The Joys of Speaking a Foreign language

[BarcelonaAnalPark]

Can ’bismilah ir rahman ir rahim’ be used as a means of expressing exasperation?

Depends what it is you're about to eat!

 

[Brotherton Lad]

Can ’bismilah ir rahman ir rahim’ be used as a means of expressing exasperation?

I only have about 10 words in Arabic but is my old mucker from 1990 starting his speech with that phrase?

Address to the Sovereigns Parade Royal Military Academy Sandhurst | King Abdullah II Official Website

In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate Commandant, Officer Cadets, Staff of the Royal Military Academy, Distinguished Guests: I am honoured to represent Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on this special occasion. And it is not the first time I have had the privilege to attend the...

kingabdullah.jo

 

[Boumer]

I only have about 10 words in Arabic but is my old mucker from 1990 starting his speech with that phrase?

Address to the Sovereigns Parade Royal Military Academy Sandhurst | King Abdullah II Official Website

In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate Commandant, Officer Cadets, Staff of the Royal Military Academy, Distinguished Guests: I am honoured to represent Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on this special occasion. And it is not the first time I have had the privilege to attend the...

kingabdullah.jo

Yep, formal speeches usually start that.

His Majesty King Abdullah is a proper lad by all accounts. The real problem is apparently keeping him from rolling his sleeves up and getting stuck into things.

I have a huge amount of time for Jordan, the country and it's people.

In what was a near religious experience for me, I was fortunate enough to visit Qasr al-Azraq, and sit in TE Lawrence's room where he planned the later part of the campaign.

 

[Brotherton Lad]

Yep, formal speeches usually start that.

His Majesty King Abdullah is a proper lad by all accounts. The real problem is apparently keeping him from rolling his sleeves up and getting stuck into things.

I have a huge amount of time for Jordan, the country and it's people.

In what was a near religious experience for me, I was fortunate enough to visit Qasr al-Azraq, and sit in TE Lawrence's room where he planned the later part of the campaign.

View attachment 539343

Yes. He was still the Crown Prince when I knew him and still single. He lived about 6 doors down the corridor for a year. I hear that when the Jordanian Air Force sought revenge for the burning of that poor pilot by ISIS in a cage some years back, the King was in the back seat of one of the planes.

Chatting to a Jordanian Cadet today. They appear to be pre-loaded with humanity, wisdom and friendliness. Definitely people you want on your side.

 

[Unremarkable]

Depends what it is you're about to eat!

What, is 'rahman' Arabic for ramen?
Does it come in camel flavour?

 

[LepetitCaporal]

French French, ie inside the Hexagon, has:
Soixante - 60
Soixante dix (60 and 10) - 70
Quatre vingts (4 x 20) - 80
Quatre vingts dix (4x20 and 10) - 90

Swiss French, though, has:
Soixante - 60
Septante - 70
Huitante - 80
Nonante - 90

I know Walloon has some of the numbers in common with the Swiss, not all, but I can’t remember which.

It was used to count sheep... 2 hands (fingers) and two feet ( toes) = 20

 

[supermatelot]

Didnt know where exactly to put this but, thought would be appreaciated here:


German speakers on here...how does that sound to you? I can only pick out key words and...from what I hear, I cant make sense of it from what its supposed to be.
My German is very, very lapsed now though, aurally.

 

[Stonker]

Didnt know where exactly to put this but, thought would be appreaciated here:


German speakers on here...how does that sound to you? I can only pick out key words and...from what I hear, I cant make sense of it from what its supposed to be.
My German is very, very lapsed now though, aurally.

Tell you wot.

Why not look up the original lyrics, copy/paste 'em into Google translate, and see if you can sing along.

You'll nail it after a coupla goes, I bet

 

[Gabion Groyne]

Yeah, I remember that from the small amount of contact with Welshschweizer that I had when I lived there. A similar process has happened in Scots Gaelic (can’t speak for Welsh or Irish), though it is still possible to hear Gaelic speakers using e.g. “dà fhichead” rather than “ceathrad” for 40.

Sorry for going back to this but in Scots Gaelic there's another odd one where singular is used for one and two and only changes to plural at three. "Aon balùn", "dhà balùn", "tri balùnaichean". One balloon, two balloon, three balloons, etc.

 

[Glad_its_all_over]

Sorry for going back to this but in Scots Gaelic there's another odd one where singular is used for one and two and only changes to plural at three. "Aon balùn", "dhà balùn", "tri balùnaichean". One balloon, two balloon, three balloons, etc.

Yeah, Russian goes a bit odd like that as well. "one" is singular and takes the nominative, two, three and four are singular and take the genitive and five and upwards are plural and take the genitive.

 

[bob231]

Arabic has a singular, a dual, and a plural.

Hence Bahrain: al-bahr, the sea, bahrain, two seas.

