Lesson 11: Health, Sickness, Injury & Reflexive Verbs
Dialogue 1
Lesson 11 - Dialogue 1.m4aA: Ça ina?
B: Mo sen pa mò tro byin.
A: Ki çé ça ki fé mal?
B: Mô lèstoma fé mal; mo gin mal-lèstoma.
A: Ki ça to manjé yær?
B: Mo pa konné… enlentour kinz liv krévis?
A: What’s up?
B: I don’t feel too good.
A: What’s hurting?
B: My stomach hurts; I have a stomach ache.
A: What did you eat yesterday?
B: I don’t know… around fifteen pounds of crawfish?
Dialogue 2
Lesson 11 - Dialogue 2.m4aC: Senm to malad ojòrdi!
D: Wi, mo t’apé tousé épi étærné dépi bonnœr matin-çila.
C: Prenn latizann avèk dimyèl. Ça va èdé twa.
D: Mærsi, m’a fé ça talœr.
C: Mèt kèk féy dibonm endan li.
D: OK, mo gin dité kammòmèl shé mò.
C: It seems you’re sick today!
D: Yes, I’ve been coughing and sneezing since early this morning.
C: Take herbal tea with honey. That will help you.
D: Thanks, I’ll do that later.
C: Put some mint leaves in it.
D: OK, I have some chamomile tea at my place.
Lagniappe
To konné ki çé in trétœr? Çé in moun ki trèt moun malad. / Have you ever heard of a traiteur? It’s a person who ‘treats’ / trété, trèt sick people. Traiteurs practice traditional medicine, which centres around specific prayers, and might also involve laying on hands, a herbal remedy / rémèd, or even something more elaborate like tying strings or burying something in the yard at a certain time. If you head on down the bayou and ask around, you’ll definitely find someone who can treat warts, sunstroke, eczema, arthritis and more... Ça to krò? Here’s a secret: ènn dan moun ki ékri Ti Liv-la té kouri wa in trétœr pou mové lapo… épi sô mové lapo jamé vini bæk!
Vocabulary
Mo sen mò(-minm)… - I feel...
byin - good
malad - sick
Ki fé mal? - What hurts?
Mô … fé mal - My … hurts.
Mo gin mal… - I have ...ache
tousé, tous - to cough
étærné, étærn - to sneeze
mal-latèt/mal-dé-tèt - headache
mal-o-do - backache
mal-zòrèy - earache
mal-o-vant/mal-lèstoma - stomach ache
mal-lagòrj/mal-dé-gòrj - sore throat
réshté, réshèt - vomit
tous - cough
(la)chirout/déranjman - diarrhea
gayar - healthy