Help your fluency in a nifty way

[Frislander]

Ich habe versucht, Irisch auf Duolingo zu lernen, aber ich fand das schwierig, denn sie helfen Sie nicht mit die Orthografie.
I tried to learn Irish on Duolingo, but I found it difficult, because they don't help you with the orthography.

[hwhatting]

Но что*1) насчет учебников для самостоятельной учёбы?
But what about self-teaching handbooks?

*1) This is one of the cases where written ч is pronounced [ʃ].

Heutzutage verwendet mann Duolingo.
These days one uses Duolingo.

Ich habe versucht, Irisch auf Duolingo zu lernen, aber ich fand das schwierig, denn sie helfen Sie nicht mit der Orthografie.
I tried to learn Irish on Duolingo, but I found it difficult, because they don't help you with the orthography.

*1) Impersonal sie is not as widely used in German as in English, and it doesn't sound right to me here; I'd say something like denn dort wird einem nicht mit der Orthografie geholfen or denn dort gibt es keine Hilfe mit der Orthografie. I'd also use Rechtschreibung instead of Orthografie, it's less marked as high-brow.

How many languages do you know?

To są te języki, które znam dostatecznie, żeby uczestniczyć w PGT.
Cettes sont les langues, lequelles je sais assez bien pour participer à un PGT.
Deze zijn de talen dat ik goed genoeg ken, om aan een PGT mee te doen
These are the languages that I know sufficiently to participate in a PGT.

[jal]

Dit* zijn de talen die** ik goed genoeg ken,*** om aan een PGT mee te doen

*"Dit/dat zijn" is a fixed expression, where only the verb gets declined ("Dit ben ik", "Dat zijn de stoelen", "Dit is Henk" etc.). No agreement in that case.
**"de talen", so "die"
***The less commas the better! :)

Ich bin neidisch auf dir!
I'm jealous of you!


JAL

[hwhatting]

Ich bin neidisch auf dich!
I'm jealous of you!

*"Dit/dat zijn" is a fixed expression, where only the verb gets declined ("Dit ben ik", "Dat zijn de stoelen", "Dit is Henk" etc.). No agreement in that case.

Chciałem pisać tak, ale myślałem, nie, to jest zbyt po niemiecku...
I wanted to write it that way and then thought, no, that's too German...

[ˈd̪ʲɛ.gɔ kɾuˑl̪]

To są te języki, które znam dostatecznie, żeby uczestniczyć w PGT.
Cettes sont les langues, lequelles je sais assez bien pour participer à un PGT.
Deze zijn de talen dat ik goed genoeg ken, om aan een PGT mee te doen
These are the languages that I know sufficiently to participate in a PGT.

Что это PGT?
Co to PGT?
Qu'est-ce PGT?
Kio estas PGT?
What is PGT?

[hwhatting]

What is PGT?

Telefon wielojęzyczny - gra, w którą gramy czasami na ZBB.
Polyglottal telephone - a game we sometimes play on the ZBB.

[Viktor77]

Voici* les langues que** je sais*** assez bien pour participer à un PGT.

*Bit more idiomatic to use voici/voilà, but also cettes sont is always ce sont, it's a fixed.
**Keep it simple, que will work.
***As with Jal, I suggest connaître instead of savoir. To me at least (though I'm not a native speaker of course) it sounds better, or que je sais écrire/parler/etc.

Ich bin auch neidisch. Wenn ich nach Ukraine für die Eurovision gehe, werde ich Russisch brauchen, denke ich, weil Englisch nicht so häufig ist. Aber leider spreche ich kein Russisch.

Ik ben ook jaloers. Als ik naar Oekraïne voor de Eurovisie Songfestival ga, zal ik Russisch nodig heben, denk ik, omdat Engels niet zo gangbaar is. Maar hélaas spreek ik geen Russisch.

I am also jealous. If I go to Ukraine for Eurovision, I will need Russian, I think, because English is not so common. But alas I speak no Russian.

