Help your fluency in a nifty way

[Imralu]

Leo nilitaka kwenda kwenye mkutano wa kuzungumza Kiswahili, lakini mara moja nilikuwa nimechelewa na kisha nikatambua kwamba nikienda kuelekea pahala kosefu, kwa hivyo nilitembea-tembea tu na nilipata picha mwenye punda-milia watatu iliyokuweko barabarani na nikaipeleka nyumbani.
Today I wanted to go to a Swahili speaking meet-up but first I was late and then I realised I was going towards the wrong place, so I just went for a walk and I found a picture of three zebras on the street and I then took it home.

Sasa hivi nitapika tambi.
Right now I'm going to cook pasta.

[Vijay]

Imralu, Io, mimi nataka kuandika kwa Kiswahili pia lakini nahitaji kujifunza zaidi kwanza.
Imralu, Io, I want to write in Swahili, too, but I have to learn more first.

kuomba = to request, ask for (used for "would like" as in "I would like that, please" ... ie. "I ask for that")
kutaka = to want
kuhitaji = to need (Another way you could say this is lazima nijifunze using the subjunctive, which is often used as an optative, so you could also drop the lazima but I think then the meaning is weaker, more like "should".)

Huhitaji kujifunza zaidi kabla ya kuandika kwa Kiswahili. Ningefurahi kukusaidia nikiweza.
You don't need to learn more before you write in Swahili. I'm happy to help you if I can.

Asante!

കഥ എഴുതി തീർക്കാൻ നോക്കി.
[kəˈt̪ʰe jɛˈɻʊd̪i t̪iːrˈkaːn ˈn̪oːki].
I tried to finish writing the story.

