Random items in English translation

pawianThreads: 80 Posts: 4,542 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Feb 14, 10, 17:44 #1
1. In a presentation title is it better to write: We and our countries or Our countries and us ? Or sth else? 2. Read this dialogue from a textbook for children: A: How much milk do the goats give you? B: The goats give us all our milk and the chickens give us all our eggs. Shouldn`t it be their instead of our ?

f stopThreads: 28 Posts: 2,681 Joined: Dec 9, 09 ♀	Edited by: f stop Feb 14, 10, 17:47 #2
2. 'Their' means that the chicken give us all the eggs they produce, 'our' would mean that they give us all the eggs that we have. Take your pick.

AmathystThreads: 30 Posts: 3,898 Joined: Nov 10, 06 ♀	Feb 14, 10, 17:51 #3
pawian: Shouldn`t it be their instead of our ? Well, I would say our, it's "our" milk as in it belongs to us, the fact the goat has produced the milk is incidental

♂

Edited by: pawian Feb 14, 10, 18:16 #4

f stop:

2. 'Their' means that the chicken give us all the eggs they produce, 'our' would mean that they give us all the eggs that we have. Take your pick.

Amathyst:

Well, I would say our, it's "our" milk as in it belongs to us, the fact the goat has produced the milk is incidental

I thought so but it seemed stupid to me. I can understand that we drink milk only from goats and not from cows, so it is obvious goats give us all our milk. But eggs? What other eggs could we have if not from chickens? Saying that chickens give us all of our eggs suggests that other farmers may get all their eggs from other fowl.

Nonsense which makes a mess in kids` heads.

miraThreads: - Posts: 142 Joined: Jan 28, 09 ♀	Feb 14, 10, 18:35 #5
pawian: Our countries and us sounds better, besides, we, as individuals are less "important" than our countries. What is this presentation about? And could you please give a polish title so that it's easier to translate.

pawianThreads: 80 Posts: 4,542 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Feb 14, 10, 18:48 #6
mira: sounds better, besides, we, as individuals are less "important" than our countries. What is this presentation about? And could you please give a polish title so that it's easier to translate. Thanks. I thought so but wanted to make sure. As for Polish original, sorry, there is none.

AmathystThreads: 30 Posts: 3,898 Joined: Nov 10, 06 ♀	Feb 14, 10, 19:18 #7
pawian: Nonsense which makes a mess in kids` heads. Well, it's just simple statements for children..I am sure that they're not traumatised over it :D As to the eggs, how many people eat goose eggs or any other kind of eggs for that matter, all of the eggs we eat are produced by chickens.

pawianThreads: 80 Posts: 4,542 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Edited by: pawian Feb 14, 10, 19:24 #8
Amathyst: As to the eggs, how many people eat goose eggs or any other kind of eggs for that matter, all of the eggs we eat are produced by chickens. Exactly. So why mention it at all in the sentence above: chickens give us all our eggs. One more thing: we say in the 1990s. What about years in this decade? 2000s ?

WroclawThreads: 74 Posts: 7,275 Joined: Apr 1, 06 ♂ [Moderator]	Feb 14, 10, 19:35 #9
pawian: What about years in this decade? 2000s ? "The Noughties" Wikipedia has something on this, but seems to go on and on.

pawianThreads: 80 Posts: 4,542 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Edited by: pawian Feb 14, 10, 19:55 #10
Wroclaw But I want a number, not a word which causes problems to spell in case I try to answer students` questions about it.

VincentThreads: 15 Posts: 1,606 Joined: Sep 9, 07 ♂ [Moderator]	Feb 14, 10, 19:56 #11
pawian: B: The goats give us all our milk and the chickens give us all our eggs. In this context I think it means, the goats give us enough milk and the chickens enough eggs for all our needs, so we don't need to purchase more from somewhere else.

Lir

Edited by: Lir Feb 14, 10, 20:05 #12

pawian:

2. Read this dialogue from a textbook for children:

A: How much milk do the goats give you?

B: The goats give us all our milk and the chickens give us all our eggs.

The only answer to this is that 'The goats give us all our milk". Or, " The goats provide us with our total milk requirements". etc

'The chickens provide us with all our egg requirements' probably sounds better'.

The style of English doesn't quite sound right in your examples?

pawian:

1. In a presentation title is it better to write: We and our countries or Our countries and us ? Or sth else?

I think the whole sentence is incorrect. We are part of our Country <?> so why would it be our Countries and Us ?????

♂

Feb 14, 10, 20:11 #13

Lir:

No chickens were actually mentioned in the question? Where does it mention chickens in the question LOL!

No mention of chickens in the question, that is why the anwer sounds so stupid.

Lir:

I think the whole sentence is incorrect. We are part of our Country <?> so why would it be our Countries and Us ?????

