The Sound System (Phonology)

It is difficult to give a standard description of the Haitian Creole phonological system; linguists do not agree on a phonological analysis of Haitian Creole, probably because there is so much regional variation in pronunciation. As a rule, the pronunciation of monolingual Creole speakers is taken as a standard. There is variation between North and South, however, and Port-au-Prince pronunciation (especially of vowels) tends to be more like French, since most of the bilingual Haitian Creole–French speakers live there.

Since English has also borrowed many words from French, the sound systems of Haitian Creole and English share many similarities. Therefore, Haitians learning English should not have overwhelming problems with the pronunciation of individual words. Basically, Haitian Creole only lacks the /th/ sounds in "thick" and "the," the /i/ sound in "pin," the /a/ sound in "hat," and the /r/ sound in "row." It contains, however, other sounds (e.g., nasals) that do not exist in English.

Vowels

Haitian Creole has ten vowels and three semi-vowels. The following list contains a phonemic description and examples in Creole and English where appropriate. In the recent standardization of Creole orthography, great effort was made to make the sound–symbol correspondence consistent for ease in the acquisition of literacy skills. In other words, each sound is consistently represented by the same written symbol (i.e., letter or group of letters). The written equivalent for each sound is noted in bold letters.

Consonants

There are seventeen consonant sounds in Haitian Creole. For many of the sounds described there may be variants. Common variants are marked (*).

*/n/ in final position often nasalizes the preceding vowel.

*/r/ in Haitian Creole is not pronounced like English /r/ at all. Before rounded vowels it is pronounced [w] and is written that way, e.g., wouj 'red'. In other cases it is pronounced as a velar[F].

*/?/ is sometimes pronounced like the French /z/.

*/h/ exists only in the Creole spoken in southern Haiti; otherwise it is not a part of the phonological system.

Basic Grammatical Structures (Syntax)

It is neither possible nor desirable to describe all the grammatical structures of Haitian Creole here. Therefore, we have chosen to explain a few basics and to illustrate their divergence from French and English.

Word Order

Word Order in Haitian Creole, like English, generally follows the Subject–Verb–Object pattern. This order is evident in affirmative and negative sentences as well as in questions (i.e., interrogatives).

Nouns

Nouns in Haitian Creole, unlike those in French, are not marked for gender or number. In other words, there is no grammatical distinction, such as le soleil ('the sun', masculine) vs. la lune ('the moon', feminine), which occurs in French. There is also no plural -s ending, which occurs in both French and English.
   Haitian Creole expresses the concepts of gender and plural by using specific words. For example:

fre (brother) vs. se (sister)

kek liv (some books)

Pronouns

The system of pronouns in Haitian Creole is quite simple in comparison with French and English. There is only a single form that is used for subject, object, and possessive. The pronouns, however, may occur in a full or contracted form.

Full		Contracted
mwen		m   I, me, my
ou		w   you, your
li		l  he, him, his, she, her, it, its
nou		n   we, us, our, you, your (pl.)
yo		y*   they, them, their
M achte anpil liv.		I bought many books.
Jina rele m.		Gina called me.
Papa m chita kote li.		My father is sitting next to him/her/it.
		*This contraction rarely occurs in written form.

Articles

Haitian Creole has both definite and indefinite articles, as do French and English. However, there are some differences in placement, form, and usage. The definite article has both a singular and a plural form, and always follows the noun. Because the singular definite article is phonologically determined by the sound of the preceding element, it exhibits a variety of forms.

Verbs

The verb system in Haitian Creole is quite different from those in French and English. There is no subject-verb agreement, and there are no verb tenses per se. Instead, Haitian Creole uses a system of markers or short particles, which precede the verb, to indicate tense. For example, the particle te indicates past tense, ap indicates progressive, and pral(e) indicates future. The verb with no marker may indicate simple present tense or immediate past tense. Some examples follow.

Jan ranmase liv yo.		John collects the books.
Jan ak Gabi ranmase liv yo.		John and Gaby collect books.
Li te marye mwa pase.		She got married last month.
Jina ap monte bisiklet.		Gina is riding a bicycle.
Janin ak Silvya pral chante pita.		Janine and Sylvia are going to sing later.

Vocabulary

The lexicon of Haitian Creole is derived primarily (90%) from French. This word-base, however, has been enriched with borrowings from other languages with which Haitian Creole speakers historically had contact. For example:

Words of French origin

As for the words derived from French, it is important to note that they have been modified in a variety of ways. A great number have undergone phonological changes, since the Creole sound system is not the same as the French system. In other cases, the meanings of the words have changed, sometimes by either extending or restricting the semantic field (i.e., the meanings of the words). Some examples follow.

Examples of Haitian Creole words derived from French which

• drop the first syllable:
HC: rive		Fr: arriver
HC: kajou		Fr: acajou
• fuse the noun with a determiner:
HC: dlo		Fr: de l'eau
HC: monnonk		Fr: mon oncle
• incorporate a vowel change:
HC: kalkil		Fr: calcul
HC: kirye		Fr: curieux
• drop the -r:
HC: pot		Fr: porte
HC: siga		Fr: cigare

As French words entered Haitian Creole, some acquired different meanings:

• kriye		HC: to weep		Fr: to scream, shout
• bonbon		HC: all sweets (cake)		Fr: candy
• boutik		HC: mom & pop store		Fr: small (exclusive) store
• kabare		HC: cafeteria tray		Fr: night club

There are also Haitian Creole words that have retained the 18th century French pronunciation. This phenomenon can also be observed in Canadian French.

• fret   (cold)
• bout   (extremity)