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Prolagus commented on the word the pen is on the table
English speakers that come to Italy may hear this sentence when they ask for information or talk to Italians. For mysterious reasons, this is the Italian code for "I haven't spoken English since junior high school".
June 12, 2009
charlesferdinand commented on the word the pen is on the table
The phrase I'm familiar with is: My tailor is rich
June 12, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word the pen is on the table
I have phrases like this for several languages. One is (forgive my awful spelling) Ta ean ear an gloch. Another is Deux etudients vent en France. Il sont avec en gruppe. Or, the conversation-spawning Ja, wij heb' geen bananen, wij heb' geen bananen vandaag!
I remember a bit more German so it would have to be something dull like "Ja, aber nur ein bisschen."
On the other hand, I remember about three words of Russian, and only how to pronounce them, as I never did get the alphabet into my head. One of them is "professor." The others, I believe, are "Da" and "Nyet." Oh, I guess there's "Pravda."
June 12, 2009
plethora commented on the word the pen is on the table
Vodka.
June 12, 2009
bilby commented on the word the pen is on the table
I think an Indonesian equivalent would be "I am good morning", which I have certainly heard several times. It's a joke about the English gerund, which Indonesians find terribly difficult as their language has no continuous aspect, and at the same time echoes the kind of phrase upon which beginners typically cut their teeth.
June 12, 2009
qroqqa commented on the word the pen is on the table
Sedang would seem the obvious equivalent.
June 12, 2009
rolig commented on the word the pen is on the table
My first Russian sentence, from dialog on a "Learn Russian" LP, which we were supposed to memorize even before we had any idea what we were saying, was:
Вот �? и приехал в Мо�?кву. Я думаю, что зде�?ь мне понравит�?�?.
Vot ya i priyekhal v Moskvu. Ya dumayu, chto zdes' mne ponravitsya.
Well, here I am having just arrived in Moscow. I think I will like it here.
This line has stuck in my head for close to forty years. Why, oh why, couldn't they have used Pushkin or Akhmatova?
June 12, 2009
seanahan commented on the word the pen is on the table
When I was first learning Spanish, my Mom asked me to speak it to a fluent neighbor, and the only thing I could think of was "levanta los manos", which he (jokingly) took to mean I was attempting to rob him.
June 14, 2009
bilby commented on the word the pen is on the table
It has its uses, qroqqa. But if you ask an Indonesian a question like 'Lagi apa sekarang?' What are you doing now? the answer will typically be without sedang, eg. '(Saya) makan' I eat.
June 14, 2009
qroqqa commented on the word the pen is on the table
Presumably Saya sedang makan when they answer the phone in an annoyed voice. It is unusual that what's conventionally called the 'present tense' in English usually isn't, whereas the 'be . . . ing' construction is more central and unmarked than en train de or (I presume) sedang.
June 14, 2009
Prolagus commented on the word the pen is on the table
See picture!
June 15, 2009
skipvia commented on the word the pen is on the table
I wonder if this is in any way related to "la plume de ma tante est sur le bureau de mon oncle," a sentence used in many French lesson dialogs for English speakers--perhaps conveying that "all I remember about English is what I learned in junior high"?
It's surprising how rarely you get to work phrases like "moi, j'aime mieux les frites" or "il faut que j'aille cherchez un livre" into conversations.
June 15, 2009
bilby commented on the word the pen is on the table
Yeah, sedang is very marked, which is roughly my point. I used to do a lot of court interpreting and sedang was one of those words that crept in to lawyers' questions, usually probing for very specific information. It was quite awkward.
June 15, 2009
jfk commented on the word the pen is on the table
flickr
June 15, 2009
sionnach commented on the word the pen is on the table
Stop the coach, the postillion has been struck by lightning.
June 15, 2009
sarra commented on the word the pen is on the table
hehehe, I like that, pro.
June 16, 2009
frogapplause commented on the word the pen is on the table
My eye missed the spacing: The penis on the table.
June 18, 2009
bilby commented on the word the pen is on the table
You buy your gear from the Pen Island website, don't you?
June 18, 2009
skipvia commented on the word the pen is on the table
*wincing at frogapplause's disturbing image*
*thinks of lorena bobbitt*
*wincing even more now*
June 18, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word the pen is on the table
Every time I see the name of this page on the front page, I think of www.penisland.com.
June 18, 2009
Telofy commented on the word the pen is on the table
This might be off topic by now, but many of my former schoolmates who had French seem to remember “Arthur est un perroquet” as culmination point of that experience.
December 13, 2009