Lesson 15: Music, Church, Dancehall & Courting
Dialogue 1
Lesson 15 - Dialogue 1.m4aA: Ki ça k’apé dansé avèk Marie, lá?
B: Çé mô kouzin, Billy. Senm l’ap fé lakour apré ti fiy-çála.
A: Yé pe dansé bokou byin!
B: Lamizik isit çé vayan aswa, la.
A: Who’s that dancing with Marie, there?
B: That’s my cousin, Billy. Seems like he’s dating that girl there.
A: They can dance really well!
B: The music here is awesome tonight.
Dialogue 2
Lesson 15 - Dialogue 2.m4aC: Kèk moun légliz va fé sosyété pou fèt mô moman. T’olé vini èk mò?
D: Yé va gin lamizik?
C: O, wi! Nora lamizik, manjé, divin, tou ça.
D: No va dansé ensenm?
C: Si t’olé, shær!
D: Mo jamé kouri in fèt san dansé.
C: Some people from church are going to throw a party for my mother’s birthday. Do you want to come with me?
D: Will they have music?
C: Oh, yes! There will be music, food, wine, all that.
D: Are we going to dance together?
C: If you want, cher!
D: I never go to a party without dancing.
Lagniappe
You might be surprised to learn that the word ‘zydeco’ actually comes from the Creole word, zariko. And one of the most popular phrases in zydeco songs is still Lê zariko yé pa salé / The snap beans aren’t salty. This expression was used as a way to say that times are hard. Normally a family would season their snap beans with a piece of tasso or bacon, so if the snap beans weren’t salty, that meant there hadn’t been enough money for the meat. Ça çé dur, padna!
Vocabulary
lamizik - music
légliz - church
hòl - hall
klœb - club
bal - ball
shanté, shant - to sing
dansé, dans - to dance
jwé, jou - to play
spìnn - to spin records
fé lamour - to court
fé lakour - to date
fèt - party
fé sosyété - to throw a party
mariyé - to marry
fiyansé - to be engaged
koundjay - (a type of dance)
vals - waltz
zariko - zydeco
gita - guitar
tambou - drum
(la)vyolon - violin