Haitian Creole - Wikipedia

Haitian Creole - Wikipedia
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
French-based creole language
Not to be confused with
Haitian French
, a variety of French spoken in Haiti.
"Saint-Domingue Creole" redirects here; not to be confused with
Dominican Creole French
Haitian Creole
kreyòl ayisyen
Pronunciation
[kɣejɔl
ajisjɛ̃]
Native to
Haiti
Ethnicity
Haitians
Native speakers
13 million (2020)
Language family
Creole
of
African languages
, lexified by
French
Circum-Caribbean French
Haitian Creole
Writing system
Latin
Haitian Creole alphabet
Official status
Official language in
Haiti
Recognised minority
language in
Bahamas
Cuba
Costa Rica
Regulated by
Akademi Kreyòl Ayisyen
(Haitian Creole Academy)
Language codes
ISO 639-1
ht
ISO 639-2
hat
ISO 639-3
hat
Glottolog
hait1244
Haitian
Linguasphere
51-AAC-cb
IETF
ht
Distribution of Haitian Creole. Areas in dark blue are where it is spoken by a majority; areas in light blue are where it is spoken by a minority.
This article contains
IPA
phonetic symbols.
Without proper
rendering support
, you may see
question marks, boxes, or other symbols
instead of
Unicode
characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see
Help:IPA
Ambassador Hervé Denis discusses the vital relationship between Haiti and its diaspora in Haitian Creole.
Haitian Creole
Haitian Creole
kreyòl ayisyen
, [kyejɔl ajisjẽ]), or simply
Creole
(Haitian Creole:
kreyòl
), is a
French
-based
creole language
with a
Romance
foundation and significant
Atlantic-Congo
structural influences. It is spoken by over 13
million people worldwide, primarily
Haitian citizens
and the global diaspora.
It is one of the two official languages of
Haiti
(the other being French), where it is the native language of the vast majority of the population. It is also the most widely spoken
creole language
in the world.
The three main dialects of Haitian Creole are the Northern, Central, and Southern dialects; the Northern dialect is predominantly spoken in
Cap-Haïtien
, the Central in
Port-au-Prince
, and the Southern in the
Cayes
area.
10
The language emerged from contact between French settlers and enslaved Africans during the
Atlantic slave trade
in the French colony of
Saint-Domingue
(now
Haiti
) in the 17th and 18th centuries.
11
12
Although its vocabulary largely derives from 18th-century French, its grammar is that of a West African
Volta–Congo
language branch, particularly the
Fongbe
and
Igbo
languages.
12
It also has influences from Spanish, English, Portuguese, Taíno, and other West African languages.
13
It is not mutually intelligible with standard French, and it also has its own distinctive grammar. Some
who?
estimate that Haitians are the largest community in the world to speak a modern
creole language
14
improper synthesis?
others
who?
estimate that more people speak
Nigerian Pidgin
citation needed
Haitian Creole's use in communities and schools has been contentious since at least the 19th
century. Some Haitians view French as inextricably linked to the legacy of colonialism and language compelled on the population by conquerors, while Creole has been maligned by Francophones as a miseducated person's French.
15
16
Until the late 20th
century, Haitian presidents spoke only
standard French
to their fellow citizens, and until the 21st century, all instruction at Haitian elementary schools was in modern standard French, a second language to most of their students.
Haitian Creole is also spoken in regions with
Haitian immigrant communities
, including other Caribbean islands,
French Guiana
Martinique
France
Canada
(particularly
Quebec
) and the
United States
(including the U.S. state of
Louisiana
).
17
It is related to
Antillean Creole
, spoken in the
Lesser Antilles
, and to other French-based creole languages.
Etymology
edit
The word
creole
comes from the
Portuguese
term
crioulo
, which means "a person raised in one's house" and from the
Latin
creare
, which means "to create, make, bring forth, produce, beget".
18
19
In the
New World
, the term originally referred to
Europeans born and raised in overseas colonies
20
(as opposed to the European-born
peninsulares
). To be "as rich as a Creole" at one time was a popular saying boasted in
Paris
during the colonial years of Haiti (then named
Saint-Domingue
), for being the most lucrative colony in the world.
21
The noun
Creole
, soon began to refer to the language spoken there as well, as it still is today.
20
19
Origins
edit
Main article:
Creole language § Creole genesis
Haitian Creole contains elements from both the
Romance
group of
Indo-European languages
through its
superstrate
French
, as well as significant influences from
African languages
22
There are many theories on the formation of the Haitian Creole language.
One theory estimates that Haitian Creole developed between 1680 and 1740.
23
24
25
During the 17th century, French and Spanish colonizers produced
tobacco
cotton
, and
sugar cane
on the island.
25
Throughout this period, the population was made of roughly equal numbers of
engagés
(white workers),
gens de couleur libres
(free people of colour) and slaves.
26
The economy shifted more decisively into sugar production about 1690, just before the French colony of
Saint-Domingue
was officially recognized in 1697.
11
24
The sugar crops needed a much larger labor force, which led to an increase in slave trafficking. In the 18th century an estimated 800,000 West Africans were enslaved and brought to Saint-Domingue.
25
As the slave population increased, the proportion of French-speaking colonists decreased.
Many African slaves in the colony had come from
Niger-Congo
-speaking territory, and particularly speakers of
Kwa languages
, such as
Gbe
from West Africa and the
Central Tano languages
, and
Bantu languages
from Central Africa.
24
Singler suggests that the number of Bantu speakers decreased while the number of Kwa speakers increased, with Gbe being the most dominant group. The first fifty years of
Saint‑Domingue
's sugar boom coincided with emergent Gbe predominance in the
French Caribbean
. In the interval during which Singler hypothesizes the language evolved, the Gbe population was around 50% of the kidnapped enslaved population.
24
Classical French
classique
) and
langues d'oïl
Norman
Poitevin
and
Saintongeais
dialects,
Gallo
and
Picard
) were spoken during the 17th and 18th centuries in
Saint‑Domingue
, as well as in
New France
and
French West Africa
20
27
Slaves lacked a common means of communication and as a result would try to learn French to communicate with one another, though most were denied a formal education. With the constant trafficking and enslavement of Africans, the language became increasingly distinct from French. The language was also picked up by other members of the community and became used by the majority of those born in what is now Haiti.
20
Saint-Domingue Creole French
edit
Further information:
Creole French
A rich
Creole
planter of
Saint-Domingue
with his wife
In
Saint-Domingue
, people of all classes spoke
Creole French
. There were both lower and higher registers of the language, depending on education and class. Creole served as a
lingua franca
throughout the
West Indies
28
L'Entrepreneur. Mo sorti apprend, Mouché, qué vou té éprouvé domage dan traversée.
Le Capitaine: Ça vrai.
L'Entr: Vou crére qué navire à vou gagné bisoin réparations?
Le C: Ly té carené anvant nou parti, mai coup z'ouragan là mété moué dan cas fair ly bay encor nion radoub.
L'Entr: Ly fair d'iau en pile?
Le C: Primié jours aprés z'orage, nou té fair trente-six pouces par vingt-quatre heurs; mai dan beau tem mo fair yo dégagé ça mo pu, et tancher miyor possible, nou fair à présent necqué treize pouces.
29
The Entrepreneur: I just learned, sir, that you garnered damages in your crossing.
The Captain: That's true.
The Entrepreneur: Do you believe that your ship needs repair?
The Captain: It careened before we left, but the blow from the hurricane put me in the position of getting it refitted again.
The Entrepreneur: Is it taking on a lot of water?
The Captain: The first days after the storm, we took on thirty-six inches in twenty-four hours; but in clear weather, I made them take as much of it out as I was able, and attached it the best we possibly could; we're presently taking on not even thirteen inches.
The flag of the
Empire of Haiti (1804–1806)
Haïti, l'an 1er, 5e, jour de l'indépendance.
Chère maman moi,
Ambassadeurs à nous, partis pour chercher argent France, moi voulé écrire à vous par yo, pour dire vous combien nous contens. Français bon, oublié tout. Papas nous révoltés contre yo, papas nous tués papas yo, fils yo, gérens yo, papas nous brûlées habitations yo. Bagasse, eux viennent trouver nous! et dis nous, vous donner trente millions de gourdes à nous et nous laisser Haïti vous? Vous venez acheter du sucre, du café, de l’indigo chez nous? Mais vous payez la moitié du droit à nous. Vous pensez, chère maman, que nous avons accepté le marché. Le président nous a embrassés, bon papa Makau. Yo bu santé roi de France, santé
Boyer
, santé
Christophe
, santé Haïti, santé indépendance. Puis yo dansé Balcindé et Bai chi ca colé avec Haïtiens. Moi pas pouvé dire vous combien tout ça noble et beau.
Venir voir fils à vous sur habitation, maman moi, li donné vous cassave, gouillave et pimentade. Il est bien content si vous pouvez mener la blanche France pour épouse. Dis-lui, si ben heureuse. Nous plus tuer blancs, frères, amis, et camarades à nous.
Fils à vous, embrassez-vous, chère maman, moi.
Congo, Haïtien libre et indépendant, au Trou-Salé.
30
A Haitian planter
Haiti, 1st year, 5th day of independence.
My dear mother,
Our ambassadors left to get money from France, I want to write to you through them, to tell you how much we are happy. The French are good, they forgot everything. Our fathers revolted against them, our fathers killed their fathers, sons, managers, and our fathers burned down their plantations. Well, they came to find us, and told us, "you give thirty million gourdes to us and we'll leave Haiti to you? (And we replied) Will you come buy sugar, coffee, and indigo from us? You will pay only half directly to us." Do you believe my dear mother, that we accepted the deal? Our President hugged the good papa Makau (the French ambassador). They drank to the health of the
King of France
, to the health of
Boyer
, to the health of
Christophe
, to the health of Haiti, to independence. Then they danced Balcindé and Bai chi ca colé with Haitian women. I can't tell you how beautiful and noble all of this is.
Come see your son at his plantation, my mother, he will give you cassava, goyava, and pimentade. He will be happy if you can bring him a white Frenchwoman for a wife. Tell her, if you please. We won't kill anymore whites, brothers, friends, and camarades of ours.
Your son hugs you, my dear mother.
Congo, free and independent Haitian, at Trou-Salé.
Differences between Haitian Creole and French
edit
Haitian Creole and French have similar pronunciations and also share many lexical items.
