Let's talk like people

re: Let's talk like people

Tom — Tue, 29 May 2007 17:43:49 GMT

That Zompist Phrasebook is awesome. Some of the phrases from the Special Internet Section could apply here. :)

The intellectual quote

Nathan — Tue, 29 May 2007 18:27:20 GMT

(at least the first one) I expect to see you dropping at the Seattle film-fest...

re: Let's talk like people

jeffdav — Tue, 29 May 2007 18:48:05 GMT

The phrasebook is very funny. I'll be taking a hard copy with me to Paris. I can't wait to tell them all how I speak French.

re: Let's talk like people

KJK::Hyperion — Tue, 29 May 2007 18:53:12 GMT

Ha, what a coincidence, just yesterday I was checking out http://www.zompist.com/robot.htm

re: Let's talk like people

Jeffrey — Tue, 29 May 2007 19:34:34 GMT

"The absolutely worst phrasebook you'll ever find that's still hilarious"?

No, I think that has to be English As She Is Spoke:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_As_She_Is_Spoke

re: Let's talk like people

Cody — Tue, 29 May 2007 20:00:02 GMT

Sorry to bring a Polish joke to the fight but from the Polish page:

[You know how basketball ... [is] played. ... You have no idea how basketball ... [is] played.]

[That second "basketball" was clearly a typo for "baseball". Maybe Zompist needs its own Nitpicker's Ccorner. -Raymond]

re: Let's talk like people

Gwyn — Tue, 29 May 2007 22:34:50 GMT

My hovercraft is full of eels

re: Let's talk like people

Brian — Tue, 29 May 2007 23:14:26 GMT

My favorite:

Impressed as I am with the New Wave in cinematography, I must say that this particular film seemed both pretentious and unsatisfying, and that the director's imagery, though compelling, is no substitute for a true cinematic message.

Der Film ist Scheiße.

re: Let's talk like people

KJK::Hyperion — Wed, 30 May 2007 01:18:07 GMT

"I admire you above all for your purity of spirit and your appreciation of the arts.

* J'aimerais bien une petite gâterie, ma jolie.

* Si quieres chuparme el pito, no voy a protestar.

* Willst du mir nicht mal einen blasen, Schätzchen?"

I had no idea some colloquialisms were so strikingly similar across languages

Cut the Politics « notgartner

Cut the Politics « notgartner — Wed, 30 May 2007 02:55:28 GMT

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re: Let's talk like people

mike — Wed, 30 May 2007 03:24:41 GMT

man the australian version of that was absolutely terrible.

re: Let's talk like people

Jivlain — Wed, 30 May 2007 08:31:52 GMT

mike's right. That "Aussie" version was awful.

Memo to self: stop typing passwords in URL box.

Memo to Raymond: Come up with fancy Javascript to catch my text input in the URL field and AJAX it to server. You'd get all my passwords :p

re: Let's talk like people

Centaur — Wed, 30 May 2007 12:45:58 GMT

I understand that part of the phrases in the Phrasebook are intentionally misleading, but some of those that aren’t, suffer from horrible mistranslation into Russian.

re: Let's talk like people

Walter — Wed, 30 May 2007 13:49:12 GMT

I love Langenscheidts Konversationsbuch English-Deutsch: http://deuceofclubs.com/books/003lang.htm

re: Let's talk like people

dmz — Wed, 30 May 2007 14:22:30 GMT

> I understand that part of the phrases in the Phrasebook are intentionally misleading

I don't know... Being Pole I sadly agree with, like, 99,99% of the "facts" in Polish entry.

Anyway, it took me a while to translate "Let's talk like people" back into Polish. If I'm correct, this is "Porozmawiajmy jak ludzie" (more "human beings" than "people", never the less the original entry is great). It is used by one one side when he/she thinks that he/she will not get even the acceptable minimum. Or something like that.

re: Let's talk like people

Cheong — Thu, 31 May 2007 09:18:07 GMT

I guess I'm not Chinese after all: I don't know how to use a slingshot, and I get only 3-days holiday in Spring Festival. :O

re: Let's talk like people

Burak KALAYCI — Thu, 31 May 2007 22:35:55 GMT

I think Zompist got it around 90% right about Turkey.

'everyone is a millionaire' - That has changed when Turkey dropped 6 zeros from her currency a couple of years ago.

'you'll have a Christmas tree and will exchange gifts-- on New Year's Eve' - So true.

re: Let's talk like people

victor — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 14:19:41 GMT

It's true the phrasebook is all you need to go around the globe. However, the Spanish version doesn't make justice to the effective messages in English... :-(

re: Let's talk like people

Dom — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 17:09:54 GMT

Lies, all lies! ;-)

Seriously, spent 24 years of my life in Poland and this is the first time I saw "let's talk like people" phrase. We do say "let's talk like grown ups", but that's used if you intend to insult your "oponent". We do say "stop this BS". Lets talk like people? Never.

re: Let's talk like people

Medinoc — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 12:30:08 GMT

Well, the French version fits French people perfectly.

The "anti-translations" in the phrasebook are funny, but I agree Centaur, some of the "normal" translations look a bit strange.

re: Let's talk like people

Justin — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 02:39:07 GMT

The swedes are very observant.

"If a man has sex with another man, he is probably a homosexual, otherwise he would not enjoy it at all."

Echo chamber « minucias

Echo chamber « minucias — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 09:12:01 GMT

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