The Official Languages Thread

[Linaewen]

An Italian song that goes to the same tune:

Ciao buongiorno, Ciao buongiorno
Come stai? Come stai?
Molto, molto bene
Molto, molto bene
Grazie a te, grazie a te.

That was so easy anyone would understand it.

And the Vietnamese version:

Kia con buom vang, Kia con buom vang
Xoe doi canh, Xoe doi canh
Buom buom bay la la la x 2
Em ngoi xem,
Benh vuong bong..

(Without all their elaborate symbols)

Any more songs? I'll post Nella Vecchia Fattoria (Italian 'Old MacDonald had a farm') soon.

[Baby-K]

Vader Jakob, Vader Jakob
Slaap jy nog?
Slaap jy nog?
Hoor hoe lui die kerkklok
Hoor hoe lui die kerkklok
Ding-dong-del
Ding-dong-del

Or (what little I remember of it) in Sotho it would be Bana ba sekholo, Bana ba sekholo....thlang sikholo, thlang sikholo and then something morena mo whatever dee-doo-do, dee-doo-do

[Jonathan]

Originally posted by Falagar
Fader Jakob, fader Jakob

In Swedish we say 'broder Jakob'
Swedish:
Broder Jakob, broder Jakob,
Sover du? Sover? du?
Hör du inte klockan? Hör du inte klockan?
Ding dang dong, ding dang dong

A poem which many Swedes know by heart is Nils Ferlin's Du har tappat ditt ord (You have lost your word):

Du har tappat ditt ord och din papperslapp
du barfotabarn i livet
så sitter du åter på handlarns trapp
och gråter så övergivet

Vad var det för ord var det långt eller kort,
var det väl eller illa skrivet?
Tänk efter nu förrn vi föser dej bort,
du barfotabarn i livet.

I found a translation on the net which almost even rhymes

You have lost your word and your paper slip,
You barefoot child in life.
So sitting here on the merchant’s step,
You cry, alone, abandoned.

Think of the word -- was it short or long?
Was it sweetly or severely written?
Lest we push you away, remember and be strong,
You barefoot child in life.

[Linaewen]

In response to Baby-K's

Of het jy 'n aanlyn woordeboek gebruik om iets te vertaal?

(Since if we spam like old times, it might as well be in the right thread, eh? )

Dit spyt my, ek verstaan jou nie. All I got was something about a dictionary. Jag har huvudvärk.

Ek probeer tans Afrikaans leer, maar ek kan dit nog nie praat nie.

Jon, I like that song! Though it's rather sad.

[Baby-K]

Maar hoe leer jy dit? Is daar iemand daar wat dit kan praat en jou leer sodat jy die klanke en intonasie regkry of leer jy net van die internet af?

(My previous question was whether or not you were using an online dictionary and translated English text to Afrikaans from there?)

[Linaewen]

Dit kan nie wees nie. Are there any Afrikaans-English dictionaries out there?

I'm using a phrase list. There aren't many Afrikaans resources online.
I've changed my mind now, Dutch isn't the Germanic language I understand least, it's Afrikaans. Dit spyt my werklik.

[Jonathan]

Another nice poem is Viktor Rydberg's Tomten. It's a long poem, but many Swedes know the first verse.

Midvinternattens köld är hård,
stjärnorna gnistra och glimma.
Alla sova i enslig gård
djupt under midnattstimma.
MÃ¥nen vandrar sin tysta ban,
snön lyser vit på fur och gran,
snön lyser vit på taken.
endast tomten är vaken.

In nordic folklore, a tomte was a kind of - not always benevolent - vätte (spirit or minor deity) connected to a farmstead.
A translation.

Deep in the grip of the midwinter cold
Stars send a sparkling light.
All are asleep on this lonely farm
Deep in the winter night.
The pale white moon is a wanderer,
And snow lies on pine and fir.
Snow glows on rooftop shake,
The Tomte alone is awake.

[Linaewen]

Vad bra! Jag tycker att det är vackert, Jon. Kanske snart ska jag kunna den där dikten utantill.

Lalaith, har du några tyska dikter?

Ignore any mistakes, I'll fix it up when I'm not so tired

[Grey_Wolf]

Originally posted by Jonathan
I absolutely adore them. If corpulence was an unknown concept, I'd guzzle kokosbollar endlessly
Had no idea they were called snowballs in English.

Have you ever eaten "bulle med bulle" that is a white bread bun (or is it roll) cut in two with a snowball in between?