31
32
However, many
cognate
terms actually have different meanings. For example, as Valdman mentions in
Haitian Creole: Structure, Variation, Status, Origin
, the word for "frequent" in French is
fréquent
; however, its cognate in Haitian Creole
frekan
means 'insolent, rude, and impertinent' and usually refers to people.
33
In addition, the grammars of Haitian Creole and French are very different. For example, in Haitian Creole, verbs are not conjugated as they are in French.
20
Additionally, Haitian Creole possesses different phonetics from standard French; however, it is similar in phonetic structure.
31
The phrase-structure is another similarity between Haitian Creole and French but differs slightly in that it contains details from its African substratum language.
31
Both Haitian Creole and French have also experienced
semantic change
: words that had a single meaning in the
17th century
have changed or have been replaced in both languages.
20
For example, "
Ki jan ou rele?
" ("What is your name?") corresponds to the French "
Comment vous appelez‑vous ?
". Although the average French speaker would not understand this phrase, every word in it is in fact of French origin:
qui
"who";
genre
"manner";
vous
"you", and
héler
"to call", but the verb
héler
has been replaced by
appeler
in modern French and reduced to a meaning of "to flag down".
20
Claire Lefebvre proposed the theory of
relexification
, arguing that the process of relexification (the replacement of the phonological representation of a substratum lexical item with the
phonological
representation of a superstratum lexical item, so that the Haitian creole lexical item looks like French, but works like the substratum language(s)) was central in the development of Haitian Creole.
34
The
Fon language
, also known as the Fongbe language, is a modern
Gbe language
native to
Benin
Nigeria
and
Togo
in
West Africa
. This language has a grammatical structure similar to Haitian Creole, possibly making Creole a
relexification
of Fon with vocabulary from French. The two languages are often compared:
35
French
Fon
Haitian Creole
la
maison
36
afe
kay
la
the
house
Taíno influence
edit
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does not
cite
any
sources
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adding citations to reliable sources
. Unsourced material may be challenged and
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There are a number of
Taíno
influences in Haitian Creole; many objects, fruit and animal names are either
haitianized
or have a similar pronunciation. Many towns, places or sites have their official name being a translation of the Taíno word.
Taíno
Haitian Creole
Meaning
Amani
Amani-y
The nickname of the town of
Saint-Marc
and famous beach
Ayiti, Ayti
Ayiti,
Haiti
The name of the country and the island. It means "Land of Great Mountains"
Barbacoa
Babekyou
Barbecue
Bajacu
Bayakou
The northern star, dawn, a Vodoun Loa associated with the star
Batey
Batèy
Batey
, a settlement around a sugar mill
Caiman
Kayiman
Alligator
Caimito
Kayimit
Star apple
Canari
Kannari
A clay pot to keep water cool
Canoa
Kannòt
Canoe
Casabe
Kasav
Cassava
Casique
Kasik
Cacique
, an indigenous chief
Cayo
Okay, or
Les Cayes
A commune and seaport in the Sud département of Haiti
Gonaibo
Gonayiv, or
Gonaïves
The biggest city and capital of
Artibonite
Guanabo
Gonav,
Gonâve
or Lagonav
The biggest satellite island of
Hispaniola
and last refuge of the
Taíno
Guayaba
Gwayav
Guava
Hamaca
Amaka
Hammock
Jatibonico
Latibonit, or
Artibonite
The longest river of
Hispaniola
and the biggest and most populous département of Haiti. In Taíno the word means "sacred water".
Lambi
Lanbi
Conch
Mabi
Mabi
A bitter drink known in the West Indies as
Mauby
Maboya
Mabouya
Iguana
Mahis
Mayi
Maize
Mamey
Mamey, or Abriko
The nickname of the town of
Abricots
Manati
Lamanten
Manatee
Mani
Manba
Peanut butter
Sabana
Savann
Savanna
Tiburon
Tibiwon
The same word means "
Tiburon
", a coastal town in the South Peninsula (also called
Tiburon Peninsula
) and a river near the town. Also means
Shark
Yaguana
Leyogàn,
Léogane
A coastal town south of
Port-au-Prince
and capital of the cacicat of
Xaragua
Yucahu
Loko
, or Louquo
The patron of healers and plants, a Vodoun Loa related to
Yucahu
, the supreme deity of the Taíno
History
edit
Early development
edit
Haitian Creole developed in the 17th and 18th centuries in the colony of
Saint-Domingue
, in a setting that mixed speakers of various Niger–Congo languages with French colonists.
11
In the early 1940s under President
Élie Lescot
, attempts were made to standardize the language. American linguistic expert
Frank Laubach
and Irish Methodist missionary
H. Ormonde McConnell
developed a standardized
Haitian Creole orthography
. Although some regarded the orthography highly, it was generally not well received.
37
Its
orthography
was standardized in 1979. That same year Haitian Creole was elevated in status by the Act of 18 September 1979.
38
The
Institut Pédagogique National
established an official orthography for Creole, and slight modifications were made over the next two decades. For example, the
hyphen (-)
is no longer used, nor is the apostrophe.
39
: 131
15
: 185–192
The only accent mark retained is the
grave accent
in
⟨è⟩
and
⟨ò⟩
15
: 433
Becoming an official language
edit
The Constitution of 1987 upgraded Haitian Creole to a national language alongside French.
40
It classified French as the
langue d'instruction
or "language of instruction", and Creole was classified as an
outil d'enseignement
or a "tool of education". The Constitution of 1987 names both Haitian Creole and French as the official languages, but recognizes Haitian Creole as the only language that all Haitians hold in common.
41
: 263
42
French is spoken by only a small percentage of citizens.
11
17
Literature development
edit
Even without government recognition, by the end of the 19th century, there were already literary texts written in Haitian Creole such as
Oswald Durand
's
Choucoune
and
Georges Sylvain
's
Cric?
Crac!
Félix Morisseau-Leroy
was another influential author of Haitian Creole work. Since the 1980s, many educators, writers, and activists have written literature in Haitian Creole. In 2001,
Open Gate: An Anthology of Haitian Creole Poetry
was published. It was the first time a collection of Haitian Creole poetry was published in both Haitian Creole and English.
43
On 28 October 2004, the Haitian daily
Le Matin
first published an entire edition in Haitian Creole in observance of the country's newly instated "Creole Day".
44
: 556
Haitian Creole writers often use different literary strategies throughout their works, such as code-switching, to increase the audience's knowledge on the language.
17
Literature in Haitian Creole is also used to educate the public on the dictatorial social and political forces in Haiti.
17
Notable Haitian Creole-language writers
edit
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Louis-Philippe Dalembert
(b. 1962), poet and novelist
Frankétienne
(1936–2025), poet, playwright, painter, musician, activist
Ady Jean-Gardy
(b. 1967), international press activist
Josaphat-Robert Large
(1942–2017), poet, novelist and art critic
Félix Morisseau-Leroy
(1912–1998), poet and playwright
Elsie Suréna
(b. 1956), writer and visual artist
Lyonel Trouillot
(b. 1956), poet and novelist
Sociolinguistics
edit
Role in society
edit
Although both
French
and Haitian Creole are official languages in
Haiti
, French is often considered the high language and Haitian Creole the low language in the
diglossic relationship
of these two languages in society.
33
That is to say, for the minority of Haitian population that is bilingual, the use of these two languages largely depends on the social context: standard French is used more in public, especially in formal situations, whereas Haitian Creole is used more on a daily basis and is often heard in ordinary conversation.
45
There is a large population in Haiti that speaks only Haitian Creole, whether under formal or informal conditions:
French plays no role in the very formal situation of a Haitian peasant (more than 80% of the population make a living from agriculture) presiding at a family gathering after the death of a member, or at the worship of the family
lwa
or voodoo spirits, or contacting a Catholic priest for a church baptism, marriage, or solemn mass, or consulting a physician, nurse, or dentist, or going to a civil officer to declare a death or birth.
— Yves Dejean
46
: 192
Use in educational system
edit
In most schools, French is still the preferred language for teaching. Generally speaking, Creole is more used in public schools,
47
as that is where most children of ordinary families who speak Creole attend school.
Historically, the education system has been French-dominant. Except the children of elites, many had to drop out of school because learning French was very challenging to them and they had a hard time to follow up.
citation needed
The Bernard Reform of 1978 tried to introduce Creole as the teaching language in the first four years of primary school; however, the reform overall was not very successful.
48
The use of Creole has grown; after the earthquake in 2010, basic education became free and more accessible to the monolingual masses.
citation needed
In the 2010s, the government has attempted to expand the use of Creole and improve the school system.
49
50
Orthography
edit
Haitian Creole has a
phonemic orthography
with highly regular spelling, except for proper nouns and foreign words. According to the official standardized orthography, Haitian Creole is composed of the following 32 symbols:
⟨a⟩
⟨an⟩
⟨b⟩
⟨ch⟩
⟨d⟩
⟨e⟩
⟨è⟩
⟨en⟩
⟨f⟩
⟨g⟩
⟨h⟩
⟨i⟩
⟨j⟩
⟨k⟩
⟨l⟩
⟨m⟩
⟨n⟩
⟨ng⟩
⟨o⟩
⟨ò⟩
⟨on⟩
⟨ou⟩
⟨oun⟩
⟨p⟩
⟨r⟩
⟨s⟩
⟨t⟩
⟨ui⟩
⟨v⟩
⟨w⟩
⟨y⟩
, and
⟨z⟩
51
: 100
The letters
⟨c⟩
and
⟨u⟩
are always associated with another letter (in the
multigraphs
⟨ch⟩
⟨ou⟩
⟨oun⟩
, and
⟨ui⟩
). The Haitian Creole alphabet has no
⟨q⟩
or
⟨x⟩
; when
⟨x⟩
is used in loanwords and proper nouns, it represents the sounds
/ks/
/kz/
, or
/gz/
15
: 433
Consonants
Haitian orthography
IPA
Examples
English approximation
agay
ow
ch
ch
sh
oe
ous
ig
estival
wo
ain
ountò
otel
edi
mea
ure
le
iv
ean
achin
other
òt
ote
ng
bildi
ng
feeli
ng
ase
ezon
between
o and lo
ch
is
ix
out
yann
ent
ewo
ero
Non-native consonants
dj
dʒ
dj
az
azz
Semivowels
es
Semivowel
followed by vowel (digraph)
ui
ui
roughly like s
wee
Vowels
Haitian orthography
IPA
Examples
English approximation
(or à before an n)
ko
br
al
ey
stival
de
mach
ne
ranj
bl
ow
dey
rt
ou
ou
ou
Nasal vowels
an
(when not followed by a vowel)
an
pil
many
en
(when not followed by a vowel)
ɛ̃
mw
en
en
on
(when not followed by a vowel)
on
on
tone
oun
(when not followed by a vowel)
oun
No English equivalent;
nasalized
There are no silent letters in the Haitian Creole orthography.
