Languages

My mother language is Turkish ...
I can speak English but not very good when i speak, i write it better.

Türkiye den selamlar herkese !!!
Hepinize saygılar, sevgiler ...

Ila, nasılsın ? Türkçe konuşmak istermisin ?

[ila]

Originally Posted by translover

My mother language is Turkish ...
I can speak English but not very good when i speak, i write it better.

Türkiye den selamlar herkese !!!
Hepinize saygılar, sevgiler ...

Ila, nasılsın ? Türkçe konuşmak istermisin ?

Hi translover. I've been waiting for your comments on this topic since I admire your ability to speak, read, and write in more than one language.

I'm afraid I don't speak any Turkish at all. I did visit your wonderful country many years ago, but I don't remember any of the words and phrases that I picked up. One of the things I do remember is all the people being so friendly towards visitors (whether in the big cities or the small towns that I was in). Everyone that I met there wanted to speak English though, which made it harder to pick up any of the language. Unfortunately my stay wasn't long enough, in any one place, to have time to make friends and really learn the language.

Originally Posted by ila

Hi translover. I've been waiting for your comments on this topic since I admire your ability to speak, read, and write in more than one language.

I'm afraid I don't speak any Turkish at all. I did visit your wonderful country many years ago, but I don't remember any of the words and phrases that I picked up. One of the things I do remember is all the people being so friendly towards visitors (whether in the big cities or the small towns that I was in). Everyone that I met there wanted to speak English though, which made it harder to pick up any of the language. Unfortunately my stay wasn't long enough, in any one place, to have time to make friends and really learn the language.

Türkiye den selamlar herkese !!! Hi from Turkiye to all people !!!
Hepinize saygılar, sevgiler ... With my respects and loves

Ila, nasılsın ? Türkçe konuşmak istermisin ? Ila, How are you? Would u like to talk Turkish language ?

Merhaba Ila, Hangi şehir/şehirleri ziyaret ettin Türkiyede ? Sana Antalya yı (Türkiyenin güneyi) öneririm bu aylarda tatil için. Çok güzel deniz, kumsal,güneş,sağlam gece hayatı,çok iyi ve lüks oteller ve tatil köyleri (iyi fiyata) ve etrafta birçok travestilerle . Rehberin olabilirim eğer istersen. Şimdi yurt dışındayım ama ağustos ayında ülkeme gidicem ve ilk olarak Ankara sonra İstanbul ve tatil için Antalya/Kemer veya Antalya/Alanya.

English:
Hi Ila, Which city/cities you have visited in Turkiye ? And i suggest u, Antalya (south of Turkiye) in these months for holiday. Wonderful sea, beaches, sun,great nightlife, very nice and luxury hotels and resorts (with good prices) and many ladyboys around there . i can be your guide if u want. I am in abroad now but i will go to my country in August and i will go to Ankara first and then Istanbul and go to holiday in Antalya/Kemer or Antalya/Alanya.

[sesame]

Mel Asher, please dont apologise like that. We are all friends here. Also, technically speaking, Binomial Nomenclature is a Language of Science!
Relax, mano!

Ila, welcome back from your Piranha hunting trip. Damn! You ate all of them? Alone? Dont forget, you promised me a good story, on your return!

I am very interested in Old Saxon Roots from which many modern English words have been born. I was wondering if you could provide me with some insight. And perhaps a line or two about their culture?

I recently found out that many of the 26 English alphabets didnt exist in the middle ages. They have been fashioned much later.

[Mel Asher]

It is well documented that invaders eventually incorporate the language of those that they invade, that is, if they settle the land. This was most certainly the case of the Romans who adopted much of the language of the Latins whom they subsumed. To a lesser degree, Latin is littered with Etruscan words incorporated into the language of Rome, although the Etruscans as a people survived much much longer than the Latins. In the case of English, it is true that the ' Low German ' variant of the German Tribes used widely by the Angles, and then later that of the Saxons were combined in the development of AngloSaxon, but the language structure that developed was not Germanic. Instead it was Celtic, taken from the peoples that the Angles and Saxons displaced. Cornish is a somewhat shaky survivor from this. And then ? Norman French. Viking settlers in Brittany with their Scandinavian language. They enriched the emerging English Language as conquerors of an already polyglottal people. And what a debt the English Language owes to the Christial Church and its scholarship. Latin and Greek Classics as standard education for the nobility, and later Scientific Nomenclature - a positive harvest of Greek and Latin, and a linguist's delight.
And so the process goes on with Punjabi, Hindi and French words ( not to mention Dutch and German ) being added to the list all the time.

