Haitian Creole

Haitian Creole
Haitian Creole
Kreyl ayisyen Native to Native speakers Language family Haiti and Dominican Republic (Haitian descents) 9.6 million (2007) French Creole Antillean Creoles Writing system Haitian Creole [1]

Latin (Haitian alphabet) Official status

Official language in Recognised minority language in Regulated by

Haiti Dominican Republic Ministre de l'ducation nationale et de la formation professionnelle Language codes [2]

ISO 639-1 ISO 639-2 ISO 639-3 Linguasphere

ht hat hat 51-AAC-cb

Haitian Creole (Kreyl ayisyen; pronounced:[kejl ajisj] French: Crole hatien), often called simply Creole or Kreyl, is a language spoken by about twelve million people,[citation needed] which includes virtually the entire population of Haiti and via emigration, by about two to three million speakers residing in the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Ivory Coast, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States, and Venezuela. Haitian Creole is one of Haiti's two official languages, along with French. It is a creole based largely on 18th-century French and some West African languages, and has secondary influence from other languages. In school, all children learn both Creole and French. Partly due to efforts of Flix Morisseau-Leroy, since 1961 Haitian Creole has been recognized as an official language along with French, which had been the sole literary language of the country since its independence in 1804. Its orthography was standardized in 1979. The official status was maintained under the country's 1987 constitution. The use of Haitian Creole in literature has been small but is increasing. Morisseau was one of the first and most influential authors to write in Haitian Creole. Since the 1980s, many educators, writers and activists have written literature in Haitian Creole. Today numerous newspapers, as well as radio and television programs, are produced in Haitian Creole. As required by the Joseph C. Bernard (Secrtaire d'tat de l'ducation nationale) law of 18 September 1979,[3] the Institut Pdagogique National established an official orthography for Kreyl, and slight modifications were made over the next two decades. For example, the hyphen (-) is no longer used, nor is the apostrophe. The only accent accepted is the grave accent (, , or ).

Haitian Creole

Origins
There are many theories on the formation of the Haitian Creole language. One states that a form of creole had already started to develop on West African trading posts before the importation of African slaves into the Americas, and that since many of those slaves were being kept for some amount of time near these trading posts before being sent to the Caribbean, they would have learned a rudimentary creole even before getting there. Another one states that Haitian creole was mostly locally developed when slaves speaking languages from the Fon family started to relexify them with vocabulary from the French language.[4]

Orthography and phonology

Haitian Creole has a systematic orthography[5] where spelling strictly follows pronunciation, except for proper nouns and foreign words. According to the official standardized orthography, Haitian Creole is composed of the following 32 sounds : a, an, b, ch, d, e, , en, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, ng, o, , on, ou, oun, p, r, s, t, ui, v, w, y, z. Of note is the absence of letters c, q, u and x. Letter k is to be used for the sounds of letters c and q. Letter u is always associated with another letter (ou, oun, ui), while letter i (and its sound) is used to replace the single letter u in French words. As for letter x, its sound is produced by using the combination of letters k and s, k and z, or g and z.
Consonants Haitian orthography IPA Examples nearest English equivalent b ch d f g h j k l m n ng p r s t v w y z

b d f h k l m n p s t v w j z

bagay cheve dnye fig gch hinghang jedi kle lalin moun nt hinghang pakt rezon sis tonton vwazen wi pye zero

before shoe do festival gain hotel vision sky clean man note feeling spy ruin six telephone vision we yes zero

Haitian Creole

Vowels Haitian orthography a (or before an n) an (when not followed by a vowel) e en (when not followed by a vowel) i o on (when not followed by a vowel) ou oun (when not followed by a vowel) ui IPA Examples nearest English equivalent

a e i o u i

abako pn apple anpil kle ft mwen lide zwazo dey tonton kafou youn lannuit (none) clay festival (none) unique sole sort (none) you (none) huis-clos

There are no silent letters in Haitian Creole. All sounds are always spelled the same, except when a vowel carries a grave accent <`> before <n>, which makes it an open vowel instead of a nasal vowel (e.g. <en> for // and <n> for /n/; <on> = //, but <n> = /n/; <an> = //, but <n> = /an/). When immediately followed by a vowel in a word, the digraphs denoting the nasal vowels (an, en, on, and sometimes oun) are pronounced as an oral vowel followed by n. There is some ambiguity in the pronunciation of the high vowels i and ou when followed in spelling by n: common words such as moun ("person") and machin ("car") end with consonantal /n/, while very few words, mostly adopted from African languages, contain nasalized high vowels (e.g. houngan "voodoo priest").

Haitian orthography debate

The first technical orthography for Haitian kreyl was developed in 1940 by Ormonde McConnell. It was later revised with the help of Frank Laubach, resulting in the creation of what is known as the McConnell-Laubach orthography.[6] The McConnell-Laubach orthography received substantial criticism from members of the Haitian elite. Haitian scholar Charles Pressoir critiqued the McConnell-Laubach orthography for its lack of front rounded vowels because of their highly symbolic value in kreyl.[6] Another criticism was of the broad use of the letters /w/ and /y/.[6] Pressoir argued that these letters looked too American.[6] This criticism of the American look of the orthography was shared by many educated Haitians, who also criticized its association with Protestantism.[6] The last of Pressoirs criticisms was that the use of the circumflex accent to mark nasalized vowels treated nasal sounds differently from the way they are represented in French and, therefore, would inhibit the learning of French.[6] The official creation of the orthography was essentially an articulation of the language ideologies of those involved and therefore brought out political and social tensions between competing groups. A large portion of this tension lay in the ideology held by many that the French language is superior, which led to resentment of the language by some Haitians and an admiration for it from others.[6] This orthographical controversy boiled down to an attempt to unify a conception of Haitian national identity, a highly politicized and controversial topic of which there are many competing views.