All sounds are always spelled the same, except when a vowel carries a
grave accent
⟨`⟩
before
⟨n⟩
, which makes it an oral vowel instead of a nasal vowel:
⟨en⟩
for
/ɛ̃/
and
⟨èn⟩
for
/ɛn/
⟨on⟩
for
/ɔ̃/
and
⟨òn⟩
for
/ɔn/
; and
⟨an⟩
for
/ã/
and
⟨àn⟩
for
/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 of the letters
⟨i⟩
and
⟨ou⟩
when followed in spelling by
⟨n⟩
52
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, as in
houngan
("vodou priest")
The diphthong
/ɥi/
is extremely rare, and maybe only exists in the common word
uit
(← French
huit
) "eight". Most other instances of this diphthong have been replaced by
/wi/
, e.g.
fwi
(←
fruit
) "fruit",
nwit
(←
nuit
) "night".
Haitian orthography debate
edit
The first technical orthography for Haitian Creole was developed in 1940 by
H. Ormonde McConnell
and
Primrose McConnell
, Irish Methodist missionaries. It was later revised with the help of
Frank Laubach
, resulting in the creation of what is known as the
McConnell–Laubach orthography
15
: 434
53
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 codified
front rounded vowels
, which are typically used only by francophone elites.
15
: 436
Another criticism was of the broad use of the letters
⟨k⟩
⟨w⟩
, and
⟨y⟩
, which Pressoir argued looked "too American".
15
: 431–432
This criticism of the "American look" of the orthography was shared by many educated Haitians, who also criticized its association with
Protestantism
15
: 432
The last of Pressoir's criticisms was that "the use of the circumflex to mark nasalized vowels" treated nasal sounds differently from the way they are represented in French, which he feared would inhibit the learning of French.
15
: 431
The creation of the orthography was essentially an articulation of the language ideologies of those involved and 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.
15
: 435
This orthographical controversy boiled down to an attempt to unify a conception of Haitian national identity. Where
⟨k⟩
and
⟨w⟩
seemed too Anglo-Saxon and American imperialistic,
⟨c⟩
and
⟨ou⟩
were symbolic of French colonialism.
54
: 191
French-based orthography
edit
When Haiti was still a colony of France, edicts by the French government were often written in a French-lexicon creole and read aloud to the slave population.
55
The first written text of Haitian Creole was composed in the French-lexicon in a poem called
Lisette quitté la plaine
in 1757 by
Duvivier de la Mahautière
, a white Creole planter.
55
56
Before Haitian Creole orthography was standardized in the late 20th century, spelling varied, but was based on subjecting spoken Haitian
Creole to written French, a language whose spelling has a complicated relation to pronunciation. Unlike the phonetic orthography, French orthography of Haitian
Creole is not standardized and varies according to the writer; some use exact French spelling, others adjust the spelling of certain words to represent pronunciation of the cognate in Haitian
Creole, removing the silent letters. For example:
Li ale travay nan maten
lit.
"He goes to work in the morning") could be transcribed as:
Li ale travay nan maten
Lui aller travail nans matin
, or
Li aller travail nans matin
Grammar
edit
Haitian Creole grammar is highly
analytical
: for example, verbs are not inflected for tense or person, and there is no
grammatical gender
, which means that adjectives and articles are not inflected according to the noun. The primary word order is
subject–verb–object
as it is in French and English.
Many grammatical features, particularly the 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 if punctuation such as the hyphen should be used to connect them to the word.
15
: 185–192
Although the language's vocabulary has many words related to their French-language cognates, its sentence structure is like that of the West African
Fon language
35
Haitian Creole
Fon
French
bekàn
bike
mwen
my
bekàn mwen
bike my
keke
bike
che
my
keke che
bike my
ma
my
bécane
bike
ma bécane
my bike
my bike
bekàn
bike
mwen
my
yo
PL
bekàn mwen yo
bike my PL
keke
bike
che
my
le
PL
keke che le
bike my PL
mes
my
bécanes
bikes
mes bécanes
my bikes
my bikes
Pronouns
edit
There are six pronouns: first, second, and third person, each in both singular, and plural; all are of French etymological origin.
57
There is no difference between direct and indirect objects.
Haitian Creole
Fon
24
: 142
French
Long form
Short form
39
: 131
58
mwen
nyɛ̀
je
j'
me
me
m'
moi
ou
hwɛ̀
tu
you (singular), thou (archaic)
te
t'
toi
li
éyɛ̀
il
he
elle
she, her
le
him, it
la
her, it
l'
him, her, it
lui
him, her, it
nou
mí
nous
we, us
vous
61
: 94
you (plural)
yo
yé
ils
they
elles
les
them
leur
eux
sometimes the French pronoun
on
("one", "
[generic]
you
", "
[singular]
they
") is translated to Haitian Creole as
ou
59
and other times it is translated as
yo
60
sometimes
ou
is written as
and in the
sample phrases below
indicates
ou
in the northern part of Haiti,
li
is often shortened to
as in
Guadeloupe
Martinique
and the other
Lesser Antilles
in southern Haiti, the second person plural is
zòt
sometimes the French pronoun
on
("one", "
[generic]
you
", "
[singular]
they
") is translated to Haitian Creole as
yo
60
and other times it is translated as
ou
59
Possessive pronouns
edit
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Singular
edit
Haitian Creole
French
pa mwen an
le mien
mine (masculine)
la mienne
mine (feminine)
pa ou a
le tien
yours (masculine)
la tienne
yours (feminine)
pa li a
le sien
his/hers/its (masculine)
la sienne
his/hers/its (feminine)
pa nou an
le/la nôtre
ours
le/la vôtre
yours ("of you-PLURAL")
pa yo a
le/la leur
theirs
Plural
edit
Haitian Creole
French
pa mwen yo
les miens
mine
les miennes
pa ou yo
les tiens
yours
les tiennes
pa li yo
les siens
his/hers/its
les siennes
pa nou yo
les nôtres
ours
les vôtres
yours ("of you-PLURAL")
pa yo
les leurs
theirs
Plural of nouns
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Definite nouns are made plural when followed by the word
yo
; indefinite plural nouns are unmarked.
Haitian Creole
French
liv yo
les livres
the books
machin yo
les voitures
the cars
tifi yo met wòb
les filles mettent des robes
the girl
put on dress
es
Possession
edit
Possession is indicated by placing the possessor or possessive pronoun after the item possessed. In the Capois dialect of northern Haiti,
or
an
is placed before the possessive pronoun. Note, however, that this is not considered the standard Kreyòl most often heard in the media or used in writing.
62
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
French
lajan li
son argent
his money
her money
fanmi mwen
ma famille
my family
fanmi m
fanmi an m
(Capois dialect)
kay yo
leur maison
their house
leurs maisons
their houses
papa ou
ton père
your father
papa w
chat Pyè a
le chat de Pierre
Pierre's cat
chèz Marie a
la chaise de Marie
Marie's chair
zanmi papa Jean
l'ami du père de Jean
Jean's father's friend
papa vwazen zanmi nou
le père du voisin de notre ami
our friend's neighbor's father
Indefinite article
edit
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The language has two indefinite articles,
on
and
yon
(pronounced
/õ/
and
/jõ/
) which correspond to French
un
and
une
Yon
is derived from the French
il y a un
("there is a")
. Both are used only with singular nouns, and are placed before the noun:
Haitian Creole
French
on kouto
un couteau
a knife
yon kouto
on kravat
une cravate
a necktie
yon kravat
Definite article
edit
In Haitian Creole, the definite article has five forms,
63
: 28
and it is placed
after
the noun it modifies. The final syllable of the preceding word determines which form the definite article takes.
64
: 20
If the last sound is an
oral consonant
or a glide (spelled 'y' or 'w'), and if it is preceded by an
oral vowel
, the definite article is
la
Haitian Creole
French
Note
kravat
la
la cravate
the tie
liv
la
le livre
the book
kay
la
la maison
the house
From French "la cahut(t)e" (English "hut, shack")
kaw
la
le corbeau
the crow
If the last sound is an
oral consonant
and is preceded by a
nasal vowel
, the definite article is
lan
Haitian Creole
French
lanp
lan
la lampe
the lamp
bank
lan
la banque
the bank
If the last sound is an
oral vowel
and is preceded by an
oral consonant
, the definite article is
Haitian Creole
French
kouto
le couteau
the knife
peyi
le pays
the country
If the last sound is any
oral vowel
other than
or
ou
and is preceded by a
nasal consonant
, then the definite article is also
a:
Haitian Creole
French
lame
l'armée
the army
anana
l'ananas
the pineapple
dine
le dîner
the dinner
nò
le nord
the north
If a word ends in
mi
mou
ni
nou
, or if it ends with any
nasal vowel
, then the definite article is
an
Haitian Creole
French
fanmi
an
la famille
the family
jenou
an
le genou
the knee
chen
an
le chien
the dog
pon
an
le pont
the bridge
If the last sound is a
nasal consonant
, the definite article is
nan
, but may also be
lan
Haitian Creole
French
machin
nan
la voiture
the car
machin
lan
telefonn
nan
le téléphone
the telephone
The spelling "telefòn" is also attested.
