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I'm just curious if anyone can help me pen a couple of sentences in this language. I have no skills at all, but I need to make a general statement of appreciation to some people in Brazil. Anyone?
posted
My fluency these days might lead to something along the lines of "I grateful for you be very nice to me" but I could get the point across if you don't find someone who claims higher skills. Feel free to email me though my profile.
Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
The grammer can get garbled pretty easily, but theres always the free online translators, or something along the lines of "Portuguese for Dumb Dumbs" at your local chain book store.
Posts: 2302 | Registered: Aug 2008
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I sent a message to a member of my ward who is recently returned from a mission in Brazil. We'll see if/when he responds.
Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
Wow, thanks for all the responses! Yeah, fluency is pretty important, mainly because these are all people who are fighting through my English and it's making me guilty. (When I write, I tend to go for drama rather than clarity, a fact that most of you are already familiar with.)
So, um, would it be weird if I just posted what I'd like to say here, and then maybe get some varying opinions? Maybe we can come to a consensus.
Well, it probably is weird, but I'll just go for it. I need to say, approximately:
"To my Brazilian readers, thank you so much for wading (muddling?) through my English. I know I haven't made it easy. But I really appreciate your reviews and encouragement."
Then I just need a generic verb conjugation. "She loves you." The plural you.
So, is this doable? I tried to keep it pretty simple.
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Well...I am Brazilian (and I teach Portuguese) do I count? ;-)
"Para meus leitores brasileiros, muito obrigado por se esforçarem para entender meus textos em inglês. Sei que não facilitei as coisas para vocês, mas realmente aprecio seus comentários e encorajamento."
I think that nails it.
Posts: 1785 | Registered: Oct 2003
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"To my Brazilian readers, thank you so much for wading (muddling?) through my English. I know I haven't made it easy. But I really appreciate your reviews and encouragement."
Para meus leitores Brasileiros, muito obrigado por a avancar com difficuldade atraves meu Ingles. Sei que nao foi facil, mas realmente aprecio suas criticas e encorajamento.
The "c" in avancar should have a ceguila on bottom. The "e" in Ingles should also have a circumflex (^) on top of it. I don't think wading has the same kind of connotation in Portuguese as it does in English, so i translated it as "advancing with difficulty through my English". The first "i" in criticas should have an accent on it.
"She loves you." Ela ama voces." The "e" in voces should have a circumflex (^) over top of it.
Hopefully that helps out. I lived in Brazil from 2004 to 2006. If there is anything that can be improved on, feel free to change it, fellow Hatraqueiros.
Posts: 2 | Registered: Aug 2009
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Oooh, cool. Yeah, I knew wading wouldn't be a direct translation, but I was having a hard time coming up with a word that wasn't somewhat idiomatic. (Which is why my English is so hard to read.)
So, does Portuguese not have the indirect object pronoun before the verb? (Like in Spanish, where "She loves you (sing.)" becomes "Ella te ama." She you loves.)
Oh, and I just saw Eduardo's, above. Thank you, also.
"Wading", in the sentence, shouldn't be a direct translation. That's why I used "se esforçarem para entender meu texto em inglês" (had a hard time to undestand my english texts).
If you'd rather use what Bowen cobbled, the propper form would be something like "Para meus leitores brasileiros, muito obrigado por avançar com dificuldade através do meu inglês. Sei que não foi fácil, mas realmente aprecio suas críticas e encorajamento."
Still, I think "avançar com dificuldade através do meu inglês" is a somewhat awkard sentence in Portuguese (although I highly admire his grammar. Kudos to you, Bowen!)
By the way: "b"rasileiros, not "B"rasileiros. "i"nglês, not "I"nglês.
Posts: 1785 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Re: "se esforçarem para entender meu texto em inglês"
Something I'd like to avoid with that phrase is the insinuation that they had a hard time reading it because of their English skills. I'd like to make it clear that what I mean is that my writing, specifically, is difficult to understand. (Mostly because it's highly idiomatic and I'm pretty flexible on punctuation, with the flow of the sentence being more important to me than grammatical accuracy.) Not to be too difficult. How would I say that sentence in such a way as to place the blame on my own shoulders?
Posts: 6367 | Registered: Aug 2003
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"Para meus leitores brasileiros, muito obrigado por se esforçarem para entender meus textos em inglês apesar de todas as idiossincrasias dos mesmos. Sei que não facilitei as coisas para vocês, mas realmente aprecio seus comentários e encorajamento."
When you say "apesar de todas as idiossincrasias dos mesmos" it means something like "despite it's annoying quirks".
Posts: 1785 | Registered: Oct 2003
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No prob. You managed to coach a 4-post streak out of me! It's quite an achivement these days, you know?
Posts: 1785 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Still, I think "avançar com dificuldade através do meu inglês" is a somewhat awkard sentence in Portuguese (although I highly admire his grammar. Kudos to you, Bowen!)
By the way: "b"rasileiros, not "B"rasileiros. "i"nglês, not "I"nglês.
Obrigado Eduardo.
I guess I've been too deep in my English program back in the states. Thanks for reminding me of a few important fundamentals.
Posts: 2 | Registered: Aug 2009
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Glad to know there are some other people here that speak the language. I've been home from Brasil for about 8 years now, and I must confess I haven't been keeping up on the language, and as such my skills have gone to pot.
I used to be completely fluent, now I have to struggle through a conversation. I need to get back into the habit of speaking it every day.
It is even more difficult, as my wife is from Albania. She is always on the phone speaking to her parents and grandmother, so all I hear is Albanian!
Posts: 1937 | Registered: Nov 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Eduardo_Sauron: "Para meus leitores brasileiros, muito obrigado por se esforçarem para entender meus textos em inglês apesar de todas as idiossincrasias dos mesmos. Sei que não facilitei as coisas para vocês, mas realmente aprecio seus comentários e encorajamento."
When you say "apesar de todas as idiossincrasias dos mesmos" it means something like "despite it's annoying quirks".
It's scary that I understand every word of this. My Spanish must be getting better, but I've never studied any Portuguese.
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
Hey, since there are so many people interested in Portuguese here, maybe I could start a thread about the language since it's somewhat tied to the whole Ender "ethos" and all... some famous quotes, small and famous poems + translations, tips...
Posts: 1785 | Registered: Oct 2003
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How would I say that sentence in such a way as to place the blame on my own shoulders?
