Papiamentu Ta Dushi

Izaline Calister - Kanta Hélele

noreply@blogger.com (Kompatriota) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:26:00 +0000

Izaline Calister - Singer, composer and lyricist with a distinctive personal musical style. A charismatic performer, at times warm and intimate, then again expressive and extroverted, masterfully weaving together the traditional music of her native island, Curaçao (Dutch Caribbean), with Jazz. Izaline possesses the exceptional gift that makes all the difference for a soloist, as she sings in her mother tongue, Papiamentu, with feeling and grace. She has this ability to remain true to her roots and successfully reach out and conquer audiences around the world singing in an unfamiliar language, while melding seamlessly the pulsating rhythms of Afro-Antilles music with Jazz.

Kanta Hélele’ translates as ‘Sing Hélele’.
‘Hélele’ is a lyric people in Curaçao often use when they want to sing a song of joy without having a particular melody or song in their minds. People usually belt out the ‘Hélele’ using whatever melody comes into mind, often with their hands lifted up to the air.

Link to the live performance of the song on youtube

Link to the song on iTunes

Hei, lanta fo’i kama lihé, dia ta pasa un be
No, no drumi pèrdè tempu, disfrut’é
Bo chèns ta eifó, gar’éle awó
No, no keda warda ningun hende no

Hei, gosa di loke bo tin
Dicha ta bai i e ta bin
Danki dios tur tempu malu tin su fin
I no lubidá, kon tristu ku bo ta
Keda ku speransa kosnan lo solushoná

Bo sa ku bo por, no pèrdè balor
Mi ta yudabu si bo ke, pa bo komprondé i
Lo bo realisá , kon fuerte bo ta
Bo duda ta por nada, lanta i bo ta sa

Mi ke pa bo wak, bo bida ku smak
Ba pag’é presio di amor, ma bo sa awor
Ku felisidat, esun di bèrdat, no ta kosta nada

Felisidat ta pòrnada, basta bo habri bo bista p’e
Den kosnan chikitu, ta bo mes tin ku mir’é
Si un hende yudabu, maske ku bo n’ konosé
Kanta ku mi: Hélele, Hélele

Felisidat ta pòrnada, basta bo habri bo bista p’e
Un nechi kantika, mientras ku bo ta baile
Si e ta stimabu i abo tambe stim’é
Kanta ku mi: Hélele, Hélele

Felisidat ta pòrnada, basta bo habri bo bista p’e
Un yu den bo brasa, ku tin bo duru tené
Si bo tin amigu, ku bo por konta ku n’e
Kanta ku mi: Hélele, Hélele

Hey, quick get out of bed! Days pass before you know it
No, don’t waste more time sleeping, enjoy it!
Your chance is out there, grab it now!
Don’t sit around waiting for anybody

Hey, enjoy what you have
Happiness comes and goes
But thank god, all bad times come to an end
And don’t forget, even though you are very sad
Keep faith, things will work out!

You know you can do it, don’t lose your courage
I’ll help you if you want, to make you understand
Then you’ll realize, how strong you actually are
There is no reason for doubts. Get up and you’ll see!

I want you to look at life, with gusto
You paid the price of love, But now you know
That happiness, the real kind, doesn’t cost anything

Happiness is for free, as long as your sight is open to it
It’s in the little things, you just have to see
If someone you don’t even know, helps you
Sing with me Hélele, Hélele

Happiness is for free, as long as your sight is open to it
A nice song, while you’re dancing to it
If he (she) loves you and you love him (her) back
Sing with me Hélele, Hélele

Happiness is for free, as long as your sight is open to it
A child in your arms that is tightly holding on to you
If you have friends you can really count on
Sing with me Hélele Hélele

*izalinecalister.com
*myspace.com/izalinecalister

Grammatical person

noreply@blogger.com (Kompatriota) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:11:00 +0000

In papiamentu the pronouns are very straightforward, because we usually don't distinct males from females in the pronouns.

Singular
Ami/mi = I, me, my
Abo/bo = You
E = He, she, it
Plural
Nos = We, us
Bosnan/bosonan = You
Nan = They, them

Take note that I have shown the singular/plural subject and the object.

1. Bon Dia

noreply@blogger.com (Kompatriota) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:13:00 +0000

Jack: Bon dia. Kumbai?
Wansito: Bon danki. Kon ta bai ku abo?
Jack: Ami tambe ta bon.
Wansito: Abo ta bin di Merka?
Jack: Si, ami ta merikano. Anto abo ta yu di Kòrsou?
Wansito: Si, ami ta yu di Kòrsou.
Jack: Te aworó.
Wansito: Ayo.

Vocabulary:
Bon dia = Good Morning
Kumbai? = How are you?
Bon = Good, fine
Kon ta bai = How are you (literal meaning: How is it going)
Ku abo = With you
Danki = Thank You
Ami = I
Tambe = too, also
Abo ta bin di Merka? = Are you from America?(USA)
Si, ami ta merikano = Yes, I am an american
Anto abo ta yu di Kòrsou? = And you are Curacaon(or: from Curacao)?
Yu di Kòrsou = Curacaon (literal meaning: son of Curacao)
Si, ami ta yu di Kòrsou = Yes, I am from Curacao
Te aworó = see you later
Ayo = goodbye

About of this blog

noreply@blogger.com (Kompatriota) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:43:00 +0000

The goal of this blog is to teach you Papiamentu at a basic level. I will do this by helping you with the vocabulary, spelling and grammar. I may also post reference to articles in Papiamentu or audio and video content on the internet.

My background:
I am a native speaker of Papiamentu living in the Netherlands. I grew up on Curacao and I have been living in the Netherlands since 2006, currently I'm studying at Utrecht University. When I'm finished with my studies I will return to my homeland.
I have never taught Papiamentu before. The knowledge that I have on the language is what I have gained over the years by studying the language at school, reading books and talking to people on the subject. I am NOT a linguist nor am I a professional in the language of Papiamentu and I don't pretend to be. Use what you learn here at your own risk!

If you would like to learn more on the language of Papiamentu I suggest you buy one of the wonderful books I'm recommending or just visit the beautiful island of Curacao.

I hope you will be able to learn a lot from this blog, because I do it with a lot of passion and love.
If you have any questions or feedback you can email me at papiamentutadushi [at] gmail.com