Quotes in other languages

[HerenIstarion]

Welcome to the BD, and to this thread in particular, dear Jack

Read the rules on the first page of the thread. Or, if you want it in summed up form = no, no books are allowed, people are literally translating bits of the English text to the languages they actually know. Knowing French and Spanish, you are mostly fit to plunge in. One guessing out the previous riddle and having the answer confirmed by the riddler may pose another question

cheers

So, Guinevere've got it right. Apologies for a delay

[Guinevere]

Never mind, H.I.! smilies/smile.gif I'll try some Italian again. (Shouldn't be too difficult for those who know French or Spanish or Latin... smilies/wink.gif ) "Canzoni come alberi portano frutti solo nel loro proprio tempo e nel loro proprio modo e talvolta sono appassiti intempestivo."

[HerenIstarion]

That's Treebeard to Merry and Pippin concerning lost entwives and their song-prophecied reunion:

Songs like trees bear fruit only in their own time and their own way: and sometimes they are withered untimely

[Guinevere]

Bravo, HerenIstarion! smilies/smile.gif
(Well, I was sure you could read it! But I wonder where all the other guessers are...)

[HerenIstarion]

Thanks Guinevere

Next one will be again in Russian:

"no u malenkix ptichek ne bilo kril'ev
tak chto je nam delat so smeshnimi maliutkami?'

good luck

[LePetitChoux]

The Song of the Goblins in the Hobbit!
(Sorry, I don't have the book on me smilies/confused.gif )

Edit: I meant the one sung when the Dwarves were up the trees)

[ October 15, 2003: Message edited by: LePetitChoux ]

[Seagull Jonathan L.]

Should we try Ukrainian?
Quote:
I zhilo u tiy pecheri slyz'ke chudovs'ko Gam gam.

[The Saucepan Man]

Hello there, Jonathan L Seagull, and welcome to the Downs. smilies/smile.gif

Please read the Quotable Quotes rules (http://forum.barrowdowns.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=6&t=000204), which set out the guidelines for participating in this forum (there are similar rules for the Quiz forum too).

As you will see, you must answer a question correctly (generally by identifying the given quote) before you can ask the next one. As it is, we are waiting for Heren Istarian to confirm Le Petit Choux's answer. Assuming that she's right, it will then be her turn to ask the next question.

Thanks for joining in, though, and I hope that you enjoy yourself here. smilies/smile.gif

[Seagull Jonathan L.]

Sorry.And thanks. I actualy i did read the rules,but after I posted the massage.Sorry again

[LePetitChoux]

HerenIstarion told me that I was correct by email (something is wrong with his computer at the moment), but I really can't think of anything, because I don't have my French dictionary on me and Russian would be kinda boring for the second time....so, I am going to pass the golden stick of Quizmastery over to Seagull Jonathan L.

[LePetitChoux]

Just to remind everyone of the quote, to avoid confusion:
Seagull Jonathan L. posted:
I zhilo u tiy pecheri slyz'ke chudovs'ko Gam gam.

My guess is that it's the description of Gollum in the Hobbit, (sorry, don't have the book on me) something along the lines of: "In that cave lived a rather slimy creature called Gollum."
smilies/smile.gif

[Seagull Jonathan L.]

Yep you are right.The translation is; In that cave lived slimy beast named Gollum

[LePetitChoux]

So....I'm boring and will do Russian yet again.

Esli ya smogu tebya spasti zhizn'yu ili smert'yu, to ya eto sdelayu.

Nice, short, easy one. smilies/smile.gif

[LePetitChoux]

Anyone?

[Mariska Greenleaf]

russian is like chinese to me... smilies/rolleyes.gif

[ November 07, 2003: Message edited by: Mariska Greenleaf ]

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

I don't have the book in front of me, but Aragorn at the Council of Elrond?

-Menelien

[LePetitChoux]

Could you possibly give the vague quote so I can tell which of Aragorn's many phrases you mean? Sorry for being picky! smilies/smile.gif

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

If, by my life or death, I can save you, I will.
smilies/smile.gif

-Menelien

[LePetitChoux]

Yes indeedy!
smilies/smile.gif

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

"Nu, _____," skazal ____, "kuda ty idesh?" "Shto eto tebe?" on otvetil.

-Menelien

Edit: Yeah, Russian again...

[ November 09, 2003: Message edited by: GaladrieloftheOlden ]

[LePetitChoux]

Sounds like something hobbity, but I can't say.
Gosh, it's so annoying when you can translate it, but can't find the actual quote! smilies/rolleyes.gif

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

Heh, I know what you mean. Want a hint? smilies/smile.gif

-Menelien

[LePetitChoux]

Oooh, yes please! smilies/smile.gif

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

It's in RotK. smilies/smile.gif

-Menelien

[LePetitChoux]

Found it! (I actually thought that this might be it...really. I did.)

"Well Saruman!" said Gandalf. "Where are you going?"

"What is that to you?" he answered.

smilies/smile.gif

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

Yep. Go on. smilies/smile.gif

-Menelien

[LePetitChoux]

"Dai im eto," skazal _______, ischa v svoyei sume, i dostavaya kozhaniy kurdiyuk. "Odin glotok- dlia nas vseh. Eto ochen tsenno. Eto ________, mors _______. _______ evo mne dal kogda my rasstalis'. Peredaite po krugu!"

Good luck.
smilies/smile.gif

(Russian again, boring old me)

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

Once again, no book on me, but Aragorn in FotR when he's handing out the miruvor at Caradhras?

-Menelien

[LePetitChoux]

Oooh, so close, so close....

[LePetitChoux]

Clue: right quote, wrong speaker

smilies/smile.gif

[vanwalossien]

Gandalf

[LePetitChoux]

Yes indeedy, it was Gandalf.
smilies/smile.gif

[Guinevere]

And what was that quote in English, if I may ask? (I hope the next quote will not be Russian again... smilies/wink.gif )

[vanwalossien]

That last quote in English will be "'Give them this,' said Gandalf, searching in his pack and drawing out a leathern flask. 'Just a mouthful each - for all of us. It is very precious. It is miruvor, the cordial of Imladris. Elrond gave it to me at our parting. Pass it round!'"

And Guinevere; next quote won't be in Russian, but Norwegian. Much better? smilies/wink.gif
Vel, dere trenger å bli passet på, det skal være visst; følget ditt kunne jo vært på ferie!

[ November 23, 2003: Message edited by: vanwalossien ]

[Guinevere]

Thank you, Vanwalossien! smilies/smile.gif And yes, Norwegian is MUCH better for me. (I spent a year in Norway once, and though it is 20 years ago, I still remember some Norsk! smilies/wink.gif )
So translating was no problem, but all the same it needed a lot of brainracking and searching in the books to find out who might have said that... "Well, you do want looking after and no mistake: your party might be on a holiday!" said Barliman Butterbur to Frodo, when they remembered that Merry hadn't come back from his evening stroll.

[vanwalossien]

Snakker du norsk? smilies/biggrin.gif Da var det vel ikke så vanskelig?
Very correct of course Guinevere, your turn.

[Guinevere]

Takk, Vanwalossien ! smilies/smile.gif
We haven't had a German Quote for some time. Hope that one isn't too easy smilies/wink.gif Wenn jemals jenseits der Hoffnung du zurückkehrst in die Lande der Lebenden, und wir unsere Geschichten wiedererzählen, an einer Mauer in der Sonne sitzend und über alten Kummer lachend, dann sollst du es mir erzählen.

[ 3:39 PM November 28, 2003: Message edited by: Guinevere ]

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

Hmm... hint?

-Menelien

[Mariska Greenleaf]

No hint needed!

Found it, after a very long search, I can tell you...

If ever beyond hope you return to the lands of the living and we retell our tales, sitting by a wall in the sun, laughing at old grief, you shall tell me then.

Faramir to Frodo.

[Guinevere]

Exactly, Mariska! smilies/smile.gif (sounds very different from Movie-Faramir, doesn't it! smilies/wink.gif )

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Allright!
The language will be dutch. Good luck!

"Hier is je zwaard," zei hij,"maar het was gebroken, weet je. Ik heb het veilig bewaard maar ik ben vergeten te vragen aan de smids of ze het konden hersmeden. Nu is er geen tijd meer... Dus dacht ik, misschien, wil je dit wel hebben, denk je niet?"

[Guinevere]

Oh, that's Bilbo to Frodo, in Rivendell, when he gives him Sting: "Here is your sword," he said, "But it was broken, you know. I took it to keep it safe but I've forgotten to ask if the smiths could mend it. Not time now. So I thought, perhaps, you would care to have this, don't you know?"

[Mariska Greenleaf]

That's the one!
Very good.

[Guinevere]

Thank you Mariska. Dutch isn't so far away from German... smilies/wink.gif
Hm, what language shall I use now smilies/rolleyes.gif French would be no challenge for Mariska smilies/wink.gif so I'll try Italian again. Ho forse il potere di guarire il suo corpo e di richiamarla dalla valle oscura. Ma a che cosa si sveglierà: alla speranza o alla dimenticanza o alla disperazione, non lo so. E se è alla disperazione, morrà, se non verrà un altra guarigione che io non posso portare. good luck!
smilies/evil.gif

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 5:15 PM December 16, 2003: Message edited by: Guinevere ]

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Italian is a great challenge, but you know, I used to have Latin in school and that kinda helped me with this one...

I have, maybe, the power to heal her body, and to recall her from the dark valley. But to what she will awake: hope, or forgetfulness, or despair, I do not know. And if to despair, then she will die, unless other healing comes which I cannot bring.

Aragorn to Eomer about Eowyn.

[Guinevere]

Very good, Mariska! smilies/smile.gif Brava!

[Mariska Greenleaf]

I'm going to make one in dutch again, all the other languages I know are far too easy for you, Guinevere! smilies/wink.gif
I hope this one is a bit harder...

" Niet slecht," zei ______,"Je zou er een goed verhaal van gemaakt hebben, hadden ze je niet voordurend onderbroken."

good luck!

[Evisse the Blue]

I've been waiting for quite a while to drop in, hope you don't mind smilies/wink.gif
Is this the one:
"Not bad", Bilbo said. "You would have made a good story of it, if they hadn't kept on interrupting."

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Right you are!
smilies/wink.gif

[Evisse the Blue]

I wanted to go for a Spanish quote, but then I decided for Portuguese, as it hadn't been done before:
Eu sei o que era que ultimo viu, ela disse, para que e tambem em minha mente. Nao tenha medo.

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 6:43 AM December 20, 2003: Message edited by: Evisse the Blue ]

[Guinevere]

"I know what it was that you last saw," she said, "for that is also in my mind. Do not be afraid!" Galadriel to Frodo after he has looked into her mirror.
(I was so lucky to find a old Portuguese dictionary in the house, that my mother once bought... smilies/smile.gif )

[Evisse the Blue]

You're correct, of course, Guinevere!

[Guinevere]

Thank you, Evisse! I'm lazy, so the Quote will be in German again... smilies/wink.gif
Es ist mehr Gutes in Dir als Du weisst, Kind des freundlichen Westens. Etwas Mut und etwas Weisheit gemischt im Ebenmass. Wenn mehr von uns Essen und Heiterkeit und Gesang höher schätzen würden als gehortetes Gold, so wäre es eine fröhlichere Welt.

[Mariska Greenleaf]

"There is more in you of gold than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."

Thorin to Bilbo.

[Guinevere]

Richtig, Mariska! (but "of good" not "of gold" , but I'm sure that's a typing mistake... smilies/wink.gif )

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Vielen dank!
And I'm sorry for the typo... smilies/rolleyes.gif

I decided to make one in french, et voilà!

"Et moi, je vais monter aussi," disait le roi," Je suis agé, et je n'ai plus peur du danger. Je veux parler avec l'ennemi qui m'a fait tant de mal."

Bonne chance smilies/wink.gif

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Anyone?
Hint needed?

[Evisse the Blue]

That's Theoden to Gandalf in TTT, about going to see Saruman:
"And I too will go up, said the king. I am old and I fear no peril any more.I wish to speak with the enemy who has done me so much wrong."

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Good work, Evisse!
Your turn smilies/wink.gif

[Evisse the Blue]

Thanks! Italian coming up:

Ma sembra impossibile in qualche modo di sentire triste o depresso in questo luogo. Sento che potrei cantare se ho saputo la canzone giusta per l'occasione.
This should be easy...

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 6:24 AM December 30, 2003: Message edited by: Evisse the Blue ]

[Mariska Greenleaf]

But it seems impossible somehow, to feel gloomy or depressed in this place. I feel I could sing, if I knew the right song for the occasion.

Pippin to Frodo in Rivendell.

[Evisse the Blue]

Exactly.

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Als je al deze dagen hebt rondgelopen met gesloten oren en een slapende geest, wordt dan nu wakker!

It's a Dutch one again, good luck! smilies/wink.gif

[Guinevere]

If you have walked all these days with closed ears and mind asleep, wake up now!" Gandalf says this to Pippin, when they have arrived in Minas Tirith, before going to see Denethor. (Apparently, Pippin still doesn't understand who Aragorn really is!)

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Correct of course, Guinevere. smilies/wink.gif
It was indeed the rather ignorant Pippin...

[Guinevere]

Thank you, Mariska.
Hm, what language shall I use now? smilies/rolleyes.gif I could translate into Norwegian, but some of those letters are not on my keybord... So I'll make it SwissGerman again. smilies/evil.gif
Of course I'll give you some hints, if needed.
"De --- isch en usgezeichnete Purscht und würd eme Drache in Rache gumpe um dich z'rette, wänn er nöd über sini eigene Füess stolpere würd; aber du wirsch meh als ein Begleiter bruche i dim gföhrliche Abentür."

[Guinevere]

usgezeichnet= excellent
Purscht= fellow

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Luckely you provided some hints!

Sam is an excellent fellow, and would jump down a dragon's throat to save you, if he did not trip over his own feet; but you will need more than one companion in your dangerous adventure.

Pippin to Frodo.

[Guinevere]

Excellent, Mariska!! smilies/smile.gif

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Thank you.

I decided to make one in Westflemish, this could be difficult, I will provide hints if you want to!

"Gie zegt da, zegt_______,"voe de schuld weg te pakken van dedeen da je gèrn ziet. Worom zoekt ie joen uut, en zit ie lange bie joen, en vertrekt ie weere zo bliede?"

good luck! smilies/evil.gif

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 10:35 AM January 08, 2004: Message edited by: Mariska Greenleaf ]

[Elrond of Rivendell]

I definitely would like a hint. smilies/biggrin.gif
Greetings,
EfR

[Guinevere]

So would I!
Does "zegt" mean says? And je = I ?And "Worom zoekt ie joen uut" = Why do I (?) seek ---- out? What's joen? Schuld = guilt ?
Otherwise I can make neither head nor tail of this... smilies/rolleyes.gif smilies/wink.gif You got me stumped!

[Mariska Greenleaf]

So I thought! smilies/biggrin.gif

Hints:
zegt: said
je/joen: you
schuld: blame

You translated the sentence almost perfectly Guinevere.
I hope this makes it easier... smilies/wink.gif

[Elrond of Rivendell]

I have now thought this over and over again and here are the results:
"He/she says this to take away the blame from him that you like to see. Why does he seek you, and ... ... a long time near you, and ??? ?"
I desperately need more hints.
Greetings, EfR

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Okay, I seem to have made a tiny mistake here, I will set it straight:

The first "zegt": say
The second "zegt": said ( I should have translated it by: "zei".)

lange: long
bie: with
bliede: glad

extra hint: it is not in LOTR!
smilies/wink.gif

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 10:36 AM January 08, 2004: Message edited by: Mariska Greenleaf ]

[Guinevere]

Finally got it, thanks to your hints, and also thanks to the guessings of Elrond-of-Rivendell!
It's Gwindor talking to Finduilas about Turin in U.T. "You say this," said Gwindor, "to take the blame from him you love. Why does he seek you out, and sit long with you, and come ever more glad away?"

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Bravo! smilies/smile.gif

[Guinevere]

Thank you, Mariska! That was quite difficult! Those "Gie" and "ie" and "je" confused me!

@ Elrond-of-Rivendell: would you perhaps like to proceed? Because it was really what you had found out, that brought me to the right track!

[Elrond of Rivendell]

Of course I would. smilies/rolleyes.gif
Thank you Guinevere.
So now I'm taking my revenge. smilies/biggrin.gif
This is a quote translated into Letzebuergesch (Luxembourgish):


Déng Zäit wärt kommen. Siew net trauresch, ______. Et kann een net emmer an zwee gerappt sin. Et muss een eenzeegen an ee Ganzt sinn während villen Joren. Et gett souvill, wou een sech drun freen kann, wat een sin kann an wat een maachen kann.

Have some fun. smilies/evil.gif
Please tell me if you need some hints.

Greetings,
EfR

[Guinevere]

Well, for me your dialect wasn't difficult at all! smilies/wink.gif It's Frodo at the Grey Havens, of course!
"Your time may come. Do not be too sad, Sam. You cannot be always torn in two. You will have to be one and whole, for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be, and to do."

(I guess you would understand Swissgerman dialect just as well, Elrond! smilies/wink.gif )

[Elrond of Rivendell]

Damn ... you got it dead right.
But maybe it was really too easy for you (I suppose you speak German, so Luxembourgish is very close). But I promise next time ... smilies/evil.gif
Please proceed Guinevere. smilies/smile.gif
Greetings,
EfR

[Guinevere]

Thank you! Sono seduto accanto al fuoco e rifletto su tutte le cose che ho visto, su fiori di campo e farfalle in estati che sono passate. (Italian again smilies/tongue.gif )

[Elrond of Rivendell]

I sit beside the fire and think of all that I have seen, of meadow-flowers and butterflies in summers that have been; [...]
Bilbo's song - The ring goes south - FotR

[Guinevere]

That's it! (It was probably too easy as well? smilies/wink.gif )

[Elrond of Rivendell]

Hehe if you speak Italian, the only difficulty is to look up the original quotation, but it was fine. smilies/biggrin.gif

So, I will now try French, although I suspect that this won't be too difficult either :

'C'est exactement ce que nous voudrions aussi,' dit _____. 'Nous ne sommes pas fatigués. Nous avons pris les choses à la légère. Nous étions mouillés, nous avions froid et faim, mais à tout cela on a maintenant remédié. Venez, asseyez-vous! Et si vous avez de l'herbe à fumer, nous allons vous bénir.'


Greetings,
EfR

[Guinevere]

Well, if no one else wants to have a go, I can't resist smilies/wink.gif: "That is just what we should like, too," said Gandalf. "We are not tired. We have been taking things easy. We were wet, cold and hungry, but all that you have cured.Come, sit down! And if you have any pipe-weed, we'll bless you." Gandalf to Barliman Butterbur, in "Homeward bound".

[Elrond of Rivendell]

So you speak French too. smilies/biggrin.gif
Alright then, nice work, please proceed. smilies/smile.gif
Greetings,
EfR

[Guinevere]

Thank you! smilies/smile.gif
Well,here is a another language I can speak: Norwegian: "Og nå la meg få være i fred en stund! Jeg vil ikke svare til en rekke av spørsmål mens jeg spiser. Jeg vil tenke!"
"Gode himmel!" sa ______, "til frokosten?" Good luck! smilies/wink.gif

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Apparently Norwegian and Dutch are somehow languages that have the same basis or something, because I immediately figured this one out:

"And now leave me in peace for a bit! I don't want to answer a string of questions while I'm eating. I want to think!"
"Good heavens," said Pippin,"At breakfast?"

That was Frodo having a conversation with Pippin.

[Guinevere]

Correct, of course, Mariska! smilies/tongue.gif smilies/wink.gif Well, all the Germanic languages are related...

[Mariska Greenleaf]

I honestly didn't know that Norwegian was considered as a germanic language... smilies/eek.gif

" Laat ons rusten, als we kunnen. De zaken zijn tot nu toe goed gegaan, en het grootste deel van onze donkere weg is voorbij. Maar we zijn er nog niet door, en het is nog een lange weg tot aan de Poort die de weg naar de wererld opent."

Dutch again, I hope you're not too bored by it... smilies/wink.gif

[Elrond of Rivendell]

'Let us rest, if we can. Things have gone well so far, and the greater part of the dark road is over. But we are not through yet, and it is a long way down to the Gates that open on the world.'

Gandalf speaks to the Fellowship in the Mines of Moria.
EDIT: The Fellowship of the Ring - A journey in the dark

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 5:27 PM January 14, 2004: Message edited by: Elrond of Rivendell ]

[Mariska Greenleaf]

That's the one!
You're up, Elrond. smilies/wink.gif

[Elrond of Rivendell]

Well thank you.
Now I've run out of languages. So I'm going to try my native tongue again, this one with a little tougher quote (or so I hope at least):

'Een oppenen Krich géif näischt bréngen; an souwisou as et fier dech onméiglech, een z'arrangéieren. Du wärs eppes méi einfaches and trotzdem méi kurajhéiertes probéiere mussen, en fait eppes verzweifeltes.'

(Quote in Luxembourgish)

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 7:30 PM January 15, 2004: Message edited by: Elrond of Rivendell ]

[Guinevere]

Hm, the words were not hard to understand, but it took me some time to figure out, where this quote comes from! smilies/wink.gif
"Open war would be quite useless; and anyway it is impossible for you to arrange it. You will have to try something simpler and yet bolder, indeed something desperate." Gandalf speaking to Thorin in "the Quest of Erebor".

[Elrond of Rivendell]

Again perfectly correct. Go on. smilies/smile.gif

Greetings,
EfR

[Guinevere]

Hm, I've run out of languages as well, it seems; so I'll resort to my native dialect too! smilies/wink.gif "Er würd mit mer cho, natürli, wänn ich en würd frage. Tatsächli hät er das emal aapotte, grad vor em Fäscht. Aber er wott nüd würkli ga, nanig. Ich wott s'wilde Land wider gseh, bevor ich stirbe, und d'Bärge; aber er isch na verliebt is Aueland, mit Wälder, Fälder und Bächli. God luck!

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 10:44 AM January 18, 2004: Message edited by: Guinevere ]

[Elrond of Rivendell]

Hehe, it was probably too easy, but I simply could not resist. smilies/biggrin.gif

'He would come with me, of course, if I asked him. In fact he offered to once, just before the party. But he does not really want to, yet. I want to see the wild country again before I die, and the Mountains; but he is still in love with the Shire, with woods and fields and little rivers.'

LotR - FotR - A long-expected Party - Bilbo Baggins to Gandalf just prior to his departure.

Greetings,
EfR

[Guinevere]

Exactly! smilies/smile.gif smilies/tongue.gif smilies/wink.gif

[Elrond of Rivendell]

Well to keep this thread going, I will now try something I haven't done for years (Latin). But this will need some time of elaboration. smilies/biggrin.gif

Edit: Mmhmm. Latin is tougher than I thought. So I will try Portuguese instead. smilies/smile.gif

'Nós podemos nao entendê-lo, mas aquela raposa velha nos entende', disse _____. 'Figue atento agora e veja o que acontece.'

EfR

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 2:02 PM January 20, 2004: Message edited by: Elrond of Rivendell ]

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

Hint, please. smilies/smile.gif

-Menelien

[Guinevere]

I attempted to translate this long ago, but I've no idea where it is from...
What's the exact meaning of "entende"?

What I have understood so far is this:
"We cannot understand (or recognize?) him, but this fox scoundrel understands (recognizes) us." said _________. "Pay attention now what happens."

Perhaps someone else recognizes this?

[Guinevere]

Isn't there anyone who can solve this? :rolleyes: Or could you give a hint, Elrond?

[HerenIstarion]

That'd be Balin about the thrush

We may not understand him, but that old bird understands us, I am sure,' said Balin. 'Keep watch now, and see what happens!

but why translate bird as fox?

[Guinevere]

So that's the answer to this riddle! :D
Well, in my portuguese dictionary raposa i translated as fox. That put me completely off the track!
And I guessed "velha" wrongly ..

[HerenIstarion]

well, I was led to consider passing foxes and sleeping be... I mean, hobbits at first too, but those bits about understanding, and 'old' too, made the thing :)

Yet, de jure, we need Elrond's confirmation, of course

[Elrond of Rivendell]

Well, here's Elrond's confirmation and his sincere apologies for the bird/fox mixing up. I don't what went wrong, but I was SO sure about raposa. :(
Next time, I will check every single word in my dictionary. :D
Anyway, it is your turn Heren Istarin.
Greetings,
EfR

[HerenIstarion]

No worries, mate, no worries :)

next one will be Russian (in latin transliteration):

Ia snova eto chuvstvuiu, otec. Vosemnadcat let eto bolshoi srok dlia posta. Ia s trudom leju v posteli, s trudom ezju na loshadi, I tverdaia kamennaia zemlia ranit moi stopi

dare your luck

[Guinevere]

Well, yes, I certainly do need a hint; but where are all those who know Russian (Galadriel of the Olden, Le petit Choux etc) ? Perhaps we scared them away by so many posts in French, Dutch, German , Italian etc ? :( I do hope they will come back, though .;)

[HerenIstarion]

Well, in hope they indeed appear, I will give you a clue as of context - the conversation the quote is extracted of takes place between father and son

In case they appear not:

vosemnadcat - eighteen
dlia posta - for fast
otec - father

Good luck :)

[Guinevere]

Thanks for these most useful hints, Heren Istarion! :)

This is mostly guesswork, apart from your hints I only managed to find out the last two words = my feet. ( zemlia = land ?)
So I assume it is Aldarion talking to Meneldil:
"It has come upon me again, Atarinya. Eighteen years is a long fast. I can scarce lie still in a bed, or hold myself upon a horse, and the hard ground of stone wounds my feet."

Another question: what does Bolshoi mean ?? ( I have heard of the Bolshoi theatre...)

[HerenIstarion]

bolshoi = big, great
srok = period, time

so 'bolshoi srok dlia posta'='long time for a fast'='is a long fast'

zemlia = land, but may mean ground too,
kamennaia = of stone
s trudom= with labor (hence 'scarce')

you've got it. Pray proceed :)

[Guinevere]

Thank you, HerenIstarion. :)

Und lass Dein Herz nicht traurig sein, obwohl die Nacht dem Tag folgen muss, und bereits zieht unser Abend näher.

[LePetitChoux]

I am very pleasantly surprised that I can actually understand that (I guess two and a half years of Deutsch haven't gone to waste!)... but now I just have to get stuck on Who Said It. May I please have a clue? :rolleyes:

And yes, I am very much back.

[Guinevere]

A wife said it to her husband. It's in LotR.

[Estanesse]

And let not your heart be sad though night must follow noon, and already our evening draweth nigh.

Galadriel to Celeborn

[Guinevere]

And you wouldn't have needed a clue, would you, Estanesse!

[Estanesse]

Your hint was helpful but I would have found the quote without the hint, I think.
The next quote will be in Dutch.

Zou je mij niet naar hem toe willen brengen? Want dan zul je het weten.

Good luck :)

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Will you not bring me to him? Then you will know

Eowyn to the warden of the House of Healing.

[Estanesse]

It is your turn Mariska Greenleaf to translate so that we can retranslate it!

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Dankuwel!

En français:

A cette escalier personne ne peut monter, sauve le Roi, et celui q'il ammène avec lui, s'il les demande de lui suivre

Good luck.

[HerenIstarion]

that'd be Isildur:

Up this stair let no man climb, save the King, and those that he brings with him, if he bids them follow him

About the Hill of Awe

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Absolutely right of course!
I was a bit worried about my french translation, but it apparently wasn't that bad...:)

[HerenIstarion]

I was a bit worried about my french translation, but it apparently wasn't that bad

It may prove a dubious compliment :smokin:, but my French is not good enough to tell the difference

To let you have an example, the next one in French too (so let me be a bit worried this time):

Quand même, il est plus sûr d'aller au nord, même s'il semble que vous allez à l'inverse plus proche vers leurs forteresses

[Guinevere]

I have no problems with translating that, but I have no idea where to find it. (THEIR fortresses (or strongholds) ? :rolleyes: )
Any clues?

[HerenIstarion]

strongholds

Just think a bit about who may have had strongholds in the North (by the end of Third Age, mind you)

[Althern]

I think I am in the same place as Guinevere; the translation was no problem, but trying to think of dialogue that relates to strongholds (plural?) in the north is proving somewhat troublesome. Another clue perhaps?

[HerenIstarion]

As many as you like :)

The conversation took place on the western edge of Mirkwood, a bit less than thirty years before Frodo's birth

Hope this helps

[Althern]

Beorn to Thorin's company:
Still you are safer going north, even though you seem to be going back nearer to their strongholds
(I needed the clues though... I am far too LoTR-centric)

[HerenIstarion]

That nails it. Have a go :)

[Althern]

Since I am new, I have chosen something ridiculously easy, but in a somewhat less well known language.
Nos, drága barátaim, most, itt a tengerparton ér véget a szövetségünk. Menjetek békével. Nem mondom, hogy ne sírjatok; mert nem minden könny keserû.

[HerenIstarion]

It seems a quote worth revealing a clue or two. For it may be easy, but the language is mystic :) (Hungarian, I suppose, but I do not own a dictionary and could not locate online dictionaries as well, alas)

[Althern]

Yes, it is Hungarian. The quote is from RoTK (and you can find an online dictionary here (http://dict.sztaki.hu/english-hungarian)).

[HerenIstarion]

thanks a bunch :)

unfortunately, the link you rovided us with is to English-Hungarian dictionary...

[Althern]

That's the default setting of the dictionary. At the top of the page is a little arrow that shows the direction of the translation. If you click on this, it will change direction, and you can translate from Hungarian to English.

The trick with Hungarian is that grammatical operators (verb conjugations, prepositions, posession, etc) appear as suffixes to the base stem, which makes it murder for translation programs. So if you can't find a word, try deleting the last few letters and searching again until you get the stem. e.g. barát = friend, barátaim = my friends.

[HerenIstarion]

I was clicking desperately on the right side boxes. silly me...

It is hard to operate with dictionary, you know? I ended up as translating my guesses backwards (i.e. English to Hungarian). That has to do with the following quote by you:

appear as suffixes to the base stem

Same for us. That is, I reckon, why there is no Georgian online dictionary whatsoever :)

barát = friend, barátaim = my friends

You should have started with it :) nice, nice. What with alleged triviality of the quote, and my suspicions as of meaning of nos=well and most=at last and bekevel as something to do with peace, whilst still more something feeling like the shore, the sea and lamentation, I am darinig enough to utter a guess:

Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil

That'd be Gandalf

*wipes his brow

uh

[Althern]

You are, of course, spot on. Excellent work. The floor is yours.

The dictionary is a problem. As you saw, it is of limited use unless you know the grammar enough to recognise the stems or get lucky with something with the same ending appearing in the expression database. For your information, most = now, béke = peace, békével = with peace/in peace, tenger = sea, part = bank/shore, thus, tengerparton = on the sea shore. I guess the hardest things, like always, are verbs. There were four here, including irregular megy = go, menjetek = you go (2nd person plural imperative), which is impossible to get from any dictionary.

[HerenIstarion]

That's why after grasping the suspicions as to possible quote, I've started tranlsating backwards - English to Hungarion. If the result was in any way reminiscent of the words in your translation, I counted it as the ten mark and went on.

Now is my turn to torment you, than :rolleyes: So it is Georgian:


mSvenieria! – Tqva ________. – magram am dilas rgolebis gamosaSvebad ar mcxela – Tavgadasavals vawyob da kidev erTi monawile mWirdeba, misi monaxva ki arc Tu ise advilia.

mSvenieria=verry pretty
rgolebi=rings
Tavgadasavali=adventure

I think you've got enough clues to work it out :)

[Althern]

I think this is Gandalf again:Very pretty!" said Gandalf. "But I have no time to blow smoke-rings this morning. I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it's very difficult to find anyone.
(I found an online Georgian lexicon, and a description of the grammar, but it was the fonts that defeated me in the end. So, I had to guess.)

From the grammar: dagvalevinebdito ("'you would give it to us to drink', he said") may be broken down into the following grammatical units: da-gv-a-lev-in-eb-d-i-t-o preverb – indirect object marker – pre-radical vowel – verb root (-lev- "drink") – causative marker – present/future stem formant – stem augment – screeve marker – plural marker – indirect speech marker.
Yipes! This agglutination is far, far worse than anything I have ever experienced in Hungarian (at least 4 words are needed for this).

[HerenIstarion]

fonts re: that's why I transliterate it in Latin

Online lexicon re: I should have said back in one of my previous: That is, I reckon, why there is no Georgian online dictionary whatsoever (as far as I know)

Would you mind providing a link? I'm curious to take a glance

Yipes! This agglutination is far, far worse than anything I have ever experienced in Hungarian

I feel somehow proud (silly of me, I know, yet still). We have even a word with 7 consonants in a row (the unique thing to the best of my knowledge):

vbrdgvnit - we tear it apart right now (used as a battlecry by yours truly in various competitions to bring good luck about, usually shouted by a team with hands held together, what with Georgian reputation, must have been giving opponents willies all right ;))

I should say also that similar thing may be found in Arabic as well (though languages are not related whatsoever, even if we have picked up a lot of arabic words, what with Arab invasion back in 7th century and what not), where one should know the stem to find thing in the dictionary (as the words are listed by the stem letter, not by one they actually start with, so 'fa'ala', 'mif'al' and 'Tafa'ul" will all be found on the F page, under f'l stem

I should confess in trickery too - I used an idiom in a tranlsation too (so it is not word to word) - ar mcxela - literally means "I do not feel hot", and may be translated as "I have no time for that", but in a bit of a rural way (not the expression to be uttered whilst, say, attending an official meeting, but has a lot go in between in casual conversation

So, after torturing you for half a page, I finally has driven to the point

You are right, pray proceed

[Althern]

This is the Georgian lexicon (http://sisauri.tripod.com/lexicon/INDEX3.htm) that I found by following the links from yourDictionary.com

As Hungarian and English are the only languages that I feel comfortable translating into, I will have to subject you to some more magyarul:
Nem koldus módra, mondta _______, hanem, mondjuk, a kószák kapitányának módjára, aki nem szokott városokhoz, koházakhoz.
Clues. koldus = beggar, kószák = rangers, and the worst agglutination is -akhoz/okhoz = to the (something, plural)

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Is it this one?

"Not a beggar, said Aragorn, say a captain of the Rangers , who are unused to cities and houses of stone."

[Althern]

Too easy, I see. Please proceed.

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Too easy, I see. Please proceed

If it weren't for the clues, I wouldn't have found it in a 1000 years...

New one, Dutch again...

"Luister naar me, Heer!"zei hij, "Nu voelen we het gevaar waarvoor we gewaarschuwd waren. Zijn we dan naar de overwinning gereden, enkel om versteld te staan door een oude leugenaar met honing op zijn gevorkte tong?"

If clues are needed, let me know.

[HerenIstarion]

that'd be Eomer to Theoden at Saruman's door:

Lord, hear me!' he said. 'Now we feel the peril that we were warned of. Have we ridden forth to victory, only to stand at last amazed by an old liar with honey on his forked tongue

[Mariska Greenleaf]

That was fast!
And correct of course... :smokin:

[HerenIstarion]

Well, I don't know Dutch to be sure, but with 'honing' on the 'tong' and 'Luister naar me, Heer' it was not hard to work out even without online dictionary ;)

It may not be the case for the insiders, but for outsiders (that is, those with native tongue not of Indo-European family) all European languages (again, that is, apart from Magyarul above and Finnish, o'course) look very much alike after several hard glances at :))

so, the next one will be Russian:

proshu proschenia, no ia nikak ne dumal, chto vi vse eche v dele

[Althern]

Time for a guess: Bilbo to Gandalf
I beg your pardon, but I had no idea you were still in business.

[HerenIstarion]

That's your guy. And another one too. Go on :)

[Althern]

I'm still limited by what I can translate into, so more of the same unfortunately:
"Talán", mondta a tünde, "de lehet, hogy itt még egy nehéz csizma sem hagyna nyomot; suru a gyep és rugalmas."
Clues: talán = maybe, csizma = boot

[HerenIstarion]

Legolas, considering possibilities of tracking kidnapped Pippin and Merry

Maybe,' said the Elf; 'but a heavy boot might leave no print here: the grass is deep and springy
so, elf is tünde, is it?

[Althern]

6 minutes! I see I am going to have to dust off some very rusty Japanese or think of some serious agglutination to stay interesting. You are right of course, on both counts. Tünde is elf (with very strong overtones of fairy, törpe is dwarf, with strong overtones of smurf).

[HerenIstarion]

smurf? You mean, all of the Hungarian dwarves are in money-loundering business ;)?

Ma sha'i tu'rid anta? Hal anta turid li anna as-sabaha-l khair, av anta tufaqqir sabahi haza al-khair, duna ta'rif maza ufaqqir ana?

It is Arabic (or at least, I prefer to believe so) It has to be short, since I do not have my dictionary with me. Next time I guess, it will be something really long and hard, he-he (teach you right and proper for frightening me with Japanese ;))

As for clues, I reckon you all figured out my Hobbit-centrism with quotes in foreign

[Althern]

I searched for arabic dictionaries that took latin transliteration as input, but without success. I searched for transliteration guides so I could write in arabic to use the standard dictionaries, but without success. I also read a few 'teach yourself' arabic courses. But in the end, after failing linguistically, I rejected all of this knowledge, took another look at the sentence structure and guessed. Gandalf to Bilbo.
"What do you mean?" he said. "Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it not?"

[HerenIstarion]

You judged wisely (what with my pidgin Arabic and all :rolleyes: ). The answer is correct, so over to you

[Althern]

Your arabic, pidgin or not, made little difference. The only things I managed to translate were anna/ana = I, me; haza = this; sabaha/sabahi = morning. The rest was pure guesswork. Unfortunately, my quote is more Hungarian, because I don't have a Japanese dictionary handy.
"Ma már kevés emlékeznek rájuk", dünnyögte ___, "de néhány még vándorolják, elfelejtett királyok fiai, egyedüllétben járnak, óvják a figyelmetlen embereket a gonosztól."

[The Saucepan Man]

This thread has stretched over the 10 page limit, so it's time it was closed.

Althern, please could you post the rules for the game and your latest question on a new thread.

Thanks. :)

[Althern]

According to LePetitChox, the rules for this game are to find a quote and translate it literally into another language. That is, not just selecting a quote from, say, the German translation, but to actually translate it yourself. Any language is fine, but if they use a different alphabet (e.g. Cyrillic) then you also have to transliterate it into latin characters. Dead languages also count.

The current quote is Hungarian:
"Ma már kevés emlékeznek rájuk", dünnyögte ___, "de néhány még vándorolják, elfelejtett királyok fiai, egyedüllétben járnak, óvják a figyelmetlen embereket a gonosztól."

[HerenIstarion]

Well, however I try, I can not come up with something articulate:

*** already scarcely remember the rays, chanted ____ , *** several *** wondering forgotten king *** alone *** *** *** mindless people to evil

does not make much sens, eh? Be so kind, and give up some clues, please :)

[Althern]

Well! I thought this thread was as dead as Dinaan's cat. I was actually thinking of trying to put the quote into French to generate some interest.

Your guess is not too bad actually. It is from FoTR. For rájuk, use 'them', and for fiai, use 'sons of'. Also, I used 'dünnyögte' for mumbled or murmured. And if you change 'people to evil' to 'people from evil' then you will have it solved.

[HerenIstarion]

that did it! thanks! (as I thought dünnyögte to mean 'chant' I was after singing species in all the books. But all guessed riddles are so easy in an afterthought, and so hard to break from the start :))

That was Tom Bombadil, reflecting sad story of the Kings of Arnor:

Few now remember them,' Tom murmured, 'yet still some go wandering, sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness, guarding from evil things folk that are heedless

PS Who is Dinaan and why is his car dead?

[Althern]

Spot on. Over to you.

As for Dinaan, I once read the phrase 'as dead as Dinaan's cat' in a book by Jack Vance. In context it meant something quite dead. According to Google (the final word in our times), there is no such thing as Dinaan or his cat. So, it just remains a phrase that I steal from time to time, because I like the way it sounds. Who knows? If more people use it, it could become colloquial language.

[HerenIstarion]

Allrighty than. Another quick search showed dinaan to mean 'date' ins sanscrit. What is has to do with dead mammals, remains obscure :)

As for the next, it will be french for a change:

Si vous souhaitez savoir, je vous dirai que ces portes ouvrent en dehors. De l'intérieur vous pouvez pousser les ouvre avec vos mains. De l'extérieur rien ne déplacera les mais le charme d'ordre

[The Saucepan Man]

... I can see that one. :)


If you wish to know, I will tell you that these doors open outwards. From the inside you may thrust them open with your hands. From the outside nothing will move them save the spell of command.

Gandalf to the Fellowship outside Moria, concerning the Doors of Durin.

[HerenIstarion]

Absolutely. Over to you :)

[The Saucepan Man]

Thanks, H-I. But, as I said, I'm no linguist (I'm English, after all ;) ). So any attempt by me at translation would most likely be doomed to failure.

I will therefore turn the thread over to anyone who wants to post the next quote.

[HerenIstarion]

Not to let it die, Russian for now:


- Uh! Vot i oni, - skazal on loshadiam, - Na vid, vrode, ne opasnie. Mojete idti!

[Guinevere]

Could you give a hint, please? I haven't been able to find out any of the words... :confused:

[HerenIstarion]

well, of course:

loshadi - horses
opasniy - dangerous

:)

[HerenIstarion]

East of Misty Mountains, west of Mirkwood

[Guinevere]

Thank you for the hints! The last one helped a lot. :)

It can only be Beorn, at the arrival of Gandalf and Bilbo:
"Ugh! here they are!" he said to the horses. "They don't look dangerous. You can be off!"

[HerenIstarion]

corrrrect! your shot, my lady :)

[Guinevere]

Thank you, HerenIstarion!
Aber es gibt viel zu lesen in diesem Buch, und ich kann nicht behaupten, mehr gesehen zu haben als eine oder zwei Seiten.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

I recognize this quote, but haven't found it in the book yet, so this is an approximate translation: But there is much to read in this book, and I cannot claim to have seen more than one or two pages. It speaks of Gandalf, and the speaker could be Aragorn, though I'm not sure of that...

[Guinevere]

You're right that it is about Gandalf, but it isn't Aragorn who says it.

[HerenIstarion]

T'was Pippin to Beregond in Minas Tirith. I suppose it is better to give the whole of the passage, for I like it very much (it is wonderful feeling, after loads of time being smallest of the company and not even out of twins, to be treated as prince of halflings and person of great importance, eh?):

I am named Beregond son of Baranor. I have no duty this morning, and I have been sent to you to teach you the pass-words, and to tell you some of the many things that no doubt you will wish to know. And for my part, I would learn of you also. For never before have we seen a halfling in this land and though we have heard rumour of them, little is said of them in any tale that we know. Moreover you are a friend of Mithrandir. Do you know him well?’

‘Well, I have known of him all my short life, as you might say; and lately I have travelled far with him. But there is much to read in that book, and I cannot claim to have seen more than a page or two. Yet perhaps I know him as well as any but a few. Aragorn was the only one of our Company, I think, who really knew him

[Guinevere]

Exactly, Heren Istarion :)
As I recently said in another of these Quote threads: I think the real reason why we play these games is not only the fun of guessing, but to have a pretext to post those sentences we're fond of...

But it's a pity that there are only so few that frequent this thread nowadays... :( I loved the variety of posters and languages!

[HerenIstarion]

Very true. And the founder being missed for some months too. Latest investigarions show that LePetitChoux've been here not so long ago, in May, that is, so it gives us hope she'll show up one day :)

Well, watching grey light of dawn creeping along the floor of my room, I have no chance rummaging with languages I have no great mastery of, so its Russian again:

Da vi vse tut v zagovore! skazal ___ roniaa ___ na stenu. Nikogda bolshe ne budu imet del s volshebnikami i ix priateliami! Chto skajesh, potomok kris?

not to make it too complicated, let me tell you that:

krisa = rat

dare your luck :D

[HerenIstarion]

in The Hobbit, nearer to its end, if the hint is qhat's required :)

[Guinevere]

I had been looking at all the orc speeches in the LotR (remembering some such insult somewhere) but of course in vain.
Well, thanks to your hint I guess I've found it now; it must be Thorin to Bilbo, after Bilbo had confessed about the arkenstone.

"You seem all in leage!" said Thorin dropping Bilbo on the top of the wall. "Never again will I have dealings with any wizard or his friends. What have you to say, you descendant of rats?"

[HerenIstarion]

correct :)

[Guinevere]

Thank you! Let's try some French again:

La longue vie qu'ils étaient garantis les deçoit , et ils lambinent dans le monde, des enfants en esprit, jusqu'à ce que la vieillesse les trouve, et alors beaucoup d'entre eux abandonnent seulement les jeux de dehors par des jeux dans leur maisons.

[HerenIstarion]

Be ashamed those who blame Tolkien of inability to describe gender relationships. That'd be Erendis, in her complaint about men in general, but particularly aimed at Aldarion:

The long life that they were granted deceives them, and they dally in the world, children in mind, until age finds them – and then many only forsake play out of doors for play in their houses

[Guinevere]

and somehow it isn't only applicable to Númenoreans only... ;)

[HerenIstarion]

But I do not feel very much inclined to fetch my dictionaries right now (it is so cozy in this chair, if you only knew...), so it is one of the two I need no lexicon with for the next serving, that is, Russian:



'Ti chto, xochesh skazat, chto uje bival v etoi dire? skazal ____, Fu! No, navernoe, von' tebe nipochem.'

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Could you perhaps provide a little hint? I'm completely clueless here... :rolleyes:

[HerenIstarion]

dira = hole
von' (with a softened n in the end) = smell, especially, bad smell
nipochem = expression implying that something has no effect on someone, may be translated as 'don't care'

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Aaah, that makes it a lot clearer, thank you very much!

D'you mean to say you've been through this hole before? said Sam. Phew! But perhaps you don't mind bad smells.

Sam to Gollum.

[HerenIstarion]

Exactly :) Do go on

[Mariska Greenleaf]

I most certainly will.
And being "le quatorze juillet" today, national feast in France, I will make up a french one...

" C'est bon d'apprendre qu'il sont encore vivants" disait -------- " parce qu' ils ont causé grand effort à nous dans notre march à -------, et je ne veux pas que ces efforts seront pour rien."

[HerenIstarion]

That must be Gimli, as three hunters spoke with Gandalf and learned that Pippin and Merry were alive, but I was not able to locate the exact quote as yet. Would it suffice? If yes, please provide an original too, ok?

[HerenIstarion]

Ah, not in the forest, but later. Ninny-willy I am!

It is Gimli, and he talks to Legolas, but in the Minas-Tirith, much later than my first guess.

It is good to learn that they are still alive,’ said Gimli; ‘for they cost us great pains in our march over Rohan, and I would not have such pains all wasted

Sorry for wasting your time :)

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Sorry for wasting your time

Haha, don't worry about it!
The floor is yours again... :)

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Dear Heren, would you be so kind to make up a new one? ;)

[HerenIstarion]

My apologies for a delay, sorry.

Dear Mariska,

Would you be so kind to take it over again? Just I find myself a tiny bit busy of late (the drop of freqency of my posting may have been noted :( ). I will certainly come back when circumstances elswhere take the grip off me

thanks and cheers :)

[Mariska Greenleaf]

I will gladly do so.
This next one is in Dutch, good luck!

"Het is lang geleden sinds ik een kind was. Ik heb nu een wil en wijsheid van mezelf, maar tot op heden heeft het de jouwe niet gekruist. Ik ga mee met je."

[Guinevere]

Ah, something easier than Russian ! ;)

"It is long since I was a child. I have a will and wisdom of my own, though until now it has not crossed yours. I go with you."

Nienor to Morwen

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Well, I knew it wouldn't be hard for you, well done! ;)

[Guinevere]

Thank you. :)
How about some Swiss-German again ?
"Da häsch es!" isch d'Antwort cho. "Es isch alles ganz nutzlos. Er hät's sälber gseit. Du bisch dä Narr, wo imme wiiter hofft und sich abmüet. Ihr hetted chöne abligge und zäme iischlafe scho vor Tage, wänn du nüd so störrisch gsii wärsch. Aber ihr wärded grad glich stärbe oder na schlimmer. Du chönntisch grad so guet abligge und ufgää."

[Mariska Greenleaf]

I've been pondering about this one for a long time now, determined to solve it, but alas, this Swiss German proves to be too hard for me without a hint (or two)...
;)

[HerenIstarion]

Don't count that as pride and arrogance, Mariska, I do not intend to show off :) I simply forgot about it. I suppose I know the answer - it is Sam and Sam's inner voice in Mordor:

There you are!’ came the answer. ‘It’s all quite useless. He said so himself. You are the fool, going on hoping and toiling. You could have lain down and gone to sleep together days ago, if you hadn’t been so dogged. But you’ll die just the same, or worse. You might just as well lie down now and give it up. You’ll never get to the top anyway

Antwort (answer), Narr (Fool), hofft (hopes) and Tage (days) gave it away, and 'alles ganz nutzlos' sounded like 'all came to zero=nothing=useless :)

cheers

[Guinevere]

Well done indeed, Heren Istarion! :)
(I had been hesitating whether I should give some hints...)

[HerenIstarion]

Russian to go on:

"Redko v techenii moey jizni xot' kakaia-libo lodka prixodila s severa, a na vostochnom beregu mnojatsa orki" - skazal _____, - "Esli vi poidete vpered, opasnost budet rasti s kajdoi milei, daje esli vi smojete naiti put' "

lodka = boat
redko = rarely
sever = North
opasnost = danger

[Mariska Greenleaf]

"Seldom in my life has any boat come out of the North, and the orcs prowl on the east-shore, " said Boromir, " If you go forward, peril will grow with every mile, even if you find a path."

Boromir to Aragorn.

[HerenIstarion]

Spot on. Take it over :)

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Thanks!

The next one will be in dutch...

"Hij mag dan wel van schepen houden, mijn dochter, omdat ze gemaakt zijn door het verstand en de handen van mannen; maar ik denk dat het niet de winden of de grote zeeën zijn die zijn hart in vuur zetten, en ook niet de aanblik van vreemde landen, maar een warmte in zijn hoofd, of één of andere droom die hem achtervolgt."

[Mithalwen]

"Ships he may love, my daughter, for those are made by men's minds and hands; but I think that it is not the winds or the great waters that so burn his heart, nor yet the sight of strange lands, but some heat in his mind, or some dream that pursues him." Nuneth to Erendis, Aldarion and Erendis, Unfinished Tales.

[Mariska Greenleaf]

Good job!! Your turn.

[Mithalwen]

With many apologies since it is a very long time sinceI attempted a French prose piece and my "serieux" dictionary has disintegrated - and I am afraid - you will have to manage without accents :( :

"Mais, pour tout cela, La Mort ne partit pas du pays. Au contraire elle venait plus tot et plus souvent et en catamini. Antan, les hommes viellissaient lentement et se coucherent a reposer finalement, quand ils se lassaient enfin du monde, alors la folie et la maladie les assaillaient, pourtant ils avaient peur de mourir, d'entrer dans le noir, le royaume du seigneur qu'ils avaient pris, et ils se maudissaient dans leur agonie."

[HerenIstarion]

It's from AKALLABÊTH. Technically it is not a quote, but a description of a decay that befell the men of Westernesse in the time of last kings:

But for all this Death did not depart from the land, rather it came sooner and more often, and in many dreadful guises. For whereas aforetime men had grown slowly old, and had laid them down in the end to sleep, when they were weary at last of the world, now madness and sickness assailed them; and yet they were afraid to die and go out into the dark, the realm of the lord that they had taken; and they cursed themselves in their agony

[Mithalwen]

It's from AKALLABÊTH. Technically it is not a quote, but a description of a decay that befell the men of Westernesse in the time of last kings:


Sorry .... lost track of the rules ..was thinking quote from book rather than quote of person :o .. but you are quite right....... so silly of me ... I could have done without the past historic!!! It is all yours HI

[HerenIstarion]

Sorry .... lost track of the rules ..was thinking quote from book rather than quote of person

No worries :). Make sure you make it clear next time, though - that is, mark it with 'author's narrative' flag or something :)

Well, well, well. It seems we haven't had obscure languages for a while. Let it be Arabic:

A’mallu an la eestaruhhu abadan ar-reehee t-tufahee

Not to make it impossible right from the start, here's the clue:

At-tufah=apple

PS And I hope there are no Arabs proper around to mock out my pathetic attempts :)

[Guinevere]

Hm, I can only think of two instances where apples are mentioned, and all three sentences somehow don't fit this arabic quote. In two of them, the apples aren't at the end , and the third sentence is too short. :rolleyes:

[HerenIstarion]

The original the quote is translated from has the apples not exactly in the end, but one word prior. I don't know the proper grammatical term in English, but in Arabic, if something belongs/proceeds to/from something else, the 'owner/originator' has to be put in the end of the construction, if you follow my meaning

Clumsy paragon: in English, 'Donny's book' and 'book of Donny' are equally correct forms, in Arabic only 'book of Donny' may be used

Another hint: Quoth the Dwarven (Nevermore)

[Mithalwen]

And yet they are not quite interchangeable ... and now I know exactly what it is - it is the dwarf who grumbled about his barrel smelling of apples and he was hungry but now out he could eat anything for hours on end - but not an apple ... and I don't have the Hobbit with me and I can't remember the dwarf's name - but it wan't Quoth!

