What language (other than English) do you speak?

[Pulse]

Romanised Greek isn't real Greek! Boo!

but we were just discussing the weather...

[GoktimusPrime]

...okay... let's try and make this thread into a semi-useful resource.

If anyone has a question about any of the languages spoken by our community here feel free to post it here and hopefully someone can help you. Erm... nothing too norti or controversial please.

So far we currently have the following languages other than English identified as being spoken by our community:
Chinese
Greek
Italian
Japanese
Maltese
Spanish
Tagalog
German
...we'll call them our "community LOTE (Languages Other Than English)."

Okay, I'll get things started...

I would like a translation for "More Than Meets The Eye" and "Till All Are One" in our community LOTE.

Japanese doesn't use "More Than Meets The Eye" for Transformers, but the translation of that idiom would be "目に見える以上に" (me ni mieru ijou ni). Now in the Japanese version of Transformers the Movie, Convoy doesn't say "Till All Are One" but rather he says "The universe (shall) be one" which is "宇宙は一つに" (uchuu wa hitotsu ni). The same line is repeated by Ultra Magnus & the Autobots on Junkion (just before Magnus is scrapped) and at the end of the movie by Rodimus Convoy and the Autobots on Cybertron just before the ending credits scroll.

...okay... now tell me how to say those two phrases in our other community LOTE!!

[GoktimusPrime]

From here:

for some reason Japanese pronouce there 'l's as 'r's hehe

Actually it's neither - the Japanese /r/ is somewhere midway between an English /l/ and /r/. In English, /r/ is an alveolar approximant and /l/ is a alveolar lateral approximant. The Japanese /r/ is a an alveolar tap.

The fact is that the Japanese /r/ sound simply doesn't exist in English or any other European language - although the /r/ in Spanish is more similar as an alveolar flap; and considering that Spanish and Portuguese missionaries would have been the first Europeans to Romanise the Japanese language it's not too surprising that they transcribed it as "r".

P.S.: remind me next time you come to a Sydney meet - I'll show you how to pronounce it correctly if you want.

[Sam]

Just wondering if the word "Transformers" has a direct translation in any of the LOTE you speak?

[blackoptimus]

I speak Chinese Cantonese!

[nettie!]

Indonesian

followed by German

[autobreadticon]

I speak gangsta, ahhh yeah

[sanbot]

P.S.: remind me next time you come to a Sydney meet - I'll show you how to pronounce it correctly if you want.

Yup, I'll be sure to take up your offer on free japanese speaking lesson

[GoktimusPrime]

Just wondering if the word "Transformers" has a direct translation in any of the LOTE you speak?

In Japanese it's "Toransufoomaa" (トランスフォーマー); although fans often abbreviate it as "Torafo" (トラフォ)

[Sam]

In Japanese it's "Toransufoomaa" (トランスフォーマー); although fans often abbreviate it as "Torafo" (トラフォ)

Yeah ... do you know if they have a "native name" for TFs?

What I mean is ... in Cantonese the translation is something like "shape changing metallic beings" or something like that. Actually the Katakana probably sounds better, hahah.