 

[Drlligaf]

Arabic has a singular, a duel, and a plural.

Grammar/language nazi mode on.
Duel? With swords or pistols?

nazi mode off.

 

[lastwalt]

Yeah, Russian goes a bit odd like that as well. "one" is singular and takes the nominative, two, three and four are singular and take the genitive and five and upwards are plural and take the genitive.

That's way more complicated than Gaelic. Sounds like fun...

 

[Glad_its_all_over]

That's way more complicated than Gaelic. Sounds like fun...

It certainly gets very interesting indeed when you start declining big numbers in oblique cases.

 

[Mike Barton]

I only have about 10 words in Arabic but is my old mucker from 1990 starting his speech with that phrase?

Address to the Sovereigns Parade Royal Military Academy Sandhurst | King Abdullah II Official Website

In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate Commandant, Officer Cadets, Staff of the Royal Military Academy, Distinguished Guests: I am honoured to represent Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on this special occasion. And it is not the first time I have had the privilege to attend the...

kingabdullah.jo

Slightly off-topic but I was once annoyed by the UK ambassador to Jakarta at a function to celebrate the Queen's birthday. The gentleman in question was of Pakistani origin, and I have no problem with that, he's British and he's entitled to represent HMG overseas but it's how he opened the proceedings that really pissed me off. He started with "Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh...", note "Assalamualaikum" wasn't even enough, he had to go the whole hog (er).

What's wrong with that? You might ask, he was Muslim and his audience was Muslim, why shouldn't he show respect?

But that's exactly the point, his audience wasn't Muslim, it was a wide and varied mix of people from all backgrounds and races and nationalities, and more to the point Indonesia is not a Muslim nation per se. By introducing himself like that, at an occasion that was nothing to do with religion (if it was an Eid gathering I would have had no problem) he was forcing his and the majority religion on everyone else in the room, as the proper response to such a greeting is "Walaikum salaam warahmatullahi wabarakatuh", thus the non-Muslim guests of Her Majesty were forced to stand in awkward silence, staring into their drinks and feeling a bit left out as the response was made.

I wrote a letter to the embassy pointing out the ambassador's poor manners toward his guests by forcing a sectarian element on to a non-religious event (an event indeed to celebrate the titular head of a Christian church). I pointed out that it was as inappropriate for him to open proceedings with that greeting as it would have been for a UK ambassador of Irish ancestry to open such an event in Poland with "Praise the Blessed Virgin Mother of God".

I received no reply.

 

[bob231]

Grammar/language nazi mode on.
Duel? With swords or pistols?

nazi mode off.

Swords, naturally, given it's Arabic.

Corrected and thank you

 

[Unremarkable]

Arabic has a singular, a dual, and a plural.

Hence Bahrain: al-bahr, the sea, bahrain, two seas.

As did Biblical Hebrew: yadh, yadhim, yadhayim; a hand, hands, a pair of hands.

Indo-European languages also had a dual form. I think Lithuanian still does, and it is attested in Anglo-Saxon.

 

[Unremarkable]

...I pointed out that it was as inappropriate for him to open proceedings with that greeting as it would have been for a UK ambassador of Irish ancestry to open such an event in Poland with "Praise the Blessed Virgin Mother of God".

I received no reply.

Would that be the same "Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland" by any chance?

 

[Drlligaf]

Swords, naturally, given it's Arabic.

Corrected and thank you

I should have known.

 

[Brotherton Lad]

Slightly off-topic but I was once annoyed by the UK ambassador to Jakarta at a function to celebrate the Queen's birthday. The gentleman in question was of Pakistani origin, and I have no problem with that, he's British and he's entitled to represent HMG overseas but it's how he opened the proceedings that really pissed me off. He started with "Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh...", note "Assalamualaikum" wasn't even enough, he had to go the whole hog (er).

What's wrong with that? You might ask, he was Muslim and his audience was Muslim, why shouldn't he show respect?

But that's exactly the point, his audience wasn't Muslim, it was a wide and varied mix of people from all backgrounds and races and nationalities, and more to the point Indonesia is not a Muslim nation per se. By introducing himself like that, at an occasion that was nothing to do with religion (if it was an Eid gathering I would have had no problem) he was forcing his and the majority religion on everyone else in the room, as the proper response to such a greeting is "Walaikum salaam warahmatullahi wabarakatuh", thus the non-Muslim guests of Her Majesty were forced to stand in awkward silence, staring into their drinks and feeling a bit left out as the response was made.

I wrote a letter to the embassy pointing out the ambassador's poor manners toward his guests by forcing a sectarian element on to a non-religious event (an event indeed to celebrate the titular head of a Christian church). I pointed out that it was as inappropriate for him to open proceedings with that greeting as it would have been for a UK ambassador of Irish ancestry to open such an event in Poland with "Praise the Blessed Virgin Mother of God".

I received no reply.

It's the same God.