[Jonathan]

Originally posted by Grey_Wolf
Have you ever eaten "bulle med bulle" that is a white bread bun (or is roll) cut in two with a snowball in between?

Nope, never had that. Sounds like way too many calories to me

[Earniel]

Originally posted by Linaewen
I've changed my mind now, Dutch isn't the Germanic language I understand least, it's Afrikaans. Dit spyt my werklik.

Aw, don't feel sorry, you just can't know all languages. But if you know Dutch, a lot of Afrikaans will become clear and the other way around. I can understand nearly everything Baby-K writes in Afrikaans and I've noticed she understands a lot of my Dutch.

Just want to add the Dutch 'Frère Jacques':

Broeder Jacob, broeder Jacob
Slaap jij nog? Slaap jij nog?
Hoor de klokken luiden
Hoor de klokken luiden
Bim bam bom
Bim bam bom

[Lalaith]

Originally posted by Jonathan
In Swedish we say 'broder Jakob'
Swedish:
Broder Jakob, broder Jakob,
Sover du? Sover? du?
Hör du inte klockan? Hör du inte klockan?
Ding dang dong, ding dang dong[/I]

Ah, that sounds like the German version (okay, the melody will be the same, but I am talking about the words)

Bruder Jakob, Bruder Jakob,
Schläfst du noch? Schläfst du noch?
Hörst du nicht die Glocken, hörst du nicht die Glocken?
Ding dang dong, ding dang dong

[Lalaith]

If you like that song .... I found something


(Englisch)
Are you sleeping, are you sleeping,
brother John, brother John?
Morning bells are ringing, morning bells are ringing
Ding dang dong, ding dang dong.

(Französisch)
Frère Jacques, frère Jacques,
dormez-vous, dormez-vous?
Sonnez les matines, sonnez les matines
Ding din don, ding din don.

(Italienisch)
Fra Martino, campanaro
dormi tu? dormi tu?
Suona le campane, Suona le campane!
Din don dan, din don dan.

(Schweizerdeutsch)
Brüeder Jakob, Brüeder Jakob!
Schlaafsch Du no, Schlaafsch Du no?
Ghörsch nüd 's glöggli lüüte, Ghörsch nüd 's glöggli lüüte?
Bim bam bum, Bim bam bum.

(Spanisch)
Martinillo, Martinillo,
¿dónde estás?
¿dónde estás?
|:Suenan las campanas.
Suenan las campanas :|
Ding dang dong, ding dang dong

(Holländisch)
Vader Jacob, Vader Jacob
Slaapt gij nog, slaapt gij nog
|: Alle klokken luiden :|
Bim, bam, bom, bim, bam, bom.

(Latein)
Quare dormis, o Iacobe,
Etiam nunc, etiam nunc?
|: Resonant campanae, :|
Ding, dong, dong, ding, dong, dong.

(Tschechisch)
Brate Kubo, Brate Kubo,
JeÅ¡t? spÃ*Å¡, jeÅ¡t? spÃ*Å¡ ?
Venku slunce zárÃ*, ty jsi na polÅ¡tá?i,
vstávej již, vstávej již.

(Isländisch)
Meistari Jakob, meistari Jakob,
sefur þú, sefur þú?
Hvað slær klukkan, hvað slær klukkan?
Hún slær þrjú, hún slær þrjú.

(Finnisch)
Jaakko kulta, Jaakko kulta,
herää jo, herää jo?
Kellojasi soita, kellojasi soita.
Ding ding dong, ding ding dong.

(Schwedisch)
Broder Jacob, broder Jacob
sover du, sover du?
Hör du inte klockan, hör du inte klockan?
Ding dang dong, ding dang dong.

(Thailändisch)
Puak tur yu nai, puak tur yu nai,
yu nai camp, yu nai camp?
Tam mai mai ma sanuk kan, tam mai mai ma sanuk kan.
Din dan don, din dan don.

(Estnisch)
Sepapoisid, Sepapoisid,
Teevad tööd, teevad tööd,
Toovad tulist rauda, toovad tulist rauda,
Päeval ööl, päeval ööl.

(Rumänisch)
Tu dormi inca, tu dormi inca,
frate Ã*on, frate Ã*on?
Clopotelul suna, clopotelul suna.
Clinc clinc clinc, clinc clinc clinc.

(Portugiesisch)
Irmaj Jorge, irmaj Jorge,
dorme tu, dorme tu?
Ja' soam ossinos, ja' soam ossinos.
Ding dang dong, ding dang dong.