Haitian Creole

Grammar
Haitian Creole grammar is highly analytical: for example, verbs are not inflected for tense or person, and there is no grammatical gendermeaning that adjectives and articles are not inflected according to the noun. The primary word order (SVO) is the same as in French. Many grammatical features, particularly pluralization of nouns and indication of possession, are indicated by appending certain markers, like yo, to the main word. There has been a debate going on for some years as to whether these markers are affixes or clitics, and therefore what should be used to connect the affixes to the word: the most popular alternatives are a hyphen, an apostrophe or a space. It makes matters more complicated when the affix itself is shortened, perhaps making only one letter (such as m' or w'). Although the lexicon is mostly French, the sentence structure is like that of the West African Fon language.[4]
French Fon Haitian Creole English

Ma bcane/becane moi[in 17th century popular french] my-SING-f bike Keke che bike my Bekn mwen bike my My bike

French

Fon

Haitian Creole

English

Mes bcanes my-PL bikes Keke che le bike my-PL Bekn mwen yo bike my-PL My bikes

Pronouns
There are six pronouns, one pronoun for each person/number combination. There is no difference between direct and indirect. Some are of French origin, others are not.
person/number 1/singular 2/singular 3/singular 1/plural 2/plural 3/plural Creole Mwen Ou (*) Li Nou Nou or Ou (**) Yo Y' Short form M' W' L' N' French English

Je, me, moi "I", "me" Tu, te, vous "thou", "you" (sing.) Il, elle, on Nous Vous Ils, Elles "He", "she" "We", "us" "You" (pl.) "They", "them"

(*) sometimes ou is written as w in the sample phrases, w indicates ou. (**) depending on the situation. In southern Haiti, zt is used.

Plural of nouns
If a noun is definite, it is pluralized by adding yo at the end. If it is indefinite, it has no plural marker, and its plurality is determined by context.

Haitian Creole

Haitian Creole Liv yo Machin yo Les livres Les autos

French

English The books The cars

Fi yo mete wob Les filles mettent des robes The girls put on dresses.

Possession
Possession is indicated by placing the possessor or possessive pronoun after the item possessed. This is similar to the French construction of chez moi or chez lui which are "my place" and "his place", respectively. In northern Haiti, an "a" or "an" is placed before the possessive pronoun. Unlike in English, possession does not indicate definiteness ("my friend" as opposed to "a friend of mine"), and possessive constructions are often followed by a definite article.
Haitian Creole Lajan li Son argent French English "His/her money" My family "Their house" or "their houses" Your father Pierre's cat Marie's chair Jean's father's friend

"Fanmi mwen" or "fanmi m" or "fanmi an m" Ma famille Kay yo "Papa ou" or "papa a ou" Chat Pierre a Chz Marie a Zanmi papa Jean Papa vwazen zanmi nou Leur maison / Leurs maisons Ton pre Le chat de Pierre La chaise de Marie L'ami du pre de Jean

Le pre du voisin de notre ami Our friend's neighbor's father

Indefinite article
The language has two indefinite articles, yon or simply on depending on regional dialects (pronounced /j/ or //), and French un/une. Yon is derived from the French il y a un, (lit. "there is a/an/one"). It is used only with singular nouns, and it is placed before the noun:
Haitian Creole Yon/on kouto Yon/on brezo French English

Un couteau A knife Une cravate A necktie

Definite article
There is also a definite article, roughly corresponding to English "the" and French le/la. It is placed after the noun, and the sound varies by the last sound of the noun itself. If the last sound is an oral consonant and is preceded by an oral vowel, it becomes la:

Haitian Creole

Haitian Creole kol la Liv la kay la

French

English

La cravate The tie Le livre The book

La maison The house

If the last sound is an oral consonant and is preceded by a nasal vowel, it becomes lan:
Haitian Creole Lamp lan Bank lan French La lampe English The lamp

La banque The bank

If the last sound is an oral vowel and is preceded by an oral consonant, it becomes a:
Haitian Creole kouto a Peyi a French English

Le couteau The knife Le pays The country

If a word ends in "mi" or "mou" or "ni" or "nou", it becomes an:

Haitian Creole Fanmi an Mi an French English

La famille The family Le mur The wall

If the last sound is a nasal vowel, it becomes an:

Haitian Creole French Chyen an Pon an English

Le chien The dog Le pont The bridge

If the last sound is a nasal consonant, it becomes nan, but may also be "lan"
Haitian Creole Machin nan Telefn nan French La voiture Le tlphone English The car The telephone

Madanm nan / Fanm nan La dame / La femme The woman

"This" and "that"

There is a single word sa that corresponds to French ce/ceci or a, and English "this" and "that". As in English, it may be used as a demonstrative, except that it is placed after the noun it qualifies. It is often followed by a or yo (in order to mark number): sa a = This here / that there (ceci / cela)
Haitian Creole Jaden sa bl French English

Ce jardin est beau This/that garden is beautiful.

As in English, it may also be used as a pronoun, replacing a noun:

Haitian Creole

Haitian Creole sa se zanmi mwen

French C'est mon ami

English This/that is my friend

sa se chyen fr mwen C'est le chien de mon frre This/that is my brother's dog

Verbs
Many verbs in Haitian Creole are the same spoken words as the French infinitive, but there is no conjugation in the language; the verbs have one form only, and changes in tense, mood, aspect etc. are indicated by the use of markers.
Haitian Creole French English

Li ale travay nan maten Il va au travail le matin. He/she goes to work in the morning. Li dmi asw Li li bib la Mwen f manje Nou toujou etidye Il dort le soir. Il lit la Bible. Je fais manger. He/she sleeps in the evening. He/she reads the Bible. I make food. (I cook)

Nous tudions toujours. We always study.

