Learn Haitian Creole

Creole Tutors provides online access to personalized Haitian-Creole tutors. These are people who are Haitian or have experienced the Haitian culture firsthand. They can give you individualized one-on-one attention so that you can learn Haitian more easily. The rates for one-on-one tutoring start at $199 and go up to $299. But if you’d rather spend less money, you can participate in group sessions for between $99 and $149.

All of the teaching and tutoring is done through Zoom courses online. After each lesson is finished, you will be given an online quiz to complete. That way, you’ll know how well you’re making progress in learning Haitian Creole. These are comprehensive courses with lots of material to cover in each one of them. The good news is they’re easy to master because the tutors will start you at a basic level course and gradually move you up to the advanced level courses.

If you continue to stick with our lessons and courses, we’re confident you’ll know how to speak Haitian Creole fluently. No prior knowledge or training in Haitian Creole is required to enroll in our courses. Everyone from around the globe is welcome to book a lesson or join a course.

Learning to speak Haitian Creole does not have to be complicated. You just need to know the three basic steps of speaking Haitian Creole for beginners.

#1) Learn Standard Vocabulary and Phrases

When you seek help from Creole Tutors, we will start by teaching you the standard vocabulary and phrases used in the Haitian Creole language. You must learn vocabulary and phrases before you can write or speak in Haitian Creole. It will give you the basic skills needed to communicate with native Haitians.

#2) Learn Haitian Creole Grammar

Learning Haitian Creole grammar is essential for learning how to form sentences in the language correctly. You can use these grammar skills for both written and verbal use of Haitian Creole. Creole Tutors will work with you continuously until you can understand the grammar well.

#3) Practice Speaking Haitian Creole

Once you become more familiar with Haitian Creole’s vocabulary, phrases, and grammar, you can try speaking it in conversation.

Creole Tutors will conduct live tutoring sessions so that you can practice speaking Haitian Creole to your tutor. You will hear the tutor speak the language back to you too. See if you can understand what the tutor says. Anytime you don’t understand something, the tutor will explain what they said and why. They will also correct any mistakes you make speaking Haitian Creole.

It would help if you tried speaking Haitian Creole every day. If you only speak it once every couple of days or weeks, it will be difficult for you to remember the right words and pronunciation. That is why you should continue speaking Haitian Creole outside your tutoring sessions with us.

The best way to truly master Haitian Creole is to visit Haiti frequently or move there. But unless you’re about to retire or have a lot of money saved, this is probably not a viable option. You’re better off making friends with native Haitians in Miami and speaking to them in Haitian Creole. That way, you can remain in Florida and learn from actual Haitians at the same time.

Haitian Creole is the primary language used in the country of Haiti. There are approximately 12 million people in the world whose native language is Haitian Creole. Most of these people live in Haiti, but many have immigrated to the United States and other countries too.

Haiti is located on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Much of the Haitian culture and language have been influenced by the French and African people living there. The French brought the Africans to the island on slave ships en route to the Americans. Before that, the Spanish Empire ruled Hispaniola until the French took over the island.

For this reason, many of Haiti’s towns and cities have Spanish-inspired names. However, the two primary languages of Haiti are Haitian Creole and French because of the French influence that came later. Many of the words and phrases of Haitian Creole were inspired by the French and African languages. The blend of all these different languages created a unique language in itself.

If you speak French, then you’ll probably understand a little bit of Haitian Creole. But it is still a unique language due to its African roots. That is why you must learn Haitian Creole as a new language if you ever want to read, write and speak it correctly. The French and Africans may have influenced the Haitian culture, but it still stands out on its own. You can see it clearly in Haitian art, dance and other native rituals.

The Haitian Creole course is divided into four sections. They are as follows:

Grammar

Grammar is one of the most challenging parts of learning any language. Haitian Creole has grammatical distinctions and nuances that make it different from the grammar of other languages. Creole Tutors will go over the grammatical differences between Haitian Creole and English. Once you can understand these differences, you will have an easier time understanding how to convert English grammar into Haitian Creole grammar.

Culture

Culture has a significant influence on Haitian Creole. Everything from a person’s gestures to their body language can impact how their spoken Haitian Creole is received. It doesn’t mean you have to imitate a native Haitian. You have to understand Haitian culture and how etiquette plays a role in communicating Haitian Creole to someone else correctly.