telefonn
lan
fanm
nan
la femme
the woman
fanm
lan
Demonstratives
edit
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There is a single word
sa
that corresponds to English "this" and to "that" (and to French
ce
ceci
cela
, and
ça
). As in English, it may be used as a
demonstrative
, except that it is placed
after
the noun that it qualifies. It is often followed by
or
yo
(in order to mark
number
):
sa a
("this here" or "that there"):
Haitian Creole
French
jaden sa bèl
ce jardin est beau
this garden is beautiful
that garden is beautiful
As in English, it may also be used as a pronoun, replacing a noun:
Haitian Creole
French
sa se zanmi mwen
c'est mon ami
this is my friend
that is my friend
sa se chen frè mwen
c'est le chien de mon frère
this is my brother's dog
that is my brother's dog
Verbs
edit
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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
, and
aspect
are indicated by the use of
markers
Haitian Creole
French
li ale travay nan maten
il va au travail le matin
he goes to work in the morning
elle va au travail le matin
she goes to work in the morning
li dòmi aswè
il dort le soir
he sleeps in the evening
elle dort le soir
she sleeps in the evening
li li Bib la
il lit la Bible
he reads the Bible
elle lit la Bible
she reads the Bible
mwen fè manje
je fais à manger
I make food
I cook
nou toujou etidye
nous étudions toujours
we always study
Copula
edit
Main article:
Copula (linguistics) § Haitian Creole
The concept expressed in English by the
verb "to
be"
is expressed in Haitian Creole by three words,
se
ye
, and sometimes
The verb
se
(pronounced similarly to the English word "say") is used to link a subject with a
predicate nominative
Haitian Creole
French
li se frè mwen
c'est mon frère
he is my brother
mwen se yon doktè
je suis médecin
I'm a doctor
je suis docteur
sa se yon pyebwa mango
c'est un manguier
this is a mango tree
that is a mango tree
nou se zanmi
nous sommes amis
we are friends
The
subject
of a sentence with
se
might not be included. In which case, the sentence is interpreted as if the subject were
sa
("this" or "that") or
li
("he", "she" or "it"):
Haitian Creole
French
se yon bon ide
c'est une bonne idée
that's a good idea
this is a good idea
se nouvo chemiz mwen
c'est ma nouvelle chemise
that's my new shirt
this is my new shirt
To express "I want to be", usually
vin
("to
become") is used instead of
se
Haitian Creole
French
li pral vin bofrè m
il va devenir mon beau-frère
he will be my
brother-in-law
he will be my stepbrother
li pral vin bofrè mwen
mwen vle vin yon doktè
je veux devenir docteur
I want to become a doctor
sa pral vin yon pye mango
ça va devenir un manguier
that will become a mango tree
this will become a mango tree
nou pral vin zanmi
nous allons devenir amis
we will be friends
Ye
also means "to
be", but is placed exclusively at the
end
of a sentence, after the
predicate
and the
subject
(in that order):
Haitian Creole
French
mwen se Ayisyen
je suis haïtien
I am Haitian
Ayisyen mwen ye
Kòman ou ye?
lit.
Comment + vous + êtes ("Comment êtes-vous?")
How are you?
Haitian Creole has
stative verbs
, which means that the verb "to
be" is not
covert
when followed by an
adjective
. Therefore,
malad
means both "sick" and "
to be sick
":
Haitian Creole
French
mwen gen yon sè ki malad
j'ai une sœur malade
I have a sick sister
sè mwen malad
ma sœur est malade
my sister is sick
To have
edit
The verb "to have" is
genyen
, often shortened to
gen
Haitian Creole
French
mwen gen lajan nan bank lan
j'ai de l'argent dans la banque
I have money in the bank
There is
edit
The verb
genyen
(or
gen
) also means "there is" or "there are":
Haitian Creole
French
gen anpil Ayisyen nan Florid
il y a beaucoup d'Haïtiens en Floride
there are many Haitians in Florida
gen on moun la
il y a quelqu'un là
there is someone here
there is someone there
pa gen moun la
il n'y a personne là
there is nobody here
there is nobody there
To know
edit
The Haitian Creole word for "to know" and "to know how" is
konnen
, which is often shortened to
konn
Haitian Creole
French
Èske ou konnen non li?
Est-ce que tu connais son nom?
Do you know his name?
Do you know her name?
mwen konnen kote li ye
je sais où il est
I know where he is
je sais où elle est
I know where she is
Mwen konn fè manje
Je sais comment faire à manger
I know how to cook
lit.
"I know how to make food")
Èske ou konn ale Ayiti?
Est-ce que tu as été en Haïti?
Have you been to Haiti?
lit.
"Do you know to go to Haiti?")
Li pa konn li franse
Il ne sait pas lire le français
He cannot read French
lit.
"He doesn't know how to read French")
Elle ne sait pas lire le français
She cannot read French
lit.
"She doesn't know how to read French")
To do
edit
Fè
means "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
French
Kòman ou fè pale kreyòl?
Comment as-tu appris à parler Créole?
How did you learn to speak Haitian Creole?
Marie konn fè mayi moulen.
Marie sait faire de la farine de maïs.
Marie knows how to make cornmeal.
To be able to
edit
The verb
kapab
(or shortened to
ka
kap
or
kab
) means "to be able to (do something)". It refers to both "capability" and "availability":
Haitian Creole
French
mwen ka ale demen
je peux aller demain
I can go tomorrow
petèt mwen ka fè sa demen
je peux peut-être faire ça demain
maybe I can do that tomorrow
nou ka ale pita
nous pouvons aller plus tard
we can go later
Tense markers
edit
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
mwen pale kreyòl
je parle créole
I speak Creole
When the basic form of
action verbs
is used without any verb
markers
, it is generally understood as referring to the past:
Haitian Creole
French
mwen manje
j'ai mangé
I ate
ou manje
tu as mangé
you ate
li manje
il a mangé
he ate
elle a mangé
she ate
nou manje
nous avons mangé
we ate
yo manje
ils ont mangé
they ate
elles ont mangé
Manje
means both "food" and "to eat", as
manger
does in
Canadian French
citation needed
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
Tense
Annotations
te
simple past
from French
été
("been")
t ap
past
progressive
a combination of
te
and
ap
, "was doing"
ap
present progressive
with
ap
and
, the
pronouns
nearly always take the short form (
m ap
l ap
n ap
y ap
, etc.). From 18th-century French
être après
, progressive form
future
some limitations on use. From French
avoir à
("to have to")
pral
near or definite
future
translates to "going to". Contraction of French
pour aller
("going to")
ta
conditional future
a combination of
te
and
("will do")
Simple past
or
past perfect
Haitian Creole
mwen te manje
I ate
I had eaten
ou te manje
you ate
you had eaten
li te manje
he ate
she ate
he had eaten
she had eaten
nou te manje
we ate
we had eaten
yo te manje
they ate
they had eaten
Past
progressive
Haitian Creole
mwen t ap manje
I was eating
ou t ap manje
you were eating
li t ap manje
he was eating
she was eating
nou t ap manje
we were eating
yo t ap manje
they were eating
Present progressive
Haitian Creole
m ap manje
I am eating
w ap manje
you are eating
l ap manje
he is eating
she is eating
n ap manje
we are eating
y ap manje
they are eating
For the
present progressive
, it is customary, though not necessary, to add
kounye
("right
now"):
Haitian Creole
m ap manje kounye a
I am eating right now
y ap manje kounye a
they are eating right now
Also,
ap manje
can mean "will eat" depending on the context of the sentence:
Haitian Creole
m ap manje apre m priye
I will eat after I pray
I am eating after I pray
mwen p ap di sa
I will not say that
I am not saying 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 is going to eat
she is going to eat
nou pral manje
we are going to eat
yo pral manje
they are going to eat
Future
Haitian Creole
n a wè pita
see you later
lit.
"we will see later")
Other examples:
Haitian Creole
mwen te wè zanmi ou yè
I saw your friend yesterday
nou te pale lontan
we spoke for a long time
lè l te gen uit an...
when he was eight years old...
when 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 wè yon chen
I was walking and I saw a dog
Recent past
markers include
fèk
and
sòt
(both mean "just" or "just now" and are often used together):
Haitian Creole
mwen fèk sòt 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:
Haitian Creole
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 would forget you if you weren't here
she would forget you if you weren't here
Negation
edit
The word
pa
comes before a verb and any tense markers to negate it:
Haitian Creole
Rose pa vle ale
Rose doesn't want to go
Rose pa t vle ale
Rose didn't want to go
Lexicon
edit
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
citation needed
Haitian Creole creates and borrows new words to describe new or old concepts and realities. Examples of this are
fè 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 well as
tòchon
, from the French
torchon
citation needed
Sample
edit
Haitian Creole
IPA
Origin
ablado
65
/ablado/
Spanish:
hablador
"a talker"
anasi
/anasi/
Akan
ananse
spider
annanna
/ãnãna/
Taino
ananas
; also used in French
pineapple
Ayiti
/ajiti/
Taino:
Ahatti
lit.
mountainous land
Haiti ("mountainous land")
bagay
/baɡaj/
French:
bagage
lit.
baggage
thing
bannann
/bãnãn/
French:
banane
lit.
banana
banana/plantain
bekàn
/bekan/
French:
bécane
bicycle
bokit
13
/bokit/
bucket
bòkò
/bɔkɔ/
Fon
bokono
sorcerer
Bondye
/bõdje/
French:
bon dieu
lit.
good God
God
chenèt
/ʃenɛt/
French:
quénette
(French Antilles)
gap between the two front teeth
chouk
/ʃuk/
Fula
chuk
lit.
to pierce, to poke
poke
dekabès
/dekabes/
Spanish:
dos cabezas
lit.
two heads
two-headed win during dominos
dèyè
/dɛjɛ/
French:
derrière
behind
diri
/diɣi/
French:
du riz
lit.
some rice
rice
èkondisyone
/ɛkondisjone/
air conditioner
air conditioner
Etazini
66
/etazini/
French:
États-Unis
United States
fig
/fiɡ/
French:
figue
lit.
fig
banana
67
je
/ʒe/
French:
les yeux
lit.
the eyes
eye
kannistè
13
/kannistɛ/
canister
tin can
kay
/kaj/
French:
la cahutte
lit.
the hut
house
kle
/kle/
French:
clé
lit.
key
key, wrench
kle kola
/kle
kola/
French:
clé
lit.
key
bottle opener
cola
kònfleks
/kɔnfleks/
corn flakes
breakfast cereal
kawotchou
/kawotʃu/
French:
caoutchouc
lit.
rubber
tire
lalin
/lalin/
French:
la lune
lit.
the moon
moon
li
/li/
French:
lui
he, she, him, her, it
makak
/makak/
French:
macaque
monkey
manbo
/mãbo/
Kongo
mambu
or Fon:
nanbo
vodou priestess
marasa
/maɣasa/
Kongo:
mapassa
twins
matant
/matãt/
French:
ma tante
lit.
my aunt
aunt, aged woman
moun
/mun/
French:
monde
lit.
world
people, person
mwen
/mwɛ̃/
French:
moi
lit.
me
I, me, my, myself
nimewo
/nimewo/
French:
numéro
lit.
number
number
oungan
/ũɡã/
Fon:
houngan
vodou priest
piman
/pimã/
French:
piment
a very hot
pepper
pann
/pãn/
French:
pendre
lit.
to hang
clothesline
podyab
/podjab/
French:
pauvre diable
or Spanish:
pobre diablo
poor devil
pwa
/pwa/
French:
pois
lit.
pea
bean
sapat
65
/sapat/
Spanish:
zapato
; French:
savatte
sandal
seyfing
/sejfiŋ/
surfing
sea-surfing
tonton
/tõtõ/
French:
tonton
uncle, aged man
vwazen
/vwazɛ̃/
French:
voisin
neighbor
zonbi
/zõbi/
Kongo:
nzumbi
soulless corpse, living dead, ghost,
zombie
zwazo
/zwazo/
French:
les oiseaux
lit.
the birds
bird
Nèg
and
blan
edit
Although
nèg
and
blan
have similar words in French (
nègre
, a pejorative to refer to black people, and
blanc
, meaning white, or white person), the meanings they carry in French do not apply in Haitian Creole.
