can you tell me where to find out how many words there are in Haitian Creole? Mesi,

Oh man! This is officially the most interesting question I have ever had on this blog :)
Although Haitian Creole is a full-fledged language, it is impossible to count how many words there are in this language. Here are the reasons why:

1. The Haitian Creole language has not had a comprehensive word-word definition dictionary yet. There are many Haitian Creole dictionaries including language translation dictionaries, but none that are complete.

2. For a Haitian Creole word-definition dictionary to be comprehensive, it would have to also include regional word variations, and no one has tapped into that branch yet. What is the Haitian northerner's way of saying "manmit" for example? How many different ways can you say the word "ede" for example?

3. Do we count "gerizon" and "lagerizon" as two words? How about other words in that category: "delivrans" and "ladelivrans", "lwa" and "lalwa", or "kilbit" and "lakilbit"?

4. Language used voodoo worship may be widely unknown except for a small group of people. For example, is it "andjenikon" or "andyenikon" or "oundjenikon"?  How many variations are there? Do they all count as one word? How about katabou (conga rhythm), it might be known under a different name in other regions in Haiti. We need to know the many variations of terms that are used in this category.

5. We do not yet have standards for many medical terms in Creole yet.

6. Also based on our fast changing world, there are many new terms that become part of the Haitian Creole language every year or so, some are derived from other languages and other are conceived and named after the event that they represent.

There are many more reasons. I think when we have our first comprehensive word-word definition dictionary, we'll have an idea :)


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Wednesday, October 21, 2015

ou kap itilize mo brave danje?

Brave danje? nan sans deskripsyon?
Ki kote ou te tande mo sa a? e kijan yo te itilize l?

ex: Mesye sa a se yon brave danje li ye.
Yon moun ki gen gason sou li, ki brav ki pa pè anyen.

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Elèv nan lekòl Ayiti yo ap chante alfabè kreyòl la.

N ap di yon gran mèsi a tout lekòl ann Ayiti, a direktè ak direktris lekòl ki te onswa chante oubyen pral chante alfabè kreyòl la. Ti moun Ayisyen alèkile pral grandi ak konesans alfabè lang matènèl yo.

Si ou se yon direktè lekòl ann Ayiti ki po ko patisipe nan promosyon lang kreyòl la nan lekòl ann Ayiti, n ap mande w ki lè ou va deside mete men nan pat la?
Plizyè lekòl ann Ayiti, sitou nan klas fondamantal yo, te deside anseye elèv yo alfabè kreyòl la avèk DVD ki genyen 2 ti chante alfabè kreyòl la ke pwofesè DeGraff avè Louis-Charles te pwodui nan yon videyo.

Anplis de sa, n ap ankouraje tout lekòl yo pou yo chache aprann konnen ki sa Inisyativ MIT-Ayiti a ye. Genyen anpil resous sou pwogrè ki ap fèt avèk lang kreyòl la pa rapò ak ledikasyon ann Ayiti. Ou kapab koumanse enfòme w nan sit sa a: http://resourcecenters2015.videohall.com/posters/519

Tout pwofesè lekòl ann Ayiti ta dwe pran yon pozisyon aktif pou pwogram Inisyativ la ka disponib nan tout lekòl yo ....pi bonè se gran maten.  Plis nou aji pi bonè, se mwens tan ti moun yo pase ap aprann ak pwogram demode. Sèvèl ti moun yo pare pou aprann, an nou djigèt li ak bon jan teknoloji pou Ayiti ka koumanse pwodui plis syantis, chimis, matematisyen ak enjenyè ki gen konpetans global.

Jwenn plis enfòmasyon toujou. tcheke lyen sa yo: 







Institution Mixte Gethsemane ap fè gwo pa annavan - yo pral chante alfabè kreyòl la.





Ti katkat na lekòl Kindergarten ak Collège Said Nan Fontamara 43 ak direktè Marcelin Henson pral chante alfabè kreyòl la.


