Chapter 1: Greetings and Introductions
Questions
| Creole | English |
|---|---|
| Kwa | What |
| Ki | Who |
| Kan / Ékan | When |
| Éyou | Where |
| Komen | How |
| Kofè | Why |
| Kèl | Which |
| Eske | Yes or No |
Ki is a heavily utilized question marker in Louisiana Creole. In the table it shows that Ki means Who, however its use is more varied than that. Some speakers might use Ki in replace of Kwa. For example, take the question Kwa çé ça (What is that)? Some speakers instead might ask Ki çé ça?
Ki can also replace Kèl. For example, instead of Kèl shyin to linm (Which dog do you like)? It is rather Ki shyin to linm?
If you were trying to ask the question Which one? You would instead use Ékèl. For instance, imagine that you were at a farmers’ market and you ask the merchant for a dépomm (apple). The merchant might respond with the question Ékèl (Which one)?
Eske is only used for Yes or No questions. A yes or no question can be posed with the change of intonation, however using Eske allows for the person to recognize that the question that is being posed is a Yes or No question. Eske is placed in front of the question. For instance, Eske t’olé ça (Do you want that)?