Nèg
means "a person" or "a man" (like "guy" or "dude" in American English).
68
The word
blan
generally means "foreigner" or "not from Haiti". Thus, a non-black Haitian man (usually biracial) could be called
nèg
, while a black person from the US could be referred to as
blan
68
69
Etymologically, the word
nèg
is derived from the French
nègre
and is cognate with the Spanish
negro
("black", both the color
black
and the
people
).
There are many other Haitian Creole terms for specific tones of skin including
grimo
bren
roz
, and
mawon
. 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.
Examples
edit
This section
does not
cite
any
sources
Please help
improve this section
by
adding citations to reliable sources
. Unsourced material may be challenged and
removed
January 2026
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Haitian Creole
Papa Nou ki nan sièl,
ké non ou jouinn tout réspè,
ké règn ou vini,
ké volonté ou akonpli,
sou té a tankou nan sièl.
Ban nou jod a pin chak jou nou,
padonnin nou péché nou,
tankou nou padonnin moun ki ofansé nou.
Pa minnin nou nan tentasion,
min délivré nou an-ba malin an.
Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day, our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
Salutations
edit
Haitian Creole
A demen!
See you tomorrow!
A pi ta!
See you later!
Adye!
Good bye! (permanently)
Anchante!
Nice to meet you! (
lit
. "enchanted!")
Bon apre-midi!
Good afternoon!
Bòn chans!
Good luck!
Bòn nui!
Good night!
Bonjou!
Good day!
Good morning!
Bonswa!
Good evening
Dezole!
Sorry!
Eskize m!
Excuse me!
Kenbe la!
Hang in there! (informal)
Ki jan ou rele?
What's your name?
Ki non ou?
Ki non w?
Kòman ou rele?
Mwen rele
My name is...
Non m se.
Ki jan ou ye?
How are you?
Ki laj ou?
How old are you? (
lit
. "What is your age?")
Ki laj ou genyen?
Kòman ou ye?
How are you?
Kon si, kon sa
So, so
Kontinye konsa!
Keep it up!
M ap boule
I'm managing (informal;
lit
. "I'm burning")
(common response to
sa kap fèt
and
sak pase
M ap kenbe
I'm hanging on (informal)
M ap viv
I'm living
Mal
Bad
Men wi
Of course
Mèsi
Thank you
Mèsi anpil
Many thanks
Mwen byen
I'm well
Mwen dakò
I agree
Mwen gen an
I'm years old
Mwen la
I'm so-so (informal;
lit
. "I'm here")
N a wè pita!
See you later! (
lit
. "We will see later!")
Orevwa!
Good bye (temporarily)
Pa mal
Not bad
Pa pi mal
Not so bad
Padon!
Pardon!
Sorry!
Move!
Padone m!
Pardon me!
Forgive me!
Pòte w byen!
Take care! (
lit
. "Carry yourself well!")
Sa k ap fèt?
What's going on? (informal)
What's up? (informal)
Sa k pase?
What's happening? (informal)
What's up? (informal)
Tout al byen
All is well (
lit
. "All goes well")
Tout bagay anfòm
Everything is fine (
lit
. "Everything is in form")
Tout pa bon
All is not well (
lit
. "All is not good")
Proverbs and expressions
edit
Proverbs play a central role in traditional Haitian culture and Haitian Creole speakers make frequent use of them as well as of other metaphors.
70
Proverbs
edit
Haitian Creole
Men anpil, chay pa lou
Strength through unity
71
lit
. "With many hands, the burden is not heavy";
72
Haitian Creole equivalent of the French on the
coat of arms of Haiti
, which reads
l'union fait la force
Apre bal, tanbou lou
There are consequences to your actions (
lit
. "After the dance, the drum is heavy")
73
Sak vid pa kanpe
No work gets done on an empty stomach (
lit
. "An empty bag does not stand up")
74
: 60
Pitit tig se tig
Like father like son (
lit
. "The son of a tiger is a tiger")
Ak pasyans w ap wè tete pis
Anything is possible (
lit
. "With patience you will see the breast of the ant")
Bay kou bliye, pote mak sonje
The giver of the blow forgets, the carrier of the scar remembers
Mache chèche pa janm dòmi san soupe
You will get what you deserve
Bèl dan pa di zanmi
Not all smiles are friendly (
lit
. "Good teeth don't mean (that person is) a friend")
Bèl antèman pa di paradi
A beautiful funeral does not guarantee heaven
Bèl fanm pa di bon mennaj
A beautiful wife does not guarantee a happy marriage
Dan konn mòde lang
People who work together sometimes hurt each other (
lit
. "Teeth are known to bite the tongue")
Sa k rive koukouloulou a ka rive kakalanga tou
What happens to the dumb guy can happen to the smart one too (
lit
. "What happens to the turkey can happen to the rooster too")
74
: 75
Chak jou pa Dimanch
Your luck will not last forever (
lit
. "Not every day is Sunday")
Fanm pou yon tan, manman pou tout tan
A woman is for a time, a mother is for all time
74
: 93
Nèg di san fè, Bondye fè san di
Man talks without doing, God does without talking
74
: 31
Sa Bondye sere pou ou, lavalas pa ka pote l ale
What God has saved for you, nobody can take it away
Nèg rich se milat, milat pòv se nèg
A rich negro is a mulatto, a poor mulatto is a negro
Pale franse pa di lespri
Speaking French does not mean you are smart
74
: 114
Wòch nan dlo pa konnen doulè wòch nan solèy
The rock in the water does not know the pain of the rock in the sun
75
Ravèt pa janm gen rezon devan poul
Justice will always be on the side of the stronger
76
lit
. "A cockroach in front of a chicken is never correct")
Si ou bwè dlo nan vè, respèkte vè 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
Sèl pa vante tèt li di li sale
Let others praise you (lit. "Salt doesn't brag that it's salty," said to those who praise themselves)
Bouch granmoun santi, sak ladan l se rezon
Wisdom comes from the mouth of old people (
lit
. "The mouth of the old stinks but what's inside is wisdom")
Tout moun se moun
Everyone matters (
lit
. "Everybody is a person")
77
Expressions
edit
Haitian Creole
Se lave men, siye l atè
It was useless work (
lit
. "Wash your hands and wipe them on the floor")
M ap di ou sa kasayòl te di bèf la
Mind your own business
Li pale franse
He cannot be trusted, he is full of himself (
lit
. "He speaks French")
78
Kreyòl pale, kreyòl konprann
Speak straightforwardly and honestly (
lit
. "Creole talks, Creole understands")
74
: 29
Bouche nen ou pou bwè dlo santi
You have to accept a bad situation (
lit
. "Pinch your nose to drink smelly water")
74
: 55
Mache sou pinga ou, pou ou pa pile: "Si m te konnen!"
"Be on your guard, so you don't have to say: 'If only I'd known!'"
74
: 159
Tann jis nou tounen pwa tann
To wait forever (
lit
. "left hanging until we became string beans" which is a word play on
tann
, which means both "to hang" and "to wait")
San pran souf
Without taking a breath; continuously
W ap konn jòj
Warning or threat of punishment or reprimand (
lit
. "You will know George")
Dis ti piti tankou ou
Dismissing or defying a threat or show of force (
lit
. "Ten little ones like you couldn't.")
Lè poul va fè dan
Never (
lit
. "When hens grow teeth")
79
Piti piti zwazo fè nich li
You will learn (
lit
. "Little by little the bird makes its nest")
74
: 110
Usage abroad
edit
United States and Canada
edit
Haitian Creole display at a car rental counter in the
Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport
(2014)
See also:
Haitian Americans
and
Haitian Canadians
CDC-sponsored
poster about the
COVID-19
prevention in Haitian Creole
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 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 as well as English.
80
North America's only Creole-language television network is
HBN
, based in Miami. These areas also each have more than half a dozen Creole-language
AM radio
stations.
81
Haitian Creole and Haitian culture are taught in many colleges in the United States and the Bahamas.
York College, City University of New York
, features a minor in Haitian Creole.
82
Indiana University
's Albert Valdman founded the country's first Creole Institute
83
where Haitian Creole, among other facets of Haiti, were studied and researched. The
University of Kansas
Lawrence
has an Institute of Haitian studies, founded by
Bryant Freeman
. The
University of Massachusetts Boston
Florida International University
, and
Indiana University Bloomington
offer seminars and courses annually at their Haitian Creole Summer Institutes.
Brown University
University of Miami
Tulane University
, and
Duke University
84
also offer Haitian Creole classes, and
Columbia University
and
NYU
have jointly offered a course since 2015.
85
86
The
University of Chicago
began offering Creole courses in 2010.
87
As of 2015
[update]
, the
New York City Department of Education
counted 2,838 Haitian Creole-speaking
English-language learners
(ELLs) in the city's K–12 schools, making it the seventh most common home language of ELLs citywide and the fifth most common home language of Brooklyn ELLs.
88
: 19–20
Because of the large population of Haitian Creole-speaking students within NYC schools, various organizations have been established to respond to the needs of these students. For example, Flanbwayan and Gran Chimen Sant Kiltirèl, both located in Brooklyn, New York, aim to promote education and Haitian culture through advocacy, literacy projects, and cultural/artistic endeavors.