Vocabulary

Learning Haitian Creole vocabulary is a long-term process. As you learn more words in Haitian Creole, you’ll be able to have longer conversations with Haitians in their native language. You’ll start by learning common greetings and phrases in Haitian Creole. As you advance through the course, you’ll learn more advanced vocabulary for a variety of different circumstances and situations.

Pronunciation

Understanding the vocabulary, culture and grammar of Haitian Creole will help you begin speaking the language. Speech is always difficult for anyone learning Haitian Creole for the first time. It will take your brain longer to process the words and phrases people use in a sentence. You’ll be too busy focusing on phonetics so that you can pronounce the words and phrases correctly.

The four primary units of the course are as follows:

People – Learn how to greet and converse with other people and the proper grammar involved.

Who Are You?
Where Did You Go To School?
We Are Family
Let’s Get Acquainted
There’s No Place Like Home

Travel – Learn how to ask for directions and clarification about the location of particular places. There is plenty of vocabulary to learn here.

Activities – Learn how to have conversations about sports and athletic-related topics.

Places – Learn how to talk about familiar places, such as the pharmacy, dinner table, kitchen and more.

All the vocabulary, grammar, culture and pronunciation sections will apply to these study units. If you can learn how to have conversations about the topics of these units, you’ll be on your way to understanding a basic amount of Haitian Creole.

Haitian Creole became an official language in 1987, and it is one of two Haiti’s official languages alongside French. The 1987 constitution classifies French and Haitian Creole as the “language of instruction” and a “tool of education,” respectively. The constitution also recognizes Haitian Creole as the only language common to all the population of Haiti.

Nevertheless, French was considered a more standard language than Creole; this is seen in situations and conversations. Usually, French is spoken during formal situations and public functions, while Haitian Creole is spoken in ordinary conversations. Nevertheless, a large population of peasants speaks more of Haitian Creole regardless of the situation.

The perception of Haitian Creole in society is dependent on the category of people. Some French people perceive Haitian Creole to be a miseducated person’s French. At the same time, some Haitians view French as a legacy of colonialism. Consequently, many Haitians speak only Haitian Creole, and a minority of the people are bilingual.

In Haiti, television stations hardly broadcast in Creole, and the print media in Creole is beyond the reach of most citizens because of illiteracy, language differences, and cost. However, Haitian Creole-speaking communities in the United States, Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas utilize the Haitian Creole language more. Haitian Creole is used in public service announcements, taught in schools, and promoted through literacy projects, advocacy, and artistic endeavors. 

Although 95% of the Haitian population speak Haitian Creole, French is still the preferred language of instruction in most schools. Nevertheless, Haitian Creole is preferred as the language for teaching in public schools because children from ordinary families attend more.

The education system in Haiti has always used French as the teaching language even though just about 5%of the population are fluent in French. This language barrier has caused several students to drop out of school because the French language is quite challenging. Therefore, to promote the growth of Haitian Creole, the Bernard Reform was created in 1978 to introduce Haitian Creole as the teaching language for the first four years of primary school. Unfortunately, this reform wasn’t very successful, and the language still has limited growth.

After the 2010 earthquake, basic education was more accessible and free for ordinary families. The government has also been expanding the usage of Haitian Creole in schools. As a means of propagating the language and culture through education, the government established a policy in 2015 to teach all students in Haitian Creole. The policy is an agreement between Haiti’s Ministry of National Education and the Haitian Creole Academy.

In recent times, more schools are enhancing education by teaching in Haitian Creole. Schools such as Liv Ouvè, Matenwa Community School, and Louverture Cleavy School have adopted Haitian Creole as a teaching language. This integration has proven that students have a better chance of academically succeeding because language is no longer a barrier.

Haitian Creole has a phonemic orthography; that is, the written symbols correspond to significant spoken words. Except for proper nouns and foreign words, the language has a highly regular spelling. Haitian Creole has 32 characters, of which there are 18 consonants, 7 vowels, 3 nasal vowels, 2 semi-vowels, a non-native consonant, and a digraph (semi-vowel followed by a vowel).

Orthography articulates language ideologies. In the late 20th century, Haitian Creole orthography was standardized. Haitian Creole can be classified into;

• Consonants: <b>, <ch>, <d>, <f>, <g>, <h>, <j>, <k>, <l>, <m>, <n>, <ng>, <p>, <r>, <s>, <t>, <v>, and <z>
• Vowels: <a>, <e>, <è>, <i>, <o>, <ò>, and <ou>
• Nasal Vowels: <an>, <en>, and <on>
• Semi-vowels: <w> and <y>
• Non-native consonants: <dj>
• Digraph: <ui>

The Haitian Creole does not have any silent letters. The letters <c> and <u> are usually in association with other letters to give multigraphs such as <ch>, <ou>, <oun>, and <ui>. Unlike the French alphabet, there is no <q> or <x> in Haitian Creole. However, <x> is used in loanwords and proper nouns to represent the /ks/, /kz/, or /gz/ sounds.

