Errr.. does anyone speak Icelandic?

[smiling bandit]

I'm not even sure if Icelandic is a dialect of Norse, but mutually intelligable, or not, or what.

Long story short: My dear old mum got a letter from a hotel she stayed at - in Reykjavic. She paid the bill presented, and apparently had no trouble dealing with them in English.

Fast forward to now, more than a year after she stayed there. A mysterious letter with the hotel's emblem appears. It is written in Icelandic (we assume; I don't speak it or anything like it). There is a completely-unintelligable letter followed by an equally-unintelligable document of some kind, which looks like maybe a bill. However, it might not be. It's for 105... dollars. (Not kroner. What does that mean?) Even if it were a scam... well, I think even the dimmest scammer would realize he had to make the fake bill intelligable to the audience. As of right now, we could respond even if we wanted to because we can't read the address. :D

So... does anyone speak Icelandic? Can I post the letter here?

[Dr. Drake]

WormTheRed does. I think others do as well. Check out the do-Icelanders-believe-in-elves thread on page two of GQ. If it's in Icelandic, it's also fairly easy for a Norwegian speaker to give you the gist of it, and we have some of those.

[blueninja]

As a Swede I could probably make somewhat sense of it as I'm sure many others here could as well, our languages aren't that much different. If you're not shy about the contents for some reason, post it and I'm sure we'll decipher it for you.

[Lemur866]

You could also try running it through Google translate for swedish, danish, and norwegian. That might give you some idea of the gist, but it will probably choke on þ and ð.

[smiling bandit]

Thanks. I'll go get it and toss it up here tommorow.

[Kimmy_Gibbler]

Not to be dense, but if

She paid the bill presented, and apparently had no trouble dealing with them in English.

why not get on the horn and ask them what this zany letter is all about?

[WormTheRed]

I can translate it, no probs. But I won't be able to answer until Saturday, unless you want to post it, PM or E-mail it to me in the next couple of hours.

(ha! never thought speaking Icelandic would be handy here :))

[Sunspace]

(ha! never thought speaking Icelandic would be handy here :))Everything is handy here, eventually. An expert mathematician who commutes by unicycle and who can translate from Lojban to Bulgarian wouldn't even raise an eyebrow here.

Actually, I know him. But he's not a member of the Dope. Pity.

[sailor]

They want their towels back.

[fiddlesticks]

Did your mother smush one of the hotel elves accidentally? :)

[NurseCarmen]

Is your mom in a heavy metal band fond of trashing hotel rooms?

[Dr. Drake]

Dear Hotel:

I am very sorry for having crushed one of your elves and stolen your towels. I am filled with shame and remorse. You will be glad to know that I mailed the corpse (wrapped in towels with your logo) to scientists at the Smithsonian Institute. Since they profited from the goods, I have forwarded your letter to them; I am sure they will remit you the $105 very soon.

Yours,

smiling bandit

An online translator renders this:

Yndi Hótel : ÉG er mjög hryggur fyrir having troðningur einn af þinn ungur áll og þinn handklæði. ÉG er fiskflak með skömm og samviskubit. Þú vilja vera glaður til vita þessi ÉG póstlagður the lík ( umbúðir í handklæði með þinn nafnplata ) til vísindamaður á the Smithsonian Stofnun. Síðan þeir okrari frá the eigur , ÉG hafa flutningamiðlari þinn bréf til þá ; ÉG er viss þeir vilja gefa eftir þú the $105 mjög bráðum. Þinn , bros stigamaður

Barring the odd capitalization and the occasional English word left untranslated ("logo" was no problem but "the" seems to have thrown it), this should be readily understood by the hotel.