Ain't Babel worderful ? !

[sesame]

Thank you Mel Asher, or just Mel!
That was such a rich article! Something more on old Saxon, with examples would be delicious.

And so the process goes on with Punjabi, Hindi and French words ( not to mention Dutch and German ) being added to the list all the time.

Make your point with hard evidence please.

[Mel Asher]

Originally Posted by sesame

Thank you Mel Asher, or just Mel!
That was such a rich article! Something more on old Saxon, with examples would be delicious.

Make your point with hard evidence please.

OK, Sesame - just for you. I'll come back to the Celtic question later.

AngloSaxon, otherwise called Old English, is one of those blends from the Indo-European ' Germanic ' languages which was widely spoken in England prior to and contemporary with the Norman Invasion. Not to be confused with Middle English which was a much more streamlined version eliminating a lot of the gender inflections and rigid inflections occurring in the verb endings. Middle English was therefore much nearer English as we know it today and was the lingo that Chaucer used in his Cantebury Tales ( Fairly raunchy in parts - viz the Miller's Tales etc. )

As requested a sample with rough translation. ( I would add that although I can read some Middle English, Old English is beyond my scholarship - so I asked a friend for this sample !

hlude bi hearpan hleoþor swinsade, þonne monige men, modum wlonce,
wordum sprecan, þa þe wel cuþan, þæt hi næfre song sellan ne hyrdon.

Then many men with noble hearts, who understood these things,
openly said that they had never heard a better song.

Good poetic stuff, but my learning has taken me elsewhere
!

[Mel Asher]

Originally Posted by Mel Asher

It is well documented that invaders eventually incorporate the language of those that they invade, that is, if they settle the land. This was most certainly the case of the Romans who adopted much of the language of the Latins whom they subsumed. To a lesser degree, Latin is littered with Etruscan words incorporated into the language of Rome, although the Etruscans as a people survived much much longer than the Latins. In the case of English, it is true that the ' Low German ' variant of the German Tribes used widely by the Angles, and then later that of the Saxons were combined in the development of AngloSaxon, but the language structure that developed was not Germanic. Instead it was Celtic, taken from the peoples that the Angles and Saxons displaced. Cornish is a somewhat shaky survivor from this. And then ? Norman French. Viking settlers in Brittany with their Scandinavian language. They enriched the emerging English Language as conquerors of an already polyglottal people. And what a debt the English Language owes to the Christial Church and its scholarship. Latin and Greek Classics as standard education for the nobility, and later Scientific Nomenclature - a positive harvest of Greek and Latin, and a linguist's delight.
And so the process goes on with Punjabi, Hindi and French words ( not to mention Dutch and German ) being added to the list all the time.

Ain't Babel worderful ? !

Another end left loose after my unenjoyable fun and games on the motorway -

Courtesy of my son-in-law ( a Hindu Doctor ) :
Bungalow = Low Dwelling in Bengali / Hindi
Pukka = Thorough ( Hindi )
Pundit ( Hindi )
Guru ( Hindi / Punjabi )

And Dutch : A Boom ( on a boat ), Trek = A trail, Landscape ( means the same, but spelling slightly different ), and Mannequin ( meaning Little Man Viz - Le Mannequin qui pisse )

French - Loads of them - you can probably think of these : Bayoney, Rifle, Unique, Crayon, Sachet

German - some obvious ones : Kindergarten, Flak, Rucksack ( a mild insult in Dutch ) Snorkel etc.

Enjoy

[sesame]

Well, Pundit and Guru are actually Sanskrit words, but I guess they got into the English vocabulary from the Hindi dialect during the British Raj in India.
Other words are:

avatar: meaning the incarnations of God on earth.
karma: means both good and bad actions in Sanskrit; but in the West, only the bad deeds are taken for the word Karma.
Guru: means spiritual master, teacher, initiator. Gu= darkness, Ru= Light. He who takes us from darkness to light is the Guru.
Desi: local, grown in the state.
Charisma: Urdu word. Meaning~ Miracle.
Baba: father, papa, dad. Sometimes refers to a holyman.
Yoga: Sanskrit. Means connection, way. Commonly people think of Hatha-Yoga postures by this word, but it really refers to the connection between man and God.
Lemon: "Nimbu" Early Sanskrit means Lemon and Lime. People of Bengal still call it Lebu. L substitutes N. Arabic = Limun, Persian=Limou.
Mantra: powerful words for chanting. Sanskrit. Mana+Tra. Mana=mind, Tra=trana=to free. The thought of which frees our mind.
Mind: Mana, Manas. Sanskrit.
Nirvana: Sanskrit. Ultimate Freedom. Extinguish.
Three: Vedic Sanskrit. Tri. Means 3. Like Gayatri, Triveda, trishula.
Diva: Divya, Sanskrit. Meaning of Godly source. Deva= god, Devi =goddess.
Navy: Nauka, Nau. Ancient Indian*. Sanskrit. means a boat. That which floats in water. Or Navik= an experienced sailor or navigator.