89
Cuba
edit
See also:
Haitian Cubans
and
Languages of Cuba
Haitian Creole is the second most spoken language in
Cuba
after Spanish,
90
91
where over 300,000
Haitian immigrants
speak it. It is recognized as a minority 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
91
Dominican Republic
edit
See also:
Haitians in the Dominican Republic
and
Languages of the Dominican Republic
As of 2012
[update]
, the language was also spoken by over 450,000 Haitians who reside in the neighboring
Dominican Republic
92
although the locals do not speak it. However, some estimates suggest that there are over a million speakers due to a huge population of undocumented immigrants from Haiti.
93
The Bahamas
edit
As of 2009, up to 80,000 Haitians were estimated residing in the Bahamas,
94
where about 20,000 speak Haitian Creole. It is the third most‑spoken language after English and
Bahamian Creole
95
Software
edit
After the
2010 Haiti earthquake
, international aid workers desperately 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.
96
Microsoft Research
and
Google Translate
implemented
alpha version
machine translators
based on the Carnegie Mellon data.
Several smartphone apps have been released, including learning with flashcards by
Byki
and two medical dictionaries, one by Educa Vision and a second by
Ultralingua
, the latter of which includes an audio phrase book and a section on cultural anthropology.
See also
edit
Haitian Creole edition
of
Wikipedia
, the free encyclopedia
Haiti portal
Languages portal
Afro-Brazilians
Akademi Kreyòl Ayisyen
Antillean Creole French
Creole language
Louisiana Creole French
Michel DeGraff
Radio Haiti-Inter
References
edit
Haitian Creole
at
Ethnologue
(27th ed., 2024)
Gurevich, Naomi (2004).
"Appendix A: Result Summary"
Lenition and Contrast: The Functional Consequences of Certain Phonetically Conditioned Sound Changes
. New York: Routledge. pp. 112,
301–
304.
ISBN
978-1-135-87648-7
LCCN
2004051429
OCLC
919306666
OL
5731391W
Name: ... Haitian Creole ...; Phylum: ... Indo‑European...
Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin (eds.).
"Haitian"
Glottolog
. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
Dufour, Fritz, ed. (2017).
"Exploring the Possibilities for the Emergence of a Single and Global Native Language"
. Language Arts & Disciplines. p. 4
. Retrieved
11 October
2020
Cérémonie de lancement d'un partenariat entre le Ministère de l'Education Nationale et de la Formation Professionnelle et l'Académie Créole
(in French and Haitian Creole). Port‑au‑Prince, Haiti: Government of the Republic of Haiti. 8 July 2015. Archived from
the original
on 28 July 2015
. Retrieved
5 December
2015
"Discovering Languages: Haitian Creole"
Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers
. CASLT. 6 February 2024
. Retrieved
29 June
2025
"Haitian Creole"
Encyclopaedia Britannica
. Britannica
. Retrieved
29 June
2025
DeGraff, Michel; Ruggles, Molly (1 August 2014).
"A Creole Solution for Haiti's Woes"
The New York Times
. p. A17.
ISSN
0362-4331
Archived
from the original on 6 September 2015.
Under the 1987 Constitution, adopted after the overthrow of Jean‑Claude Duvalier's dictatorship, [Haitian] Creole and French have been the two official languages, but most of the population speaks only Creole fluently.
Léonidas, Jean-Robert (1995).
Prétendus Créolismes: Le Couteau dans l'Igname
So‑Called Creolisms: The Knife in the Yam
] (in French). Montréal: Editions du CIDIHCA.
ISBN
978-2-920862-97-5
LCCN
95207252
OCLC
34851284
OL
3160860W
Schieffelin, Bambi B.; Doucet, Rachelle Charlier (1994).
"The "Real" Haitian Creole: Ideology, Metalinguistics, and Orthographic Choice"
American Ethnologist
21
(1):
176–
200.
doi
10.1525/ae.1994.21.1.02a00090
ISSN
0094-0496
JSTOR
646527
DeGraff, Michel
(2007).
Kreyòl Ayisyen
, or Haitian Creole ('Creole French')"
(PDF)
. In
Holm, John
; Patrick, Peter L. (eds.).
Comparative Creole Syntax: Parallel Outlines of 18 Creole Grammars
. London: Battlebridge. pp.
101–
102.
ISBN
978-1-903292-01-3
OCLC
192098910
OL
12266293M
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 31 July 2015.
Seguin, Luisa (2020).
Transparency and Language Contact: The Case of Haitian Creole, French, and Fongbe
. Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages. pp.
218–
252.
Bonenfant, Jacques L. (2011).
"History of Haitian-Creole: From Pidgin to Lingua Franca and English Influence on the Language"
(PDF)
Review of Higher Education and Self-Learning
(11).
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 23 March 2015.
Nadeau, Jean-Benoît
Barlow, Julie
(2008) [1st pub. 2006].
"Far from the Sun"
The Story of French
. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 97.
ISBN
978-0-312-34184-8
LCCN
2006049348
OCLC
219563658
There are more speakers of French-based Creoles than all other Creoles combined (including English), thanks mostly to Haiti, the biggest Creole-speaking nation in the world...
Schieffelin, Bambi B.; Doucet, Rachelle Charlier (September 1992).
"The 'Real' Haitian Creole: Ideology, Metalinguistics, and Orthographic Choice"
(PDF)
Journal of Pragmatics
(3):
427–
443.
doi
10.1525/ae.1994.21.1.02a00090
ISSN
0378-2166
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 28 July 2015.
DeGraff, Michel
(2003).
"Against Creole exceptionalism"
(PDF)
Language
79
(2):
391–
410.
doi
10.1353/lan.2003.0114
S2CID
47857823
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 29 July 2015.
Spears, Arthur K.; Joseph, Carole M. Berotte (22 June 2010).
The Haitian Creole Language: History, Structure, Use, and Education
. Lexington Books. p. 2.
ISBN
978-1-4616-6265-5
Harper, Douglas (ed.).
"Creole"
Online Etymology Dictionary
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (
link
Archer, Marie-Thérèse, ed. (1998).
"Créolologie haïtienne: latinité du créole d'Haïti : créole étudié dans son contexte ethnique, historique, linguistique, sociologique et pédagogique. Volume 1 of Livre du maître"
. Impr. Le Nata. p. 7
. Retrieved
11 October
2020
Valdman, Albert (2002).
"Creole: The National Language of Haiti"
Footsteps
(4):
36–
39. Archived from
the original
on 13 July 2015.
Dinga, John S., ed. (2011).
America's Irresistible Attraction: Beyond the Green Card
. Trafford Publishing. p. 489.
ISBN
9781426961250
. Retrieved
11 October
2020
John, Vijay; Slocum, Jonathan (2014).
"Indo‑European Languages: Italic Family"
Linguistics Research Center
. University of Texas at Austin. Archived from
the original
on 6 October 2015.
Spears, Arthur K.
"Haitian Creole chapter from the book: Languages and Dialects in the U.S.: Focus on Diversity and Linguistics (pp.180–195)"
Research Gate
. Routledge
. Retrieved
24 November
2023
Lefebvre, Claire (2006).
Creole Genesis and the Acquisition of Grammar: The Case of Haitian Creole
Cambridge University Press
. pp.
53–
57, 190.
ISBN
978-0-521-02538-6
LCCN
2006280760
OCLC
71007434
OL
7714204M
Velupillai, Viveka (2015).
Pidgins, Creoles and mixed languages: an introduction
. Creole language library. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 198.
ISBN
9789027252715
Singler, John Victor (1996). "Theories of Creole Genesis, Sociohistorical Considerations, and the Evaluation of Evidence: The Case of Haitian Creole and the Relexification Hypothesis".
Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages
11
(2):
185–
230.
doi
10.1075/jpcl.11.2.02sin
Lefebvre, Claire (2004).
"The linguistic situation in Haiti at the time Haitian Creole was formed"
Issues in the Study of Pidgin and Creole Languages
. Studies in language companion series. Vol. 70. John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp.
240–
241.
doi
10.1075/slcs.70
ISBN
978-1-58811-516-4
ISSN
0165-7763
LCCN
2004041134
OCLC
54365215
Carl A. Brasseaux, Glenn R. Conrad (1992).
The Road to Louisiana: The Saint-Domingue Refugees, 1792–1809
. New Orleans: Center for Louisiana Studies, University of Southwestern Louisiana. pp. 4, 5, 6, 8, 11, 15, 21, 22, 33, 38, 108, 109, 110, 143, 173, 174, 235, 241, 242, 243, 252, 253, 254, 268.
S.J. Ducoeurjoly (1803).
Manuel des habitans de Saint-Domingue
. pp. 363, 364.
L. Bouchard (8 October 1825).
La Nouveauté No. 38
. pp. 3, 4.
Hall, Robert Anderson (1953).
Haitian Creole: Grammar, Texts, Vocabulary
. American Anthropological Association.
Lagarde, François (2007).
"5. Langues § 1. Locaters § 1.2. Immigrés"
Français aux Etats-Unis (1990–2005): migration, langue, culture et économie
. Transversales (in French). Vol. 20. Bern, Switzerland:
Peter Lang International Academic Publishers
. p. 137.
ISBN
978-3-03911-293-7
LCCN
2008271325
OCLC
122935474
le français et le créole haïtien ... sont des langues différentes « non-mutuellement intelligibles »
Valdman, Albert (2015).
Haitian Creole : structure, variation, status, origin
. Equinox: Equinox. p. 14.
ISBN
978-1-84553-387-8
Lefebvre, Claire (1997). "Relexification in Creole Genesis: The Case of Demonstrative Terms in Haitian Creole".
Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages
12
(2):
181–
201.
doi
10.1075/jpcl.12.2.02lef
ISSN
0920-9034
Lefebvre, Claire (1986).
"Relexification in Creole Genesis Revisited: the Case of Haitian Creole"
. In Muysken, Pieter; Smith, Norval (eds.).
Substrata Versus Universals in Creole Genesis
. Creole Language Library. Vol. 1. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp.
279–
301.
doi
10.1075/cll.1.13lef
ISBN
978-90-272-5221-0
ISSN
0920-9026
LCCN
86018856
OCLC
14002046
OL
5268669W
The modern French construction
la maison‑là
(roughly "that there house") instead of the standard
la maison
("the house") is only superficially and coincidentally similar to the Haitian Creole construction.
improper synthesis?
Fontaine, Pierre-Michel (1981). "Language, Society, and Development: Dialectic of French and Creole Use in Haiti".
Latin American Perspectives
(1):
28–
46.
doi
10.1177/0094582X8100800103
ISSN
0094-582X
JSTOR
2633128
OCLC
5724884282
S2CID
145302665
"Haïti: Loi du 18 septembre 1979"
[Haiti: Act of 18 September 1979].
