Bonjou nan kreyòl ayisyen

Bonjou tout moun! (You’re not crazy, I’m trying to write in Haitian Creole. Scroll down for a translation…) Kom m’ te poste anvan, m’ pral ale nan Ayiti nan kat jou pou m’ pase youn semen la. Donk, m’ te panse, fòk m’ aprann yon ti kras kreyòl ayisyen (ou “ayisyen” tou senpleman). M’ renmen aprann lang yo, e kom m’ pale deja franse e gen anpil mo nan ayisyen ki sanble a mo franse, pètèt se pi fasil. Pou antrene m’ nan ayisyen, m’ te deside ekri kèk mo pou m’ prezante e pou pale sou efò mwen pou …

Learning Haitian Creole

Haitian Creole for Disaster Relief My friends Julie and Johnny at Women in Construction are leading a volunteer trip to Haiti next week, and asked me to give a presentation on the language. I should be clear that I don’t speak Haitian Creole. I speak passable French, so I spent some time researching and compiling the following materials. Haiti has two official languages. French is the official language of the government, spoken by educated Haitians, business people, and elites, but not by many common Haitians. Haitian Creole, on the other hand, is the language spoken by nearly all Haitians. Although …