Harman Patil (Editor)

Haitian Creole vocabulary

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Haitian Creole is a French based creole spoken in Haiti, located on the western three-eighths of the island known as Hispaniola The façon de parler is a result of the gradual change of the French dialect of Franco-European colonists by African and Creole slaves (African slaves native to the island). This change includes the speaking of French vocabulary in an African (Fon) syntax.

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As well as the addition of a pluralization marker like the Fongbe word le.

This practice of using a pluralizing marker can also be found in Jamaican (English) Patois.

The word Dem a corruption of Them is used just like the Creole the word Yo meaning Them is.

The gradual abbreviation of the early French patois also included the shortening of certain French phrases into Tense markers such as:

M'ape manje / M'ap manje - I'm eating (Which comes from the Old Phrase: Je suis après manger, Creolized as Moi après manger, Then: Mouen apé manjé, also appearing as: M’ape manje, M’ap manje or Mwen ap manje ) (Ape comes from the phrase: être après and ap is its more common and even further abbreviated form)

In addition to the African syntax and the use of tense and pluralizing markers, a practice of West African languages, Haitian Creole also has a considerable amount of lexical Items from many languages most notably from various West African languages, Old and Norman French, Taino, Spanish and Portuguese amongst others (English, Arab etc.). These entered Creole through interaction between various people who spoke these languages from colonial times to modern time.

Creole words of African origin

  • Akasan // From Edo – Akasan // n. corn pudding
  • Akra n. a malanga fritter
  • Anasi // From Asante – Ananse // n. a spider (The French derived term is, zarenyen)
  • Bòkò // From Fongbe – Bokono // n. a sorcerer (The French derived term is, sósié)
  • Chouk // From Fulani – Chuk // v. to pierce, to poke / n. a poke (The French derived term is, piké)
  • Chouc-chouc // From Fulani – Chuk // v. to have sex
  • Manbo // From Kikongo – Mambu + Fongbe – Nanbo // n. a Vaudou priestess
  • Marasa // From Kikongo – Mabasa // n. twins (The French derived term is, joumo)
  • Ouanga/Wanga n. a Vaudou charm or relic
  • Oungan // From Fongbe // n. a Vaudou priest
  • Ounsi // From Fongbe // n. a Vaudouisant
  • Yo // From Fongbe – Ye // pron. They(‘re), them, their (Yo is also placed after a noun for pluralization purposes, from example: Liv – Book / Liv yo – Books. The French derived term, zot, is used in some parts of Haiti)
  • Zonbi //From Kikongo – Nzumbi // n. a ghost, a soulless corpse or living dead

    • Creole words of Old French origin

  • Ap // OFr. Être après // - present tense marker (the more common and abbreviated form of the word, apé)
  • Ape // OFr. Être après // - present tense marker
  • Gouye // Norman Fr. Griller – to slide, to slip // v. to gyrate (one’s waist), to have sex
  • Pral // OFr. Être après aller // adj. To be going to / - future tense marker
  • Rele / Yele / Ele // OFr. Héler // v. to call, to yell
  • T’ap // OFr. Avoir esté après // - Imperfect tense marker
  • Te // OFr. Avoir esté // - Past tense marker

    • Creole words of Taino origin

  • Anakaona // Ana kaona – Gold flower // n. a very beautiful woman
  • Anana n. a pineapple (Became part of standard French)
  • Ayiti n. Haiti
  • Babako // Barbakoa – A Taino roasting process // n. a feast
  • Bohio // Bohio – Home, house // n. Haiti
  • Kako // Buticaco or Heiticaco // n. a bumpkin, someone from the countryside
  • Kalalou n. okra, also a soup that includes okra and crab among other ingredients,known as gumbo in Louisiana
  • Kanari n. a clay jug
  • Kolibri n. a humming bird (Became part of standard French, it is also called, zoizo ouanga or ouanga négès)
  • Koukouy // Kokuyo // n. a firefly
  • Kounouk // Konuko // n. a shack
  • Lanbi/Lambi n. conch, a conch shell
  • Mabi n. a type of drink
  • Mabouya // Mabuya – a Ghost, evil spirit // n. a lizard
  • Sanba/Sanmba n. a musician or poet

    • Creole words of English origin

  • Bokit // n. bucket
  • Kannistè // n. tin can

    • Creole words of Portuguese origin

  • Ba // Dar – to give // v. to give
  • Kachimbo n. a pipe used for smoking tobacco
  • Mantèg // Manteiga // n. lard, butter (The French derived term for butter is, bé / beu)
  • Pikini // Pequenino // n. a child (The more common French derived terms are, pitit & ti moun)
  • Tchipe/Tchwipe / Tchupé // Chupar – to suck // v. to suck one’s teeth (at)

    • Creole words of Spanish origin

  • Bosal // Bozal // adj. to be savage (The French derived term is, sovaj)
  • Sapat // Zapatos or zapatillas // n. slippers
  • Tchakleta // Chancleta // n. a certain type of sandal

    • In Haitian creole the Spanish suffix -ador (pronounced in Creole as adò) is sometimes placed in combination with a French verb to describe someone who performs a certain action.

  • Abladò // Hablador // n. a speaker (person), someone who talks a lot
  • Babiadò / Babyadò // Fr. Babiller + Sp. –ador // n. a constant complainer
  • Bliyadò // Fr. Blier + Sp. -ador // n. a forgetful person
  • Kouchadò // Fr. Coucher + Sp. –ador // n. a sleepyhead, one who sleeps a lot

    • References

    Haitian Creole vocabulary Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA