redsliver Posted March 22, 2007 Report Posted March 22, 2007 I'm using Babelfish to translate so I'm almost certain there are grammatical errors. I need one of my characters to hear the shouts: Daar, op het dek! (There, on the deck!) Er zijn twee van hen! (There are two of them!) An expletive would help with this sentence too. If anyone can give me a hand it'll be very appreciated. Quote
WotanAnubis Posted March 26, 2007 Report Posted March 26, 2007 Yes, I speak Dutch! It's a really ugly language, but I speak it. Anyways... "There, on the deck!" is indeed translated into "Daar, op het dek!". Provided we're talking about boats here and not a deck of cards. "There are two of them!", on the other hand, should probably be translated into "Er zijn er twee van!" Unfortunately, in the Dutch, this kind of implies there being two things rather than two people. For people, "Er zijn er twee!" would be more appropriate. As for an expletive. Well, assuming there are two people and whoever yells the phrase isn't happy about it: "Er zijn er verdomme twee!" Which very roughly translates into "There are two of them, dammit!" Also possible would be: "Er zijn (er) twee van die kankerlijers!" Which roughly translates into "There are two of those bastards!" (lit: 'sufferers of cancer') Yes, the Dutch language uses awful diseases as swearwords and insults. Quote
redsliver Posted March 31, 2007 Author Report Posted March 31, 2007 thank you sir, I may call on you again sometime in the future. Quote
Rhapsody Posted July 27, 2007 Report Posted July 27, 2007 (edited) I am a native speaker and think it's a gorgeous language, if you need more alternatives for explecitives and more colourful vocab, let me know. Edited July 27, 2007 by Rhapsody Quote
WotanAnubis Posted July 29, 2007 Report Posted July 29, 2007 I am a native speaker and think it's a gorgeous language, if you need more alternatives for explecitives and more colourful vocab, let me know. I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm a native speaker too, but Dutch just isn't very pleasant to the ear. It's a functional language, but not a very poetic one, so to speak. It's very difficult to play with. On the other hand, the swearing is awesome. Quote
RikuDrak Posted December 18, 2007 Report Posted December 18, 2007 I'm just strange in thinking that rougher languages are more pleasing to hear than soft ones. Therefore I like mainland germanic languages over norther germanic, germanic languages over romanic languages, and japanese over chinese. Whoops, sorry for off topic. I'm glad you got your question answered. I would definitely not be the one to ask since I'm not a native speaker and still learning. Quote
Guest Zyx Posted December 18, 2007 Report Posted December 18, 2007 I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm a native speaker too, but Dutch just isn't very pleasant to the ear. It's a functional language, but not a very poetic one, so to speak. It's very difficult to play with.On the other hand, the swearing is awesome. I completely agree Random list of swear words: Teringmochool! Kankerlul! Klootzak! Quote
Schainsaw Posted May 7, 2010 Report Posted May 7, 2010 ballsack This is a very interesting topic. I'm a native speaker as well but I really don't like speaking Dutch. And yes, the swearwords are rediculously funny. The only one I don't like using is 'kanker.' Quote
Tempestuous Posted May 8, 2010 Report Posted May 8, 2010 This is a very interesting topic. I'm a native speaker as well but I really don't like speaking Dutch. And yes, the swearwords are rediculously funny. The only one I don't like using is 'kanker.' Dutchie reporting in! And I agree with you. In comparison to English, Dutch suddenly becomes so... blunt. Not at all fancy. And that is the one word I avoid using at all times. Everything else is fine, especially in a full chain of curses after hitting my foot or something of the sorts. "Tering tyfus graf klote krijg de fucking pleuris van een paardelul." Yup, the swearing is fantastic. Quote
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