Haiti 2

Listen to Haiti 2, a 53-year-old woman from Haiti, and also in Los Angeles, California, United States. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 53

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 07/06/1961

PLACE OF BIRTH: Haiti

GENDER: female

ETHNICITY: Haitian/Black

OCCUPATION: social worker

EDUCATION: B.S. degree in social work

AREAS OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

Born in Haiti and raised there until age 15, the speaker then lived in New York City for 17 years. Subsequently, she lived in Los Angeles and environs, where she was residing at the time of this recording.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH: N/A

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: Autumn Paramore (under supervision of David Nevell)

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 16/03/2015

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

Before I know it, I think it was, like, in about three or six month, I was speaking English. So I ran to my school one day. I said to my counselor, “I can now speak English. Can you please put me in English classes?” And he said, “You are speaking; how did you do that?” I said, “I know how to get it.” [Interviewer laughs.] So anyway, so I spoke English, and then they, they were able to put me in regular classes, and then I kept working with my, my teacher for a while, and then her husband gave me a weekend job because he was a real-estate agent. He had an office, so I work for him for a little bit on the weekend. And then since I wanted to be a dentist, I asked her again — my teacher — if she can help me get a job. Then, um, she said, “Well, since you want to be in the medical field, let me send you to work in a hospital.” So I work in the hospital for a while, but I didn’t like it because it was working in the kitchen; they were making me work hard. I was taking food to the clients, feed them and all that. I said, “I want something easier.” So I went back to her, and I said “I want to work with a dentist.” So she did find me a dentist to work with, and to my surprise, when I went for my interview, the dentist was going out with my aunt. That was my aunt’s boyfriend! So then my aunt was there waiting for me at the interview, and I’m like, “Ah! I get the job!” So, anyway, the doctor said, “Yeah, she’s my girlfriend,” and I’m like, “Oh, OK, when do I start?” [laughter]

TRANSCRIBED BY: Autumn Paramore (under supervision of David Nevell)

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 15/12/2015

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY: N/A

COMMENTARY BY: N/A

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

The archive provides:

• Recordings of accent/dialect speakers from the region you select.

• Text of the speakers’ biographical details.

• Scholarly commentary and analysis in some cases.

• In most cases, an orthographic transcription of the speakers’ unscripted speech.  In a small number of cases, you will also find a narrow phonetic transcription of the sample (see Phonetic Transcriptions for a complete list).  The recordings average four minutes in length and feature both the reading of one of two standard passages, and some unscripted speech. The two passages are Comma Gets a Cure (currently our standard passage) and The Rainbow Passage (used in our earliest recordings).

For instructional materials or coaching in the accents and dialects represented here, please go to Other Dialect Services.