[jal]

Ik ben ook jaloers. Als ik naar Oekraïne voor het Eurovisie Songfestival ga, zal ik Russisch nodig heben, denk ik, omdat Engels niet zo gangbaar* is. Maar helaas spreek ik geen Russisch.

*More idiomatic would be saying something like "niet veel mensen daar spreken Engels" or the like. There's no good direct translation of "common" in this case.

Ich denke, wann du versuchst Russisch zu sprechen in der Ukraine, du willst ermördert worden!
I think when you're trying to speak Russian in the Ukraine you'll get killed!

(And I really mean that: never ever ever try to speak Russian in the Ukraine! Unless you're in Russian-occupied territory, of course.)


JAL

[jal]

I wanted to write it that way and then thought, no, that's too German...

Ha ha, Niederländisch und Deutsch sind ganz ähnlich in viele Fallen. :)
Haha, Dutch and German are quite similar in many cases.


JAL

[Viktor77]

Ich denke, wann du versuchst Russisch zu sprechen in der Ukraine, du willst ermördert worden!
I think when you're trying to speak Russian in the Ukraine you'll get killed!

(And I really mean that: never ever ever try to speak Russian in the Ukraine! Unless you're in Russian-occupied territory, of course.)

Denk je echt eraan?* Oekraïense is niet een nuttige taal terwijl Russisch hele nuttig is. Ik voorsteel me dat vele mensen die naar Oekraïne gaan Russisch gebruiken om te communiceren, nee?

Do you really think so? Ukrainian is not a useful language while Russian is very useful. I imagine that many people who go to Ukraine use Russian to communicate, no?


*Going to admit I'm unsure how to say this.

[hwhatting]

Ich bin auch neidisch. Wenn ich in die Ukraine zur Eurovision fahre, werde ich Russisch brauchen, denke ich, weil Englisch nicht so verbreitet ist. Aber leider spreche ich kein Russisch.
I am also jealous. If I go to Ukraine for Eurovision, I will need Russian, I think, because English is not so common. But alas I speak no Russian.

Ich denke, wenn du versuchst, Russisch zu sprechen in der Ukraine, du wirst du ermordert werden*1)!
I think when you're trying to speak Russian in the Ukraine you'll get killed!

*1) The werden is not really needed - in German the simple present is generally more idiomatic than the future tense.

Ha ha, Niederländisch und Deutsch sind ganz ähnlich in vielen Fällen.
Haha, Dutch and German are quite similar in many cases.

Do you really think so? Ukrainian is not a useful language while Russian is very useful. I imagine that many people who go to Ukraine use Russian to communicate, no?

Nie bój się!
N'aie pas peur!
Wees maar niet bang!
Don't be afraid!

There are many people in Ukraine, ethnic Russian and ethnic Ukrainians as well, who mostly speak Russian, even outside the Eastern regions. As long as people don't think that you're a Putinist Russian, things should be o.k. My approach in areas that are prickly about Russian (e.g. the Baltic states) is to start in English, and switch to Russian when that leads nowhere - that way, you establish a) that you're a non-Russian foreigner and b) that you don't expect them automatically to speak Russian. That normally works quite well. And it probably won't hurt to learn a few Ukrianian expressions - for greeting, saying thank you, etc.

[ˈd̪ʲɛ.gɔ kɾuˑl̪]

I had last time student exchange with one Ukrainian middle-school and all Ukrainians spoke only in Russian, English and German. Many of them knew Ukrainian, of course, but some were totally "russophone".

[jal]

Denk je dat echt eraan? Oekraïense is geen* nuttige** taal terwijl Russisch heel*^ nuttig is. Ik stel me voor*** dat vele^ mensen die naar Oekraïne gaan Russisch gebruiken om te communiceren, toch^^?

