Wish everyone a Merry Christmas or Happy Holiday in a foreign language. You can use Google. Don't forget the country it

[debm55]

is from. France--Joyeux Noel

[asiliveandbreathe]

1. Philippines..Tagalog..

Maligayang Pasko..( sounds like..Mali-Gayang)..Pasko is Christmas in Tagalog

[debm55]

4. Thank you

[DFW]

40. I know a little Tagalog, but I didn't know that

Interesting that a language that borrowed much from centuries of Spanish colonial rule should have a word for Christmas that so closely resembles the Spanish word for Easter (Pascua).

[Ocelot II]

2. Feliz Navidad!

God jul!
Gleðileg jól!
Joyeux Noël !
Fröhliche Weihnachten!

That's all I can think of right now.

[debm55]

5. Thank you Ocelot II

[DFW]

39. Icelandic!

Well done!

[Ocelot II]

41. Takk!

Og góðan dag.

[DFW]

46. Same back!

I can understand some Icelandic, since it is the root language of the modern Scandinavian languages, and I speak Swedish. Sort of like how someone who understands Italian will understand some of a text written in Latin.

But I’ve only been in Iceland once, and that was only for three days, so I didn’t get much of a chance to learn to speak the language.

[Ocelot II]

63. I've picked up bits of Icelandic through some music I've sung,

plus some attempts to learn it online, but the grammar is pretty complicated and I might not be smart enough to sort it all out. I know enough Norwegian to connect some Old Norse dots - Icelandic strikes me as a sort of a creole of Norwegian and Klingon.

[DFW]

68. Actually, from a linguistic point of view, Icelandic is "the original," like Latin is to Italian

Latin has a pretty convoluted grammar, too. Modern Scandinavian languages simplified their grammar considerably. Swedish was so simple, I went from speaking not a single word of it before my first year of college to returning there a year later fully conversational, after just one year of three times a week Swedish classes. Icelandic, on the other hand, seems to have retained the cumbersome declensions and conjugations of old. I'll bet it would take more than just one year of classes to get fully conversational in Icelandic. But maybe with a background in Swedish or Norwegian, maybe not. I've not been there in over half a century, and never saw it as a priority to learn. I'm in the Netherlands once a week, so learning Dutch was a BIG priority. Luckily, if you know English and German, you already know 90% of Dutch. You just have to sort their oddball vowels and their gutteral "G" and the slightly altered word order, and you'll be speaking like a native in no time. Although....I was once told that I had almost lost my accent, but that someone from Holland could still hear from the way I spoke Dutch that I was a native speaker of Afrikaans, and had grown up in South Africa--a place I have never been to. For that matter, some Swedes have told me that they can tell from my Swedish that I originally was from Norway, so go figure.

[Ocelot II]

72. Norwegian grammar is pretty simple, similar to English in many ways,

apart for a few quirks of word order. Some linguists even claim English is a North Germanic language (i.e., Scandinavian) rather than a West Germanic language (Frisian, Dutch and German). Old Norse, which in Iceland turned into modern Icelandic without a lot of changes, became simplified in Denmark, Norway and Sweden through its exposure to the related Anglo-Saxon language when the Vikings invaded Britain, and gradually became much more like English. The tricky thing about Norwegian is that it has a lot of dialects with a lot of pronunciation variants, but the grammar is much simpler than German. Verbs are hardly conjugated at all, which, after having studied both Latin and German in my youth, was something of a relief for me.

[DFW]

73. I learned them in reverse order

I started with Swedish and then learned German. Due to the simple grammar you cited, learning Swedish was a breeze. Imagine my shock when I started on my next Germanic language (German) and found all the declensions and stilted word order.

English seems to be an amalgam of Scandinavian and the dialects of the various Germanic tribes that invaded over the centuries, with a dash of three centuries of French occupation by the Normans. Surprisingly little Celtic appears to have made its way into the language, despite the cramped geography.