(Türkisch)
Uyuyor mursun, uyuyor mursun,
kordes John, kordes John?
Sabah Çanlari Çaliyor, sabah Çanlari Çaliyor.
Ding dang dong, ding dang dong.

(Dänisch)
Mester Jakob, mester Jakob,
sover du, sover du?
Hører du ej klokken, hører du ej klokken?
Bim bam bum, bim bam bum.

(Norwegisch)
Fader Jakob, fader Jakob,
sover du, sover du?
Hører du ei klokken, hører du ei klokken?
Bim bam bom, bim bam bom.

(Vietnamesisch)
KiÃ* con buom vÃ*ng, kiÃ* con buom vÃ*ng,
xoe doi cÃ*nh, xoe doi cÃ*nh?
Buom buom bay tren cao vong, buom buom bay tren cao vong.
Ra mÃ* xem, ra mÃ* xem.

(Japanisch)
Nemuimo, Nemuimo
Okinasai, okinasai
Asano Kane ga, natte iruyo
Kin, Kon, kan

(Chinesisch-Mandarin)
liang zhi lao hu, liang zhi lao hu
pao de kuai pao de kuai
yi zhi mei you er duo, yi zhi mei you wei ba
hen qi guai, hen qi guai

(Kroatisch)
Bratec Martin, bratec Martin,
kaj josh spish, kaj josh spish,
vech ti vura tuche, vech ti vura tuche,
bim-bam-bom, bim-bam-bom

[Ruinel]

Originally posted by Nerdanel
As I was making kokosbollar (mums! ) I started wondering; what the he*l is that in english?

I assumed it wasn't coconut balls , which would be a direct translation. But after a while I got smart; there are dictionaries! Wise me.

Yeah, wise is the right word for me. Now I forgot to tell you what is actually is! Stupid.
But the correct word is snowball. Do you eat them?

I don't know what they are... but when I was little we used to make Rum Balls, which were cookies that you didn't bake. They had a lot of rum in them, you could smell it! And I always volunteered to make them because you had to roll them in your hands, then roll them in either sweetened coconut or white sugar. Needless to say, I got quite giddy making them.

[jerseydevil]

I meant to respond to this...

Originally posted by Linaewen
Hey, this is the Languages thread. I'd like to see you write that in Italian or Swedish, since I don't understand much French. English does't count as a 'language' since it's the Lingua Franca here anyway.

Hey - English is a perfectly good language - actually as far as I'm concerned the best language (well AMERICAN English anyway). And the title of the thread is just "Official Languages Thread" it doesn't say anything about English being excluded.

[Grey_Wolf]

Originally posted by Ruinel
I don't know what they are... but when I was little we used to make Rum Balls, which were cookies that you didn't bake. They had a lot of rum in them, you could smell it! And I always volunteered to make them because you had to roll them in your hands, then roll them in either sweetened coconut or white sugar. Needless to say, I got quite giddy making them.

What's your opinion of "Vacuumcleaners" then?

[Jonathan]

Originally posted by jerseydevil
Hey - English is a perfectly good language - actually as far as I'm concerned the best language (well AMERICAN English anyway). And the title of the thread is just "Official Languages Thread" it doesn't say anything about English being excluded.

Well no language should be excluded, but I thought this was a thread for practising other languages and showing off with your abilities. JD, you can't show off with English and you can't really teach others to speak English since everyone already speaks it

Edited so that JD could have his fun and state that what I had initially written was grammatically wrong

[jerseydevil]

Originally posted by Jonathan
... you can't really teach others to speak English since every mooter here already speak it

Shouldn't that be "...every mooter here alreay speaks it"?

[Lótiel]

Originally posted by Lalaith
Ah, that sounds like the German version (okay, the melody will be the same, but I am talking about the words)

Bruder Jakob, Bruder Jakob,
Schläfst du noch? Schläfst du noch?
Hörst du nicht die Glocken, hörst du nicht die Glocken?
Ding dang dong, ding dang dong

German, Scandinavian languages and dutch are very similar. That´s why I chose German in school when we had to choose between German and French.

[Jonathan]

Originally posted by Lótiel
German, Scandinavian languages and dutch are very similar. That´s why I chose German in school when we had to choose between German and French.

I chose Spanish instead of German since I already spoke French. I believe Spanish is more similar to French than German is to the Scandinavian languages. And I believe the Spanish grammar is a lot easier than German grammar