*"niet een" is (almost?) always "geen". A bit friendlier would be "is niet zo'n nuttige taal"
**Though "useful" translates to "nuttig" in certain occasions, it doesn't sound completely idiomatic in this case. I'm not entirely sure what to suggest otherwise though, without major rephrasing.
*^"heel" cannot get -e when modifying a predicatively used adjective. Only when modifying an attributive adjective it typically becomes "hele" (except in formal writing). So "een hele nuttige taal" vs. "de taal is heel nuttig"
***"zich voorstellen" is a pp-verb, so it breaks up in case like this. So "ik stel me voor", etc. Note that more idiomatic in this case would be "ik kan me voorstellen" or "ik kan me zo voorstellen". It's more or less a set expression when communicating doubt or an oposite position/opinion.
^"veel" is better in all but pedantic writing
^^Dutch doesn't really have such tag-questions, but "toch"may stand in. You could try "niet?" or "niet dan?" in very informal situations. Or "of niet?", which may be slightly more inviting for the listener to state their opinion.

Ok, vielleicht wirst du nich ermordet worden, wenn du Russisch sprichst, aber ich bin sicher, dass du es nicht überleben wirst, wenn du erklärt, dass Russisch so viel nützlicher ist als Ukrainisch :).
Ok, perhaps you're not killed for speaking Russian, but I'm sure you won't make it out alive if you proclaim that Russian is so much more useful than Ukranian :).

areas that are prickly about Russian (e.g. the Baltic states) is to start in English, and switch to Russian

In der 90er Jahren habe ich dieselbe Strategie verwendet als ich in Polen (Stetin) war - erstmal Englisch, und nur am zweiten Deutsch.
In the 90s I employed the same strategy when I was in Poland (Szczecin) - first English, and only secondly German.


JAL

[ˈd̪ʲɛ.gɔ kɾuˑl̪]

In der 90er Jahren habe ich dieselbe Strategie verwendet als ich in Polen (Stettin) war - erstmal Englisch, und nur am zweiten Deutsch.
In the 90s I employed the same strategy when I was in Poland (Szczecin) - first English, and only secondly German.

[Viktor77]

Nogmaals bedankt, Jal.

Hier soir j'ai eu un pot de départ et j'ai demandé à tous mes amis de signer un drapeau de la belgique en leur langue maternelle. Donc aujourd'hui je suis content parce que j'ai des messages en français et en walloon liégeois, en allemand et en allemand autrichien de Linz (que je peux pas comprendre ), en portugais, en russe, en polonais, en slovenien, en suédois, en norvegien et en anglais. Maintenant c'est à moi de les traduire pour que je puisse les comprendre.

Gestern Abend hatte ich eine Abschlussparty und ich habe an alle meine Freunden gefragt um eine Flagge von Belgien zu unterschreiben auf ihre Muttersprache. Daher bin ich heute glücklich, weil ich Nachrichten habe auf Französich und auf Lüttisches Wallonisch, auf Deutsch und auf Österreichisches Deutsch aus Linz (das ich nicht verstehen kann), auf Portugiesisch, auf Russisch, auf Polnisch, auf Slowenisch, auf Schwedish, auf Norwegisch und auf Englisch. Jetzt muss ich sie übersetzen, damit ich sie verstehen kann.

Gisteravond had ik een afscheidfeestje en ik heb aan alle mijn vrienden gevraagd om een vlag van België te ondertekenen in hun moedertaal. Dus ben ik vandaag tevreden omdat ik boodschapen heb in het Frans en in het Luikse Waals, in het Duits en in het Oostenrijks-Duits uit Linz (dat ik niet kan begrijpen), in het Portugees, in het Russisch, in het Pools, in het Sloveens, in het Zweeds, in het Noors en in het Engels. Nu moet ik hen vertalen zodat ik hen kan begrijpen.

Last night I had a going away party and I asked all my friends to sign a Belgian flag win their mother tongue. So today I am happy because I have messages in French and in Liège Walloon, in German and Austrian German from Linz (that I can't understand), in Portuguese, in Russian, in Polish, in Slovenian, in Swedish, in Norwegian, and in English. Now I have to translate them so that I can understand them.

[hwhatting]

Ok, vielleicht wirst du nicht ermordet worden, wenn du Russisch sprichst, aber ich bin sicher, dass du es nicht überleben wirst, wenn du erklärst, dass Russisch so viel nützlicher ist als Ukrainisch .
Ok, perhaps you're not killed for speaking Russian, but I'm sure you won't make it out alive if you proclaim that Russian is so much more useful than Ukranian .