Copulas The concept expressed in English by the verb "to be" is expressed in Haitian Creole by three words, se, ye and sometimes e. The verb se (pronounced "say") is used to link a subject with a predicate nominative:
Haitian Creole Li se fr mwen Mwen se yon dokt French Il est mon frre English he is my brother

Je suis mdecin/docteur I am a doctor That is a mango tree We are friends

Sa se yon pye mango C'est un manguier Nou se zanmi Nous sommes amis

The subject sa or li can sometimes be omitted with se:

Haitian Creole Se yon bon ide French C'est une bonne ide English That is a good idea

Se nouvo chemiz mwen C'est ma nouvelle chemise This is my new shirt

To express: "I want to be", usually vin "to become" is used instead of se.

Haitian Creole

Haitian Creole

French

English

Li pral vin bofr m (mwen) Il va devenir mon beaufrre He will be my brother-in-law Mwen vle vin yon dokt Sa pral vin on pye mango Nou pral vin zanmi Je veux devenir un docteur a va devenir un manguier Nous allons devenir amis I want to become a doctor That will become a mango tree We will be friends

"Ye" also means "to be", but is placed exclusively at the end of the sentence, after the predicate and the subject (in that order):
Haitian Creole French English I am Haitian

"Ayisyen mwen ye" = "Mwen se ayisyen" Je suis hatien Koman ou ye?

Comment tes-vous? How are you?

The verb "to be" is not overt when followed by an adjective, that is, Haitian Creole has stative verbs. So, malad means "sick" and "to be sick":
Haitian Creole French English I have a sick friend.

Mwen gen yon zanmi ki malad J'ai un ami malade Zanmi mwen malad.

Mon ami est malade. My friend is sick.

"to have" The verb "to have" is genyen, often shortened to gen.
Haitian Creole French English

Mwen gen lajan nan bank lan. J'ai de l'argent dans la banque. I have money in the bank.

"there is" The verb genyen (or gen) also means "there is/are"
Haitian Creole French English

Gen anpil ayisyen nan florid. Il y a beaucoup d'Hatiens en Floride. There are many Haitians in Florida. Gen yon moun la. Pa gen moun la. Il y a quelqu'un l. Il n'y a personne l. There is someone here or there. There is nobody here or there.

"to know" There are three verbs which are often translated as "to know", but they mean different things. konn or konnen means "to know" + a noun (cf. French connatre).
Haitian Creole French English

Eske ou konnen non li? Connais-tu son nom? Do you know his/her name?

konn or konnen also means "to know" + a fact (cf. French savoir).
Haitian Creole French English

Mwen pa konnen kote li ye. Je ne sais pas o il est I do not know where he/she is.

Haitian Creole (note pa = negative) The third word is always spelled konn. It means "to know how to" or "to have experience". This is similar to the "know" as used in the English phrase "know how to ride a bike": it denotes not only a knowledge of the actions, but also some experience with it.
Haitian Creole Mwen konn f manje. French English

Je sais comment faire manger I know how to cook (lit. "I know how to make food") Have you been to Hati? (lit. "Do you know to go to Haiti?") He/she cannot read French (lit. "He knows not how to read French.")

Eske ou konn ale Ayiti? As-tu t Hati? Li pa konn li franse. Il ne sait pas lire le franais

Another verb worth mentioning is f. It comes from the French faire and is often translated as "do" or "make". It has a broad range of meanings, as it is one of the most common verbs used in idiomatic phrases.
Haitian Creole Kman ou f pale kreyol? French English

Comment as-tu appris parler crole? How did you learn to speak Haitian Creole? Marie knows how to make cornmeal.

Marie konn f mayi moulen. Marie sait faire de la farine de mas.

"to be able to" The verb kapab (or shortened to ka, kap or kab) means "to be able to (do something)". It refers to both "capability" and "availability", very similar to the French "capable".
Haitian Creole French English I can go tomorrow.

Mwen kapab ale demen. Je peux aller demain Pett m ka f sa demen. Nou kab ale pita

Je peux peut-tre faire a demain Maybe I can do that tomorrow. Nous pouvons aller plus tard We can go later.

Tense markers There is no conjugation in Haitian Creole. In the present non-progressive tense, one just uses the basic verb form for stative verbs:
Haitian Creole French English

Mwen pale kreyl. Je parle crole I speak Creole

Note that when the basic form of action verbs is used without any verb markers, it is generally understood as referring to the past:

Haitian Creole

10

Haitian Creole mwen manje ou manje li manje nou manje yo manje

French j'ai mang tu as mang il/elle a mang

English I ate you ate he/she ate

nous avons mang we ate ils/elles ont mang they ate

(Note that manje means both "food" and "to eat" m ap manje bon manje means "I am eating good food".). For other tenses, special "tense marker" words are placed before the verb. The basic ones are:
Tense marker te t ap ap a pral ta Tense simple past past progressive present progressive future a combination of te and ap, "was doing" With ap and a, the pronouns nearly always take the short form (m ap, l ap, n ap, y ap, etc.) some limitations on use Annotations

near or definite future translates to "going to" conditional future a combination of te and a, "will do"

