In Haitian Creole "Jezi" means Jesus, and "La" means There. Jesula is the English form of Jezi La. When Jesula was born she was very sick. Her parents feared she would not live. With time Jesula's health improved. Her parents decided to name her Jesula because they believed that Jesus was There with her and healed her.
We have heard people pronounce "Jesula" in different ways. Based on what seemed to be the consensus, we were pronouncing her name to sound like "Jay-Z-La".
On our recent trip to Haiti we asked her how she pronounces her name. She told us her name is pronounced: "Je-Z-La". The "Je" sounds like it would in the name "Jeff", then you hear a full "Z", and then the "la" sounds like it does in the word "lava".
So, her name is spelled in the English form as Jesula. But it is pronounced just like it looks in the Haitian Creole form as Jezi La.
My husband and I just got back from Haiti. We stayed at Children of the Promise outside of Cap-Haitian. We currently have two boys (8 and 10) and have been praying about adoption. The closer it came to our trip the further we were from adoption. We arrived on Saturday and spent the whole week serving the long term staff, caring for the children, and experiencing God daily. Then Friday happened. All week we saw this ONE little girl (about 20 months old), Jesula. She was watching my husband paint her house. We thought she was going home with her family. We were told on Friday that she is up for adoption. Our hearts SPLIT open that moment. We have not stopped thinking about her and are pursuing what God is calling us to do. We just need to know that Jesula will be okay and if we are a part of her future we will pursue it.
ReplyDeleteThe reason I say all that is cause I'm praying for Jesula and don't know how to pronounce her name. We have heard it pronounced "Jaz-U-la" but our friends that have lived there for 6 years pronounce it "Ja-ZOO-la". How do you pronounce it now? Do you still call her that or does she have a nickname? Thank you.
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ReplyDeleteHello Megan,
ReplyDeleteYou have an amazing God story with your Jesula as well. Interesting how sometimes just when we think we have God's plan figured out, He reveals something totally different.
Early in our adoption process several people we talked to offered varying opinions on the proper pronunciation. We went through the same struggle as you wanting to say it right. I can tell you we have changed our "official pronunciation" several times.
On one early visit to Haiti we attempted to communicate with her to see how she felt it should be pronounced. She was 10 at the time but spoke very little English. Based on that conversation we arrived at "Jay-Z-La". The result was this blog post.
It has since changed. About a year after this post we were able to communicate much more effectively with her. And we arrived with the current pronunciation.
"Je" sounds as it would in Jeff without the f's. Emphasize the sound.
"Su" is the tricky part. It is faint and quick between the more emphasized sounds of "Je" and "La". The key is not to emphasize this sound in the name. When I say Jesula you most likely hear “su" but you could question was that a faint “zu” sound.
And the "La" sounds like it looks. Emphasize the sound but don’t drag it out too long.
In the end, don't worry about it. Haitian Creole and English sounds are very different and that's okay. Plus your Jesula is young and will be home at a young age. She likely won't have a strong opinion on the pronunciation of her name. My advice would be to say her name how it looks in English. This is how we say our Jesula’s name. Like someone would from your hometown that speaks only English, when they first see the spelling and then pronounce it. That is what she is going to hear (outside of the home) from an early age for likely the rest of her life anyway. And it will be more comfortable for your family to pronounce as well.
I hope this makes sense. You are welcome to email me at pmcunningham3@gmail.com for further discussion. I would be happy to speak with you if hearing the name spoken would be of more value.
God Bless You and your little Jesula!