[Ocelot II]

75. One common thing English seems to have assimilated from a Celtic language - Welsh -

is the use of "do" as an auxiliary verb in questions and negations. In an English question we say, for example, "Do you sing?" In Norwegian that would be just "Synger du?" and in German it would be "Singst du?" There's no equivalent of "do" in those sentences. In a negation we'd say "I do not sing." In Norwegian that's "Jeg synger ikke" and in German it's "Ich singe nicht." Translated literally that's "I sing not," but we don't say it that way. We use the auxiliary "do." At least among languages that English was exposed to, the only other one that uses that construction is Welsh. Otherwise there really aren't a lot of evident Celtic influences. Scots English is its own thing.

Sorry, that's way down in the weeds, but languages fascinate me and I can get a bit carried away...

[DFW]

78. No need for apologies! Same with me

And in spoken colloquial German, some areas actually do use the word “tun (do) “ as a helper. “Tus Du jetzt verstehen?” may no longer be grammatically correct high German, but it can often be heard in regional dialects, so it may be a Germanic holdover after all.

[GreenWave]

3. Police got my car

[debm55]

6. oh well.

[GreenWave]

7. supposedly Feliz Navidad (Merry Christmas)

Play on words.

[debm55]

23. Ok

[yonder]

54. That has me laughing. Cheech and Chong, true to form.

[JoseBalow]

62. I grew up listening to Cheech and Chong

I had all their albums, I've seen all their movies...

That doesn't sound like Cheech and Chong. It sounds like someone trying to sound like Cheech and Chong.

Do you happen to know the original source?

[claudette]

8. My favorite is

Bonne Annee. (Sounds like bun ahnay.) Happy New Year in French. One thing I’ll never forget from studying the beautiful language.

Oh, Merry Christmas is Joyeux Noel

[debm55]

9. Thankyou

[claudette]

10. 😊

[DFW]

37. C'est juste

On dit “bonne année,” si tu veux être précis(e). Je serai á Paris demain pour mon travail!

[claudette]

44. Merci- Wow!!

Bon voyage!! ✈️
Quel chanceux êtes-vous!!

[DFW]

45. J'habite en Allemagne. Ce n'est pas loin

Je suis à Paris une fois par semaine.

[claudette]

55. You are one

lucky person! I visited Paris once, many years ago, and was mesmerized.

Joyeux Noel!

[debm55]

59. Hahahahahahaha. wish I spoke French.

Last edited Wed Dec 20, 2023, 09:19 PM - Edit history (1)

[DFW]

69. Merci, but I'm only here until Thursday afternoon.

I will be back in Germany Thursday night, then over to Holland Friday afternoon, then back to Germany Friday night, and a few days off with the family (even my nephew is coming over from Kyiv!) before heading to the USA on the 26th.

There is no rest for the weary.

[debm55]

71. Are you in the military?

[Aristus]

11. Frohe Weihnacht!

To all our German friends!

[debm55]

12. Thank you.

[DFW]

38. Danke!

Frohe Weihnachten, um genau zu sagen!

[Aristus]

42. Vielen Dank!

[debm55]

13. Italy---Buon Natale

[lucca18]

14. Norwegian: God Jul og Godt Nyttr! 🎄Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays: God ferie!
🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🍷🍷🍷🍷

[debm55]

15. Thank you.

[debm55]

16. Slovak--Vesele Vianoce

[ailsagirl]

17. Merry Christmas in Scots Gaelic

Nollaig Chridheil!!

[debm55]

18. Thank you

[ailsagirl]

22. You're welcome

[OldBaldy1701E]

50. Arrgh.

Beat me to it!

[Prairie_Seagull]

19. Ukrainian. Wow.

[debm55]

21. Thank you, My GGrandparents were from the Ukraine and part of Russia known today as the country of Georgia.

Last edited Tue Dec 19, 2023, 05:44 PM - Edit history (2)

[debm55]

20. Country of Georgia--Shobas Gilotsaut

[1WorldHope]

24. Sign Languages

?si=RMYNO3RFvIBWSNuQ

[debm55]

67. That is so beautiful.It warms my heart. Thank you so much for posting this..1WorldHope. Have a Happy Holiday.

Last edited Wed Dec 20, 2023, 11:20 PM - Edit history (1)

[1WorldHope]

77. To you as well, Debm.

[lpbk2713]

25. Bon Nadal

Catalan

[DFW]

36. M'agrada molt de veure'ho

No vaig veure això avants!

