An answer:
Aloufa = Kikongo word that means "pig".
Zo, isn't ALOUFA a tribe in Africa? They say people from this tribe eat a lot, hence the name "aloufa" to my friend NweNwe because he can eat "de timamit diri ak pwa"!
Thanks for starting this thread!
Aloufa is also a city in Chad. I am not sure exactly of the tribe (but I feel like I have previously heard of that elsewhere).
Its use and meaning in Creole is traced back to the Kikongo language.
In creole: to mean someone who's eats a lot (like a pig)/ or when someone eats everything and disorderly at that (like a pig),
As for the other words, where are the linguist experts on HX? I'd like to have an official answer because they seem to be part of the African words slowly disappearing from our language altogether.
I would bet money that the haitian kreyol aloufa has absolutely nothing to do with africa.
I would rather look for a Norman/Breton link......lourd fa...lourd fargot
Same for grangou...... grand gout....grand gouter....big appetite
The fact is our kreyol language is overwhelmingly "French" specifically the dialects of Normandy and Brittany.
The few African words are found in vaudou "langaj"
A few Indian words for plants and animals.
Lately many words from English.
But the core of the original language is "French" derived.
Some linguists even suggest that the creolization process started with the white pirates, buccaneers and settlers and not the africans.
Other examples of white creolization exist.
The white Dutch settlers created Afrikaans in South Africa.....adopted also by the Coloured population.
The Norman conquest of England resulted in many "french" words making their way into the mainly Germanic language.
Examples: Cow meat (germanic)
Beef from french Boeuf ( Bef in Haitian Kreyol)
Pig meat
Pork from the french Porc
Kingly
Royal.......
We can even see it in French Canada's Joual
French: Ce soir
Joual: A swer
Haitian: Aswe-a
Because of the multitude of african tribes and dialects, it is more likely that the enslaved africans adopted the white's creole dialect and made it their own.
When it comes to the origin of Haitian Kreyol words, the Normandy/Brittany region of France would be the first place to look.
I read that somewhere, although I can't recall what book.
As for the other words I have posted, I think they are the few of African origin. And rapidly disappearing from our vocabulary. Do you maybe want to try to take a crack at one or two, see what French dialects they resemble?
Vèditè! This is a real good one. Probably making reference to what happen to us when we die. "Nou se vèditè, nou pa vinn fè matyè sale sou latè." Would it be a variation of "vètè, ver de terre"?
Tyentyen= Mais - from the French word (Tiens) - When giving corn to the slaves, the master used to say "tiens, tiens!" to the slave.
Interesting. I'm not sure but I believe cornmeal in the DR is called chen-chen and that sounds remarkably similar. However the DR was colonized by the Spaniards so then again something doesn't click.
Vèditè! This is a real good one. Probably making reference to what happen to us when we die. "Nou se vèditè, nou pa vinn fè matyè sale sou latè." Would it be a variation of "vètè, ver de terre"?
Vèditè! This is a real good one. Probably making reference to what happen to us when we die. "Nou se vèditè, nou pa vinn fè matyè sale sou latè." Would it be a variation of "vètè, ver de terre"?
Very good! "earthworm". LOL.]
Nou tout se vèditè.
One I've been especially curious about is tyovi, at times pronounced tchovi. Tonton Dezirab have used that word numerous times in his comedy sketches. Have anyone heard that word being used? Means children.