ഈയാംപാറ്റകളെ നോക്കിയിരിക്കവേ അബു തന്നെത്താനെ ചിര ചെയ്യുകയായിരുന്നു.
അബു എപ്പോഴും ആശ്രയിച്ച ഭാര്യ ഷാഹിന എന്ന ബഹുമാന്യയായിരുന്നു. പ്രഹരം കഴിഞ്ഞിട്ട് "എന്തേ, ഒരു പറങ്കിമാവിന്റെ തണലിൽ വെറുതെയങ്ങ് വേർതിരിഞ്ഞു് ഇരിക്കുന്നതു്?" മണ്ണെണ്ണയുടെ ഒരു പാട്ട പിടിച്ചുകൊണ്ട് ഷാഹിന നിരുപദ്രവയായി ചോദിച്ചു. ഭാര്യയുടെ മുഖത്തു് ഭർത്താവിന്റെ ഉപാധിയെക്കുറിച്ചുള്ള യാതനയുടെ വിശദപ്രതീകം ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു. ഷാഹിനയുടെ അഭിപ്രായത്തിൽ അബു അതീവദാർഢ്യത്തോടെ സ്വയത്തോടു് പെരുമാറുകയായിരുന്നു.
"ഞാൻ ഇവിടെ സങ്കേതം അന്വേഷിച്ചു് വന്നതാണേ." ഈ വിപുലപ്രഖ്യാപനത്തിൽ ഏതോ ദർശനം പറയുവാൻ ശ്രമിക്കുന്നതാണെങ്കിലും പറയുന്നതിനകത്തു് ഒരു താത്ത്വികമൊന്നുമില്ലെന്നു് ഷാഹിനയ്ക്ക് തോന്നി.
"സങ്കേതമോ? വേറെ ആരെങ്കിലും മാപ്ലയുടെ ഇരുത്തം കണ്ടാൽ സങ്കല്പത്തിനുവേണ്ടിയായിരുന്നെന്നു് തോന്നും" എന്നു് ഷാഹിന ഞരങ്ങിപ്പറഞ്ഞു.
"നിനക്കറിയാമോ? എന്റെ ഊഴം കഴിയാറായടീ! എന്റെ ഊഴം കഴിയാറായി."
"ഇതെന്താണേ, ശനിദശയോ? കുറവെന്താണുള്ളതു്? വിഭവമോ? സ്വത്തോ?" കൂടാതെ അവർ സന്ധാരണത്തിൽ മാത്രം താമസിക്കുന്നവരല്ലെന്നു് ഷാഹിന പറഞ്ഞു. അതു് ശരിയായിരുന്നു. അവരുടെ ഉറവു് ഒരിക്കലും വറ്റിക്കാത്തതുകൊണ്ടു് അവർക്കു് വിളകൾ സമൃദ്ധിയിൽ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു. ആ സ്വായത്ത വിളകൾകൊണ്ടു് അവരുടെ കുടുംബം ഉതകി. അതുകൊണ്ടു് അവർക്കു് ദൈവഗത്യാ കമ്പോളത്തിൽ പോയി നല്ല ചരക്കും മേടിക്കാൻ കഴിയായിരുന്നു.
അബുവിന്റെ മനസ്സിൽ പതിയിരിക്കുന്ന വിഷാദം ഒരു വലയത്തിന്റെ അഗ്രം വേലിയിൽ പിടിച്ച മത്സ്യത്തെപ്പോലെയായിരുന്നു. എന്നാലും ഇമ്മാതിരിയുള്ള മാനസിക രോഗങ്ങളുടെ ആധിപത്യവും ആഘാതവും നടുക്കവും ഷാഹിനയൊരിക്കലും ചുമലിൽ എടുത്തില്ല. അതിന്റെ കടത്തലായിരുന്നു അവരുടെ പരിപാടി. മറ്റൊന്നും പറയാതെ അറയിൽ കയറി പാട്ട താഴ്ത്തിവച്ചു. പാചകം ചെയ്യാൻ ഒരുമ്പെടുകയായിരുന്നു എന്ന പ്രതീതി സൃഷ്ടിച്ചു.
[jiːˈjaːmbaːtəgəɭe n̪oːkijiɾikʲəˈʋeː əˈbu t̪ənneˈt̪aːne t͡ʃiˈɾa t͡ʃɛjjʊˈʋaːjɾʊn̪n̪u].
[əˈbu jɛˈpʊɻʊm ˈaːɕrejit͡ʃa ˈbʱaːɾja ˈʃaːhina jɛn̪ˈn̪a bɛhʊmaːnjeˈjaːjɾʊn̪n̪u]. [prəˈhəɾəm kəˈɻɪɲɪʈ] "[ɛn̪ˈd̪eː], [oˈɾu pərəŋgiˈmaːʋɪnde t̪əˈɳɛlɪl ʋɛˈrʊd̪ejəŋɯ ˈʋeːrt̪iɾiɲ iˈɾikʲʊn̪n̪əd̪ɯ]?" [məɳɳɛɳˈɳejʊɖe joˈɾu ˈpaːʈa piɖiˈt͡ʃoːɳɖɯ ˈʃaːhina n̪ɪɾʊbəd̪rəʋeˈjaːj ˈt͡ʃoːd̪it͡ʃu]. [ˈbʱaːɾjejʊɖe mʊˈkʰət̪ɯ bʱərˈt̪aːʋɪnde jʊˈbaːd̪ʱijekurit͡ʃuɭɭa ˈjaːd̪ɛnejʊɖe ʋɪɕəd̪əprəˈd̪iːgəm ʊɳˈɖaːjɾʊn̪n̪u]. [ˈʃaːhinejʊɖe əʋɪˈpraːjət̪ɪl əˈbu əd̪iːʋəˈd̪aːrɖʱjət̪oːɖe sʋəjəˈt̪oːɖɯ pɛɾʊmaːrʊˈʋaːjɾʊn̪n̪u].
"[ɲaːn ɪˈʋɪɖe səŋˈgeːd̪əm ənˈʋeːʃit͡ʃɯ ʋən̪n̪əd̪aːˈɳeː]." [jiː ʋɪbʊləprəˈkʰjaːbənət̪ɪl eːˈd̪oː d̪ərˈɕɛnəm pərejuˈʋaːn ɕrəmikʲʊn̪n̪əˈd̪aːɳɛŋgilum pərejʊn̪n̪əd̪ɪˈnaːt̪ oˈɾu ˈt̪aːt̪ʋigəmon̪n̪ʊmɪllɛn̪n̪ɯ ˈʃaːhinɛkʲɯ ˈt̪oːn̪n̪i].
"[səŋgeːd̪əˈmoː]? [ˈʋeːre ˈjaːɾɛŋgilum ˈmaːpɭeːɖe jɪɾʊˈt̪əŋ gəɳˈɖaːl səŋgəlpət̪ɪnɯʋeːɳɖiˈjaːjɾʊn̪n̪ɛn̪n̪ɯ ˈt̪oːn̪n̪um]" [ɛn̪ˈn̪ɯ ˈʃaːhina ɲəˈɾɛŋŋipərɛɲu].