[debm55]

81. Thank you, Ipbk27i3 Happy Holidays to you.

[debm55]

82. Chichewa-Krisimasi Yabwrno

[Glorfindel]

26. "Ging sinh vui vẻ" - in Vietnamese

The only other country besides the USA in which I have spent Christmas. - 1966

[Raven123]

27. Wesołych Świąt Boże Narodzenie." - Polish

[debm55]

74. Thank you Raven 123.

[steve2470]

28. Happy Holidays in traditional Chinese, no entry in Bing for Mandarin

節日快樂

Happy Holidays in simplified Chinese, per Google

节日快乐

[debm55]

84. Thanks Steve2470 Have a Happy Holiday to you and yours.

[debm55]

85. Croatian----Sretan Bozic

[LakeArenal]

29. Festivus for the rest of us-- Costanza

[MLAA]

30. Happy Hanukkah in Yiddish (I had to google it)

You can wish someone a happy Hanukkah by saying chag sameach, which is pronounced [ khag sah–meh-ahkh ]. This expression means “happy holiday.” If you want to make it a bit more Hanukkah-specific, you can say chag Hanukkah sameach, pronounced [ khag khah-nuh-kuh sah–meh-ahkh ], instead.

[debm55]

57. My GGrandparents spoke Yiddish and Ukranian. TY

[keithbvadu2]

31. Donald Trump Wished Everyone 'Happy Holidays' When Obama Was Saying 'Merry Christmas

Donald Trump Wished Everyone 'Happy Holidays' When Obama Was Saying 'Merry Christmas

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-barack-obama-christmas-758794

[debm55]

80. I guess Trump converted.

[uppityperson]

32. Appyhay olidaysyay

Pig latin

[debm55]

49. HAHAHA

[DFW]

33. It won't work in the title space, so.....

Feliç Nadal i un bon any nou!

Català (Catalan), spoken in Spain, France and Andorra. I learned it while I was living there (Barcelona).

[debm55]

48. Thank you

[GP6971]

34. Korean

크리스마스 잘 보내세요 (keu-ri-seu-ma-seu jal bo-ne-say-yo).

[debm55]

47. thank you

[DFW]

35. Eguberri eta Urteberri on

Euskera (Basque), spoken in Euskadi (the Basque Country), which is divided up into seven provinces, four in Spain, and three in France.

[debm55]

53. Thank you DFW.

[debm55]

43. Greek Kala Chrisogenac

Last edited Wed Dec 20, 2023, 10:46 AM - Edit history (1)

[OldBaldy1701E]

51. Italian...

Boun Natale!

Buonasera!

[debm55]

79. Thank you OldBaldy1701E And a Boun Natale to you and yours.

[debm55]

86. Navajo------Ya at eeh Kesmish

[Laurelin]

52. Dutch

Prettige kerstdagen en een gelukkig nieuwjaar.

My Danish grandfather always wrote Glæd Jul on his Christmas cards.

[debm55]

89. Thank you. Have a great and happy Holiday.

[Backseat Driver]

56. Mele Kalikimaka

Native Hawaiian.

[debm55]

58. Thank you, Backseat Driver. And a Mele Kalikimaka to you.

[Emile]

60. Fijne Kerstdagen an Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!

Dutch / translation Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

[debm55]

70. Thank you Emile. Have a happy Holiday.

[debm55]

61. Swahili -----Krismasi Njema

[WestMichRad]

64. What a nice thread!

Thank you, Deb!

[debm55]

65. Thank you and thank all the Du'ers that are and will be participating. Do you have one for us ,WestMichRad?

[debm55]

66. Japan----Merikurisumasue

[lastlib]

76. "Splurg gorgle glurp!"

MAGAtese

Joyeux Noel, tout le monde!

