Hamlet as Rosetta Stone
Following up on yesterday's discussion about using Shakespeare to teach foreign languages, I spotted a pattern that gave me an idea. "To be or not to be" is fascinating on a number of levels - in this case it is a very simple string of very simple words, repeated, that also happen to represent several core language concepts -- "be", "to be" (infinitive), "or" (conjunction), "not" (negation).
So with that in mind and some help from NiceTranslator.com I typed that sentence (using "To be or not to be, that is the question" in case there were grammatical considerations in some languages) and asked it for a translation into some 50 different languages. I'm not sure how well this is going to handle all the special characters, but we'll worry about that later. Right now I'm fascinated by the languages that fit a sort of "B O N B" pattern, where B is their word for "to be", O for "or", "N" for not.
I imagined something like a Shakespearean Rosetta stone, where you knew that the language in front of you, that'd you never seen before, represented Hamlet. How much of that language's rules, vocabulary and grammar might you be able to discern?
The similarities, rather than the differences, are most fascinating. Consider Dutch: Zijn of niet zijn, dat is de vraag. Fits my "B O N B" pattern quite nicely. Now consider Turkish : Olmak ya da olmamak, bu soru için. With a slight change to the second instance of B (olmak -> olmamak), it still fits. But would you have ever imagined similarities in language between Dutch and Turkish? Or Czech: Být či nebýt, to je otázka, where the negation is written as a single word, Být becoming nebýt.
I've included the entire list here for reference. What other interesting similarities leap out at you? Which languages are clearly evolved from the same roots?
Disclaimer : I'm aware that these probably go under the heading of "literal translation" and thus are more subject to matching the pattern in the original source, than if you were to ask a native speaker to translate it more freely. Understood. But there are still plenty of languages on this list that don't fit the pattern, so clearly there's some level of reasoning that goes into the translation.
AlbanianPër të qenë apo jo që të jetë, kjo është pyetja.
Arabic
BelarusianБыць ці не быць, вось у чым пытанне.
BulgarianДа бъде или да не се, това е въпросът.
CatalanSer o no ser, aquesta és la qüestió.
Chinese
CzechBýt či nebýt, to je otázka.
DutchZijn of niet zijn, dat is de vraag.
FilipinoUpang maging o hindi na, na ang tanong.
FinnishOllako vai eikö olla, että on kysymys.
FrenchPour être ou ne pas être, telle est la question.
GalicianSer ou non ser, velaí a cuestión.
GermanSein oder nicht sein, das ist die Frage.
GreekΓια να είναι ή να μην είναι, αυτό είναι το ζήτημα.
Hebrew
Hindiहो सकता है या नहीं होना है, कि सवाल यह है कि करने के
लिए.
HungarianKell vagy nem kell, hogy ez a
kérdés.
IcelandicAð vera eða ekki vera, það er spurning.
IndonesianUntuk dapat atau tidak dapat, bahwa pertanyaannya.
LithuanianBūti ar nebūti, tai yra klausimas.
PortugueseSer ou não ser, eis a questão.
SpanishSer o no ser, esa es la cuestión.
Yiddish
UkrainianБути чи не бути, от у чому питання.
SlovenianBiti ali ne biti, to je vprašanje.
PolishByć albo nie być, oto jest pytanie.
LatvianBūt vai nebūt, tas ir jautājums.
Korean가이되고, 그 질문하십시오.
Japaneseされるかどうかに、それが問題だ。
ItalianEssere o non essere, questo è il problema.
IrishChun a bheith nó gan a bheith, go bhfuil an cheist.
VietnameseĐể được hay không được, đó là câu hỏi.
SwahiliKuwa au si kuwa, kwamba ni swali.
SwedishAtt vara eller inte vara, det är frågan.
Thaiเป็นหรือไม่เป็นที่เป็นคำถาม
TurkishOlmak ya da olmamak, bu soru için.
SlovakByť či nebyť, to je otázka.
SerbianБити или не бити, то је питање.
RussianБыть или не быть, вот в чем вопрос.
RomanianPentru a fi sau a nu fi, aceasta este întrebarea.
MalayUntuk dapat atau tidak boleh, bahawa pertanyaannya.
MalteseBiex tkun jew li ma tkunx, li hija l-kwistjoni.
NorwegianÅ være eller ikke være, det er spørsmålet.
Persian
CroatianBiti ili ne biti, to je pitanje.
WelshI fod yn neu beidio, bod yn y cwestiwn.
DanishAt være eller ikke være, det er spørgsmålet.
So with that in mind and some help from NiceTranslator.com I typed that sentence (using "To be or not to be, that is the question" in case there were grammatical considerations in some languages) and asked it for a translation into some 50 different languages. I'm not sure how well this is going to handle all the special characters, but we'll worry about that later. Right now I'm fascinated by the languages that fit a sort of "B O N B" pattern, where B is their word for "to be", O for "or", "N" for not.
I imagined something like a Shakespearean Rosetta stone, where you knew that the language in front of you, that'd you never seen before, represented Hamlet. How much of that language's rules, vocabulary and grammar might you be able to discern?
The similarities, rather than the differences, are most fascinating. Consider Dutch: Zijn of niet zijn, dat is de vraag. Fits my "B O N B" pattern quite nicely. Now consider Turkish : Olmak ya da olmamak, bu soru için. With a slight change to the second instance of B (olmak -> olmamak), it still fits. But would you have ever imagined similarities in language between Dutch and Turkish? Or Czech: Být či nebýt, to je otázka, where the negation is written as a single word, Být becoming nebýt.
Disclaimer : I'm aware that these probably go under the heading of "literal translation" and thus are more subject to matching the pattern in the original source, than if you were to ask a native speaker to translate it more freely. Understood. But there are still plenty of languages on this list that don't fit the pattern, so clearly there's some level of reasoning that goes into the translation.
Afrikaans
Om te wees of nie te wees nie, dit is die vraag.Albanian
Arabic
أن تكون أو لا تكون ، تلك هي المسألة.
Belarusian
Bulgarian
Catalan
Chinese
要或不要,这是个问题。
Czech
Dutch
Estonian
Olla või mitte olla, selles on küsimus.Filipino
Finnish
French
Galician
German
Greek
Hebrew
להיות או לא להיות, זו השאלה.
Hindi
लिए.
Hungarian
kérdés.
Icelandic
Indonesian
Lithuanian
Portuguese
Spanish
Yiddish
צו זייַן אָדער ניט צו זייַן, וואָס איז די פֿראַגע.
Ukrainian
Slovenian
Polish
Latvian
Korean
Japanese
Italian
Irish
Vietnamese
Swahili
Swedish
Thai
Turkish
Slovak
Serbian
Russian
Romanian
Malay
Maltese
Norwegian
Persian
بودن یا نبودن باشد ، که سوال.
Croatian
Welsh
Danish
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