Hmm, I thought about a title which would suggest that the presentation is about countries (their culture, history, monuments) as well as us, people from these countries, our personal matters, hobbies, life etc etc. Isn`t that obvious? :):):)

Lir

Edited by: Lir Feb 14, 10, 20:18 #14

pawian:

No mention of chickens in the question, that is why the anwer sounds so stupid.

I know although I have since edited my answer above.

The English grammar is incorrect. That's why it doesn't make much sense. Sounds like a non English person has written it?

pawian:

Isn`t that obvious? :):):)

No.

The problem was that you said 'Our Countries and Us' You already include everyone in the Our' bit!

pawian:

I thought about a title which would suggest that the presentation is about countries (their culture, history, monuments) as well as us,

That makes more sense because you have dropped the 'Our' bit in the above sentence.

A Country is made up of people and if you include 'Our' in the title as well as 'us' then it doesn't make sense in this context. i.e Our Countries and Us.

whippoorwill	Feb 14, 10, 20:21 #15
Exactly right.

whippoorwill	Feb 14, 10, 20:24 #16
Vincent: In this context I think it means, the goats give us enough milk and the chickens enough eggs for all our needs, so we don't need to purchase more from somewhere else. This is what was 'exactly right' in my last post! This is an idiom in English.

pawianThreads: 80 Posts: 4,542 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Edited by: pawian Feb 14, 10, 20:35 #17
Vincent: In this context I think it means, the goats give us enough milk and the chickens enough eggs for all our needs, so we don't need to purchase more from somewhere else. Aaaah!! Now I see it. Thanks. I will tell my son. Strange, I couldn`t grasp the idea for so long. And I have only just started drinking. :):):):)

♂

Edited by: dug321 Feb 17, 10, 12:15 #18

The goat and chicken sentence is 100% correct.
"our" just makes the sentence possesive.
It doesnt have to say who or how much etc
The subject of the sentence might live on a farm where all the milk does come from goats and eggs from chickens --
possesive doesnt have to say who or what is possesive -- do you get what I mean.
If it were to say --"In Poland, the goats give us all our milk" than indeed it would not be correct.

Plus just a question -- where is the idiom a couple of posts up ??? exactly right is not an idiom it is just a statement ???

pawianThreads: 80 Posts: 4,542 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Mar 12, 10, 22:25 #19
My fellow teacher asked me to translate this for her: I`d far rather feel mildly ashamed of my country that stimulated into a pathetic patriotism. Upon seeing it, I thought there is a mistake and suggested than instead of that. But she said it has to be so. Can you say if it is correct and what does it mean in English, more or less?

♂

Edited by: SeanBM Mar 12, 10, 22:33 #20

pawian:

I`d far rather feel mildly ashamed of my country that stimulated into a pathetic patriotism.

I would hesitate correcting until I know what it was she was trying to communicate.

But the sentence is incorrect or at least possibly misleading.

I think she means to say "I would rather feel mildly ashamed of my country rather than be stimulated into a pathetic patriot"
Or "I'd rather feel mildly ashamed of my country that stimulated into a pathetic patriotism (sentence not finished)"

I am not sure if it is your friend or the country that became stimulated into a pathetic patriotism?

I always find it difficult to translate anything out of context.

pawianThreads: 80 Posts: 4,542 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Oct 19, 10, 22:30 #21
My former high-schools student, now a uni one, asks for help with these riddles: He can see beauty in a pile of rubbish: i_gin_ _ _ _e He is constatly like a child on Christmas Eve: ex_i_abl_e.

BarneyThreads: 14 Posts: 1,469 Joined: May 26, 08 ♂	Edited by: Barney Oct 19, 10, 22:41 #22
pawian: He can see beauty in a pile of rubbish: i_gin_ _ _ _e He is constatly like a child on Christmas Eve: ex_i_abl_e. 1) These dont fit but ingenious or more likely imaginative would be my guess 2) excitable

pawianThreads: 80 Posts: 4,542 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Edited by: pawian Oct 19, 10, 22:48 #23
Barney: 1) These dont fit but ingenious or more likely imaginative would be my guess Yes, I thought there must be a little mistake in the original, but imaginative seems to be correct. Barney: 2) excitable Thanks.

WroclawThreads: 74 Posts: 7,275 Joined: Apr 1, 06 ♂ [Moderator]	Edited by: Wroclaw Oct 19, 10, 22:50 #24
Barney: imaginative would be my guess that's correct i've just checked it here: http://www.gho-englisch.de/Resources/character_&_personality.htm

pawianThreads: 80 Posts: 4,542 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Oct 19, 10, 23:10 #25
Wroclaw: that's correct Oh, shit! That is where academic teachers take their exercises from!!

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