"[n̪ɪnəkərijaːˈmoː]? [jɛnde ˈjuːɻəm kəɻijaːˈraːjɛɖiː]! [jɛnde ˈjuːɻəm kəɻijaːˈraːj]."
"[jid̪ɛn̪d̪aːˈɳeː], [ɕɛnid̪əɕeˈjoː]? [kɔrəʋɛn̪ˈd̪aːɳɔɭɭəd̪ɯ]? [ʋɪbʱəʋəˈmoː]? [sʋəˈt̪oː]?" [kuːˈɖaːd̪e jəˈʋər sən̪ˈd̪ʱaːɾəɳət̪ɪl ˈmaːt̪rəm ˈt̪aːməsɪkʲʊn̪n̪əʋəɾəllɛn̪n̪ɯ ˈʃaːhina pəˈrɛɲu]. [əˈd̪ɯ ɕɛɾiˈjaːjɾʊn̪n̪u]. [əˈʋəɾʊɖe ɔˈrəʋ oˈɾikʲɛlʊm ʋətikʲaːt̪əˈd̪oːɳɖ əˈʋərkɯ ʋɪˈɭəgəɭ səˈmrɯd̪d̪ʱijɪl ʊɳˈɖaːjɾʊn̪n̪u]. [aː ˈsʋaːjət̪a ʋɪˈɭəgəɭkoɳɖ əˈʋəɾʊɖe kuˈɖumbəm uˈd̪əgi]. [əˈd̪oːɳɖ əˈʋərkɯ d̪ejʋəgəˈt̪jaː kəmˈboːɭət̪ɪl poːj n̪əlˈla t͡ʃəˈɾəkʊm meːɖiˈkʲaːn kəɻiˈjaːjɾʊn̪n̪u].
[əˈbuʋɪnde məˈnəssɪl pəˈd̪ijiɾikʲʊn̪n̪a ʋiˈʃaːd̪əm oˈɾu ʋəˈlejət̪ɪnde jəˈgrəm ˈʋeːlijil piˈɖit͡ʃa məlsjət̪epoːleˈjaːjɾʊn̪n̪u]. [jɛn̪ˈn̪aːlʊm ɪmˈmaːd̪iɾijʊɭɭa ˈmaːnəsiga ˈɾoːgəŋəɭʊɖe ˈjaːd̪ʱibət̪jəʋʊm aːˈgʱaːd̪əʋʊm n̪əˈɖʊkəʋʊm ˈʃaːhine joˈɾikʲɛlʊm t͡ʃuˈməlɪl ɛˈɖʊt̪ɪlla]. [əˈd̪ɪnde kəɖət̪əˈlaːjɾʊn̪n̪u əˈʋəɾʊɖe pəɾɯˈʋaːɖi]. [mətˈton̪n̪ʊm pəˈrejaːd̪e əˈreji ˈkeːri ˈpaːʈa ˈt̪aːɻt̪iʋɛt͡ʃu]. [ˈpaːd͡ʒəgəm t͡ʃɛjˈjaːn ɔɾʊmbɛɖʊgeˈjaːjɾʊn̪n̪u jɛn̪ˈ̪na prəˈd̪iːd̪i srɯʃˈʈɪt͡ʃu].
Abu was shaving as he watched the winged termites.
Abu's wife, who he always depended on, was an honorable woman named Shahina. "Why are you just sitting there in the shade of a cashew tree all by yourself?" Shahina gently asked three hours later, holding a can of gas. There was a clear sign of agony on the wife's face about her husband's condition. In Shahina's opinion, Abu was behaving towards himself with excessive harshness.
"Oh, I came here looking for refuge." Shahina thought that although he was trying to make some kind of philosophical statement with this grand declaration, there was nothing based on any sort of principle in it.
"Refuge? Anybody else seeing the way you're sitting there would think it was for meditation," Shahina grumbled.
"Do you know? My time's almost up, honey. My time's almost up!"
"What is this, a time of calamities and misfortune?! What do you not have enough of? Assets? Wealth?" Furthermore, Shahina said that they weren't just living on subsistence. That was true. They had crops in abundance since their well never dried up. Their family thrived on those self-acquired crops, so fortunately, they were able to go to the market and buy some nice goods.
The depression lurking in Abu's mind was like a fish caught in the tide at the tip of a net. However, Shahina never bore the authority, wounds, and tremors of such mental disorders on her shoulders. Driving it out was what she was up to. Without another word, she went into the room and put down the can. She created the impression that she was preparing to cook.