In den 90er Jahren habe ich dieselbe Strategie verwendet, als ich in Polen (Stettin) war - erst mal Englisch, und nur als zweites Deutsch.
In the 90s I employed the same strategy when I was in Poland (Szczecin) - first English, and only secondly German.

Gestern Abend hatte ich eine Abschlussparty und ich habe an alle meine Freunden gebeten, um eine Flagge von Belgien zu unterschreiben auf ihrer Muttersprache. Daher bin ich heute glücklich, weil ich Nachrichten habe auf Französisch und auf Lüttisches Wallonisch, auf Deutsch und auf Österreichisches Deutsch aus Linz (das ich nicht verstehen kann), auf Portugiesisch, auf Russisch, auf Polnisch, auf Slowenisch, auf Schwedisch, auf Norwegisch und auf Englisch. Jetzt muss ich sie übersetzen, damit ich sie verstehen kann.
Last night I had a going away party and I asked all my friends to sign a Belgian flag win their mother tongue. So today I am happy because I have messages in French and in Liège Walloon, in German and Austrian German from Linz (that I can't understand), in Portuguese, in Russian, in Polish, in Slovenian, in Swedish, in Norwegian, and in English. Now I have to translate them so that I can understand them.

Czy wrócisz się do Belgii lub twój pobyt się skończył?
Are you going to return to Belgium or is your stay over?

[Viktor77]

Czy wrócisz się do Belgii lub twój pobyt się skończył?
Are you going to return to Belgium or is your stay over?

Oui, je vais faire le va-et-vient à l'avenir. J'ai reçu une bourse d'étude pour revenir en décembre pendant 2 semaines afin de continuer ma recherche à Bruxelles. J'espère aussi revenir pour l'Eurovision 2017 (on verra si je serai pas trop fauché et si j'aurai fini mes examens), et j'espère postuler ma candidature pour des programmes de néerlandais à KU Leuven en été 2017, ou au moins revenir pour continuer ma recherche. En plus, mon mari veut revenir avec moi et sa soeur pour aller en Pologne pendant une semaine en été 2017.

Yes, I'm going to be going back and forth in the future. I received a fellowship to come back in December for 2 weeks to continue my research in Brussels. I'm also hoping to come back for Eurovision 2017 (we'll see if I'm not too broke and if I'll have finished my exams), and I hope to apply to Dutch programs at KU Leuven in Summer 2017, or at least to come back to continue my research. In addition, my husband wants to come back with me and his sister to go to Poland for a week in Summer 2017.

[jal]

Gisteravond had ik een afscheidfeestje en ik heb aan al mijn vrienden gevraagd om een¹ vlag van België² te ondertekenen³ in hun moedertaal. Dus ik ben⁴ vandaag blij⁵ omdat ik boodschappen⁶ heb in het Frans en in het Luikse Waals⁷, in het Duits en in het Oostenrijks-Duits uit Linz (dat ik niet kan begrijpen⁸), in het Portugees, in het Russisch, in het Pools, in het Sloveens, in het Zweeds, in het Noors en in het Engels⁹. Nu moet ik ze¹⁰ vertalen zodat ik ze kan begrijpen¹¹.

