22460: Antoine to Mambo Racine: on just the spelling issue (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Guy S. Antoine <webmaster@haitiforever.com>

In post #22437, Kathy Grey writes:
> unless people want me to start addressing "Gee Annton"
> and so on, I would appreciate seeing my name spelled
> correctly, it is "Mambo Racine", not "Manbo" anything,
> not "Ms. Racine", not anything but "Mambo Racine".

Kathy, if you addressed "Gee Annton", I would not get
upset, but I might not even know that it was me that
you were addressing.  The Haitian Creole spelling of
my name is "Gi Antwan" (and you may add a diacritical
mark on the second "a" in "Antwan" to highlight the
difference in pronunciation between the ending vowel
"an" and the beginning vowel "an" in my last name.

I prefer "Guy Antoine", because I have used the French
spelling all my life, but feel free to write "Gi Antwan"
if you like.  I will not at all be offended.

You want people to write your name as "Mambo Racine".
That is your preference, and who would think of denying
you your choice of name spelling.  What I did not know
however was that "Mambo" was to be treated as a first
name or like a first name, and "Racine" as a last name or
like a last name.  If that is so, I offer no argument.
However, if "Mambo" is a professional designation,
like "Doctor", "Reverend", "Professor", or "Pastor",
then you should allow for the fact that the HC spelling
of "Mambo" is... you guessed it, "Manbo".

This spelling complies with the current orthography rules,
proposed by Minister of Education Joseph Bernard in
December 1979, and adopted by decree in January 1980.
Since you ceaselessly advocate respect for the laws (and
the lwa), you should then at the very least tolerate a
Haitian Creole spelling of your professional designation.

You always sign your posts:
"Bon Mambo Racine Sans Bout Sa Te La Daginen"
I am curious as to whether you are aware that the
HC spelling of the first part of your sig would be
"Bon Manbo Rasin San Bout" (if the "t" is not silent) or
"Bon Manbo Rasin San Bou" (if the "t" is made to
be silent, as there are no silent letters in HC spelling).
Translating from the French "Racine Sans Bout" yields
"Root Without End" in English and "Rasin San Bout"
in Haitian Creole.  There can be no real dispute about
that. As for the second part of your sig "Sa Te La Daginen",
I confess that I have no idea what it means.  It must
be Vodou talk, and I am poorly versed in Vodou (that
is an admission of ignorance, not a point of honor).

This is a modest defense for the people in my survey
who wrote your name as "Manbo Racine", though it
must be said that that is a curious mélange of French
and Haitian Creole. Come to think of it, your full
Vodou designation itself "Bon Mambo Racine Se Te
La Daginen" appears to be a linguistic curiosity.
But there I thread on "tè glise" and must defer to
much greater authorities on the Creole language.

Finally, let me assure you that I did not send that man
to flirt with you or worse.  How could you even think
that of me?  If I had the power, any power at all, I would
have sent you a teacher of HC orthography or a genuine
Haitian man, not a rapist.  There must be half a dozen
or so left, wouldn't you say?

Guy S. Antoine
Windows on Haiti
http://haitiforever.com