Hello!

[Pertti]

Ok, I'll keep the secret

I was working with some dutch guys for two years, and after a while, for some reason they started talking very fast between themselves or on the telephone (company secrets)

I wonder why...

Pertti

[This message has been edited by Pertti (edited 15 April 2000).]

[fds]

Hmm.. Neither FreeTranslation nor BabelFish could translate Dutch.

I don't speak Dutch at all, but we can always guess.
Anyway, let's see what do we have here...
I assume it is somewhat similar to German (which I have learned without much success for a few years).

Ik kan zo Nederlands praten tegen Martin of Hunsow, als we dat willen

"Ik kan" looks like "Ich könne" which is "I can".
Nederlands is obviously the Netherlands.
Willen = to wish \ want something

-> I can -something something-, as we wish to.

>Holly verstaat er toch nog niet zoveel van

verstaat = understand
zoveel = so viel = so much

I guess this is something like "Holly doesn't understand much yet."

[HollyBerri]

thanks fds... that's about what I figured too.. As far as I (guess), Jord basically said that he can speak Nederlander with Martin (or Hunsow) when they feel like doing so, but I don't understand much yet... (He doesn't mention the big kick he gets out of speaking Dutch around me and watching me struggle with it ).

Then Jord asks Pertti how s/he knows Dutch, which Pertti answers in English.

You're right fds, Babelfish, Altavista, et. al. don't handle Dutch, which stinks imo-- the only online Dutch phrase translator (as opposed to dictionary) I know of is Triumvirate at http://www.triumvirat.net/translate.htm -- but if you try to put that text in, you'll be hard-pressed to come up with "doesn't understand much yet" from what you get back....(Naturally, I didn't try to translate my name ) Interestingly, if you put in the whole sentence, though, you only have to take alternate suggestions for a couple of the words to get a very understandable English sentence (taking into account that many other languages have a different word order than English, which fortunately I know about already).

Ah well, guess I'll have to do it the old-fashioned way...

----------------------------
Holly



[This message has been edited by HollyBerri (edited 16 April 2000).]

[fds]

Thanks for the link, this Triumvirat looks really interesting. It is supposed to be able to translate Hungarian as well.
(That's where I'm from. )

Unfortunately it keeps saying

Error: Dear Sir/Madam,
You have exceeded your daily free word translation quota.

Oh well. I don't have a problem understanding English and hope neither do others deciphering me.

[Jorden]

Then Jord asks Pertti how s/he knows Dutch, which Pertti answers in English.

Errrm, I didn't ask Pertti how s/he knows Dutch, I asked how we would translate the whole above exchange

Jord.

[Agent31]

English : I'm quite happy to offer my english to english translation skills to anyone who needs them =)

English : I'm quite happy to offer my english to english translation skills to anyone who needs them =)

[Agent31]

English : I'm quite happy to offer my english to english translation skills to anyone who needs them =)

English : I'm quite happy to offer my english to english translation skills to anyone who needs them =)

[Agent31]

English : I'm quite happy to offer my english to english translation skills to anyone who needs them =)

English : I'm quite happy to offer my english to english translation skills to anyone who needs them =)

[HollyBerri]

So, the saying, "Pride goeth before Jord making me look a bit silly" is quite true, it seems...

And here I thought the religious training of my youth was a waste...

--------------------
Holly

[paulcs]

What happened to Eric?

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[paulcs]

Oh, by the way, Agent31 will offer his translation skills to anyone who needs them.

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[Jord]

I think we scared Eric off, with all those tame testings of translatory try-outs

Jord, wondering where Goethe entered the picture (or did I misread you, Holly? )

[NauTiLUS]

If you need translation to Hungarian, just call me :-)