¹I think, but I'm not sure, that in English "a Belgian flag" is more likely to be interpreted as "a specific flag I own" than the Dutch equivalent "een vlag van België". I at first interpreted the Dutch as meaning as that you asked everyone to bring a signed flag of their own (though context made it clear this was a wrong interpretation). To avoid that you'd need to say "mijn vlag van België" or the like (or rephrase, "een Belgische vlag die ik had gekocht").
²Like in English, you can say "Belgische vlag", but "vlag van België" is fine too, even though that more typically combines with a definite article ("de vlag van België") and the former with the indefinite ("een Belgische vlag").
³"(onder)tekenen" means "to write one's signature" more than "to write a message". You'd need to rephrase, e.g. "om een boodschap op mijn Belgische vlag te schrijven in hun moedertaal".
⁴Either "dus vandaag ben ik blij" or "dus ik ben vandaag blij". Note that if "dus" actually starts a subclause (rather than the main clause), V2 kicks in again, so "(...), dus ben ik blij dat ..."
⁵I think I recently also corrected this. "tevreden" means "satisfied". "to be happy with" is most of the time better translated with "blij zijn".
⁶"boodschappen" plural means foremost "groceries" (as in "boodschappen doen"). I'm not entirely sure though how to avoid that here.
⁷I'd say "Luiks Waals" or just "het Luiks". "het Luikse Waals" sounds slightly unidiomatic.
⁸I'd just say "dat ik niet begrijp", or "waarvan ik niets begrijp". "ik kan het niet begrijpen" means you're somehow unable to do so.
⁹al that "in het" seems overly repetitive. I'd just say "in het Frans, Luiks, Duits, Oostenrijks Duits uit Linz, Portugees, Russisch, Pools, Sloveens, Zweeds, Noors en Engels".
¹⁰"hen" can only refer to people, at least for me. "Nu moet ik heb vertalen" sounds as if you're referring to the friends who signed. I'd either use "ze", or singular "het", though that might not be acceptable to some.
¹¹"begrijpen" means foremost "to understand the meaning" rather than just "know what is says". I'd say "weet wat er staat" or "weet wat het betekent/ze betekenen" or the like.

Wiedermal vielen Dank, HW.
Again many thanks, HW.

Ich weiss nicht, was ich sagen werde. Vielleicht nächstes Mal...
I don't know what to say. Perhaps next time...


JAL

[hwhatting]

Wieder_mal vielen Dank, HW.
Again many thanks, HW.

Ich weiss nicht, was ich sagen soll. Vielleicht nächstes Mal...
I don't know what to say. Perhaps next time...

Ja także.
Moi aussi.
Ik ook.
Me neither.

[Viktor77]

Nogmaals bedankt, Jal.

⁵I think I recently also corrected this. "tevreden" means "satisfied". "to be happy with" is most of the time better translated with "blij zijn".
⁶"boodschappen" plural means foremost "groceries" (as in "boodschappen doen"). I'm not entirely sure though how to avoid that here.

Je ne cesse de confondre ces deux mots "tevreden" et "blij," dorénavant je vais essayer de faire mieux.

Ik raak steeds in de war deze twee woorden "tevreden" en "blij," vanaf nu probeer ik beter doen.

Ich verwechsle diese zwei Wörter "tevreden" und "blij" weiter, von jetzt an versuche ich besser zu machen.

I keep mixing up these two words "tevreden" and "blij," from now on I'll try to do better.

Quoi!? Tu n'as pas de mot pour "messages"?

Wat!? Je hebt geen woord voor "messages"?

Was!? Du hast kein Wort für "messages"?

What!? You have no word for "messages?"

[jal]

Ik raak steeds in de war van* deze** twee woorden, "tevreden" en "blij".*** Vanaf nu probeer ik het^ beter te doen.

*"van" is a set preposition with "in de war raken" if you want to express the thing that confuses you. Note that "in the war raken van iets" means "to get confused by something", not "mixing up things". The latter would be "door elkaar halen", so "Ik haal die twee woorden altijd/steeds door elkaar".
**"die" would be better. Dutch is quite finicky about the deze/dit vs. die/dat distinction. In this case you refer to something said earlier, so the distal would be better.
***Note that it is considered by quite old-fashioned to include the period or comma within the quotes. See also here.
^"beter doen" needs a dummy object.

Wat!? Je hebt geen woord voor "messages"?

Doch, aber nicht in diesem Kontext.
We do, but not in this context.

The normal translation for "messages" would be "berichten", but a "bericht" is something you send to someone or leave for someone, especially a someone that's not in your presence. Writing something on a flag in your presence is not really a "bericht", but indeed a "boodschap". But the plural of "boodschap" is used overwhelmingly more often in the mass noun sense of "groceries", which leaves the singular count noun without a good plural.


