Here are a couple more examples of the translation confusion I mentioned in my previous post. This time they all appeared in texts. First of all...fo' real tho, anyone wanting to learn a new language?!? Texting is the 'da bomb digity' because you can take your time and think and it reinforces a lot of little details and I'm sure there are a lot of other good reasons...
...and I will begin by mentioning some of those benefits. If you are a nerd, like me 1) you can take notes and have flash cards from your text conversations which is great because 2) you can remember the conversation since it was real (you can remember 'ohhh yeah so-and-so said thus-and-such when this-and-or-that happened,' rather than 'I wrote it for a class one day and who cares') and 3) you can impress your friends when you finally do get it right. 4) It's also nice when you are chatting in the middle of the night since India is a 12 hour** time difference. 5) Also since it's a text you will probably have the chance to say something similar in another conversation later on and your other friends will be impressed and you don't even have to tell them that someone else taught or helped you.
The down side is that speaking well...main Hindi nahin bolti hoon. I don't speak Hindi.
Anyways, back to the first conversation and point of this blog post example, why is texting bahut pagal hai?
"Thik hai. Aap jab khayenge tab jayenge...chai ke time try karenge...thode din me better ho jayega."
Translation: "alright is. you when say then go...lets try again during chai...little days is will become."
Still lost? That's Hindi for ya!
As you can see the translation is a bit like "Yoda talk" as the friend texting it to me said.
But it gets worse or maybe a bit more humorous...Indians texting in English is sometimes just as confusing.
Here is a quick translation cheat sheet for Indian English texting...
vl = will, I will, I'll
dy = they (which is similar to 'dem' in Patois/Patwa)
d = the
v = we
v = w
t, d etc = add an a at the end
Other vowels may also be left out
q = kyu = why
gnsd = good night sweet dreams
and one in Hinid
m tik h = main thik hoon = I am fine
Ok, so I am kinda poking fun. But in all reality, these shorthands have made a lot of sense and actually helped me understand a bit about the culture and language...and have led to some funny conversations 'ower vine' in my art studio as well.
As far as understanding the meaning of what seems to me words strung together in a nonsensical order goes, people keep telling me "it will come" and I'm sure it will...mugar kab?!?! But when?!?!
***the time difference may be 12 and a half hours and I can never remember if it is behind or ahead...though I am pretty sure the details don't make much difference for the point of this blog post.
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| Flowers in the Hotel lobby, Khajaraho, India |
The down side is that speaking well...main Hindi nahin bolti hoon. I don't speak Hindi.
Anyways, back to the first conversation and point of this blog post example, why is texting bahut pagal hai?
"Thik hai. Aap jab khayenge tab jayenge...chai ke time try karenge...thode din me better ho jayega."
Translation: "alright is. you when say then go...lets try again during chai...little days is will become."
Still lost? That's Hindi for ya!
As you can see the translation is a bit like "Yoda talk" as the friend texting it to me said.
But it gets worse or maybe a bit more humorous...Indians texting in English is sometimes just as confusing.
Here is a quick translation cheat sheet for Indian English texting...
vl = will, I will, I'll
dy = they (which is similar to 'dem' in Patois/Patwa)
d = the
v = we
v = w
t, d etc = add an a at the end
Other vowels may also be left out
q = kyu = why
gnsd = good night sweet dreams
and one in Hinid
m tik h = main thik hoon = I am fine
Ok, so I am kinda poking fun. But in all reality, these shorthands have made a lot of sense and actually helped me understand a bit about the culture and language...and have led to some funny conversations 'ower vine' in my art studio as well.
As far as understanding the meaning of what seems to me words strung together in a nonsensical order goes, people keep telling me "it will come" and I'm sure it will...mugar kab?!?! But when?!?!
***the time difference may be 12 and a half hours and I can never remember if it is behind or ahead...though I am pretty sure the details don't make much difference for the point of this blog post.