Institut Mixte Emmanuel de Leogane pral chante alfabè kreyòl la. Gwo kout chapo pou direktè Jules Jean Ladie ki ap fè yon gwo travay nan zòn nan.


Gwo bravo pou elèv collège Leonard Milord nan Leogane, rue St. Laurent avec Direktè Paul Fritz ki pral chante alfabè kreyòl la. Kontinye bon travay la.




Lekòl Kindergarten Joli Minou nan Timo Leogan avèk directrice Mitha Louis Meriser pral chante alfabè kreyòl la.


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Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Based on your last answer about zel sapat, does sapata then mean that you beat someone with your sandals?

It does not necessarily have to be "beaten with sandals". Sapata yon moun means that the person was beaten up real good, knocked down, whipped, etc....

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What does “zèl sapat” means?

"What does “zèl sapat” means? “Zèl sapat, poté kouto,  Zèl sapat poté chapo,  Zèl sapat poté dlo, Zèl sapat poté siwo, Zèl sapat poté sa’w vlé. I am referring to one of the Ti Manno’s song in DP Express."

zèl sapat (flip flops, sandals) makes a lot of noise, but they can be really flimsy and unstable, aren't they?   So zèl sapat has very little worth.

The same as bri sapat, lots of noises, lots of hype, lots of puffs .... with no substance.

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What does "son de blé" mean in H.creole? Thanks Mandaly.

The 'ble" is wheat. You will find the coarse wheat in Haiti which looks like grains of rice. Haitians sometimes cook it like rice.
Son de ble (or some people write sondeble) is the fiber, the grain husk that some Haitians use to feed their pigs, goats, etc.....

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Tuesday, September 29, 2015

What does “wetan’m metan’m” mean? “Ou se wetan’m metan’m”

Usually wetan m metan m is said of a piece of clothing, shirts, pants, skirts, etc..., that you wear a lot because it might be the only one you own or ... you may just love to wear it ...everyday.

So we call that piece of clothing wetan m metan m (from wete mete), which means ou wete l (you take it off), maybe just to wash it, and then ou mete l (you put it back on) immediately afterwards.
That's how, sometimes in Haiti, you might suspect that someone is on hard times. You see them wearing the same shirt every day, at every function. Sometimes people make fun of them and say, "Chemiz sa a, se yon wetan m metan m?"

I see that System Band uses it as an endearing term "ou se wetan m metan m" meaning you are all I have.

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I love your creole word of the day and the example that accompanies it. I have just learned a lot of new words off of it. Keep it up!

Hello Mandaly, I'm curious, can you speak, read, and write in French fluently?

Yes.
Most Haitians that have gone to school in Haiti up to, at least 6èm ane can write and read French well. They would be more fluent in French if they spoke it at home, but usually they don't. They usually speak Creole at home and everywhere else.
Two of my sisters were born in French Guiana, When my mom finally brought them home to Haiti, they did not know Creole, so the household spoke French at home for a few years. I attribute my fluency to that.

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Mandaly here's a sample of the sentence "e pou sa ou kriye tout kriye sa", what's ...kriye tout kriye....?

..kriye tout kriye sa a ... so much crying, all this crying (in context)

Was this sentence a question?
Other ways to say this would be ...
Poukisa ou fè tout kriye sa a?
which is the same as:
"Se pou sa ou kriye tout kriye sa a?"
Is that why you cried s much?

So you can use this form with other verbs/nouns combination.
Poukisa ou fè m mache tout mache sa a?
or
Poukisa ou fè m mache anpil konsa?

one more example:

M pa konprann poukisa ou bezwen pale tout pale sa a.
or
M pa konprann poukisa ou fè tout pale sa a.

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Monday, September 28, 2015

What are words for "to scam or to screw or to fuck someone" For example, " He scammed(screwed, fucked) me out of a hundred dollars"

As long as it's not sexual, you can use pete, blo or blofe, woule, lolo, plimen, etc...
If it's sexual (screw, fuck) then you'd use plimen, taye, konyen, koupe, frape etc....

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