JAL

[hwhatting]

Ich verwechsele diese zwei Wörter "tevreden" und "blij" immer, von jetzt an versuche ich, es besser zu machen.
I keep mixing up these two words "tevreden" and "blij," from now on I'll try to do better.

Was!? Du*1) hast kein Wort für "messages"?

What!? You have no word for "messages?"

*1) The singular pronoun implies that only Jal doesn't have such a word. If you're addressing him as a representative of all speakers of Dutch, you need to use the plural pronoun ihr. I think the same also applies for French and Dutch, but maybe native speakers of these languages can judge that better.

Nie ma wiadomości w tej butelce.
Il n'y a pas de message dans cette bouteille.
Er is geen boodschap in deze fles.
There is no message in this bottle.

[jal]

*1) The singular pronoun implies that only Jal doesn't have such a word. If you're addressing him as a representative of all speakers of Dutch, you need to use the plural pronoun ihr. I think the same also applies for French and Dutch, but maybe native speakers of these languages can judge that better.

Indeed. The French case is partly obscured because of vous of course.

Er zit geen boodschap in deze fles.

Niederländische Positionsverben, immer schwierig!
Dutch verbs of position, always difficult. (@Vic: if you're ever bored, read that article until your head spins :))


JAL

[Ziz]

Sono tornato oggi in Israele da cinque giorni di vacanza in Italia. Ci sono andato con il mio ragazzo, ed era la prima volta che siamo partiti da solo in vacanze. Precisamente siamo andati in Campania, cerca di Napoli, comprese la Costiera Amalfitana e l’isola di Capri. La bellezza naturale della regione è spettacolare, ma non ero felice di vedere quanta povertà c’è nei paesini e come la situazione economica cattiva affetta il popolo del Sud. In uno dei quartieri più poveri ho visto un graffito che diceva “io sono fiero dei miei origini,” che mi ha fatto pensare a quello. Il paese è molto bello e le gente erano molte piacevoli e ospitali, e mi pareva che erano felici di aiutarci, anche se il mio italiano è piuttosto scarso.

Per quanto riguarda il cibo—ovviamente era ottimo. Abbiamo tentato di mangiare in ristoranti dove non ci sono molti turisti, e nessuno dei camieri era arrabbiato con noi, nonostante il mio italiano scarso. In realità noi hanno dato dei piatti e del limoncello gratis. Non mi piace molto la pizza che abbiamo in Israele, quindi ero felicissimo di mangiarla in Italia a un prezzo così basso. Ho portato anche dei formaggi, perché in Italia hanno un sapore molto migliore.

In sintesi, vale tornare ancora in Italia.

Today I’ve come back to Israel from five days of vacation in Italy. I went with my boyfriend, and it was the first time that we went on vacation together, just the two of us. Specifically, we went to Campania, near Naples and including the Amalfi coast and the island of Capri. The natural beauty of the area is spectcaular, but I wasn’t happy to see how much poverty there is in the smaller towns and how the bad economic situation affects the people in the South. In one of the poorest neighborhoods, I saw some graffiti that said, “I’m proud of my origins,” which made think of that. The country is beautiful and the people were very friendly and hospitable, and it seemed like they were happy to help us, even though my Italian is pretty bad.

As for the food—it goes without saying that it was wonderful. We tried to eat in restaurants where there wouldn’t be many tourists, and none of the waitstaff were annoyed with us despite my poor Italian. Actually we got a lot of dishes and some limoncello for free. I don’t really like the pizza we have in Israel, so I was very happy to have it in Italy at such a low price. I brought back some cheeses as well, as in Italy they’re much tastier.

All in all, it’s definitely worth going back to Italy.

[Nooj]

Me enteré hace un par de días de la existencia del dibujado animado steven universe. De verdad, me ha enganchado a tope, aunque el doblaje al español de España deje algo que desear, no detracta de la cualidad intrínseca del programa. Ahora me toca a pasar todos los capítulos en tan solo un día jeje.


A few days ago i found out about the cartoon steven universe. Its really gotteiin me hooked, even if the dub into spanish spanish leaves something to be desired, it doesnt takr away from the intrinsic quality of the show. Now i have to go through all the episodes in one day.