Ti Koze Sèt. Conversation Seven.
Original Source
All credit goes to Bryant C. Freeman, Ph.D. These excerpts are all taken from Ti Koze Kreyòl, A Haitian-Creole Conversation Manual. We love the content so much that we want to share it with you. For more information, please visit the official website.
Instructions
- Listen to the recording. Write down what you understood
- Listen to the recording while reading the transcript. Key terms and phrases are located at the end
- Use new vocabulary with others. Copy the sound and intonation you heard in the recording
Mwen Renmen Ou! I Love You!
Jan rive lakay Mari.
Jan: Bonswa, Mari. Kijan ou ye?
Mari: Bonswa, Jan.
Jan: Ou konnen, m kontan anpil ou te telefònen m. Gen si mwa konsa depi m konnen ou,* men se premye fwa ou rele m.
Mari: Se vre?
Jan: Men wi, Mari. Mwen te fin kwè ou pa t renmen m menm menm.*
Mari: Se pa sa ditou, Jan. Ou se yon nèg ki janti anpil anpil.
Jan: Wi, Mari. Ou di sa, men sa pa vle di anyen. Ou konnen anpil lòt gason ki janti tou.
Mari: Men yo pa tankou ou, Jan!
Jan: O Mari! M renmen ou anpil!
Mari: E mwen renmen ou tou, Jan!
Jan: O! o! (Li ba l yon ti bo, epi li ba l yon gwo bo . . .)
***
Kèk tan pita:
Jan: Mari, ou dous anpil anpil . . . Mwen ta vle marye ak ou!*
Mari: O Jan! M te kwè ou pa ta janm mande m sa!
Jan: Se vre? Toutbon? Ou dakò? Ou vle marye ak mwen tou?
Mari: Wi, Jan. Ou se sèl gason m renmen!!
Jan: O, Mari. Mwen menm se nèg ki pi chanse nan lemonn. M sezi. M pa kapab kwè ou renmen m toutbonvre.
Mari: O Jan!
Jan: Men kilè nou ka fè maryaj sa a?
Mari: Jòdi a se jou kenz me.* Legliz la lib jou de jen.*
Jan: O! o!
Mari: Si nou marye a senkè diswa, nan denmen nou ta ka pati fè yon ti vwayaj nòs.
Jan: O! o! E ki kote nou ta ka ale, Mari?
Mari: Petèt nou ta ka al pase kèk tan an Ayiti. Nou toude ap etidye kreyòl, epi Ayiti se de kout pye.*
Jan: O! Mezanmi! Se yon bon lide, Mari, men gen yon sèl ti pwoblèm: ki kote nou pral jwenn kòb* pou fè vwayaj sa a?
Mari: Pa gen pwoblèm. M gen yon vye tonton, sa fè kèk tan depi li mouri. Msye kite yon ti kòb pou mwen. Yon vwayaj an Ayiti pa koute chè anpil, konsa nou ta ka pase kèk senmenn lòt bò a.
Jan: O! o! Ou se yon fanm total, cheri!
Nòt Yo. Notes.
Gen si mwa konsa depi m konnen ou “I have known you for about six months.” Note the use of the present tense with depi for action continuing into the present. Cf.
similar construction in French.
Menm after a negative verb means “(not) . . . at all.” Here menm is repeated for
emphasis.
Marye ak note that “to marry someone” is marye ak yon moun; the verb marye alone means “to perform a marriage ceremony” or “to marry off (one’s daughter, etc.).”
De kout pye literally, “two kicks (away),” i.e., “a stone’s throw away.” Haiti is 600 miles southeast of Florida, or about one hour 30 minutes by air from Miami to Port-au-Prince.
Kòb “money,” “dough.” kòb literally means the Haitian cent, formerly valued at 1/5 the American cent, but is also the familiar expression for “money.” Lajan is the more formal term for “money.”
Kesyon Yo. Questions.
Chache reponn ak yon fraz konplèt. Answer using a complete sentence.
1. Èske Jan kontan Mari rele l nan telefòn aswè a?
2. Depi konbyen tan Jan konn Mari?
3. Poukisa Jan te kwè Mari pa t renmen l?
4. Èske Mari kwè tout gason tankou Jan?
***
5. Lè Jan fin bo Mari, kisa Jan di l li ta vle fè?
6. Èske ou kwè Jan fou nèt?
7. Ki moun nan klas isit la ki marye deja? Si non, kilè ou ta vle marye?
8. Èske Mari te kwè Jan t ap mande l marye?
9. Mari renmen yon lòt gason tou, pa vre?
10. Poukisa Jan sezi?
11. Ki dat Mari vle marye? Ou ta vle ale nan maryaj sa a?
12. Èske ou kontan lè yo envite ou ale nan yon maryaj?
13. Gen moun ki konn kriye nan seremoni maryaj. Poukisa?
14. Ki dat jòdi a ye?
15. Poukisa se Ayiti yo ta vle fè vwayaj nòs yo?
16. Kijan Mari kwè li ka jwenn kòb pou fè vwayaj la?
17. E ou menm, èske ou ka jwenn kòb pou sa tou?
18. Si ou ka jwenn kòb sa a, èske ou ta ka prete m yon ti kòb pou jouk denmen? Jouk nan yon mwa? Jouk nan si mwa?