So are you an Edgar Allen Poe fan or is that just from TP? :p

[HerenIstarion]

'Mithalwen, say I, 'My Lady, my applauses for your lore;
For the fact is it was Fili and so grumbling he came nagging,
With his empty belly sagging, soaked on the barrel floor,
That he scarce was sure he heard him- Bilbo opening freedom's door!'

Exact quote is the following:

I hope I never smell the smell of apples again

Nevermore (in this case, never + again) = abadan

Now you serve, and nothing more!

[Mithalwen]

Why thank you kind sir ... I rather hoped someone might produce the exact quote and spare me the unequal struggle a little longer.... at least I can spare myself teh past historic if I quote speech ... but the perfect tense has all those horrid agreeements ... Alors ...... it will alas be French again .... unless I find a short and simple quote......

Quoth the raven was a bit of a joke even before Mr Pratchett ..... someone famous, after a especially disagreable stay wrote in the Visitor's book of some hosue or hotel "Quoth the Raven..." :rolleyes:

[HerenIstarion]

Um, seems you forgot to give us a quote, my lady ;)

[Mithalwen]

Didn't forget.... still puzzling over verb tables and lexicons.. ...tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow..

[Mithalwen]

"Le destin ne tient toujours qu' a un fil" Of course there should be an accent on the a

[Mithalwen]

Is my French so bad or is a clue required? It is the kind of cheerful thing he would say...

[Guinevere]

Your French is excellent, but the sentence hasn't rung a bell yet... ;) Is it in LotR ?

[Mithalwen]

Since this has been so long, I shall be more specific... it is in the Two Towers and you have a little clue as to who.. :)

[Guinevere]

Found it at last ! :) It's Gandalf to Théoden :

"Doom hangs still on a thread"

[Mithalwen]

Yes thats it - Hooray!!!!! It is tricksy - I find it hard to locate and I chose it!!! Well done!!!

[Guinevere]

Thank you, Mithalwen! :)

How about some Italian ?
Un uomo che fugge della sua paura puó trovare che ha soltanto preso un abrevviazione per incontrarla.

[Mithalwen]

I always meant to learn italian properly ... hmm can make out a few words but so far a bit beyond my coffee ordering, room booking skills combined with a fondness for opera and a small pinch of latin :(

[Guinevere]

But in fact, Italian is rather similar to French... ( My Italian is founded on my knowlegde of French! ;) perhaps you try looking at it from that viewpoint. ;)
Fuggire = fuir, paura = peur

[Mithalwen]

I guessed fugge from tempus fugit "Time flies" and uomo is man trovare to find... maybe so hmm "A man who flees his fear may find that ..... hmmmm abbreviation... shortened ..... no funghi so not a short cut to mushrooms.... *goes to find Italian dictionary*

[Guinevere]

You've got everything right so far, Mithalwen. :)
abbreviation does stand for shortcut!
further hints: ha = (he) has, incontrare = to meet
( And it's not in the LotR ;) )

[Mithalwen]

So something on the lines of " A man who flees his fear may find he has taken a short cut to meet it?" Aieee.... not LOTR .. but iot sounds just like gandalf.... but too "dark" for the hobbit...... aieee.... So I think it must be the SIlmarillion and teh person who runs away most is Turin...but I find it not... time for a rethink..

[HerenIstarion]

You were very close, Mithalwen, and I were willing to let you have some time to figure it out, but my fingertips itch to give an answer now that more than a week is gone since last try :)

So, the person spoken to indeed was Túrin, but t'was Sador who quoteth, and thus he spake unto young one, explaining his damaged limb:

But alas! my love of battle was sated, for I had seen spilled blood and wounds enough; and I got leave to come back to the woods that I yearned for. And there I got my hurt; for a man that flies from his fear may find that he has only taken a short cut to meet it

[Guinevere]

Correct, of course, HerenIstarion ! :)

[Mithalwen]

Ah silly me .... I did read Turin again but I guess I was too focussed on his words and then thought it might be Beleg or Mablung .. then I thought I was on a wild goose chase... but I am spared trying to concoct my own translation again :) .. HI has so many more languages at his disposal...

[HerenIstarion]

Following Bilbo, I 'have put my foot right into it'. I suppose now I have to contrive a next quote, and to spare me a trouble I'll offer you Russian again ;)

so:

Vdal za tumannie xolodnie gori
V glubokie podzemel'a i starie pecheri
Doljni mi poiti do rassveta
Dabi iskat blednoe zakoldovannoe zoloto

as a hint: it's a verse which I haven't versified for translation's exactness' sake

cheers

[Mithalwen]

Is that all there is of the poem or is it one of many stanzas?
:D

[HerenIstarion]

Opening stanza of a much longer verse, to be found in an opening chapter of a book. I suppose that the name of the book will pass as the next hint if noone gets it prior to such a necessity :)

[Mithalwen]

Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek the pale enchanted gold.

That probably made it too easy, and makes me feel quite a fraud since it required more the powers of deduction than linguistic skills....

[HerenIstarion]

correct :)

[Mithalwen]

"maar niet alleen door jullie dood" Dutch... with a little help from a friend.....

[Guinevere]

Hm, that's a short one!
Does it mean : "But not with your death only..." ? (I'm not sure about "door")
If so, could it be Denethor to Faramir ?

[Mithalwen]

Sorry for the delay. Yes that is it near enough. Denethor to Faramir. I don't have the book with me but it is in the SIege of Gondor and I think exactly it is "But not by your death alone" .

Over to you Lady Guinevere :)

[Guinevere]

I looked up the exact quote I had in mind:
Denethor : "But in desperate hours gentleness may be repaid with death."
"So be it," said Faramir.
"So be it!" cried Denethor. "But not with your death only, Lord Faramir: with the death also of your father, and of all your people, whom it is your part to protect now that Boromir is gone."
I hope that was the right one!?

I'll need some more time to think out a new quote (and to decide in which language...) though I am very busy these days, so I beg you to be patient. ;)

[Mithalwen]

Yes that is right ... sorryI was confused because when I originally translated it into German I felt allein gave the sense better than nur........

[Guinevere]

Since I am lazy, here's a quote in German:
" Wenigstens haben wir das Glück, zur richtigen Stunde anzukommen, um euch für eure Geduld zu entschädigen."

[Mithalwen]

Since I am lazy, here's a quote in German:


Well I can get the gist but not quite place it..... Lord of the Rings... ?

[Guinevere]

Yes, it is in LotR, in TTT, to be precise ;)

[Mithalwen]

Yes, it is in LotR, in TTT, to be precise ;)
Taht was my hunch ... I will check .. but could it be adressed to Merry and Pippin in the ruin of Isengard - "Something like at least we have arrived at the right time to reward your patience"?

[Guinevere]

Wrong guess, sorry !

[Mithalwen]

Wrong guess, sorry !
Don't worry - with lick HI will pick it up and will take the next turn!