Chaire pour le développement de la recherche sur la culture d'expression française en Amérique du Nord
(in French). Québec City:
Université Laval
Archived
from the original on 27 July 2015.
L'usage du créole, en tant que langue commune parlée par les 90 % de la population haïtienne, est permis dans les écoles comme instrument et objet d'enseignement.
Védrine, Emmanuel W. (2007) [1st pub. 1994].
"Òtograf ofisyèl la"
(PDF)
Yon koudèy sou pwoblèm lekòl Ayiti
Official spelling
(PDF)
(in Haitian Creole) (2nd ed.). Boston. p. 131.
ISBN
978-0-938534-28-0
LCCN
94-65943
OCLC
37611103
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 7 April 2015.
Nou suiv sa yo rele 'òtograf ofisyèl' la lan tout sa li mande. Tout liv oubyen dokiman
Éditions Deschamps
sòti respekte òtograf sa a alalèt. Yon sèl ti eksepsyon petèt, se kesyon apostwòf nou pa anplwaye aprè de gwoup kòm
'm ap' (m'ap)
'sa k ap fèt?'
(sa k'ap fèt?)
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
Valdman, Albert (1989).
"The Use of Creole as a School Medium and Decreolization in Haiti"
. In Zuanelli Sonino, Elisabetta (ed.).
Literacy in School and Society: Multidisciplinary Perspectives
. Topics in Language and Linguistics. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 59.
doi
10.1007/978-1-4899-0909-1
ISBN
978-1-4899-0909-1
LCCN
89-35803
OCLC
646534330
OL
9382950W
In 1979, by a presidential decree, Haitian Creole was officially recognized as classroom medium and as school subject at the primary level. In the 1983 Constitution it was upgraded to the level of national language with French.
Hebblethwaite, Benjamin (2012).
"French and underdevelopment, Haitian Creole and development: Educational language policy problems and solutions in Haiti"
(PDF)
Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages
27
(2):
255–
302.
doi
10.1075/jpcl.27.2.03heb
ISSN
0920-9034
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 27 July 2015.
Article 5 of the ... Constitution of 1987 ... recognizes Creole as the sole language that unites all Haitians.
La Constitution de 1987, Article 5
[Constitution of 1987, Article 5] (in French). 1987. Archived from
the original
on 12 September 2011
. Retrieved
31 July
2015
Tous les Haïtiens sont unis par une Langue commune : le Créole.
Laraque, Paul (April 2001).
Open Gate: An Anthology of Haitian Creole Poetry
. Curbstone Press.
ISBN
978-1-880684-75-7
DeGraff, Michel
(2005).
"Linguists' most dangerous myth: The fallacy of Creole Exceptionalism"
(PDF)
Language in Society
34
(4):
533–
591.
doi
10.1017/S0047404505050207
ISSN
0047-4045
S2CID
145599178
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 21 April 2015.
Férére, Gérard A. (March 1977). "Diglossia in Haiti: A Comparison with Paraguayan Bilingualism".
Caribbean Quarterly
23
(1):
50–
69.
doi
10.1080/00086495.1977.11671912
JSTOR
40653330
Dejean, Yves (1983).
"Diglossia revisited: French and Creole in Haiti"
Word
34
(3):
189–
213.
doi
10.1080/00437956.1983.11435744
ISSN
0043-7956
OCLC
5845895993
Scott, Nicole A. (2013).
"Creole Languages"
Encyclopedia of Race and Racism
. Retrieved
23 October
2019
World Education Encyclopedia: A Survey of Educational Systems Worldwide
. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Group. 2002.
ISBN
978-0-02-865594-9
Daniel, Trenton (6 February 2013).
"Haitian schools expand use of Creole language"
US News
. Archived from
the original
on 30 July 2017.
Hebblethwaite, Benjamin (2012).
"French and underdevelopment, Haitian Creole and development"
(PDF)
Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages
27
(2):
255–
302.
doi
10.1075/jpcl.27.2.03heb
ISSN
0920-9034
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 27 July 2015
. Retrieved
31 July
2015
Faraclas, Nicholas; Spears, Arthur K.; Barrows, Elizabeth; Piñeiro, Mayra Cortes (2012) [
1st pub. 2010
].
"II. Structure and Use § 4. Orthography"
. In Spears, Arthur K.; Joseph, Carole M. Berotte (eds.).
The Haitian Creole Language: History, Structure, Use, and Education
. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. p. 100.
ISBN
978-0-7391-7221-6
LCCN
2010015856
OCLC
838418590
Cadely, Jean‑Robert
(2002). "Le statut des voyelles nasales en Créole haïtien" [The Status of Nasal Vowels in Haitian Creole].
Lingua
(in French).
112
(6):
437–
438.
doi
10.1016/S0024-3841(01)00055-9
ISSN
0024-3841
L'absence d'opposition distinctive dans la distribution des voyelles hautes ainsi que le facteur combinatoire illustré ci-dessus amènent certains auteurs ... à considérer les voyelles nasales
[ĩ]
et
[ũ]
comme des variantes contextuelles de leurs correspondantes orales. Toutefois, l'occurrence dans le vocabulaire des Haïtiens de nombre de termes qui se rattachent pour la plupart à la religion vaudou contribue à affaiblir cette analyse. Par exemple, dans la liste des mots que nous présentons ... il est facile de constater que les voyelles nasales hautes n'apparaissent pas dans l'environnement de consonnes nasales:
ũɡã
] 'prêtre vaudou'
ũsi
] 'assistante du prêtre/ de la prêtresse'
ũfɔ
] 'sanctuaire du temple vaudou'
hũ
] 'tambour'
oɡũ
] 'divinité vaudou'
ũɡɛvɛ
] 'collier au cou du prêtre vaudou'
bũda
] 'derrière'
pĩɡa
] 'prenez garde'
kaʃĩbo
] 'pipe de terre'
jũ/ũ
nɛɡ
] 'un individu'
Andrews, Helen (2009). "Frances Elaine ('Primrose') McConnell
in
Beckett, George Francis". In McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.).
Dictionary of Irish Biography
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Romaine, Suzanne
(2002). "Signs of Identity, Signs of Discord: Glottal Goofs and the Green Grocer's Glottal in Debates on Hawaiian Orthography".
Journal of Linguistic Anthropology
12
(2):
189–
224.
doi
10.1525/jlin.2002.12.2.189
ISSN
1055-1360
JSTOR
43104013
For some opponents of the official orthography,
⟨k⟩
and
⟨w⟩
are tainted with the perceived stigma of being Anglo-Saxon and smack of American imperialism. The French symbols
⟨c⟩
and
⟨ou⟩
, however, are allied with colonialism.
Ayoun, Dalila, ed. (2008).
Studies in French Applied Linguistics
. John Benjamins Publishing. p. 230.
ISBN
978-90-272-8994-0
. Retrieved
4 September
2017
Jenson, Deborah, ed. (2012).
Beyond the Slave Narrative: Politics, Sex, and Manuscripts in the Haitian Revolution
Liverpool University Press
. p. 257.
ISBN
978-1-84631-760-6
. Retrieved
4 September
2017
Saint Martin, Weston (2005).
Les formes des pronoms personnels de l'haïtien et leur place en comparaison avec celles du français
(PDF)
(Thesis) (in French). pp.
9–
11.
OCLC
155834626
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 27 April 2016.
Léger, Frenand (2011).
Pawòl Lakay: Haitian-Creole Language and Culture for Beginner and Intermediate Learners
. Coconut Creek, Florida: Educa Vision. p. 6.
ISBN
978-1-58432-687-8
OCLC
742361935
Damoiseau, Robert; Jean-Paul, Gesner (2002).
J'apprends le créole haïtien
I’m Learning Haitian Creole
] (in French and Haitian Creole). Port-au-Prince and Paris:
Faculté de Linguistique Appliquée, Université d'État d'Haïti
and
Éditions Karthala
. pp.
66–
67.
ISBN
978-2-84586-301-9
OCLC
50772881
OL
4553655W
Kèlkeswa kote
ou
fè nan peyi a lè ou kite Pòtoprens,
ou
travèse zòn kote yo fè jaden...
Quelle que soit la route qu
on
emprunte pour sortir de Port-au-prince,
on
traverse des zones cultivées.
Damoiseau, Robert; Jean-Paul, Gesner (2002).
J'apprends le créole haïtien
I'm Learning Haitian Creole
] (in French and Haitian Creole). Port-au-Prince and Paris: '
Faculté de Linguistique Appliquée, Université d'État d'Haïti
and
Éditions Karthala
. pp.
82–
83.
ISBN
978-2-84586-301-9
OCLC
50772881
OL
4553655W
Yo
pa fè diferans ant « kawotchou » machin ak « wou » machin nan.
Yo
di yonn pou lòt. Gen kawotchou ki fèt pou resevwa chanm, genyen ki pa sèvi ak chanm.
Yo
rele kawotchou sa a tiblès...
On
ne fait pas de différence entre « pneu » et « roue » d'une voiture.
On
dit l'un pour l'autre. Il y a des pneus conçus pour recevoir une chambre à air, il y en a qui s'utilisent sans chambre à air.
On
appelle ce dernier type de pneus « tubeless ».
DeGraff, Michel
; Véronique, Daniel (2000).
"À propos de la syntaxe des pronoms objets en créole haïtien : points de vue croisés de la morphologie et de la diachronie"
[On the Syntax of Object Pronouns in Haitian Creole: Contrasting Perspectives of Morphology and Diachrony].
Langages
. Syntaxe des langues créoles (in French).
34
(138):
89–
113.
doi
10.3406/lgge.2000.2373
ISSN
0458-726X
JSTOR
41683354
OCLC
196570924
Tézil, David. 2019. The nasalization of the Haitian Creole determiner
La
in non-nasal contexts: a variationist sociolinguistic study. PhD dissertation, Indiana University.

(Têzil 2019, p. 9, notes: "[T]his variety is frequently subject to depreciative [sic] attitudes, as Capois speakers face the predominance of Port-au-Prince Creole...")
Heurtelou, Maude; Vilsaint, Féquière (2004).
"Atik defini ak atik endefini"
Guide to Learning Haitian Creole
(in English and Haitian Creole) (2nd ed.). Coconut Creek, Florida: Educa Vision. p.
28
ISBN
978-1-58432-108-8
LCCN
2007362183
OCLC
56117033
Cadely, Jean-Robert (2003).
