#3932: Language question : Canal replies

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From: Francois Canal <axxaxx@yahoo.com>

> I would like to greet
> him in Creole, and I was hoping someone would be kind
> enough to translate
> "Welcome, peace be with you." into Creole. And it
> would certainly help if
> you would explain the pronunciation for me.

It is interesting that you would ask. Last weekend, I
probed the thought of a Haitian friend of mine on the
translation of "Welcome" in Haitian Creole. Here is my
rendering of the sentence in HC:

1- Welcome,          peace     be     with       you
   Mete w(ou) Alèz,  lapè      ( )    avè(k)     ou(w)
   'Mete ou alèz. Lapè avè ou'

the expression "Mete w alèz" to mean "welcome" is
taken from the website (www.haiti.org) of the Haitian
Embassy in Washington and it conveys the message. This
is a recent adoption of mine for translating "welcome"
. I used to accept "Onè, Respè". This expression is
limited because it requires the participation of host
and guest. The first word is usually said by the host
while the second, by the guest. 

In any case, as far as pronunciation is concerned,
all the symbols are uttered (no silent signs) and the
grave accent on top of "e" signify the vowel is to be
pronounced as the one in "head". "Be" in this sentence
has no equivalence in HC.

Thanks for asking

=====
Francois Canal
105 SE 4th Ave Apt#B
Boynton Beach, FL 33435
(561)752-0649

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