[debm55]

83. Thank you lastlib. And Happy Holidays to you and yours.

[debm55]

87. Gaelic (Irish) Nollaig Shona

[Different Drummer]

88. Gzuar Krishtlindjet----Albanian

I have no connection to Albania beyond having seen a program the other day that partially took place there.

[debm55]

90. Thank you Different Drummer and a Gzuar Krishtlinderjet.

[Different Drummer]

91. And also to you, debm55!

[debm55]

92. Klingon--Qismas Botivjaj

[debm55]

93. kick

[Hekate]

94. Mele Kalikimaka e ka Haouli Makahiki Hou

?feature=shared


I like this bettah…

?si=AvUJ1nMXIRTc873i

[debm55]

96. Love it Hekate. The dance and the words are wonderful.

[Emrys]

95. Welsh - Nadolig Llawen

Happy New Year would be Blwyddyn Newydd Dda (blwyddyn is "year", newydd is "new", da is "good" )

[debm55]

97. thank you , Emrys.

[debm55]

98. Hungarian---Boldog Karscsogt

[BluesRunTheGame]

99. Inuvialuktun

Several dialects of Inuvialuktun. Language of the Inuit of Western Canada. I was there for a few days 20 years ago. I didn’t manage to pick up the language.

?si=zaoJ4nu3upfG-xaJ

[debm55]

100. Beautiful language Thank you for posting

[PennRalphie]

101. Pittsburghese

While not a foreign country, we definitely have our own dialect.

Merry Christmas, yinz guys, n’at.

Be careful, the roads might be slippy.

[debm55]

102. PennRaphie-yinz get the pop for the Stiller game. We ain't got none,

[CrispyQ]

103. There are 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary & those who don't.

01001101 01100101 01110010 01110010 01111001 00100000 01000011 01101000 01110010 01101001 01110011 01110100 01101101 01100001 01110011!

translation: Merry Christmas!

[debm55]

106. I don't , so thank you for the translation, CrispyQ, Did you see my Merry Christmas for Klingon? I don't know if you

are interested.

[debm55]

104. Slovian--Vesel bozic

[Jrose]

105. 'Chag sameach' is חַג שָׂמֵחַ‎ -- Happy holiday (Hebrew)

Mostly spoken in Israel, but a universal language among Jews.

[debm55]

107. Thank you Jrose. Great Grandparents were were Ukranian Jews who spoke Yiddish. Chag sameach to you

[Jrose]

108. Thanks ('todah raba') so much, debm55! My parents, who were from Hungary and Rumania, spoke Yiddish and Hebrew.

Yiddish was their 'secret language' when my sister and I were children.

[debm55]

109. Same here for my grandparents and greatgrandparents,

[cloudbase]

110. Erry-may Istmas-cray.

[debm55]

111. HAHAHAHAHAHAHH

[debm55]

112. Hmong--zoo siab heev Christmas

[debm55]

113. Haitian Creole--Jwaye Nwel

[LeftishBrit]

114. Lloista joulua

(Finnish)

[debm55]

115. Thank you, Leftishbrit. My late MIL was born in Finland.

[mvd]

116. З Різдвом in Ukrainian

Found on Babelfish. Hi Deb!

[debm55]

117. Thank you matt. and a Blessed season to you and your mom.

[debm55]

118. Chereokee---unwotlvde danisdayohiho

[debm55]

119. Bulgarian---Vesela Kdeda

[Ocelot II]

120. Northern Sami:

Mii sávvat didjiide buriid juovllaid ja lihkolaš ođđa jagi! (Merry Christmas and Happy New Year)

[debm55]

122. Thank you Ocelot II. And happy holidays to you.

[Wolf Frankula]

121. Geseende Kersfees.

Merry Christmas, Afrikaans from South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.

Wolf

[debm55]

123. Thank you Wolf Frankula

[debm55]

124. Estonian--Haid joule

[debm55]

125. Lithuanian----Kinsksey Kaledy

[debm55]

126. Samoan-----Manura le kirisimasi