"Nasality in Haitian Creole"
. In Adone, Dany (ed.).
Recent Development in Creole Studies
. Linguistische Arbeiten. Vol. 472. Tübingen, Germany: Max Niemeyer Verlag. p. 20.
doi
10.1515/9783110948318.5
ISBN
978-3-11-094831-8
ISSN
0344-6727
OCLC
5131095031
Gall, Timothy L.; Hobby, Jeneen, eds. (2009).
Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life: Americas
. p. 265.
ISBN
978-1-4144-4890-9
. Retrieved
1 February
2017
Targète, Jean; Urciolo, Raphael G. (1993).
Haitian Creole–English Dictionary
(in Haitian Creole and English) (2nd ed.). Kensington, Maryland: Dunwoody Press. pp. i, 63, 141.
ISBN
978-0-931745-75-1
LCCN
93071725
OCLC
30037768
OL
3628156W
. Archived from
the original
on 12 November 2015
. Retrieved
13 November
2015
– via Yumpu.
Most English words that are of the same origin as Creole words are marked with an asterisk (*)....
Etazini
n[oun] United States* ...
ozetazini
In the U.S.A.
Bollée, Annegret, ed. (2018).
Dictionnaire étymologique des créoles français d'Amérique
(PDF)
. Kreolische Bibliothek (in French and English). Vol. 29. Hamburg: Buske. p. 32.
ISBN
978-3-87548-881-4
OCLC
982379542
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 26 July 2018.
Katz, Jonathan M.
(2013).
The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster
. St. Martin's Press. pp.
77–
78.
ISBN
978-1-137-32395-8
LCCN
2012037217
OCLC
886583605
OL
16813109W
"Vignettes from Jakzi"
(PDF)
Haiti Marycare News
. 2013. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015.
Rahill, Guitele; Jean-Gilles, Michele; Thomlison, Barbara; Pinto-Lopez, Elsa (2011).
"Metaphors as Contextual Evidence for Engaging Haitian Clients in Practice: A Case Study"
American Journal of Psychotherapy
65
(2):
138–
139.
doi
10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.2011.65.2.133
ISSN
0002-9564
PMID
21847891
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 31 October 2015.
The importance of metaphors in Haitian storytelling is reflected in the value ascribed to proverbs as an important aspect of teaching and reinforcing practical wisdom and values to children and community members. The existence of two separate texts in which 999 to more than 3000 Haitian proverbs are documented serve as evidence of the importance of these proverbs and their centrality in traditional Haitian culture...
"Civic Heraldry of Haiti"
Heraldry of the World
. Archived from
the original
on 26 April 2014
. Retrieved
6 September
2015
McAlister, Elizabeth A. (2002).
"6. Voices under Domination: Rara and the Politics of Insecurity"
Rara!: Vodou, Power, and Performance in Haiti and Its Diaspora
. University of California Press. p.
168
ISBN
978-0-520-22822-1
LCCN
2001005016
OCLC
5559545903
OL
7711139M
Aristide
took ownership of the
pwen
and replied with another:
Men anpil chay pa lou
("With many hands, the burden is not heavy").
Cynn, Christine (2008). "
Nou Mande Jistis!
(We Demand Justice!): Reconstituting Community and Victimhood in Raboteau, Haiti".
Women's Studies Quarterly
36
(½):
42–
57.
doi
10.1353/wsq.0.0071
ISSN
1934-1520
JSTOR
27649734
OCLC
5547107092
S2CID
84608576
After Aristide announced his unexpected candidacy in the 1990 presidential elections, the American ambassador to Haiti, Alvin Adams, in a speech assured Haitians that the United States would support whichever candidate was elected but concluded his remarks with a proverb (or
pwen
) emphasizing the problems that would remain after the elections: 'After the dance, the drum is heavy [
Apre bal, tanbou lou
]'....
Freeman, Bryant C.
(1997).
Haitian–English Medical Phraseology
(PDF)
. Medicine in Haiti (in English and Haitian Creole). Vol. 1. Lawrence, Kansas: Institute of Haitian Studies, University of Kansas.
OCLC
38740045
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 7 September 2015.
Rosenthal, Kent (11 July 2006).
"Undeclared War on Haiti's Poor"
Eureka Street
16
(8).
ISSN
1036-1758
Archived
from the original on 9 July 2014.
The rock in the sun cannot get ahead like the rock in the water. Whether you're the rock suffering in the sun or whether you're cooling off in the water depends on where you were born, what passport you hold, what education you have, whether you speak French, whether your parents are peasants or well-off, whether your parents are married or if you have a birth certificate. Chance can deal a very cruel or kind hand in Haiti.
Joint, Gasner (1999).
"Impact social du vaudou"
Libération du vaudou dans la dynamique d'inculturation en Haïti
The Liberation of Vodou in the Dynamic of Inculturation in Haiti
]. Interreligious and Intercultural Investigations (in French). Vol. 2. Rome:
Gregorian & Biblical Press
. p. 167.
ISBN
978-88-7652-824-8
LCCN
2001421254
OCLC
51448466
Cette situation d'injustice institutionalisée est dénoncée par la philosophie populaire dans les adages courants comme : ...
« Ravèt pa janm gen rezon devan poul »
... « Un cafard ne saurait l'emporter sur un poulet ». Expression populaire et imagée de la loi de la jungle: « la raison du plus fort est toujours la meilleure ».
Joseph, Celucien L. (2014).
"Toward a Politico-Theology of Relationalit: Justice as Solidarity and the Poor in Aristide's Theological Imagination"
Toronto Journal of Theology
30
(2): 270.
doi
10.3138/tjt.2105
ISSN
0826-9831
S2CID
144847968
[Peter] Hallward
has wrongly misconstrued
[Jean-Bertrand] Aristide
's
affirmative and egalitarian principle
tout moun se moun
('Everybody is a person')—the idea that everyone matters and that 'everyone is endowed with the same essential dignity.'
Faedi Duramy, Benedetta (2008). "The Double Weakness of Girls: Discrimination and Sexual Violence in Haiti".
Stanford Journal of International Law
44
: 150.
Li pale franse
(He speaks French (so he is likely deceiving you).)
Targète, Jean; Urciolo, Raphael G. (1993).
Haitian Creole–English Dictionary
(in Haitian Creole and English) (2nd ed.). Kensington, Maryland: Dunwoody Press. p. 154.
ISBN
978-0-931745-75-1
LCCN
93071725
OCLC
30037768
OL
3628156W
. Archived from
the original
on 7 September 2015
. Retrieved
7 September
2015
– via Yumpu.
Lè poul va fè dan
: Never (when hens grow teeth).
"enfòmaysyan sou tit iv – haitian creole"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 9 August 2018
. Retrieved
9 August
2018
Moise, Raymond (30 October 2015).
"Haitian Radio Stations"
Bonpounou
Archived
from the original on 9 August 2015.
"Creole (Minor)"
. Jamaica, New York: York College. 2014.
Archived
from the original on 30 August 2015.
"Creole Institute History"
Department of French and Italian
"Schedule of Classes, Fall 2015"
(PDF)
. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University. 2015. p. 40. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 29 July 2015
. Retrieved
31 July
2015
"Elementary Haitian Kreyol"
Directory of Classes
. New York: Columbia University. 2015. Archived from
the original
on 30 August 2015
. Retrieved
30 August
2015
This course is part of the language exchange program with New York University...
"Institute of Latin American Studies: CU–NYU Consortium Courses: Spring 2016"
(PDF)
. New York: Columbia University. 4 November 2015. p. 1.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 7 January 2016.
"College of Liberal Arts and Sciences"
. Archived from
the original
on 18 January 2017
. Retrieved
18 January
2017
"English Language Learner Demographics Report for the 2015–16 School Year"
(PDF)
. New York City Department of Education. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 18 April 2018
. Retrieved
19 July
2018
Cerat, Marie Lily (2011). "Myths and Realities: A History of Haitian Creole Language Programs in New York City".
Journal of Haitian Studies
17
73–
91.
Press, ed. (16 March 2016).
"Haitian and Creole Culture in Cuba"
. Cuba Journal. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017
. Retrieved
7 February
2017
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
"Haiti in Cuba"
AfroCubaWeb
Archived
from the original on 30 June 2015.
"Primera Encuesta Nacional de Inmigrantes en la República Dominicana"
[First National Survey of Immigrants in the Dominican Republic]
(PDF)
(in Spanish). Santo Domingo: Oficina Nacional de Estadística. 2012. p. 163. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 21 June 2015
. Retrieved
17 June
2015
"Illegal Haitians deported"
DR1
. 16 August 2005.
Archived
from the original on 19 June 2015
. Retrieved
31 July
2015
Davis, Nick (20 September 2009).
"Bahamas outlook clouds for Haitians"
BBC News
. London.
Archived
from the original on 28 May 2015.
"Ethnologue – Bahamas (18th ed.)"
Ethnologue
"Carnegie Mellon releases data on Haitian Creole to hasten development of translation tools"
e! Science News
. 27 January 2010.
Archived
from the original on 2 July 2013
. Retrieved
31 July
2015
Further reading
edit
Anglade, Pierre (1998).
Inventaire Étymologique des Termes Créoles des Caraibes d'origine Africaine
(in French). Editions L'Harmattan.
ISBN
9782296352582
DeGraff, Michel
(2001).
"Morphology in Creole genesis: Linguistics and ideology"
(PDF)
. In Kenstowicz, Michael (ed.).
Ken Hale: A life in language
. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. pp.
52–
121.
ISBN
978-0-262-61160-2
LCCN
00-061644
OCLC
44702224
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 29 July 2015.
Lang, George (2004). "A Primer of Haitian Literature in
Kreyòl
".
Research in African Literatures
35
(2):
128–
140.
doi
10.1353/ral.2004.0046
ISSN
1527-2044
JSTOR
3821349
S2CID
162026210
External links
edit
Haitian Creole edition
of
Wikipedia
, the free encyclopedia
Haitian Creole test
of
Wiktionary
at
Wikimedia Incubator
Wikibooks has a book on the topic of:
Haitian Creole
Wikiversity has learning resources about
Haitian Creole
"Indiana University Creole Institute"
Haitian Creole basic vocabulary
(from Wiktionary's
Swadesh-list appendix
Haitian Creole-English dictionary (PDF)
Archived
16 December 2021 at the
Wayback Machine
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Haitian Creole
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