Simple past or past perfect: mwen te manje "I ate" or "I had eaten" ou te manje- "you ate" or "you had eaten" li te manje "he/she ate" or "he/she had eaten" nou te manje "we ate" or "we had eaten" yo te manje "they ate" or "they had eaten" Past progressive: mwen t ap manje "I was eating" ou t ap manje "you were eating" li t ap manje "he/she was eating" nou t ap manje "we were eating" yo t ap manje "they were eating" Present progressive: m ap manje "I am eating" w ap manje "you are eating" l ap manje "he/she is eating" n ap manje "we are eating" y ap manje "they are eating" Note: For the present progressive ("I am eating now") it is customary, though not necessary, to add "right now": M ap manje kounye a "I am eating right now" Also, those examples can mean "will eat" depending on the context of the sentence. M ap manje apre m priye "I will eat after I pray" / Mwen pap di sa "I will not say that" Near or definite future:

Haitian Creole Mwen pral manje "I am going to eat" Ou pral manje "you are going to eat" Li pral manje "he/she is going to eat" Nou pral manje "we are going to eat" Yo pral manje "they are going to eat" Future: N a w pi ta "See you later" (lit. "We will see (each other) later) from the old patois (Nous sommes voire plus tard > > Nous voire plus tard) meaning: we are to see later. Other examples: Mwen te w zanmi ou y "I saw your friend yesterday" Nou te pale lontan "We spoke for a long time" L l te gen uit an... "When he/she was eight years old..." M a travay "I will work" M pral travay "I'm going to work" N a li l demen "We'll read it tomorrow" Nou pral li l demen "We are going to read it tomorrow" Mwen t ap mache epi m te w yon chen "I was walking and I saw a dog" Additional time-related markers: fk recent past ("just") st similar to f'k They are often used together: Mwen fk st antre kay la "I just entered the house" A verb mood marker is ta, corresponding to English "would" and equivalent to the French conditional tense: Yo ta renmen jwe "They would like to play" Mwen ta vini si m te gen yon machin "I would come if I had a car" Li ta bliye w si ou pa t la "He/she would forget you if you weren't here" Negating the verb The word pa comes before a verb (and all tense markers) to negate it: Rose pa vle ale "Rose doesn't want to go" Rose pa t vle ale "Rose didn't want to go"

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Lexicon
Most of the lexicon of Creole is derived from French, with significant changes in pronunciation and morphology; often, the French definite article was retained as part of the noun. For example, the French definite article la in la lune ("the moon") was incorporated into the Creole noun for moon: lalin. However, the language also inherited many words of different origins, among them Wolof, Fon, Kongo, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Taino and Arabic, a testament to the numerous contacts with different cultures that led to the formation of the language. Being a living language, Haitian Creole creates and borrows new words to describe new or old concepts and realities. Examples of this are "f bak" which was borrowed from English and means 'to move backwards' (the original word derived from French is "rekile" from reculer), and also from English, "napkin", which is being used as

Haitian Creole well as the original Creole word "tchon".

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Sample
Creole anasi annanna Ayiti bagay bannann bekn bk Bondye chent chouk dekabes dy diri fig je /anasi/ /nna/ /ajiti/ /baaj/ /bnn/ /bekan/ /boko/ /bdje/ /ent/ /k/ /decahbes/ /dj/ /dii/ /fi/ /e/ IPA Origin English "spider" "pineapple" "Haiti(mountainous land)" "thing" "Plantains" "bicycle" "sorcerer" "God" or "God!"/"Good Lord!" "mamoncillo", "chenette", "guinip", "gap" "poke" "2 headed win during dominos" "behind" "rice" "Banana" "eye" "hog banana" [8] [7]

(Akan) "ananse"
(Taino) "anana" (Also the source of the word in French) (Taino)

(French) bagage, "baggage" (French) banane, "banana" (French) bcane /bekan/

(Fon) bokono

(French) Bon Dieu /bdj/ (French) (Antilles) la qunette (Fula) Chuk to pierce, to poke (Spanish) dos cabezas - two heads (French) derrire /dj/ (French) du riz /dy i/ (French) figue /fi/ (French) yeux /j/ (plural of "oeil")

kiyz, tchok, poban /kijz, tk, pob/ kle kle kola knflks kawotchou lakay lalin li makak manbo marasa matant moun mwen nimewo oungan Ozetazini piman pann podyab /kle/ /kle kola/ /knfleks/ /kautu/ /lakaj/ /lalin/ /li/ /makak/ /mbo/ /maasa/ /matt/ /mun/ /mw/ /nimewo/ // /ozetazini/ /pim/ /pn/ /po jab/

(French) cl /kle/, "key" (French) cl /kle/, "key" + Eng. "cola" (English) "corn flakes" (French) caoutchouc, "rubber" (French) la cahutte /la kayt/ la case"the hut" (French) la lune /la lyn/ (French) Lui (French) macaque /makak/ (Kongo) mambu or Fongbe nanbo (Kongo) mabasa (French) ma tante, "my aunt" (French) monde (French) moi /mwa/ (French) numro /nymeo/
(Fon) houngan

"wrench" or "key" "bottle opener" "breakfast cereal" "tire" "house" "moon" "he/she/him/her" "monkey" "voodoo priestess" "twins" "aunt", "aged woman" "people/person" "me","I","myself" "number" "voodoo priest" "United States" a very hot pepper "clothesline" "poor devil"

(French) Aux tats-Unis /etazyni/ (French) piment /pim/ (French) pendre /pd/, "to hang" (French) pauvre diable or (Spanish) pobre diablo

Haitian Creole

13
/pwa/ /seifi/ /tt/ /vwaz/ /jo/ /zbi/ /zwazo/

pwa seyfing tonton vwazen yo zonbi zwazo

(French) pois /pwa/, "pea" (English) surfing (French) tonton (French) voisin /vwaz/
(Fon) ye

