Hi thanks for looking at my query. I recently as a joke changed some writing on the board of a friends EAL (English as an Additional Language) classroom from English to German. She liked the idea, but using Google Translate resulted in an overly formal phrasing that made it seem more a demand than a suggestion or polite request.

So my ask, if you speak (or I guess write) another language I would love to request you take a moment to translate “Please stack chairs at the end of the day” into whichever language you can help me with, it should be a polite request though.

I’m really not sure what the composition of her class is but she is a fan of languages as a whole so even if it’s not a language that is represented in her class I am sure it will be a bit of fun and a talking point to figure it out.

If you have the time and the skills to help I really appreciate it, otherwise I appreciate you taking the time to read this post. Have a fantastic day.

  • nutbutter@discuss.tchncs.de
    2·
    9 days ago

    Hindi - कृपया दिन के अंत में कुर्सियों को इक्कठा करके रख दें। (Kripya din ke ant me kursiyon ko ikkattha krke rakh dein.)

    Punjabi - ਕਿਰਪਾ ਕਰਕੇ ਦਿਨ ਦੇ ਅੰਤ ਵਿੱਚ ਕੁਰਸੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਕਠ੍ਹਾ ਕਰ ਦਿਓ। (Kirpa krke din de ant wich kursiyan nu kattha kar deo.)

    Vocally, these two sound very similar, as if one is a different dialect, but are actually considered different languages. Also, I didn’t do exact translation, I used what someone would say when they mean this. Like instead of saying stacking, I am saying collect, bringing them together or something like that.

    • shads@lemy.lolOPEnglish
      1·
      9 days ago

      धन्यवाद

      This is exactly what I was after. Thank you. Other than being patient and careful any hints for writing Hindi or Punjabi on a whiteboard? If I make small mistakes am I likely to offend anyone? I would rather like to use Devanagari and Gurmukhi (I think those are the correct names for the scripts) if I can mange it.

      • nutbutter@discuss.tchncs.de
        2·
        9 days ago

        Umm… If you write दिन as दीन, it is supposed to sound different. First is din (shorter e sound), second one would be spoken as deen (llonger e sound). In some cases words could mean something else if these vowel sounds are different, but would not offend anyone. Same thing in Gurmukhi. Also, Punjabi can be written in Shahmukhi script (in which Urdu is written) which is actually the standard in Pakistan. In India, it is written in Gurumukhi only.

        • shads@lemy.lolOPEnglish
          2·
          9 days ago

          Wow, thanks I didn’t realise there were regional differences in the script. I’m not sure if there any Pakistani or Indian students in the class so maybe I should stick to the Hindi version so that no one feels overlooked. Between the Hindi, Japanese and Cantonese it looks like I will be getting a lot of practise reproducing script I can’t read before I give them a go. I think I have enough people who can proof read my practise and let me know if I am close enough. This is seeming like it will be a bigger commitment (and more fun) than I expected. Wish me luck.