[ila]

Originally Posted by Mel Asher

It is well documented that invaders eventually incorporate the language of those that they invade, that is, if they settle the land. This was most certainly the case of the Romans who adopted much of the language of the Latins whom they subsumed. To a lesser degree, Latin is littered with Etruscan words incorporated into the language of Rome, although the Etruscans as a people survived much much longer than the Latins. In the case of English, it is true that the ' Low German ' variant of the German Tribes used widely by the Angles, and then later that of the Saxons were combined in the development of AngloSaxon, but the language structure that developed was not Germanic. Instead it was Celtic, taken from the peoples that the Angles and Saxons displaced. Cornish is a somewhat shaky survivor from this. And then ? Norman French. Viking settlers in Brittany with their Scandinavian language.

As soon as I get the time Mel I shall refute your arguments, quoting applicable text. Until then all I will say is that you are not completely right and you are not completely wrong.

[ila]

Originally Posted by translover

Türkiye den selamlar herkese !!! Hi from Turkiye to all people !!!
Hepinize saygılar, sevgiler ... With my respects and loves

Ila, nasılsın ? Türkçe konuşmak istermisin ? Ila, How are you? Would u like to talk Turkish language ?

Merhaba Ila, Hangi şehir/şehirleri ziyaret ettin Türkiyede ? Sana Antalya yı (Türkiyenin güneyi) öneririm bu aylarda tatil için. Çok güzel deniz, kumsal,güneş,sağlam gece hayatı,çok iyi ve lüks oteller ve tatil köyleri (iyi fiyata) ve etrafta birçok travestilerle . Rehberin olabilirim eğer istersen. Şimdi yurt dışındayım ama ağustos ayında ülkeme gidicem ve ilk olarak Ankara sonra İstanbul ve tatil için Antalya/Kemer veya Antalya/Alanya.

English:
Hi Ila, Which city/cities you have visited in Turkiye ? And i suggest u, Antalya (south of Turkiye) in these months for holiday. Wonderful sea, beaches, sun,great nightlife, very nice and luxury hotels and resorts (with good prices) and many ladyboys around there . i can be your guide if u want. I am in abroad now but i will go to my country in August and i will go to Ankara first and then Istanbul and go to holiday in Antalya/Kemer or Antalya/Alanya.

Hi translover. Yes I would like to learn Turkish or at the very least some useful words and phrases. I like your idea of writing a post in Turkish and then providing the English translation.

When I went to Turkey it was as part of a tour, which was the easiest way at the time to visit. I was in Instanbul, Ankara, and Bursa with a few stops at small towns in between. I had one memorable trip on a ferry from the Black Sea back to Instanbul in which I had an opportunity to talk to some of the people. Unfortunately I was quite drunk from drinking vodka, on the ferry, and so although I was relaxed and had a great time I wasn't able to retain too much Turkish.

I'm afraid I won't be able to make it to Turkey this year. My holidays are over soon and then it's back to work for me.

[sesame]

Originally Posted by Mel Asher

Meantime I am a little unhappy with the syntax you use for " Libero vestri animus " The Latin does not translate for me. Maybe a little more apt would be
" Expedite animum vestrum " or " Liberate animum vestrum ".

Thank you Mel. I will change my signature right away.

[poktor]

Cool thread

I speak Dutch, English and German. And some French, but French is very difficult for me to learn. Those verbs make me go nuts like the verb 'to be':
je suis
tu es
ille est
nous sommes
vous etes

or something like that.

And someone said that English has a different langauge structure, namely Celtic.
I think that might be true, I really think that English stands somewhat apart from the other germanic languages.
For example, when I was little I didnt understand anything when I heard someone speak English but when I was on vacation to Sweden and Norway I could understand what people were talking about after some time while never having heard those languages before.