[Viktor77]

Ayer estaba en Chicago para visitar mi hermano que saldra hoy en avión del aeropuerto de Ohare por la Sudáfrica por un mes. En el Loop, fuimos de vista en casa un amigo que vive en el piso 29 de un rascacielos. Su apartamento da sobre el parco de Millennium y el lago de Michigan. Era muy bello. Me encatariá tener un día un apartamento en un rascacielos con una vista tan bella. Puedes imaginar despertarte en el piso 80 de un rascacielos enfrente ventanas pintorescas del suelo al techo que da sobre la ciudad? Si solo fuera millonario. Oigo que el edificio de Trump tiene muchas vacantes, tal vez a un buen precio porque en estos días quién quiere vivir en ese edificio?

Yesterday I was in Chicago to visit my brother who is flying today out of Ohare airport for South Africa for a month. In the Loop, we went to visit a friend who lives on the 29th floor of a skyscraper. His apartment looks over Millennium Park and Lake Michigan. It was gorgeous. I would love to one day have an apartment in a skyscraper with such a beautiful view. Can you imagine waking up on the 80th floor of a skyscraper in front of picturesque floor-to-ceiling windows that look out over the city? If only I were a millionaire. I hear that Trump tower has a lot of vacancies, perhaps at a good price because who wants to live in that building nowadays?

[jal]

Mijn auto is opnieuw* kapot. De wisselstroomdynamoklamp** is weggeroest***. Ik herhaal^ dat een stalen^^ klamp^^^ weggeroest is. Mijn auto heeft ongeveer 250.000 mijl gereden en met zo'n mijlstand+ beginnen++ er echter+++ allerlei rare dingen te gebeuren. Nu moet ik meer& geld uitgeven... het hele leven is een reeks problemen die we moeten proberen op te lossen, de een na de ander, ad infinitum.

*I'd say "weer". For me, "opnieuw" is more akin to "overnieuw", which doesn't really fit here, semantically.
**I know next to nothing about car technology, so all I know this is an actual word. Google doesn't know it though.
***"weggeroest" means it's actually completely gone. "doorgeroest" would be more likely what happened.
^That's not what I would say. Perhaps "Laat me dat herhalen: ...". At least it needs a colon: "Ik herhaal: een stalen klamp [see below] is weggeroest" (without "dat").
^^Materials always get an -n ("stalen", "houten", "metalen" etc.; except for "plastic" which is not declined)
^^^Again, I'm not sure this is a thing. "klamp" seems a technical/jargon word for something that attaches to something (from "klemmen"). Google tells me a "bracket" is a "beugel".
+Of course we call this "kilometerstand", "mijlstand" is sure to get some eyebrows raised.
++Sounds a bit anglicismy to me. I'd just say "gebeuren er allerlei rare dingen" or "gebeuren er steeds meer rare dingen".
+++"echter" = "however", "echt" = "really"
&"meer geld" sounds like "more money than I have up till now". If you mean "again some money while I just also spent money on other stuff", I'd say "Nu moet ik weer geld uitgeven" or the like.