Sounds in Haitian Creole are spelled the same way. However nasal vowels become oral vowels whenever there is a grave accent <`> preceding <n>. For example,

• <en> for /ɛ̃/ becomes <èn> for /εn/
• <on> for /ɔ̃/ becomes <òn> for /ɔn/
• <an> for /à/ becomes <àn> for /an/

Also, digraphs denoting nasal vowels in Haitian Creole are pronounced as oral vowels followed by /n/ whenever a vowel immediately follows the digraphs in a word.

In addition, there is a level of ambiguity when pronouncing high vowels like <i> and <ou> whenever the letter <n> follows them in spelling. Common words such as machin may end with the consonantal /n/, while few words such as hougan end with the nasalized vowels.

Below is a table classifying the Haitian symbols, their IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), and their approximate usage in English.

Haitian Creole is an analytical language. There is no grammatical gender, and the verbs do not have inflections. Therefore, adjectives and articles do not inflect based on the noun. The structure of Haitian Creole grammar is subject-verb-object.

Possession

In Haitian Creole, the possessor or possessive pronoun is placed before the possessed item to indicate possession.

For example,

His money is lajan li

Pierre’s father’s friend is zanmi papa Pyè

Indefinite Article

There are two indefinite articles in Haitian Creole, which are on and yon. These articles are used only with singular nouns, and they are placed before the noun.

For example,

A knife is on kouto or yon kouto

Definite Article

There are five forms of the definite article in Haitian Creole, and it is usually placed after the modified noun. The form of the definite article used depends on the final syllable of the preceding word.

• The definite article is la for sounds that end with an oral consonant and a preceding oral vowel.

For example,

                        The tie is kravat la

                        The crow is kaw la

• For sounds that end with an oral consonant and a preceding nasal vowel, the definite article is

For example,

                        The lamp is lamp lan

• Suppose the last sound is any oral vowel other than <i> or <ou> and a nasal consonant precedes it or the last sound is an oral vowel, and an oral consonant precedes it. Then, the definite article is

For example,

The country is peyi a

The dinner is dine a

• If the preceding word ends with a nasal vowel or words such as nou, mou, mi, and ni, the definite article is

For example,

The family is fanmi an

• For sounds that end with a nasal consonant, the definite article may be lan or nan

For example,

The car is machin lan or machin nan

Verbs

In Haitian Creole, verbs have only one form, and markers indicate tense, aspect, and mood. Similar to French, the verb infinitive in Creole is the same, but there is no conjugation.

For example,

I make food is mwen fè manje

She goes to work in the morning is li ale travay nan maten

There is a clear distinction between the first, second, and third-person pronouns in French and their singular and plural versions. In contrast, Haitian Creole doesn’t have a clear distinction between direct and indirect objects. Pronouns in Haitian Creole only have a difference in their long and short forms.

For example;

I and me is mwen or m

You is ou or w

He, She, Him, Her, and It is li or l

We and us is nou or n

They and them is yo or y

Possessive Pronouns

Masculine and feminine possessive pronouns in Haitian Creole do not have any distinction. Usually, appending –a / –an to the main word indicates possession, and appending –yo indicates plural pronouns.

For example, in singular pronouns;

            Mine is pa mwen an

            Yours is pa ou a

His, hers and its is pa li a

Ours and yours is pa nou a

Theirs is pa yo a

In plural pronouns;

Mine is pa mwen yo

Yours is pa ou yo

His, hers, and its is pa li yo

Ours and yours is pa nou yo

Theirs is pa yo

Plural of Nouns

Unlike English, plural nouns in Haitian Creole do not add “-s” to the words. In Haitian Creole, plural nouns with a definite article have the word –yo appended to the noun. On the other hand, indefinite plural nouns are unmarked.

For example,

            The books are liv yo

I ate the bananas is Mwen te manje fig yo

The girls put on dresses is fi yo met wòb

Although the literacy rates of Creole are pretty low, efforts are ongoing to propagate the culture and language through education, advocacy, and cultural endeavors. Also, there are several smartphone apps with learning flashcards and an audio phrasebook to improve literacy rates.