OT - Haitian Creole!
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OT - Haitian Creole!
Haitian Creole is very phonetic, so everything reads like it sounds. I'll add the alphabet and pronunciations later.
drunk - sou, plen tafya
she's drunk - li sou
you're drunk - ou plen tafya
a drunk - tafyatè, wiskimann, kaka kleren
he's a drunk - li s'on tafyatè
hang in there - kenbe la
gut feeling - presantiman
add fuel to fire - met abse sou klou
against all odds - malgre tout
ahead of the game - gentan byen lwen
a lot on my plate - anpil sou do m
I got a lot on my plate - m gen anpil sou do m
he's got a lot on his plate - li gen anpil sou do l
drunk - sou, plen tafya
she's drunk - li sou
you're drunk - ou plen tafya
a drunk - tafyatè, wiskimann, kaka kleren
he's a drunk - li s'on tafyatè
hang in there - kenbe la
gut feeling - presantiman
add fuel to fire - met abse sou klou
against all odds - malgre tout
ahead of the game - gentan byen lwen
a lot on my plate - anpil sou do m
I got a lot on my plate - m gen anpil sou do m
he's got a lot on his plate - li gen anpil sou do l
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Very cool. Thank you, Choublak. I loved studying languages in school. (I only know enough French and Spanish now to sound like a deranged toddler, very little Italian and no Yupik.) I'm not sure I'm saying the Haitian Creole correctly, but it sounds melodic - even if I wish I didn't need most of these sayings.
I especially like saying "kenbe la" and "malgre tout" Then again, I love saying "extraordinaire." Yep, I think I probably sound like a very odd toddler when I speak anything but English.
I especially like saying "kenbe la" and "malgre tout" Then again, I love saying "extraordinaire." Yep, I think I probably sound like a very odd toddler when I speak anything but English.
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Haiti has two official languages, French and Haitian Creole. However, Haitians who actually do speak and understand French fluently are a minority, and come either from a privileged elite, or from a middle class that has expanded over the years, but still represents a small percentage of Haitians. French in Haiti is only learned in school and in church; the Haitians that speak French at home are few and far between.
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Regarding comparisons of French and Creole, here's the deal:
The majority of the Haitian Creole lexicon comes directly from French, and mostly old French (which is why sometimes there more similarities between Creole and Quebecois French vs. European French). This French lexicon enables French speakers with a sharp ear to pick up many terms in Haitian expressions, and rarely, to garner meaning. But otherwise, these are two different languages.
Haitian Creole has a completely different grammar and syntax; for example, definite articles follow nouns instead of preceding them, and they do not have any gender assignment.
French: le chien
Creole: chen la
French: la boite
Creole: bwat la
Conjugation is totally different.
French: J'ai, tu as, il/elle a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont
Creole: Mwen genyen, Ou genyen, li/li genyen, nou genyen, nou genyen, yo/yo genyen
(Note, there is no difference between "he" and "she" in Creole, nor any difference between "we" and "you - plural"; these details are determined by context)
(Note, there is no difference in creole between the infinitive form of a verb, and the conjugated form)
(Note, the Creole etymology of "genyen" as "to have" is unknown to me, but it may come from "gagner")
Conjugations in the past and future are not performed by changing the root verb; they are formed by adding terms.
J'ai eu = Mwen te genyen
J'avais = Mwen te konn genyen
J'aurai = Mwen pral genyen
For most of Haiti's history, the French language has been viewed by the poverty-stricken masses as one of the only means of advancing in socioeconomic terms - so there is great pride in the ability to speak French when one does, and oftentimes some embarrassment when one does not.
One of many unfortunate consequences of this dynamic is that, not uncommonly, Haitians who do not actually speak French may claim to - and so one should tread lightly when a Haitian claims to speak French, and try to determine whether this is actually the case. If you are speaking to a Haitian professional - e.g. physician, lawyer, businessman, journalist, politician, scholar or educator, who was trained in Haiti, you can be 100% certain that this person fluently speaks, writes and reads the French language as any French and Francophone native would. In any other case, you may have to investigate a little. Figuring out whether they do can be elusive and is often not as easy as just asking them.
Differences Between French And Creole - New York in French
The majority of the Haitian Creole lexicon comes directly from French, and mostly old French (which is why sometimes there more similarities between Creole and Quebecois French vs. European French). This French lexicon enables French speakers with a sharp ear to pick up many terms in Haitian expressions, and rarely, to garner meaning. But otherwise, these are two different languages.
Haitian Creole has a completely different grammar and syntax; for example, definite articles follow nouns instead of preceding them, and they do not have any gender assignment.
French: le chien
Creole: chen la
French: la boite
Creole: bwat la
Conjugation is totally different.
French: J'ai, tu as, il/elle a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont
Creole: Mwen genyen, Ou genyen, li/li genyen, nou genyen, nou genyen, yo/yo genyen
(Note, there is no difference between "he" and "she" in Creole, nor any difference between "we" and "you - plural"; these details are determined by context)
(Note, there is no difference in creole between the infinitive form of a verb, and the conjugated form)
(Note, the Creole etymology of "genyen" as "to have" is unknown to me, but it may come from "gagner")
Conjugations in the past and future are not performed by changing the root verb; they are formed by adding terms.
J'ai eu = Mwen te genyen
J'avais = Mwen te konn genyen
J'aurai = Mwen pral genyen
For most of Haiti's history, the French language has been viewed by the poverty-stricken masses as one of the only means of advancing in socioeconomic terms - so there is great pride in the ability to speak French when one does, and oftentimes some embarrassment when one does not.
One of many unfortunate consequences of this dynamic is that, not uncommonly, Haitians who do not actually speak French may claim to - and so one should tread lightly when a Haitian claims to speak French, and try to determine whether this is actually the case. If you are speaking to a Haitian professional - e.g. physician, lawyer, businessman, journalist, politician, scholar or educator, who was trained in Haiti, you can be 100% certain that this person fluently speaks, writes and reads the French language as any French and Francophone native would. In any other case, you may have to investigate a little. Figuring out whether they do can be elusive and is often not as easy as just asking them.
Differences Between French And Creole - New York in French
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Here are some popular proverbs that show the how Haitians view the French language:
Pal franse pa di lespri pou sa.
Speaking French doesn't mean you are smart.
Li pale franse.
He speaks French (so is likely is deceiving you).
Kreyol pale, kreyol komprann.
Creole spoken is Creole understood. or
Speak plainly, don't try to deceive.
Pal franse pa di lespri pou sa.
Speaking French doesn't mean you are smart.
Li pale franse.
He speaks French (so is likely is deceiving you).
Kreyol pale, kreyol komprann.
Creole spoken is Creole understood. or
Speak plainly, don't try to deceive.
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I meet a lot of Haitian patients in the ER - I speak French but it's been obvious to me that we are not speaking the same language!! M' pa konprann! But Haitian creole is very popular on our language line.
Thanks - fun to read this stuff-
Peace-B
Thanks - fun to read this stuff-
Peace-B
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abdomen, belly - vant
abdominal pain - doulè nan vant
accident - aksidan
allergy - alèji
amnesia - pèd memwa
amniotic fluid - likid ki kenbe bebe
amniotic sac - sak ki kenbe bebe
anemia - anemi
anesthetic - anestezi
abdominal pain - doulè nan vant
accident - aksidan
allergy - alèji
amnesia - pèd memwa
amniotic fluid - likid ki kenbe bebe
amniotic sac - sak ki kenbe bebe
anemia - anemi
anesthetic - anestezi
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