posted
Ok, so heres my ... dilemma. I have this friend. She's quite ... proper. Not around everyone, but around me she is. So the other day I wrote her a vastly inappropriate email ... in Latin. I had great fun antagonizing her as to its meaning. Until she got a free Latin translator off of the internet and translated it. Quite awkward. So now its become a game between us. I find languages (I have a bit of a knack for linguistics), translate a vastly inapproprate paragraph, and see how long it takes her to decrypt it. But with the internet out there, its immensly difficult to trick her. So ... does anyone have any suggestions for an obscure, hard to translate language?
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I was going to say Klingon also, or maybe Elvish. The problem is that if you can find a site to translate it into your chosen language, she can also find a site to decode it.
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
This is why you find fluent speakers instead .
Scary thing is, I know several fluent speakers of several middle earth languages, and know where I could find a few klingon speakers with relative ease.
Not Linear A or the IRV civ language, though .
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
hey Dan Raven ascii is what they use for TTY (phones) for the Deaf.... very cool...try to figure that stuff out! - JenniK (former relay operator for the Deaf)
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Albanian. No one knows how to speak Albanian. Especially Albrecht. Now that would stump her for quite a while, I'm sure.
Posts: 609 | Registered: Oct 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
My question to YOU is, where on earth did she find an online Latin translator? I have one that does individual words, but usually translation programs fall utterly flat for anything longer.
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
This may be violating the spirit of the thing, but you could also try translating the email into some other language, and then applying a cypher. That'd take a long while to figure out.
Posts: 1466 | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
That Klingon translator isnt that great. I just tried it, and words like beef, cheese, and men won't even work.
Posts: 879 | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I used to know a little bit of Pulaar (it was the language of the native speaker in my field linguistics class). Nothing improper, though, and I don't remember anything, anyway.
Posts: 3801 | Registered: Jan 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
If you wrote in English using another language's alphabet, like Japanese, it would be REALLY tough to translate. There's really no transliteration apps out there. I could do it in Japanese for you.
Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by fugu13: Scary thing is, I know several fluent speakers of several middle earth languages, and know where I could find a few klingon speakers with relative ease.
Really?
Amazing - and here we all thought it was a colossal joke when the Oregon Health and Human Services advertised for social workers that could speak Klingon . . .
posted
what screws me up all the time are idioms. just translate thoughts across through idiomatic expression and no translation program in the world will be able to save her.
Posts: 1156 | Registered: Jan 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
lol. thanks for all the suggestions. Ryuko, I might take you up on that offer. And when I say 'vastly inappropriate', I mean more ... well, call it 'outrageous' things. Nothing too profane. lol. Idioms would work well. Waddya'll think? Would a cipher be cheating? I told her 'language'. eh, it might be ... but then, I may just do that. What is this Jefferson Wheel Cipher you speak of?
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:If you wrote in English using another language's alphabet, like Japanese, it would be REALLY tough to translate. There's really no transliteration apps out there. I could do it in Japanese for you.
Babelfish will translate Japanese, Korean and Chinese to and from characters. The easiest way I can think of to make something untranslatable via web app is to spell it without any special characters (e.g. no accented letters in romance languages, use roomanji for japanese, etc.).
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by dh: Albanian. No one knows how to speak Albanian. Especially Albrecht. Now that would stump her for quite a while, I'm sure.
My wife is Albanian. If you email me a paragraph, I'm sure I could have it translated for you. I've tried to translate Albanian into English on the internet, and it's almost impossible. Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Teshi: Ancient Sumerian. Written in Cuneiform.
Anything written in cuneiform. And I speak as a victim of graduate courses in Akkadian and Sumerian.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
There are a number of Mayan dialects that could be fun to use, e.g. Quiche, Kekchi, Mam, Pokomam, Cakchiquel. Unfortunately, I only know about five words in only one of those dialects, so I can't help.
Posts: 1652 | Registered: Aug 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I would vote for Gaelic. It is difficult to look up words in a dictionary because, depending on the words around them, they are likely to start with a different letter than the "root" word.
Posts: 11187 | Registered: Sep 2005
| IP: Logged |
The problem with Gaelic (or any Celtic language) is that a translator won't give you the proper mutations. You really need to know the grammar for that, which is pretty complicated. Otherwise you'll just get the dictionary form, which is just too easy.
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
| IP: Logged |
quote:If you wrote in English using another language's alphabet, like Japanese, it would be REALLY tough to translate. There's really no transliteration apps out there. I could do it in Japanese for you.
Babelfish will translate Japanese, Korean and Chinese to and from characters. The easiest way I can think of to make something untranslatable via web app is to spell it without any special characters (e.g. no accented letters in romance languages, use roomanji for japanese, etc.).
No, I meant you could take English words and write them using another type of alphabet. For instance, writing Hello my friend in Japanese characters as はろまいふれんど。(Transliterated, it says Haro mai furendo) That won't be translated with a translation app, especially not if you assign random kanji to it. 葉炉舞触れん度！
Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Ok, so how bout I write what I want to say and you freakishly brilliant and resourceful people have fun translating it whatever way you want? Or I could ask each of you individually, but I figure this might be funner. So here's what I came up with. Its not outrageously inappropriate really, but its ... well, if she translates it, it will make her laugh without getting me into too much trouble. hehe.
Greetings my beautiful friend. I will keep this as short and as antagonistic as possible. hehe. haha. I'm in love with you. A kiss from you is what I wish for everytime. But you see me as a beautiful mind and little else. Alas, it is my lot in life. I will bear what must me borne, all for the sake of self-sacrifice. hehe. And now, go ahead, attempt to translate this piece of my thoughts. Knock yourself out. Figuratively of course.
and there it is. I just tossed it together. Heck, for all I know some of it is untranslatable. But if anyone has some time on their hands and/or is bored, I'd appreciate whatever aid could be offered. Thanks!
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:No, I meant you could take English words and write them using another type of alphabet. For instance, writing Hello my friend in Japanese characters as はろまいふれんど。(Transliterated, it says Haro mai furendo)
THAT is a pretty dang clever idea. I think I may do that to people. Except almost all my friends can read Japanese. *sigh*
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
How about Semaphore? She'll have to work it out letter by letter and by herself and you'll both come out having learnt an entire new language. Morse, on the other hand, is easier to send by email. Both are very simple first if you quickly memorise the symbols for each letter/number.
Posts: 75 | Registered: Oct 2005
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
.![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Evil Laugh]](graemlins/evillaugh.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