In hwhatting's absence, I'll do my best

Thanks Imralu!

I found the English translation you gave a bit strange to, with the "that" referring to something you haven't mentioned yet.

Wie würdest du das auf Englisch sagen?
How'd you say that in English?


JAL

[Io]

I guess «I think it's an important factor that Portugal has won - it was something completely different.» instead of «I think that's an important factor that Portugal has won - it was something completely different.»

[Viktor77]

Godverdomme, pourquoi est-ce que je tente d'écrire en néerlandais? Je n'y réussis jamais.

Damn it, why do I try to write in Dutch. I never succeed.

[jal]

Damn it, why do I try to write in Dutch. I never succeed.

Weil du davon etwas lernen kannst? Dein Niederländisch ist wirklich nicht so schlecht, aber du must versuchen, etwas weniger Französich ein zu mischen :).
Because you can learn something from it? Your Dutch is really not that bad, but you must try to mix less French into it :).


JAL

[Viktor77]

Damn it, why do I try to write in Dutch. I never succeed.

Weil du davon etwas lernen kannst? Dein Niederländisch ist wirklich nicht so schlecht, aber du must versuchen, etwas weniger Französich ein zu mischen .
Because you can learn something from it? Your Dutch is really not that bad, but you must try to mix less French into it .

El francés es el calvario de mi vida...hago eso también en español.

French is the bane of my existence...I also do that in Spanish.

[linguoboy]

Heute hab ich erfahren, dass "earwax" auf Deutsch "Ohrenschmalz" heisst.
Today I discovered that "earwax" is called "ear grease" in German.

Das ist ja ekelhaft.
That's disgusting.

[ˈd̪ʲɛ.gɔ kɾuˑl̪]

Ein Mangel an binären Systemen is a "lack of binary systems", not quite what you want to say here.

Ehh, in Polish I would say just "brak czegoś" to express lack of something. To make it more understandable one could insert "sehen", i.e. "ich sehe Mangel...". I can't help making calques.
Also, should it be "ich sehe Mangel", "ich sehe einen Mangel" or "ich sehe den Mangel"? I can't find any arguments for any of these three to be better.

[Imralu]

In hwhatting's absence, I'll do my best

Thanks Imralu!

Karibu!
You're welcome!

How'd you say that in English?

I think that's an important factor that Portugal has won - it was something completely different.

"I think the fact that it was completely different also helped (Portugal win)"
"I think it probably also didn't hurt that it was completely different."
"I think another factor that helped Portugal win was that it was completely different."

Mara hii nafikiri kwamba Kijerumani chako kilikuwa kamili ila einzumischen iliyo neno moja.
This time I think your German was perfect except for "einzumischen", which is one word.

[Imralu]

Also, should it be "ich sehe Mangel", "ich sehe einen Mangel" or "ich sehe den Mangel"? I can't find any arguments for any of these three to be better.

Personally this is not how I would phrase it and I'm not sure what's best. The version with no article feels wrong to me though. I feel like Ich erkenne den Mangel might work, but again this feels like you're saying something completely different like "I recognise the need for..." which is kind if the opposite of what I perceived you to be saying, acknowledging that your binary system idea had not been accepted by the group. I have a feeling that Polish phrasing might be very different here.

[Viktor77]

Heute hab ich erfahren, dass "earwax" auf Deutsch "Ohrenschmalz" heisst.
Today I discovered that "earwax" is called "ear grease" in German.

Das ist ja ekelhaft.
That's disgusting.

In het nederlands, is het "oorsmeer." Wat is de oorsprong van "oorsmeer"?

På den anden side, er Dansk mere kedelig. Ordet på Dansk er "ørevoks," som betyder helt bogstaveligt "earwax."

