Lost in translation

[jadesfire]

This is why you should be very careful when emailing in another language:

"...also confidently hoping that our business relationship may become more tense in future"
(emphasis mine)

I'm intrigued. I notice common phrases in people whose first language is French (where the construction is generally much more elaborate than average), German (usually very direct and with better grammar than mine) and Polish (where articles tend to get left off). I'm sure English people do it in other languages - probably word-order-issues, but there'll be others as well (apart from general inability to speak them...)

So what German phrase could have resulted in this? German speakers?

BTW, I'm interested not mocking - I'm immensely grateful that all our suppliers email me in English or I'd never be able to sort anything out...

Comments

[laurab1.livejournal.com]

< language geek >

I'm intrigued. I notice common phrases in people whose first language is French (where the construction is generally much more elaborate than average)

Yes, French can be show-off and flowery. Lots of French idioms that don't translate directly to another language.

German (usually very direct and with better grammar than mine)

German and its 16 different words for *the*. It's *hard*.

and Polish (where articles tend to get left off).

The Slavic/Eastern European languages don't have articles. The terribly pretty Goran Visnjic, who plays Luka Kovac, on ER, is Croatian. He was *always* missing articles, when his English wasn't brilliant.

< /language geek>

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

*grin* Even in French, the letters we get are very flowery. I like it - much more fun to read. I can read most European languages with reasonable comphrehension (Greek and Latin proving useful after all) and one day, I will learn to read the Bulgarian alphabet...

My colleague is Polish and articles are the thing that trip her up the most, especially in writing - it's only when you sit down and try to explain it that you realise the English construction is more complicated than it looks.