Movi Creole 00: Pronunciations

Front 1

In Creole, as a general rule each letter has one sound and one sound only and every letter is pronounced.

Back 1

...

Front 2

Li (he, she, it)

Back 2

lee

Front 3

kapab (can/able to)

Back 3

kah-pahb

Front 4

pa (not, don't)

Back 4

pah

Front 5

There are just a few exceptions to this general rule about pronunciation. There is the "ou" combination which in Creole is pronounced like our English “oo”:

Back 5

nou (we, us)......sounds like "new"

moun (person)..........."moon"

ou (you)......................"oo"

Front 6

There is the "ay" combination which is pronounced the way a pirate would say “Aye aye, Captain!”

Back 6

bagay (thing) = bah-guy

kay (house)

Front 7

an

Pronounced like the "un" in "bunny" but nasalized; that is, say it through the nose while shortening the sound of the “n”.

Back 7

Nan (in, at, into)

anpil (a lot)

medikaman an (the medicine)

Front 8

en

Pronounced like the "en" in "bench" but nasalized; that is, say it through the nose while shortening the sound of the “n”.

Back 8

Lwen (far)

bezwen (need)

Front 9

on

Pronounced like the "on" in "don't" but nasalized; that is, say it through the nose while shortening the sound of the “n”.

Back 9

Bon (good)

reyinyon (meeting)

Front 10

ch

In Creole, the letters “c” and “h” are ONLY used in the “ch” combination. “Ch” is sounded like the “sh” as in “ship.”

Back 10

Chita (to sit)

Front 11

g

The Creole “g” is ALWAYS a hard “g” sound like the “g” in the English word “gut.”

Back 11

Genyen (to have)

Front 12

j

“j” is sounded like the “s” in the English word “measure.”

Back 12

Manje (to eat)

Front 13

s

“s” is sounded like the “s” in the English word “soft.” It is NEVER sounded like a “z.”

Back 13

Souvan (often)

Front 14

r

“r” is NOT rolled like a Spanish “r”. It pronounced more similar to the French "r", but is not quite as guttural, and sounds almost like "w"

Back 14

travay (to work / work)

apre (after)