[WormTheRed]

Yndi Hótel : ÉG er mjög hryggur fyrir having troðningur einn af þinn ungur áll og þinn handklæði. ÉG er fiskflak með skömm og samviskubit. Þú vilja vera glaður til vita þessi ÉG póstlagður the lík ( umbúðir í handklæði með þinn nafnplata ) til vísindamaður á the Smithsonian Stofnun. Síðan þeir okrari frá the eigur , ÉG hafa flutningamiðlari þinn bréf til þá ; ÉG er viss þeir vilja gefa eftir þú the $105 mjög bráðum. Þinn , bros stigamaður

Barring the odd capitalization and the occasional English word left untranslated ("logo" was no problem but "the" seems to have thrown it), this should be readily understood by the hotel.

Close, but no cigar :)

[Dr. Drake]

What does it say? The only dictionary I have is Zoëga's, which isn't modern. It has stigamaðr as "highwayman." No bros, but brosa is "a smile" and "to smile." At a guess, I'd imagine bros stigamaður comes out as "Smile, Highwayman!" They list two bros- compounds: bros-leitr, "with smiling face"; bros-ligr, "ridiculous." ETA: perhaps "Highwayman-smile," that sort of "gimme-all-yer-money" grimace that roadside mauraders used to use on their victims?

Note: the ownership of an Old Icelandic-English dictionary does not imply Icelandic competence. I am not your translator, you are not my client. This post does not establish translator-translatee priveleges.

[WormTheRed]

Yndi Hótel : ÉG er mjög hryggur fyrir having troðningur einn af þinn ungur áll og þinn handklæði. ÉG er fiskflak með skömm og samviskubit. Þú vilja vera glaður til vita þessi ÉG póstlagður the lík ( umbúðir í handklæði með þinn nafnplata ) til vísindamaður á the Smithsonian Stofnun. Síðan þeir okrari frá the eigur , ÉG hafa flutningamiðlari þinn bréf til þá ; ÉG er viss þeir vilja gefa eftir þú the $105 mjög bráðum. Þinn , bros stigamaður

Word for word that would mean:

Loving hotel. I am most sad for having stampede one of your young aluminum and your towel. I am a fish filet with shame and guilty conscience. You want to be happy to know that I posted the dead body (packing in towel with your nameplate) to scientist at the Smithsonian Institute. Then they "corrupted" (okrari) from us the ownership. I have transport agent your letter to them. I am sure they will give in you the $105 very soon. Yours smile highwayman (aka smiling bandit)

[Dr. Drake]

Beautiful. Put a stamp on that sucker and send ’er off.

[smiling bandit]

Not to be dense, but if



why not get on the horn and ask them what this zany letter is all about?

For obvious reasons, I have no desire to make an international phone call just to check in the blind hope that somebody who knows something and can explain it to me over the phone in English (assuming I can make myself understood at all). And then call back three more times for a half-hour each time. Heh.

[Rysdad]

I am a fish filet with shame and guilty conscience.

I'm not sure why, but reading this line floored me.

Naughty, naughty fish filet. Put your head down and feel bad.

Oh, God.

:D:D:D:D:D

[Ike Witt]

I'm not sure why, but reading this line floored me.


It sounds like Homer in that thread where he posted while tripping on mushrooms....

[Sunspace]

For obvious reasons, I have no desire to make an international phone call...Eeeeh. International calls are cheap these days with services like Skype. And you can then blame any misunderstandings on 'network issues'. Or 'elves'.

[Princhester]

I'm not sure why, but reading this line floored me.

Yup.

[clairobscur]

Beautiful. Put a stamp on that sucker and send ’er off.

Seconded. Such a letter just has to be sent.

[naita]

Yndi Hótel : ÉG er mjög hryggur fyrir having troðningur einn af þinn ungur áll og þinn handklæði. ÉG er fiskflak með skömm og samviskubit. Þú vilja vera glaður til vita þessi ÉG póstlagður the lík ( umbúðir í handklæði með þinn nafnplata ) til vísindamaður á the Smithsonian Stofnun. Síðan þeir okrari frá the eigur , ÉG hafa flutningamiðlari þinn bréf til þá ; ÉG er viss þeir vilja gefa eftir þú the $105 mjög bráðum. Þinn , bros stigamaður

Word for word that would mean:

Loving hotel. I am most sad for having stampede one of your young aluminum and your towel. I am a fish filet with shame and guilty conscience. You want to be happy to know that I posted the dead body (packing in towel with your nameplate) to scientist at the Smithsonian Institute. Then they "corrupted" (okrari) from us the ownership. I have transport agent your letter to them. I am sure they will give in you the $105 very soon. Yours smile highwayman (aka smiling bandit)

I think this is the first time I've seen an online translator whose main problem seems to be a poor understanding of English. I mean, it can't translate "the" and thinks "filled" should be translated to "fish filet".:D

[Goosey]

I think this is the first time I've seen an online translator whose main problem seems to be a poor understanding of English. I mean, it can't translate "the" and thinks "filled" should be translated to "fish filet".:D

Well, 'the' is pretty complex in Icelandic, where sometimes it's a separate word, and sometimes it's a suffix to the noun. And when it's a separate word (hinn), it can either mean 'the' or "the other", depending on the context.

And 'filet' is French. The English word is 'fillet'. Which is... um... only one letter away from 'filled'?

[NurseCarmen]

Seconded. Such a letter just has to be sent.Thirded. It reads like a Nigerian elf scam.

[Ca3799]

I have a native speaker handy. Post the letter here and he will translate for you.

[chappachula]

I am a fish filet with shame and guilty conscience

Arise, all, and bow to the new god of comedy( even if it is only a dictionary-bot)

[obligatory reference to you-know-who]
for this even surpasses "my hovercraft is full of eels"

[/obligatory reference to Monty Pthon]




And 'filet' is French. The English word is 'fillet'. Which is... um... only one letter away from 'filled'
okay, so let's allow for a minor mistake....but I still don't get why the software translated it as a fish filet. Why not filet mignon? :)

[svrider]

I think this is one of the few times I have actually laughed out loud in my office. As a dane I understood a bit of the Icelandish, but wondered what fiskflak meant. Now I know.

[Raza]

I never make one-sentence or "me too" posts (heck, I rarely post at all, obviously), but I just had to thank WormTheRed and the other participants in the double-translation - it is the funniest thing I've read all week.

[Lemur866]

And how did it translate "elf" as "aluminum"? Elf is a word that comes directly from Norse.

[Olentzero]

I am a fish filet with shame and guilty conscience.This, ladies and gentlemen, is our SDMB celebrity test. Anyone ever drops this line in any form of mass media whatsoever, they have positively identified themselves as a Doper.

[smiling bandit]

I don't have the letter, but here is the relevant info on the "bill"

Innheimta Gjadalgi 06.04.2009 (the date?)

Viðtakandi
Sofnunarsjoður lifeyrisrttinda
Borgartuni 29
105 Reykjavik- 5 (address)

Simi: 510 - 7400
Fax: 510-7401 (ok, I understood this)

Sunderliðun greiðslu
4% framlag laun*ega 26.767
(*letter that looks like lowercase b and p stuck togeher; it won't display even when copying and pasting)
8% framlag atvinnurekanda 53.535
Vextir 26.709
Kostnaður 2.409

Samtals 109.420


Vangreidd Lifeyrissjoðsiðgjold 2007

I ljos hefur komið að ekki hafa verið greidd lifeyriðgjold i samr*mi (Sam Raimi!) við skattskyldar tekjur arið 2007. Vinsamlegast greiðið sem fryst. Hjalagt fylgja nanari upplysingar.

*letter a-e, that won't copy and paster either (:mad:)

I don't know why, but my computer has suddenly gone on the fritz. I can't seem to get accents or some special characters working.

[Xema]

And how did it translate "elf" as "aluminum"? Elf is a word that comes directly from Norse.
This is a very natural sort of confusion. Not many people know that around 400 years ago Norwegian elves specialized in the production of aluminum (remains recognizable as primitive beer cans are still occasionally found near the ancient elvish mines south of Akureyri) and have thus become closely associated with it in mythology.

[Lemur866]

(*letter that looks like lowercase b and p stuck togeher; it won't display even when copying and pasting)
That's a thorn: þ. It's the hard th sound in "thin". The other is eth: ð. That's the soft th sound in "this". The a-e ligature can be transcribed as (you guessed it) ae. I'm still pissed at those middle english scribes who thought they could get rid of eth and thorn. Assholes.

[WormTheRed]

I'll PM the translation to you.

[WormTheRed]

I'm just glad you guys appreciated the effort I put into the first very hard translation :D

[Happy Poster]

I'll PM the translation to you.

It's porno, isn't it :D

[WormTheRed]

It's porno, isn't it :D

Nope. But it probably would be if Dr. Drake were to translate it :)

[Lemur866]

I'll PM the translation to you.

You can't leave us in suspense.

[Little Nemo]

And how did it translate "elf" as "aluminum"? Elf is a word that comes directly from Norse.It's the 21st century. Nobody uses wooden elves anymore. Modern elves are made out of aluminum or plastics. In fact, Iceland is currently researching the use of composite carbonfibers in the next generation of elves.

[Sunspace]

It's the 21st century. Nobody uses wooden elves anymore. Modern elves are made out of aluminum or plastics. In fact, Iceland is currently researching the use of composite carbonfibers in the next generation of elves.Don't let chowder know. He's had enough problems with garden gnomes (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=494522).

[Knorf]

OMG. I just hurt myself laughing so hard.

You must send the internet-translated letter. It's too perfect not to mail.

[Oslo Ostragoth]

More proof that a person can click on a random thread on the Dope, and end up with tears running down the face.

Well done!

<Begins slow clap>

[Rysdad]

Modern elves are made out of aluminum or plastics. In fact, Iceland is currently researching the use of composite carbonfibers in the next generation of elves.

Makin elvs, ur doin it rite. (http://www.grapevine.is/media/w490/246ef2925fc293d4.jpg)

[goodie]

"I am a fish fillet with shame and a guilty conscience" OK, who's gonna get the t-shirts made? I'll order 2.

[mangeorge]

So where's the freakin' translation? Grrr!
I hate this coitus interruptus shit! :mad:
Peace,
mangeorge
Grrr!

[Really Not All That Bright]

I have never laughed as loud at anything as I did at "fish filet with shame and guilty conscience".

Not videos of men getting hit in the nads with baseballs/bats, not dramatic chipmunk, not Monty Python sketches, not even Eddie Izzard. Nothing.

[Kobal2]

That's a thorn: þ. It's the hard th sound in "thin". The other is eth: ð. That's the soft th sound in "this". The a-e ligature can be transcribed as (you guessed it) ae. I'm still pissed at those middle english scribes who thought they could get rid of eth and thorn. Assholes.

Don't you mean "Aþoles" ? :D

[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

That's a thorn: þ. It's the hard th sound in "thin". The other is eth: ð. That's the soft th sound in "this". The a-e ligature can be transcribed as (you guessed it) ae. I'm still pissed at those middle english scribes who thought they could get rid of eth and thorn. Assholes.Don't you mean the other way around--hard (voiced fricative) sound in "this" and soft (voiceless fricative) sound in "thin"?

Isn't Icelandic nearly impossible for other Scandinavians to understand with just their native language knowledge? IIRC the Continental Nordic languages, especially Danish, have lost nearly all the morphological complexity that they once shared with Icelandic, which imposes syntactic requirements that an inflected language does not have.

[WormTheRed]

Don't you mean the other way around--hard (voiced fricative) sound in "this" and soft (voiceless fricative) sound in "thin"?

Isn't Icelandic nearly impossible for other Scandinavians to understand with just their native language knowledge? IIRC the Continental Nordic languages, especially Danish, have lost nearly all the morphological complexity that they once shared with Icelandic, which imposes syntactic requirements that an inflected language does not have.

I can only speak with regards to my Swedish friends. Those that know me and my family (and have hence heard us speak Icelandic) can after 20+ years pick up bits and pieces of sentences and guesstimate what's said. But then again, we speak rather quickly.

[eleanorigby]

But what does the original letter say? Is the letter an Icelandic equivalent of Who Shot JR? Inquiring minds want to know. Plus, with a trip to Iceland planned soon, I want to know how to avoid my own fish fillet o'shame.....


Aluminum elves I can handle.

[smiling bandit]

Worm the Red sent it to me. Probably much less interesting than you think (aside from the Icelandic government apparently not understanding the difference between someone brought over to consult and a native Icelandic citizen employee).

Thanks, Mate!

[WormTheRed]

Just glad I could help.

Now I'm waiting for a question regarding a unicycle, which Sunspace mentioned :)

[Alex_Dubinsky]

the Icelandic government apparently not understanding the difference between someone brought over to consult and a native Icelandic citizen employee
At this point... it doesn't care.

The small-city-that-thinks-it's-a-country is facing a staggering 10% GDP contraction this year... and another the next. Its economy has been obliterated by the financial crisis, being a tax and law haven for international bankers. But with a per-capita GDP that is fourth-highest in the world, it is hard to feel sorry for them.

[mangeorge]

At this point... it doesn't care.

The small-city-that-thinks-it's-a-country is facing a staggering 10% GDP contraction this year... and another the next. Its economy has been obliterated by the financial crisis, being a tax and law haven for international bankers. But with a per-capita GDP that is fourth-highest in the world, it is hard to feel sorry for them.
When I see a stat like that, I always wonder who gets that GDP.

[Hadrian's Wall]

When I see a stat like that, I always wonder who gets that GDP.

The aluminum elves ;)

[mangeorge]

The aluminum elves ;)
Probably. And we all know what they spend it on. ;)

[Sunspace]

Probably. And we all know what they spend it on. ;)Glögg and lutefisk.

[mangeorge]

Glögg and lutefisk.
Sounds . . . . ,
well, it sounds Icelandic, I guess. Or Swedish. What do I know? :D

[mangeorge]

I wiki'd both. So now I know.
I love wikipedia, with all it's faults.

[unclelem]

Glögg and lutefisk.

That sounds like Sweden. (Or Minnesota)

I would think that the Icelanders would spend it on sheep heads and rotted shark meat.

[Sunspace]

That sounds like Sweden. (Or Minnesota)Icelandic elves need holidays too!
I would think that the Icelanders would spend it on sheep heads and rotted shark meat.That's why the Icelandic elves need holidays. :D

[Hadrian's Wall]

Glögg and lutefisk.

Fermented Shark sounds especially great right about now. :p

[mangeorge]

Can't you people ever be serious about anything?

[Xema]

Can't you people ever be serious about anything?
About punctuation: In post #60 your use of an apostrophe in "it's" is uncalled for.

[mangeorge]

About punctuation: In post #60 your use of an apostrophe in "it's" is uncalled for.
What!

[Really Not All That Bright]

"its faults", not "it's faults". You don't need an apostrophe with possessive pronouns. Hence, "his", not "hi's", "hers", not "her's", etc.

[Dr. Drake]

Though that does depend on one's definition of pronoun.

[Really Not All That Bright]

How so?

[Dr. Drake]

"One's" is a type of pronoun. English is inconsistent --- the personal pronouns are apostrophe-free, and the genitive of "who" is "whose" (relative pronoun), but most of the other types do take an apostrophe if they can take the genitive at all.

[bibliophage]

I ljos hefur komið að ekki hafa verið greidd lifeyriðgjold i samr*mi (Sam Raimi!) við skattskyldar tekjur arið 2007. I could have bought the theory that it's a bill for porn, but what kind of person would voluntarily watch Sam Raimi porn?

[Sunspace]

I could have bought the theory that it's a bill for porn, but what kind of person would voluntarily watch Sam Raimi porn?Never forget Rule 34 of the Internet (http://xkcd.com/305/).

[Hadrian's Wall]

Never forget Rule 34 of the Internet (http://xkcd.com/305/).

You beat me to it! But suppose we put it on a treadmill (http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2638/an-airplane-taxies-in-one-direction-on-a-moving-conveyor-belt-going-the-opposite-direction-can-the-plane-take-off)...

[mangeorge]

About punctuation: In post #60 your use of an apostrophe in "it's" is uncalled for.

If you want my apostrophe you'll have to take it from My Cold Dead Hands.
Same to you Really Not All That Bright.
;)

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

If you want my apostrophe you'll have to take it from My Cold Dead Hands.
Same to you Really Not All That Bright.
;)We all know what you keep in your cold dead hands, mangeorge, and you oughtta be ashamed, cause it makes the Baby Jesus cry, & besides, you'll go blind.

[Hadrian's Wall]

If you want my apostrophe you'll have to take it from My Cold Dead Hands.
Same to you Really Not All That Bright.
;)

*There is supposed to be a comma between cold and dead, at least in the Charlton Heston version in thus manner:
"I'll give up my gun when you take it from my cold, dead hands." (http://partners.nytimes.com/library/national/052100nra-gore.html)

You can thank me later :)

[Xema]

If you want my apostrophe you'll have to take it from My Cold Dead Hands.
I'm all for apostrophes, so long as they are used responsibly. I think we all understand the carnage that can ensue when they aren't.

[mangeorge]

I'm all for apostrophes, so long as they are used responsibly. I think we all understand the carnage that can ensue when they aren't.
So I see!

[mangeorge]

We all know what you keep in your cold dead hands, mangeorge, and you oughtta be ashamed, cause it makes the Baby Jesus cry, & besides, you'll go blind.
I'll get lasik.

[mangeorge]

*There is supposed to be a comma between cold and dead, at least in the Charlton Heston version in thus manner:
"I'll give up my gun when you take it from my cold, dead hands." (http://partners.nytimes.com/library/national/052100nra-gore.html)

You can thank me later :)
Yes, thank you for that. You almost get a :rolleyes: as reward.

[Oslo Ostragoth]

Sometimes when I read the Dope, I think: Did I just eat some magic mushrooms, and not know it?

[mangeorge]

Sometimes when I read the Dope, I think: Did I just eat some magic mushrooms, and not know it?

The ghost of Dr. Leary is here, and he's putting stuff in our drinking water.
He wants his head back.

[Hadrian's Wall]

I doubt it, he's too busy making cute acronyms, like SMI2LE
Sigh... Those were the good ole days, before I was born...

[Northern Piper]

I'm all for apostrophes, so long as they are used responsibly. I think we all understand the carnage that can ensue when they aren't.

that's why in Canada, we have an apostrophe registry, and strict controls on who can acquire them.

[Northern Piper]

Sometimes when I read the Dope, I think: Did I just eat some magic mushrooms, and not know it?

You haven't bought that cover story about "Dope" meaning information, have you?

[Sunspace]

that's why in Canada, we have an apostrophe registry, and strict controls on who can acquire them.Of course, in Québec, there's the Régie des accoutrements orthographiques, which regulates not only apostrophes, but also accents, diereses, and cedillas.

There is some controversy regarding the overlap between the Québec and federal registries, with the result that occasionally someone falls through the cracks, as happened to one Robert Ménard. M. Ménard was unable to secure enough accents aigus for a project, and the rules prohibited him from transferring accents from English text (primarily the word 'café'), so he had to improvise with Heavy Metal Umlauts from Häagen Dasz ice-cream containers and an old Blue Öyster Cult album he found in the basement.

So the moral is, always be prepared!