# Miami dopers - What's this language?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miami-dopers-whats-this-language/169796>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 20, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miami-dopers-whats-this-language/169796 "2003-04-20T05:03:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miami-dopers-whats-this-language/169796/1 "2003-04-20T05:03:27Z")

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I’m in Miami at the moment, and have seen lots of notices in three languages: English and Spanish, as I’d expect, and another language I don’t recognise. It seems to be based on French but with some modified English words (for example problem = pwoblem) and odd “phonetic” spelling, so my best guess is some kind of Creole. Can anyone tell me what it is exactly?

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**Author:** ![captainQwark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@captainQwark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/captainQwark)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2003, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miami-dopers-whats-this-language/169796/2 "2003-04-20T05:09:43Z")

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Haitian french?

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**Author:** ![Palve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a698b9/32.png) [@Palve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palve)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miami-dopers-whats-this-language/169796/3 "2003-04-20T05:10:10Z")

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Probably Haitian Creole based on the description and your position in the world.

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**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2003, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miami-dopers-whats-this-language/169796/4 "2003-04-20T05:23:38Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by r\_k \*  
> \*\*I’m in Miami at the moment, and have seen lots of notices in three languages: English and Spanish, as I’d expect, and another language I don’t recognise. It seems to be based on French but with some modified English words (for example problem = pwoblem) and odd “phonetic” spelling, so my best guess is some kind of Creole. Can anyone tell me what it is exactly? \*\*

It’s [Haitian Creole](http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/2003/03/06/news/local/states/florida/counties/miami-dade/cities_neighborhoods/north/5318696.htm). Haiti was a French colony from 1697 to 1804. According to [this site](http://www.haitiantimes.com/ourpress.htm), there are about 300,000 Haitian-Americans in South Florida.