In Dutch it's "oorsmeer." What is the origin of "oorsmeer"? *Dutch play on words*

On the other hand, Danish is boring. The word in Danish is "ørevoks" which quite literally means "earwax."

[ˈd̪ʲɛ.gɔ kɾuˑl̪]

Also, should it be "ich sehe Mangel", "ich sehe einen Mangel" or "ich sehe den Mangel"? I can't find any arguments for any of these three to be better.

Personally this is not how I would phrase it and I'm not sure what's best. The version with no article feels wrong to me though. I feel like Ich erkenne den Mangel might work, but again this feels like you're saying something completely different like "I recognise the need for..." which is kind if the opposite of what I perceived you to be saying, acknowledging that your binary system idea had not been accepted by the group. I have a feeling that Polish phrasing might be very different here.

Maybe just saying "Ich erkenne, dass ihr mögt diese Systems nicht" could be better? Let's leave my problematic structure.

[jal]

That's disgusting.

Warum? Wachs oder Schmalz, das ist doch dasselbe?
Why? Wax or grease, that's the same isn't it?

In het Nederlands, is het "oorsmeer." Wat is de oorsprong* van "oorsmeer"?

*Slightly more idiomatic/colloquial: "Waar komt "oorsmeer" vandaan?"

Genau. "Oorsmeer" bedeutet auch "Ohrenschmalz".
Indeed. "Oorsmeer" also means "ear grease".


JAL

[Astraios]

Why? Wax or grease, that's the same isn't it?

Wax has connotations of pleasant things, like honeycomb or candles. Grease is melted animal fat, or anything slimy, dirty and oily that resembles it. It’s a yucky word for yucky things.

[jal]

It’s a yucky word for yucky things.

I beg to differ.



EDIT: Entschuldigung, ich sollte etwas in einer Fremdsprache sagen haben.
Apologies, I should've written something in a foreign language.

JAL

[linguoboy]

It’s a yucky word for yucky things.

I beg to differ.

Na, du hast halt meine Ansicht durchgesetzt.
Well, you just proved my point.

[finlay]

最近、生徒さんに話しながら、ドイツ語とオランダ語を混ぜていると気付いた。大切ではない、やっぱり、でもびっくりした。お茶のことだと、ドイツ語でTheeだと思った。それはオランダ語なんだ。ドイツ語でTeeと書いている。まあさ、発音が同じだから、もう気付いていなかったそうだな。オランダ語は、ドイツ語にまじで差し支えることのできるレベルに知っているのがわからなかった。でもやっぱり、ドイツ語を話している国より、この10年間でオランダに行くことが多いし、日本から帰るときはKLMとよく利用するし、オランダ語はドイツ語より見ることが多いかな。
Recently when I was talking to a student I realized I've been mixing up Dutch and German. Like it's not a big deal, but I thought "tea" was "Thee" in German - it's actually "Tee", and "Thee" is Dutch. I mean like, the pronunciation is the same so I hadn't realized or something. I was just a bit surprised - I didn't know I knew Dutch enough for it to really interfere with German. But like I've been to the Netherlands more than German speaking countries in the past ten years, and I've been travelling with KLM when I go back home, so of course I end up more exposed to Dutch than German.

それを考えると、同じ日かどうかわからないけど、たぶんそうだ。他の生徒さんはオランダに行って、私たち講師にお土産を渡した。それはTheeだった。
But thinking back, perhaps it was the same day but I'm not sure - another student had been to the Netherlands and brought some souvenirs for us teachers - "Thee".

でもやっぱりこれを書くことは、両方の国語でそんなにできないわ
of course I don't know either language well enough to write all this...

[Imralu]

Ni nta ya sikio kwa Kiswahili.
It's nta ya sikio (wax of ear) in Swahili.

Kesho dirisha langu litabadilishwa.
My window will be changed tomorrow.

Nilihitaji kucheza tetris ya fanicha chumbani mwangu.
I had to play furniture tetris in my room.