"bean" "sea-surfing" "uncle", "aged man" "neighbor" "they / them / their" plural marker "soulless corpse / living dead / ghost"

(Kongo) nzumbi

(French) les oiseaux /wazo/ (frontal "z" kept with liaison) "bird"

[1] Nationalencyklopedin "Vrldens 100 strsta sprk 2007" The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007 [2] http:/ / www. eduhaiti. gouv. ht/ Fichiers/ Accueil_menfp. htm [3] Joseph C. Bernard (Secrtaire d'tat de l'ducation nationale) law of 18 September 1979 (http:/ / commissioneducation. ht/ images/ documentspublics/ gtef-lois-1979-creole. pdf) [4] Lefebvre (1985). A recent research project of the Leiden-based Research School CNWS on this topic concerns the relation between Gbe and Surinamese creole languages. The project is titled A trans-Atlantic Sprachbund? The structural relationship between the Gbe-languages of West Africa and the Surinamese creole languages. [5] It is not the only orthography people use, it is just the one that has been made official by the government in education, People who lived before this was official still write and teach their children in their own way of writing creole whether it be the traditional French orthography or something approximate like the way Cape Verdean creole is written in respects to Portuguese [6] Schieffelin, B. B., and Doucet, R. C. (1998). The real Haitian Creole: Ideology, Meta- linguistics, and Orthographic Choice. In B. B. Schieffelin, K. A. Woolard, and P. V. Kroskrity (eds.), Language Ideologies: Practice and Theory (pp. 285316). New York: Oxford University Press. [7] The gap between a person's two front teeth. [8] A banana that is short and fat, not a plantain and not a conventional banana; regionally called "hog banana" or "sugar banana" in English.

Nouns derived from trade marks

Many trademarks have become common nouns in Haitian Creole (i.e., they have become genericized, as has happened in English with "aspirin" and "kleenex", for example). kolgat (Colgate) or pat "toothpaste" jilt (Gillette) "razor" pampz (Pampers) or koucht "diaper" or (Br) "nappy" kodak (Kodak) "camera" frijid (Frigidaire) "refrigerator" dlco (Delco) "generator" iglou (Igloo) or tms (Thermos) "cooler" chiklt (Chiclets) "chewing gum" magui (Maggi) "bouillon cube" kitks (Cutex) "nail polish" djip (Jeep) "SUV" douko (Duco) "automobile paint" koteks (Kotex) "sanitary napkin"

Ng and blan
Despite similar words in French (ngre, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people and blanc, meaning white person), the meanings they carry do not apply in Haiti. The term ng from ngre in French is generally used for any man, regardless of skin color (i.e., like "guy" or "dude" in American English). blan is generally used for a foreigner of any color. Thus a non-black Haitian man might be called ngalthough the circumstances in which this might occur are unclearwhile an African American would probably be referred to as a blan.

Haitian Creole Etymologically, the word ng is derived from the French "ngre" and is cognate with the Spanish negro ("black", both the color and the people) There are many other Haitian Creole terms for specific tones of skin, such as grimo, bren, roz, mawon, etc. Some Haitians consider such labels as offensive because of their association with color discrimination and the Haitian class system, while others use the terms freely.

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Examples
Salutations
A demen! See you tomorrow! A pi ta! See you later! Adye! Good bye! [Permanently] Anchante! enchanted (Nice to meet you!) Bon apre-midi! Good afternoon! Bnn nui! Good night! Bonjou! Good day! / Good morning! Bonswa! Good evening Dezole! Sorry! Eskize m! Excuse me! Ki jan ou rele? What is your name? Ki jan ou ye? How are you? Ki laj ou? What is your age? (How old are you?) Ki laj ou genyen? How old are you? Ki non ou / ki non w? What is your name? Koman ou rele? What is your name? Koman ou ye? How are you? Kon si, kon sa So, so M ap boule I'm managing (I'm burning) [Response to "sak pase" or "sak ap ft"] M ap viv I'm living Mal Bad Mwen byen I'm well Mwen dak I agree Mwen gen...an I am...years old Mwen la I'm fine Mwen rele... My name is... N a w pi ta! We will see later (See you later!) Non m se... My name is... Orevwa! Good bye [Temporarily] Pa mal Not bad Pa pi mal Not so bad Padon! Pardon! / Sorry! Move! Padonne m! Pardon me! Forgive me! Pte w byen! Carry yourself well! (Take care!) Sak ap ft? What's going on? What's up? [Informal]

Sak pase? What's going on? / What's happening? [Informal] Tout al byen All goes well (All is well) Tout bagay anfm Everything is in form (Everything is fine)

Haitian Creole Tout pa bon All is not good (All is not well)

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Proverbs and expressions

Haitian Creole is a very figurative language, and as such uses a lot of proverbs and colourful expressions to illustrate many situations. Speakers of Haitian creole will use them frequently, showing knowledge of the language and of the Haitian culture.

