Lesson 8: Time, Routines, School-Work & Past
Dialogue 1
Lesson 08 - Dialogue 1.m4aA: Kèl lœr vouzòt kour lékòl?
B: No kour lékòl a wit œr shak matin.
A: Çé bonnœr! Mo té konné kouri lékòl a nèf œr. É kan zòt vyin bæk lamézon?B: No kit lékòl a trò zœr, no èspær bòs-la, é no vyin bæk lamézon a trò zœr é demi.
A: What time do y’all go to school?
B: We go to school at eight o’clock every morning.
A: That’s early! I used to go to school at nine o’clock. And when do you come home?
B: We leave school at three o’clock, we wait for the bus, and we come back home at half past three.
Dialogue 2
Lesson 08 - Dialogue 2.m4aC: Ki jour to fé tô ménaj?
D: En jénéral mo fé mô ménaj pendan fin-lasmènn. É twa?
C: Çé byin rar mo fé mô-chin ménaj. Mo mand mô bèl pou fé li.
D: Vilin! Kòfær to fé ça?
C: Mé mo travay pendan tou lasmènn!
D: É li-mèm?
C: Wé… li travay osit…
D: Alòr senm to gin pou édé li èk ménaj-la.
C: What day do you do your chores?
D: In general I do my chores on the weekend. And you?
C: I hardly ever do my own chores. I ask my girlfriend to do it.
D: That’s mean! Why do you do that?
C: But I work all week!
D: And her?
C: Yeah… She works too...
D: Well it seems like you have to help her out with the chores.
Lagniappe
Many Creole routines and traditions formed according to the Catholic calendar. Before retiring for the evening, families would gather together to pray with their shaplé / rosary beads. For La Tou-Sin / All Saints’ Day, the community would gather to blanshi / whitewash the graves of their loved ones. Today, it is common to see krébis / crawfish being boiled on Vendrèdi Sin / Good Friday. And, of course there is Mardi Gra, the well-known celebration before Mékrédi Désònn / Ash Wednesday and the start of Karèm / Lent. Perhaps Madanm Grand Dwa / Lady Long Fingers or Ti Nonm Janviyé / Little Man January placed fruit and trinkets in your Christmas or New Year’s Day stocking? Ki dòt tradisyon to konné? / What other traditions can you think of?
Vocabulary
Kèl/Ki lœr li yê? - What time is it?
a … œr - at … o’clock
(É)kan? - When?
Kèl/Ki jour? - What day?
souven - often
toultem - always
touléjour - everyday
té - past marker, see Verbs.
défwa - sometimes
byin rar - rarely
jamé - never
en jénéral - in general
lékòl - school
lofis - office
travayé, travay - to work
lindi - Monday
mardi - Tuesday
mærkrédi - Wednesday
jédi - Thursday
vendrédi - Friday
sanmdi - Saturday
dimansh - Sunday