Ninatumaini kwamba fundi atakuwa na sura nzuri
I hope the tradie (workman) is handsome.

Ich erkenne, dass ihr mögt diese Systeme nicht mögt"

Dass sends the finite verb to the end.

Entschuldigung, ich hätte etwas in einer Fremdsprache sagen sollen.
Apologies, I should've written something in a foreign language.

German uses hätte ... VOLLVERBINFINITIV MODALVERBERSATZINFINITIV for deontic coulda, woulda, shoulda stuff. It makes a distinction that English doesn't with modals.

Deontic:
Er hätte auch gehen können. = He could have gone too. (He didn't go, but it was an option at the time if he had wanted to or known about this option.)
Er hätte das auch machen sollen. = He should have done that too.
Er hätte das auch machen müssen. = He really should have done that too.

Epistemic:
Er kann auch gegangen sein. = He might/could have gone too. (It is possible, that he also went.)
Er soll das auch gemacht haben. = He is supposed to have done that too. (It is said that he did...)
Er muss das auch gemacht haben. = He must have done that too.

[Viktor77]

Finlay, je mélange toujours les deux. Jal peut témoigner de combien de temps j'ai mélangé le néerlandais et l'allemand. Mais je fais pareil avec le français et l'espagnol.

Finlay, I always mix the two. Jal can attest to how many times I have mixed up Dutch and German. But it's the same for me with French and Spanish.

Ninatumaini kwamba fundi atakuwa na sura nzuri
I hope the tradie (workman) is handsome.

Haha, je zou wel dat zeggen. Maar natuurlijk, zou ik ook dat hopen, omdat er niets beter is dan om een lekkere en zweterige werkman te bekijken, terwijl hij jou raam her stelt. Ik was één keer een wandeling in Luik aan het maken wanneer ik een lekkere waalse werkman op de straat had gezien. Hij was een ladder aan het tillen en hij war zo lekker dat ik een foto van hem genomen heb...ja...ik nam een foto van een vreemdeling ha!

Haha, you would say that. But of course I would also hope that because there's nothing better than watching a hot sweaty workman fixing your window. I was once out on a walk in Liege when I saw a hot Walloon workman in the street. He was carrying a latter and he was so hot that I took a photo of him, yea, I took a photo of a stranger ha!

[ˈd̪ʲɛ.gɔ kɾuˑl̪]

Hm, in Łódź es nur regnet, regnet und regnet. Jeder ist traurig und wir haben Mittagessen nicht jetzt in unserem Schule.
Hmph, in Łódź it only rains, rains and rains. Everybody is sad and we don't have lunches in our school now.

[Imralu]

een ladder
a latter

Sasa nini?
A what now?

Kuna mafundi wawili na hawanipendeza kwa bahati mbaya. Lakini ninafurahi kwa sababu nitakuwa na dirisha jipya.
There are two workers and I don't find them attractive unfortunately. However I am happy that I will have a new window.

[finlay]

Finlay, je mélange toujours les deux. Jal peut témoigner de combien de temps j'ai mélangé le néerlandais et l'allemand. Mais je fais pareil avec le français et l'espagnol.

Finlay, I always mix the two. Jal can attest to how many times I have mixed up Dutch and German. But it's the same for me with French and Spanish.

まあさ、フランス語と日本語を混同したこともある…恥ずかしいわ
Mais Viktor, j'ai mazété le japonais to le français quelque fois. Je me suis embarrassé wa
but Viktor, I also mix up Japanese and French many times. it's embarrassing lmao

(this is the kind of thing that happens, I forget the word for the French thing and my POS brain spits out the Japanese word conjugated as if it's French. I don't know how to actually say "mix up" in French off the top of my head but my brain is going, "... must be 'mazéter', that sounds right" and what's worse, it also happens the other way – I forgot the Japanese word for cardboard box and I was about to say "boîte" and having to stop myself)

(see also: the time I couldn't remember the Latin word for "eat" and my brain decided that tabeo, tabere, tebi, tabitum sounded roughly accurate. this is not related at all to the Latin word for eat, but it did spawn a short-lived conlang project)

[jal]

Like it's not a big deal, but I thought "tea" was "Thee" in German - it's actually "Tee", and "Thee" is Dutch.