Proverbs
Men anpil, chay pa lou Unity creates strength (With many hands, the burden is light) The Haitian Creole equivalent of the Haitian motto written in French "L'union fait la force". Apre bal, tanbou lou There are consequences to your actions Sak vid pa kanpe You cannot work without food. (Literally: An empty sack does not stand) Pitit tig se tig Like father like son. (Literally: The son of a tiger is a tiger). Ak pasyans w ap w tete pis Anything is possible. (Literally: With patience you will see the breast of the ant) Bay kou bliye, pte mak sonje The giver of the blow forgets, the carrier of the scar remembers Mache chche pa janm dmi san soupe You will get what you deserve Bl dan pa di zanmi Not all smiles are friendly Bl antman pa di paradi A beautiful funeral does not guarantee heaven Bel fanm pa di bon menaj A beautiful wife does not guarantee a happy marriage Dan konn mode lang People who work together sometimes hurt each other (Literally: Teeth are known to bite the tongue) Sak rive koukouloulou a sa rive kakalanga tou What happens to the turkey can happen to the rooster too Chak jou pa Dimanch Your luck will not last forever. (Literally: Not every day is Sunday) Fanm pou yon tan, manman pou tout tan Wife for one time, mother for all time Ng di san f, Bondye f san di People say without doing, God does without saying Sa Bondye sere pou ou, lavalas pa ka pote l ale What God has saved for you, nobody can take it away Ng rich se milat, milat pov se ng A rich negro is a mulatto, a poor mulatto is a negro Pale franse pa di lspri ou Speaking French does not mean you are smart Wch nan dlo pa konnen doul wch nan soly The rock in the water does not know the pain of the rock in the sun Ravt pa janm gen rezon devan poul Justice will always be on the side of the stronger. (Literally: Cockroach is never right in front of a chicken.) Si ou bw dlo nan v, respkte v a If you drink water from a glass, respect the glass Si travay te bon bagay, moun rich ta pran l lontan If work were a good thing, the rich would have grabbed it a long time ago Sl pa vante tt li di li sale Let others praise you (Said to ridicule those who praise themselves) Bouch granmoun santi, sak ladan l se rezon Wisdom comes from the mouth of old people. (Literally: The mouth of the old stinks but what's inside is wisdom.)

Haitian Creole

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Expressions
Se lave men, siye l at It was useless work (Literally: Wash your hands and wipe them on the floor) M ap di ou sa kasayl te di bf la Mind your own business Li pale franse He cannot be trusted, he is a trickster. (Literally: He speaks French) Kreyl pale, kreyl konprann Speak plainly, do not deceive (Literally: Creole spoken is Creole understood) Bouche nen w pou bw dlo santi You have to accept a bad situation (Literally: Pinch your nose to drink smelly water) Mache sou pinga w pou ou pa pile sou sa w te konnen You need to be careful to avoid known problems Tann jis nou tounen pwa tann To wait forever (Literally: Wait until you become a tender pea) Word play on "tann", which means "to wait" and also "tender" San pran souf Without taking a breath Continuously "Ou ap kon joj" - Warning or threat of punishment or reprimand (Literally: You will find out who George is.) "Dis ti piti tankou ou" - Dismissing or defying a threat or show of force (Literally: 10 little ones like you couldn't .....) "L poul f dan"- Never. (Literally: When chickens will grow teeth.)

French-based orthography
Alongside the usage of a phonetic orthography used to represent Creole, there exists in Haiti a French-based orthography (l'orthographe francise) or rather several variations of this which were present long before the introduction of the phonetic orthography. There have been arguments against the phonetic writing system of Creole. The main complaint is that it looks nothing like French and so may hinder the learning of French at school.[citation needed] Another complaint is that the phonetics of the current standard rely on Germanic letters K and W, which are seldom used in French.[1] Unlike the phonetic orthography the French orthography has no official rules or regulations on spelling therefore spelling often varies depending on the writer; thus some may use exact French spelling and others may adjust the spelling of certain words to represent the Creole accent and others may drop silent letters at the end of words since Creole rarely uses the liaisons of French; the result is that a phrase represented phonetically like "Li ale travay le maten" may be represented many ways using the French orthography. Li ale travay le maten > Lui aller travail le matin > Li aller travail le matin Koman ou ye? > Comment 'ous yest? > Commen ou y? Pa gen problem > Pas gagne problme > Pa guin problme Tout bagay an fm > Toute bagaye en forme > Toute bagail en fme Pa koun ye a > Pas counne hier > Pa counne hi Nou ap chache > Nous ap' chercher > Nou ap chcher Nou bezwen on dokt tout swit > Nous besoin un docteur toute suite > Nou besouin on doct toute suite Kote lopital la? > Ct l'hpital l?

Usage outside of Haiti

United States and Canada
Haitian Creole is used widely among Haitians who have relocated to other countries, particularly the United States and Canada. Some of the larger Creole-speaking populations are found in Montreal, Quebec (where French is the first official language), New York City, Boston, and Central and South Florida (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach). To reach out to the large Haitian population, government agencies have produced various public service announcements, school-parent communications, and other materials in Haitian Creole. For instance, Miami-Dade County in Florida sends out paper communications in Haitian Creole in addition to English and Spanish. In the Boston area, the Boston subway system and area hospitals and medical offices post announcements in Haitian Creole

Haitian Creole as well as English. North America's only Creole-language television network is HTN, based in Miami. The area also has more than half a dozen Creole-language AM radio stations. Haitian language and culture is taught in many colleges in the United States as well as in the Bahamas. York College at the City University of New York features a Minor in Haitian Creole (http:/ / www. york. cuny. edu/ produce-and-print/ contents/ bulletin/ school-of-arts-and-sciences/ foreign-languages-esl-and-humanities/ creole-minor). Indiana University has a Creole Institute (http:/ / www. indiana. edu/ ~creole/ ) founded by Dr. Albert Valdman where Haitian Creole, among other facets of Haiti, are studied and researched; the University of Kansas, Lawrence has an Institute of Haitian studies, founded by Dr. Bryant Freeman. Additionally, the University of Massachusetts Boston, Florida International University, and University of Florida offer seminars and courses annually at their Haitian Creole Summer Institute. Tulane University, Brown University, Columbia University, and University of Miami are also offering classes in Haitian Creole. The University of Oregon and Duke University will soon be offering classes as well.

