I just received this text message: 'Miluju te celym srdcem lasko' Can anyone help with a quick translation, and some heartfelt replies to show how intensely I feel about her? Thanks in advance.
Hi Brett, I love you with all my heart my sweetheart. You may have observed that Czechs are not very sold on the sweet poetic edge in expressing their love, so your reply is anything but easy for me. I`d reply in a very different way...... ty seš ale kecka. To řikáš každýmu. You`re such a big mouth/sweet-talker. Besides, you say that to everyone. (apologies if this reply is not very useful, but I`m not a poet and don`t pretend to be) Others may be endowed with more literary flair. Cheers Karel
I just wondered if laska is a neutral word because here in my country girls react in various ways when hearing this. :wink:
Hi Adder, Laska is a good word but too intimate to address any female with it. It should then be reserved only for people who know each other very well or are on intimate terms. However, the word can alter its meaning if it is used in an exactly opposite way; if uttered to someone you don`t know at all, or you really don`t like. For that reason, you may use that expression as a "polite" way of sending someone packing instead of doing it in a vulgar fashion. In any case it`s very disrespectul. By way of analogy, if you call a blue collar worker a doctor, it could turn into an insult. Or, if your local GP really messed up, a good way of letting him know on your next visit is to use the diminutive "dokturku" instead of "doktore" So, it all depends on how instrumental in (mis)using language you are. Karel
To Karel I like your response to Brett's question of what to send back. It is so very Czech. I miss that dry humour. Vanda
Thanks Vanda! I wonder if some English native speakers find it funny too, though I sort of doubt it. Because I think humour is very culture-related, and the reason why we laugh is often beyond the language. I`d make 9 out of 10 Americans laugh or at least chuckle by saying "Don`t make me open your can of whoopass". I tried it Australia, once in front of a teacher, and it was a total faux pas. So I`ve learnt to go very easy on humour when talking to people of different cultures. I also remember a Czech journalist interviewing M. Forman, the debate in which they talked about film and some basic differences between Czech and American students` approach. M. Forman then said : when you give a lecture on film to American students they listen closely, they have a yen to discuss everything (even things I know nothing about), they (seem to) understand everything I say, they give you an impression that their first or next film will be in tune with my philosophy, but when their first shooting is done, and I have an opportunity to see that, it`s just another blockbuster. His point had nothing to do with the anti-globalization movement, he rather expressed a disappointment at the impossibility of communicating ideas. Karel
You're right it is very culture based. I've watched several (subtitled) Czech films with my NorthAmerican friends and got nothing in response to what I thought were side splitting lines. It makes for some strangely akward lonely laughter. The humour gets lost in translation and the subtleties of voice inflection are completely lost as well. So I've pretty much stopped recomending films, my friends already think I'm nutty :roll:
