Off-topic thread - talk about anything

[euromobile900]

Well, I'm fluent in French (the French kind, not the Québecois kind) thanks to adding a French major to my biology degree at a school that was good with languages, but the humiliation would kill me!! I have required zero roadside repair help in the 7 years I've had that car. Why break a winning streak?

I'd probably say "Excusez-moi, ma voiture est tombée en panne de batterie. Pourriez-vous m'aider la démarrer avec mes câbles?" and bring my jumper cables over to gesture wildly in case they didn't get the idea or thought I wasn't crazy enough as it was.

Roughly translated that means "Excuse me (never underestimate the power of politeness in French), my car has broken down because of the battery (this is the way the members of my local 2cv club I hung out with during study-abroad in France always said it). Could you (subjunctive makes me sound more polite and small) help me start it with my cables? (wild guess of how to say that)" The phrase "ma voiture est tombée en panne de X", meaning "my car has broken down because of X" with X being the part in trouble was one of the most useful expressions I ever learned over there.

[Golfhunter]

Well, I'm fluent in French (the French kind, not the Québecois kind) thanks to adding a French major to my biology degree at a school that was good with languages, but the humiliation would kill me!! I have required zero roadside repair help in the 7 years I've had that car. Why break a winning streak?

I'd probably say "Excusez-moi, ma voiture est tombée en panne de batterie. Pourriez-vous m'aider la démarrer avec mes câbles?" and bring my jumper cables over to gesture wildly in case they didn't get the idea or thought I wasn't crazy enough as it was.

Roughly translated that means "Excuse me (never underestimate the power of politeness in French), my car has broken down because of the battery (this is the way the members of my local 2cv club I hung out with during study-abroad in France always said it). Could you (subjunctive makes me sound more polite and small) help me start it with my cables? (wild guess of how to say that)" The phrase "ma voiture est tombée en panne de X", meaning "my car has broken down because of X" with X being the part in trouble was one of the most useful expressions I ever learned over there.

Salut les amis,
Dave send me a message asking for help .
I'd be very pleased if I could help .
What's the problem exactly ?
What I read here in french signed by Euromobile is perfect.
Excusez-moi, ma voiture est tombée en panne de batterie. Pourriez-vous m'aider à la démarrer avec mes câbles?
You're right , the way you ask is very polite.

[Dave T]

Excusez-moi, ma voiture est tombée en panne de batterie. Pourriez-vous m'aider à la démarrer avec mes câbles?
You're right , the way you ask is very polite.

...and the way I asked is very savage, assuming that they could even understand me. To Euromobile, they'd reply "bien sur" (of course) with a big smile. To my broken French, they growl at me "non"

Thank you, Golfhunter, for your kind advice!

[Golfhunter]

Thank you, Golfhunter, for your kind advice!

De nada

[rpiereck]

The problem I have with French is the same I have with other Latin languages, that their vocabularies get all jumbled up in my mind, so it comes out as a mix of Portuguese/Spanish/French/Italian. My accent in French is pretty good and I could possibly pass for French if I could only get the vocabulary right...

On Euromobile's situation I would say "Excusez moi, j'avais d'un probleme electrique avec ma voiture. La batterie ne avait pas de electricité, et je necessite dún cable pour le charger." Obiously not correct French but I imagine it would get understood.

[nordwulf]

I am considering buying this little book/app or perhaps creating my own for car troubles. Just point and accomplish anything in any language.

[euromobile900]

I actually recently saw, for sale, some signs that one could put in the car window, with various helpful things on them, such as a picture of a battery with a lightning bolt, a picture of a gas can, or a picture of a flat tire. But the thought of asking for help...ugh! If I ever broke down on the side of the road, I know I'd start thinking that anyone offering help was secretly judging me (questioning my intelligence?) for owning an "unreliable" SAAB. Worse yet, what if they thought I just bought a classic car for the image, without being able to actually run and maintain the thing? So embarrassing! I'd be forever repeating my alibi of "this NEVER happens" and looking for signs of smugness in the other motorist's face. This is probably because I secretly judge the people I help on the side of the road. Seriously, I often wonder how much of good-samaritanism is just narcissism put to good use. Does that make me a bad person??

[SaabKen]

Google's Translate App (android for me) works quite well by text or speech:

ech:

[Burnsside42]

Joke my wife sent me;

A man died and went to heaven. As he stood in front of St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, he saw a huge wall of clocks behind him.
He asked, 'What are all those clocks?'
St. Peter answered, 'Those are Lie-Clocks.
Everyone on Earth has a Lie-Clock.
Every time you lie the hands on your clock will move.'
'Oh,' said the man, 'whose clock is that?'
'That's Mother Teresa's. The hands have never moved, indicating that she never told a lie.'
'Incredible,' said the man. 'And whose clock is that one?'
St. Peter responded, 'That's Abraham Lincoln's clock. The hands have moved twice, telling us that Abe told only two lies in his entire life.'
'Where's President Obama's clock?' asked the man.
Obama's clock is in Jesus' office.
He's using it as a ceiling fan.

[Dave T]

Politicians' spin can sometimes be wild. A recent one that I can recall is when President Obama wanted to raise the top income tax level when the Bush tax rates were expiring. Like or hate it, that is a politician's position. The Republicans wanted the tax rates to be extended. Obama's spin of a compromise was to accept all of what he wanted, which was to extend the Bush rates to many people but not all. After all, the Republicans wanted the rates unchanged for everyone they'd get part of what they wanted.

I understand the rationale for both party's position but to spin it calling it a compromise is wild!

Of course, there's a fine art of diplomatic language. When two countries have negotiations, often terms like "productive" are used. I think when they say they had a very frank exchange of views, that is code that there was shouting at the negotiations.