Und, lüstigerweise, auf Deutsch der "t" ist aspiriert, aber nicht auf Niederländisch.
And, funny enough, in German the "t" is aspirated, but not in Dutch.

Wieder mal schönen dank Imralu! Es brachte mich auf einen Gedanken wie es sich in Niederländisch übersetze.
Again thanks very much Imralu! It made me think how this is translated in Dutch. The first problem is with "auch"/"too". In Dutch, adding "ook" would create an extra modal meaning not present in English (and probably not in German either?). Compare:
Hij had moeten gaan - he should have gone [for whatever reason, but he didn't]
Hij had ook moeten gaan - he should have gone [because I think it was really important - look what happened now because he didn't!]

With added stress, the "too" meaning can be invoked (in the avove sentence, the stress is on "gaan"): Hij had óók moeten gaan [just as that other person did].

That being out of the way, let me think how Dutch handles this:
Deontic - these are all counterfactual:
He could have gone - Hij had kunnen gaan*
He should have done that - Hij had dat moeten doen / hij had dat gedaan moeten hebben
He really should have done that - (no difference)
*This sounds a bit akward to me. It may be I need a perfect form, but that's not possible, I think because "gaan" needs "to be" instead of "to have" ("*Hij had gegaan kunnen zijn")

Epistemic - these are ambivalent between (assumed) counterfactual and hypothetical (except the last one with "wel"):
He might/could have gone - Hij zou gegaan kunnen zijn
He is supposed to have done that - Hij zou dat gedaan moeten hebben
He must have done that - Hij moet dat gedaan hebben / Hij moet dat wel gedaan hebben ["wel" signals strong deduction or assumption]

Mmm, not so neat and tidy as in German :).

Haha, dat zou je wel zeggen. Maar natuurlijk, zou ik dat ook* hopen, omdat er niets beter** is dan om een lekkere en zweterige*** werkman te bekijken, terwijl hij je^ raam herstelt. Ik was één^^ keer een wandeling in Luik aan het maken toen ik een lekkere Waalse werkman op de^^^ straat zag. Hij was een ladder aan het tillen+ en hij was zo lekker dat ik een foto van hem genomen heb...ja...ik nam een foto van een vreemdeling, ha!

*"dat ook hopen" means "hope that, as well as that other thing", and is stressed on "dat", while "dat ook hopen" means "I'm hoping the same" and is stressed on "ook" (and equivalent to the slightly marked "ook ik zou dat hopen", with stress on "ik").
**or, perhaps more common, "beters". "beters" is a noun while "beter" is an adverb. A sentence with the latter can be rephrased "Omdat niets beter is dan ...".
***by using "en" you are excluding "zweterig" from "lekker". If you say "lekkere, zweterige werkman" "zweterig" may be included in "lekker".
^The full form ("jouw", with final "w"!) sounds stilted here. Though I have one collegue that writes "gefeliciteerd met jouw verjaardag", so your mileage may vary...
^^This more or less implies you took only one walk ever through Liege.
^^^"op straat" is a fixed combination like "op school". "op de straat" can be used with strong locative meanings, even though "op straat" is possible there as well, even though it has a slightly different feeling to it ("ik zag een werkman op (de) straat liggen").
+The use of the progressive here sounds odd. "Hij droeg een ladder" would be the best choice I think (also because "tillen" has slightly different semantics than "dragen").

Ich weiss nicht, was ich sagen muss. Wäre du heterosexuell gewesen, denn hätte ich dich für ein schreklicher Sexist genommen. Es würde unter keinen Bedingung ok sein, eine wildfremde Frau zu fotografieren, nur da sie angenehm aussieht.
I'm not sure what to say. If you'd been straight I'd think you're an terrible sexist. It would be under no circumstances ok to take a picture of a woman who's a complete stranger to you, just because she looks cute.


JAL