17

Cuba
Haitian Creole is the second most spoken language in Cuba, where over 300,000 Haitian immigrants speak it. It is recognized as a language in Cuba and a considerable number of Cubans speak it fluently. Most of these speakers have never been to Haiti and do not possess Haitian ancestry, but merely learned it in their communities. In addition, there is a Haitian Creole radio station operating in Havana.[2]

Dominican Republic
The language is also spoken by over 150,000 Haitians who reside in the neighboring Dominican Republic,[3] although the locals do not speak it. However, some estimates suggest that there are over a million speakers due to a huge population of illegal aliens from Haiti.[4]

Translation efforts after the 2010 Haitian earthquake

After the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010, international help badly needed translation tools for communicating in Haitian Creole. Furthermore, international organizations had little idea whom to contact as translators. As an emergency measure, Carnegie Mellon University released data for its own research into the public domain.[5] Microsoft Research and Google Translate have implemented alpha version machine translators based on the Carnegie Mellon data. In addition, several free apps have been published for use on the iPhone & iPod Touch, including learning flashcards by Byki and two medical dictionaries, one by Educa Vision and a second by Ultralingua, which includes an audio phrase book and a section on cultural anthropology.

References
[1] (http:/ / webcache. googleusercontent. com/ search?q=cache:nBY3DCQdALkJ:www0. hku. hk/ linguist/ program/ contact10. html+ haitians+ mix+ phonetic+ orthography+ with+ more+ french+ spelling& cd=8& hl=en& ct=clnk& gl=us) [2] Haiti in Cuba (http:/ / www. afrocubaweb. com/ haiticuba. htm) [3] Languages of Dominican Republic (http:/ / www. ethnologue. com/ show_country. asp?name=DO) [4] Dr1.com: Illegal Haitians deported (http:/ / dr1. com/ news/ 2005/ dnews081605. shtml#13) [5] Carnegie Mellon releases data on Haitian Creole to hasten development of translation tools (http:/ / esciencenews. com/ articles/ 2010/ 01/ 27/ carnegie. mellon. releases. data. haitian. creole. hasten. development. translation. tools)

Haitian Creole

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Further reading
Degraff, Michel (2001). "Morphology in Creole genesis: Linguistics and ideology". In Kenstowicz, Michael. Ken Hale: A life in language. Cambridge: MIT Press. pp.52121 Degraff, Michel (2005). "Linguists' Most Dangerous Myth: The Fallacy of Creole Exceptionalism". Language in Society 34 (4): 533591 Fattier, Dominique (1998). "Contribution l'tude de la gense d'un crole: L'Atlas linguistique d'Hati, cartes et commentaires (Dissertation)". Language in Society (Universit de Provence) Lefebvre, Claire (1985) 'Relexification in creole genesis revisited: the case of Haitian Creole'. In Muysken & Smith (eds.) Substrate versus Universals in Creole Genesis. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Spears, Arthur K., and Carole M. Berotte Joseph, eds. The Haitian Creole Language: History, Structure, Use, and Education (Lexington Books; 2010) 297 pages. Topics include Creole and English code-switching in New York City, Creole in education in Haiti, and Creole and French in Haitian literature. Turnbull, Wally R. (2000). Creole Made Easy, Light Messages. ISBN 0-9679937-1-7.

External links
What is Haitian Creole? (http://www.ahadonline.org/eLibrary/creoleconnection/Number20/haitiancreole. htm) by Hughes St. Fort, with references to recent research by linguists on the subject. Haitian Creole materials from the Institute of Haitian Studies at the University of Kansas (http://www2.ku.edu/ ~haitiancreole/) Complete pdf versions of books created by Bryant C. Freeman, PhD, as well as the accompanying mp3 audio supplements. Haitian Creole English Medical Reference by Ultralingua (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ haitian-medical-reference/id370253128?mt=8) Made for iPhone & iPod Touch, using texts authored by Bryant C. Freeman, PhD. Litiji Kreyol La (http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/Haiti/Kreyol.html) Anglican Church liturgical materials in Kreyol digitized by Jean Fils Chery and Richard Mammana Public release of Haitian Creole language data by Carnegie Mellon (http://www.speech.cs.cmu.edu/haitian/) Haitian Creole (http://www.haiti-reference.com/creole/diction/index.php) English, English Haitian Creole Dictionary Creole Language and Culture (http://ocw.nd.edu/romance-languages-and-literatures/ creole-language-and-culture) OpenCourseWare from the University of Notre Dame UN Declaration of Human Rights in Haitian Creole (http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Language. aspx?LangID=hat) RFI Kryl Pal Kryl Konprann (radio program) (http://www.rfi.fr/fichiers/Langues/creole/ rfi_creole_main.asp) Common Creole Words and Phrases (http://www.travelinghaiti.com/haitian_kreyol.asp) Saint Lucia Creole guide (http://kweyol.wikispaces.com/file/view/Toynbee+MW+Visitor's+Guide+St+ Lucian.pdf) Google Translator (http://translate.google.com/#en|ht) supports Haitian Creole in alpha mode. Byki Learning Flashcards (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/byki-haitian-creole/id350651748?mt=8) for iPhone by Transparent Language Haitian Creole English Medical Dictionary for iPhone, by Educa Vision (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ english-haitian-creole-medical/id354807960?mt=8) Amour Crole (http://www.amourcreole.com/) - Haitian Fashion Magazine Haitian Creole Swadesh list of basic vocabulary words (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ Appendix:Haitian_Creole_Swadesh_list) (from Wiktionary's Swadesh-list appendix (http://en.wiktionary.org/ wiki/Appendix:Swadesh_lists))

Article Sources and Contributors

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Article Sources and Contributors

