It’s just weird how the cycle works. I reach a point where I just cannot absorb another thing in kreyòl. … More

I so much want to be able to speak and understand this language, but if I can’t do this outside the classroom, then I just don’t know the language.

Man, today was rough. My tutor and I talked lasted week about my lessons. (This is my third tutor.) I … More

I think I’ve hit another wall. The first wall was after the first month or so of learning kreyòl ayisyen … More

Another update on my language journey: Last night I was given a text to read that I’d never seen before. … More

“Dèyè mòn gen mòn.” This is one of the very first phrases I learned in my Haitian Creole book. (In … More

So I just had a most excellent lesson with my teacher today. We “met” on a Discord server in a … More

This is going to be a long post at the behest of some others who want to know what tools … More

Listen, this is hard work. Not just the language. That’s hard because it’s new. Learning a new language means learning … More

More than 190 days now of learning Haitian Creole.
A few things I’ve learned along the way, in no particular order:
#AprannKreyòl #KreyòlAyisyen

Learning kreyòl ayisyen is a challenge, no getting around that. But eventually, it does come together!

Creole is the language of the people, made by the people. It’s not a language that was developed by the elites. It’s a language hammered out to help enslaved people from Africa find a way to communicate to each other as they were deliberately isolated from their own people to keep them incapable of resisting their enslavement by building a movement to overthrow their enslavers.

Now, I’m not dekouraje paske mo yo se difisil pou m konprann, Ignorance is part of learning, and I look forward to it. But this stuff still surprises me. Well, I’ll keep plowing/ploughing through this book, and I look forward to feeling ignorant again when the next book comes.
And I know I would drown in any secondary school in Haiti. Tèt mwen anpil chaje.

Learning to speak/read/write/hear Haitian has not only opened a door to a new language but also opened a new world of culture and history and social organization and food and music and art and religion that I simply wasn’t aware of. #Haitian #Kreyòl

The more I dig into this language the more I find that I do not know anything at all. My initial appraisal of the language and the way to learn it is nearly entirely false. The initial methodology of saying simple phrases is helpful to build confidence, but Haitians do not talk like that.

And as language is used to mark who’s in and who’s out, so it is used in context between those who are within the culture of Haiti and those who are, like me, without.

The best way to learn is to simply do. I’m trying that. I first must try out the first moments of wobbling on this bicycle, afraid to hit the ground, but determined to go on ahead.

Goodness, I am so tired. I feel, again, like I just can’t absorb any more, and it’s all mush in … More

Kreyòl ayisyen has five ways to say the singular “the.” And now I know them!

I’m pretty happy with hitting another level of understanding. The lessons are enjoyable again, even though yes they’re still tough.

M pa gen mo, y’all…

The title of this post comes from a popular expression in Haiti: Behind every mountain is another mountain. (Literally, behind … More

Haitian Creole / kreyòl ayisyen is already a very simplified language in both spelling and pronunciation, making it easier to learn than many other languages. But there are still a few things that can trip you up!

In which I pick up a new set of language skills – and a new friend.

M praktike kreyòl pou yon edtan chak maten. Jodia m ap praktike envèse fraz tankou: /k/ Kisa Joj ye pou … More

Yowza. I think today broke my brain! Last week’s lesson was on family relationships — mother, father, sister, brother, sister-in-law, … More