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Saturday, August 31, 2013

I am going on a medical mission to Haiti. What would be 20 important phrases for me to know?

It's kind of hard to predict the type of cases you are going to see, and what the patients' responses would be to the questions you might ask them.   Do you have a questionnaire with the types of questions you want to ask?  Is it a 'clinic' type of setting?
There's a Medical Dictionary that you might find online, English / Haitian Creole Medical Dictionary by Maude Heurtelou and Fequière Vilsaint, it's published by EDUCA VISION
There's also a free medical dictionary and other free resources on the Kansas University (Haitian Studies) website: http://languages.ku.edu/haitian; it touches on the subject of cultural sensitivity too.  So that might be helpful.

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how do you say dull as in not sharp in kreyol?

What is the meaning of the word DIGDANTAN as in the expression: Paske se depi DIGDANTAN Ayisyen sa yo tande sa?

DIGDANTAN (or DIKDANTAN) means a very long time ago

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Thursday, August 29, 2013

Excuse me, but do you know what does wa mange gro pousou mean, please? Thanks

W'a manje gwo pous ou?
to be regretful, remorseful

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What does Feme bou shou mean? My spelling is probably incorrect :/ but it is pronounced like "fem me boo shoo"

The correct spelling is "fèmen bouch ou."
and it means to be quiet,or  to shut up

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How would one say 'sisterhood' in creole?

sisterhood - sororite, solidarite oubyen tèt ansanm nan mitan fanm
brotherhood - fratènite

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i discovered this page a few days ago and was super excited because there is almost no free resources on learning kreyol and did two lessons quickly i came back today to find your audio posts from the didn't play anymore i know it may be a bit of hassle but it'd be really cool if you could try to fix them or keep them up somehow thanks for putting together such a great internet resource

Sorry about that.
It should be able to play now :)
Will post new audio this weekend.

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

i discovered this page a few days ago and was super excited because there is almost no free resources on learning kreyol and did two lessons quickly i came back today to find your audio posts from the didn't play anymore i know it may be a bit of hassle but it'd be really cool if you could try to fix them or keep them up somehow thanks for putting together such a great internet resource

Sorry about that.
It should be able to play now :)

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Monday, August 26, 2013

How do you say "please excuse my poor creole"? I learned it as Tanpri, eskize mwen, mwen pale Krèyol mal. Is that correct?

Yes. It's not a literal translation, but it communicates what you want to say.

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what does fwaye, jemi, and ekilibre mean?

fwaye (from French foyer)  means home, family home, also hearth
jemi - to moan (in anguish)
ekilibre - to be well balanced

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What are the ways of saying "come from" as in "I come from Haiti" or other sayings similar? I've seen soti ak and soti nan. James

yes, you are right.  Usually you will see the the word soti (sot) is used and it means to come from, to be originated from, or to just come from (or just (adv): very recently)

Mwen soti Ayiti. - I come from Haiti.
Mwen fèk soti Ayiti. - I just came from Haiti.
Nou soti legliz. - We come from church
Ki kote ou soti? - Where do you come from?

also, sot or soti as JUST adv.
Nou sot manje. - We just ate.
Nou sot wè yo sou plaj la. - We just saw them at the beach.

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Sunday, August 25, 2013

What is the difference in using "isit" or "la" when meaning here? James

isi, isi a, isit, isit la, they all translate here
isi or isit sometimes point to being present
and isi a or isit la is more specific about location
But they can be interchangeable.

1. Mwen pa't vin nan nòs la paske mwen pa't isi.
    I didn't come to the wedding because I was away. 

2. Bò isit la moun pa mache nan lari lèswa.
    Around here people do not walk the streets at night.

3. Veye kò w ak moun isit.  Yo trèt.
    Beware of people from around here.  They are hypocrites.


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Madanm, kijan ou di 'throat, bruise, dehydrate' an creole

throat - gòj, (and sometimes gagann)
bruise - blese, blesi
dehydrate - dezidrate (de-zee-dra-tay)

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I have seen several Haitian men who have very long pinkie finger fingernails and was wondering if this has any significance or meaning in Haiti? I asked one of them and he was very vague in his answer.

Yeah, most of the Haitian men in my family (on my dad side especially) do wear their fingernail pinky up to half of a cm long :)  .. and my husband too.  I think it's an image choice.  Some people will tell you that it's a great tool for scratching their nares and ear canals, lol!  But they do take great care of keeping it healthy, long and strong.  Also, it is not uncommon for Haitians men to wear clear nail polish on their nails (their toes especially).

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