Haitian Creole Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=560775041 Contributors: (aeropagitica), 1549bcp, A. di M., Aaker, Aard, Acroterion, AdRock, Adam Keller, Aeusoes1, Ale jrb, Alsandro, Angr, AniMate, AnonMoos, Apollotiger, Arctic Kangaroo, Asrghasrhiojadrhr, Asterion, AstroHurricane001, Atif.t2, Avicennasis, Babbage, Bayang, Bearcat, Belovedfreak, Bermuda-Russian lover556, Bgirardbond, Bibi66, Big Adamsky, BilCat, Blackdoom77, Blackjays1, Blanchardb, Boukman, BovineBeast, Bunchofgrapes, Burschik, CJLL Wright, Caeruleancentaur, Calliopejen1, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, CathySc, Chamaeleon, CharlesMartel, Christopher Sundita, Chronodm, Ckatz, Courcelles, Creoleavie, Croquant, Crole Hatien, Cthulhu1234, Cub68134, D4niel244, DBigXray, Dale Arnett, Dale Chock, Dalencourt, Dana boomer, David spector, Davidcannon, De728631, Deor, Diderot, Discospinster, Dissident, Dj iET, Dmitri Lytov, Doady, DopefishJustin, Doprendek, Drahgon, Drpickem, Duoduoduo, E. Ripley, EVula, Ed g2s, Edicia, Educavision, Ego White Tray, El Cazangero, El aprendelenguas, Embryomystic, EnchantressKali, Energy110, Erolos, Excirial, Famedard, Fanatix, Fantastic fred, Felix ahlner, Fenel, FilipeS, Florian Blaschke, Fratrep, Frecklefoot, Freelance Intellectual, FrickFrack, FunkyJazzMonkey, Funnyhat, G Purevdorj, Gaidheal, Garzo, Geenius at Wrok, Geo0910, Giraffedata, Glanhawr, GoingBatty, Grafen, Greenbahama109, Greudin, Guyjohnston, Haisyen, Haiti1804, Haitipatrick, Hans-Friedrich Tamke, Hapsiainen, Heyzeuss, Hippietrail, Horselover Frost, Howa0082, Hvn0413, Internoob, Iridescent, Isaac Crumm, Ispy1981, Israelite9191, J. Spencer, JHunterJ, JamesAM, Janus Shadowsong, JdeJ, Jeremiestrother, Jmlk17, Jon C., Jon Harald Sby, JonHarder, Jorge Stolfi, Jose77, Joseph Solis in Australia, Jrobin08, Julesd, Jwillbur, KIAaze, Kakofonous, Kanon6996, Kas wiz, Katonams, Kazvorpal, Keizers, Kemet, Kevlar67, Kharker, King Geiseric, Kinghajj, Kleclerc, Koavf, Kwamikagami, LOL, Lacrimosus, Lakefall, Lights, Linguistatlunch, LittleRoughRhinestone, LlywelynII, Mahmudmasri, Malik Shabazz, Marco polo, Mare Nostrum, Mariannesutton, Masterches, Materialscientist, MatthewVanitas, Mattisse, Maunus, Mcorazao, MikeGasser, Mild Bill Hiccup, Mmwillingham, Montgolfire, Moogsi, Mordicai, Mrmuk, Muahaichange, Munci, Nagy, Naniwako, Nerdseeksblonde, Nezzadar, Niceguyedc, Nickshanks, Node ue, Norm mit, Nostrhome, Oaurelien, Ob ivan, Officerdoe07, Oldyedniaat, Omc, One4supplies, Opticrom, Orbis 3, PL290, Parkwells, Patxi lurra, Paul-L, Pdbryson, Pefrancois, Peterfitzgerald, Pichpich, Pitit li, Pmronchi, Poccil, Pontificalibus, Poppyhaitian, Prof Wrong, ProveIt, Prsident, QuartierLatin1968, Qurqa, R'n'B, Racerx11, Random user 8384993, Rascar, RattusMaximus, Reconsider the static, Revolucin, RhetTbull, Richaraj, Richardj311, Rif Winfield, Rjensen, Rjwilmsi, RobNS, Roses bud78, S19991002, SDS112, Salvo46, SameerKhan, Sburke, Seaphoto, Senaku, Serapis Alexandria, Shadiac, Simon Peter Hughes, SimonP, Sirtrebuchet, Skpearman, Snajjar, Snori, Sofa jazz man, Sofian Rahmani, Soulja nyn3, Splashen, Spyder00Boi, Staxringold, Steinbach, Steverapaport, Stevey7788, Stitchingreader, Stogie10, Strangeloop, Suhardian, Sun Creator, Sunido, Switchercat, TDogg310, Tabor, TenIslands, Tery M, The Nut, Theanthrope, Thejadefalcon, Thnidu, Tiburon108, Tim1357, Tkynerd, Tomchiukc, Tommy2010, TonyW, True, Tyronen, Uanfala, Udoryen, Ultra megatron, Uniongreen113, Usien6, V Brian Zurita, VirtualDelight, Vivenot, W.D., WhisperToMe, WhiteTimberwolf, Wikigeek82, Wikipedian8904, Woohookitty, Wrotesolid, XLR8TION, Xanzzibar, XinaNicole, Xyzzyva, Yahia.barie, Yaris678, Yurinator180, Zabag, Zachlipton, Zippanova, Zofida, Zyztem2000, , , , 836 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:Flag of Haiti.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_Haiti.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: (colours and size changes of the now deletied versions) Madden, Vzb83, Denelson83, Chanheigeorge, Zscout370 and Nightstallion Coat of arms :Lokal_Profil and Myriam Thyes File:Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_the_Dominican_Republic.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: User:Nightstallion

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