Haitian Creole language
From Freepedia
| Haitian Creole (Kreyòl ayisyen) | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Haiti, Bahamas, Canada, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, United States |
| Region: | Caribbean |
| Total speakers: | 7.8 million |
| Ranking: | 94 |
| Genetic classification: | French Creole Haitian Creole |
| Official status | |
| Official language of: | Haiti |
| Regulated by: | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | |
| ISO 639-2 | ht |
| SIL | HAT |
| See also: Language – List of languages | |
Haitian Creole (Kreyòl ayisyen) is a creole language based on the French language. It is spoken in Haiti by about 7.5 million people (as of 1998), which is nearly the whole population. Via immigration, several hundred thousand speakers live in other countries, including Canada, the United States and France, as well as many Caribbean nations, especially the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.
There are linguistic influences from several West African languages, namely from Wolof, and some Gbe languages, notably Fon and Ewe/Anlo-Ewe. There are two dialects: Fablas and Plateau Haitian Creole.
Since 1961, Haitian Creole has been recognized as an official language. Its usage in literature is small but growing. Many speakers are bilingual and speak both Haitian Creole and French, but Creole has a lower social status than French in the minds of some. Many educators, writers and activists have emphasized pride and written literacy in Creole since the 1980s. There are newspapers, radio and television programs in this language. Miami-Dade County in Florida sends out paper communications in Haitian Creole in addition to English and Spanish.
It is not to be confused with Haitian Vodoun Culture Language.
Contents |
Simple sample phrases
(Text in square brackets is in the International Phonetic Alphabet.)
- Hello - Salu [salu] (Fr. salut [saly])
- Good morning — Bonjou [bõʒu] (Fr. bonjour [bõʒuʁ])
- Good evening — Bonswa [bõswa] (Fr. bon soir) [bõswaʁ]
- Goodbye — Na wè [nawe] (or Nap we) [napwe]
- Please — Silvouple [silvuple] / Souple [suple] (Fr. s'il vous plaît [silvuple])
- Thank you (very much) - Mèsi (bokou) [mɛsi ãpil] (Fr. merci, [mɛʁsi])
- How are you? — Koman ou ye? [kiʒãuje]
- What's your name? — Koman ou rele? [komanyorelew]
- My name is... — M rele... [yorelem]
- How's it going? — Sak pase? [sakpase]
- General response to Sak pase: N'ap boule! [napbule] (Fr. je brule [ʒəbʁul])
- Who's your daddy? — Kiyès ki Papa'w? [kijɛski papaw]
- I love you — M renmen w [m̩rɛ̃mɛ̃w]
- How much/how many? — Kombyen? [kõbjɛ̃] (Fr. combien [kõbjɛ̃])
- How? — Kijan? [kiʒã] or Koman? [komã] (Fr. quel genre [kɛlʒãʁə] ; comment [kɔmã])
- Who? — Ki moun? or Kiyes? [kimun] (Fr. qui [ki])
- Which? — Ki lès?
- Where? — (Ki) Kote? [kikote] / Ki bo? [kibɔ] (Fr. quel côté [kɛlkote], quel bord [kɛlbɔʁ])
- When? — Ki lè? [kilɛ] (Fr. quelle heure [kɛlœʁ])
- Why? — Pouki(sa)? [pukisa] (Fr. pourquoi (ça) [puʁkwa sa])
A sample of the vocabulary
Where the French source-word is not the same as the French translation, the source is noted in parentheses. In most such cases, the difference is because of Haitians having reanalyzed the definite article as part of the noun.
Creole — French — English
- zwazo [zwazo] — oiseau (<(les) oiseaux) [le.zwa.zo] — bird
- Ozetazini [etazini] — États-Unis (<(aux) États-Unis [o.ze.ta.zy.ni]) — the United States
- vwazen [vwazɛ̃] — voisin [vwa.zɛ̃] — neighbour
- nimewo [nimewo] — numéro [ny.me.ʁo] — number
- lalin [lalin] — (la) lune [la.lyn] — moon
- dèyè [dɛjɛ] — derrière [dɛ.ʁjɛʁ] — behind
- zye [zje] — oeil (<(les) yeux [le.zjø]) — eye
- Bondye [bõdje] — Dieu (<(Bon) Dieu [bõ.djø]) — God
- makak [makak] — singe (<macaque [ma.kak]) — monkey
- kay [kaj] — maison (?<cahutte [ka.yt]) — house
- bekann [bekan] — bicyclette — bicycle
- diri [diri] — riz (<(du) riz [dy.ʁi]) — rice
- pwa [pwa] — pois [pwa] — pea
- moun [mun] — personne (?<monde [mõd]) — person
See also
- Romance copula (see section on Haitian copula)
External links
- Haitian Creole dictionary
- UN Declaration of Human Rights in Haitian Creole
- RFI — Kréyòl Palé Kréyòl Konprann (radio program)
- Common Creole Words and Phrases
- Haitian Creole online test
- Haitian Kreyol grammar
