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How Merry Christmas Is Said Around the World

Yeah, it's a Celtic language, so it'll be similar to Irish and Scots Gaelic... and I suppose one of the reason's why it's so hard to learn is that it's simply fallen out of use... Nobody to teach it, nobody to practise on, novody to converse with in it... so people have just forgotten about it...
 
Originally posted by howabe
For the Happy New Year part, the standard idiom seems to be 'guten Rutsch', to which you could probably add (ins neue Jahr)..
Literally meaning a happy slide (into the new year)

Actually, in German there is a slight difference between "Guten Rutsch" & "glテシckliches neues Jahr" (= "happy new year"). The 'Rutsch' is used before the new year actually starts & means something like "have a good time while celebrating on New Year's Eve" or "have a good start into the new year".
At midnight of New Year's Eve people clink glasses (with sparkling wine usually) & say "Frohes Neujahr" or "Glテシckliches neues Jahr", the same expressions can be used when meeting someone for the first time in the new year.
 
That's so interesting, Bossel! You know, my last name is "Fritz," so I have a lot of German in me. My family even traced our history, including the Fritz Coat of Arms. It was really interesting! Wish I knew the language, though. 😄
 
Originally posted by Elizabeth
This list from Planetpals looks less error prone.

At PLANETPALS we have visitors from all around the world.
We celebrate by saying MERRY CHRISTMAS in many of their languages!

Swedish - God Jul och Gott Nytt テ? and S Rozhdestvom Kristovym

"God jul och gott nytt テ・r" is correct. It means "Merry Christmas and a happy new year". However, the "S Rozhdestvom Kristovym" part makes no sense. It's definitely not Swedish. :confused:
 
How many languages do you know, Elizabeth? You seem so knowledgeable about so many different languages (as well as other things). I'm just curious how many you know. It's very impressive! :)
 
Truthfully only English, Japanese, fragments of Spanish.....and apparently too much time on my hands at the moment :)
 
LOL. It sure sounds like more than that. Well, you're certainly knowledgeable about a lot of things--too much time on your hands or not!
:)
 
lol I'm envious 😌 I can speak English (to an extent) German and French to an almost intelligable degree, fragments of Japanese... and I've studied Latin for 6 years, although it's hardly the kind of language you converse in... but I take a great interest in languages, etymology etc, and I'd like to learn as many as possible really lol... although that isn't very likely to happen...
 
Originally posted by LordGus
the "S Rozhdestvom Kristovym" part makes no sense. It's definitely not Swedish. :confused:
well, seeing as it;s an alphabetical list, it could be Swiss German, but it doesn't look like Swiss, and I think that was already listed under Romansch. It could be Tagalog... but doesn't seem like that either (from the one Tagalog phrase I know lol)
But it does certainly look Russian-esque...
 
Wow, I'd say you know quite a few languages, Howabe! You're really lucky. I would love to know as many languages as I could. :)
 
Originally posted by howabe
well, seeing as it;s an alphabetical list, it could be Swiss German, but it doesn't look like Swiss, and I think that was already listed under Romansch. It could be Tagalog... but doesn't seem like that either (from the one Tagalog phrase I know lol)
But it does certainly look Russian-esque...
I just scanned up the list a little ways and noticed the similarity between Rozhdestvom and Rozhdestva along with the oyvm endings, but haven't checked it out formally or anything.
 
I think some of these buggy lists must be machine generated by Google and site producers, though, which explains how mistakes get replicated hundreds of times over.
 
I'd like to make a correction, because I see you all like to learn a little bit of every language.
In Romanian
Sarbatori vesele
means Happy Holidays...and Merry Christmas is Craciun Fericit !
 
For Satori's list, it is strange that in some language there is only the "merry Xmas" part, while most also have the "Happy New Year" translation.

The Italian is mistaken, and it seems to me as it was translated by a robot on the net.

Funnily enough, nobody has mentionned Japanese. In the 3 list (Satori, Hidden_Wisdom and Elisabeth's) they say "shinnen omedetou, kurisumasu omedetou". First the order is wrong as they start with new year, then xmas, but on top of that Japanese don't really say "shinnen omedetou" (direct translation from Chinese, isn't it). The last time you see someone before the New Year, people say "yoi o-toshi woツ ツ(o-mukae kudasaiツ)" 窶氾??堋「窶堋ィ窶扼窶堙ー窶堋ィ(ナ筑窶堋ヲ窶堋ュ窶堋セ窶堋ウ窶堋「), but from the 1st of January, it becomes "akemashite omedeou (gozaimasu)" 窶督セ窶堋ッ窶堙懌?堋オ窶堙??堋ィ窶堙溪?堙??堙??堋、窶堋イ窶堋エ窶堋「窶堙懌?堋キ. However, on the nengajou (new year's card) and other wrtten signs on house's doors, in shops or temples, you will see "gantan" ナ陳ウ窶儷, which means New Year's Day and refers to the first rays of the sun of the year. It is only a written "greeting".
 
i'm sorry I lost my head somewhere back there and I know with all that stuff you guys wrote i'm never going to find it. :confused: :(
I'll just pretend to have a clue!!!
 
Originally posted by SilverAngel:
ow. My head can't process all of that information...

Silver Angel,

I can relate. There's no way I'm going to be able to absorb all these corrections either! But it's still interesting! 😄

Satori
:)
 
In the 3 list given above, about half the languages are European, including lots of dialects. Have a look at the similarities between Romance languages :

Portuguese (& Brazilian) Boas Festas e um feliz Ano Novo
Galician: Bo Nada
Spanish (including Argentine, Chile...): Feliz Navidad
Spanish (Columbia): Feliz Navidad y Prテウspero Aテアo Nuevo
Spanish (Peru): Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Aテアo Nuevo
Papiamento - Bon Pasco y un Feliz Aテアa Nobo
Catalan: Bon Nadal i un Bon Any Nou!
Occitan: Pulit nadal e bona annado
Monegasque (Monaco) - Festusu Natale e Bona ana noeva
Corsican - Bon Natale e Bon capu d' annu
Sardinian - Felize Nadale e Bonu Cabuannu // Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou
Italian Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo
Latin: Natale hilare et Annum Nuovo
Friulian - Bon Nadテ「l e Bon An Gnテサf
Ladin - Bon Nadel y Bon Ann Nuef
Romanche: (sursilvan dialect): Legreivlas fiastas da Nadal e bien niev onn
French Joyeux Noツ・ et Bonne Annテゥe
Jèrriais (Jersey = Norman French) : Bouan Noué et Bouanne Année
Romanian - Hristos s-a Nascut si Anul Nou Fericit

It's even more similar when you know that a word like "felice/feliz/..." (happy), "buono/bueno/bon/..." (good) and "prospero/prosperu/..." (prosperous) are interchangeable in some languages.
Xmas is Natale, Nadale, Nadal, Nada, Noel, Nascut... and "New Year" in Italian is either "Anno Nuovo" or "Capo d'anno" (the latter is used in the Sardinian, Corsican and other dialects).
 
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Now let's take a look at the Germanic languages (roughly from North to South to see the progressive change):

Icelandic - Gle?ileg Jテウl og Farsaelt Komandi テ。r!
Norwegian -God Jul og Godt Nyttテ・r
Swedish - God Jul och Gott Nytt テ?
Danish - Glテヲdelig Jul og godt nytテ・r
Frisian : Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier!
Afrikaans - Geseende Kerfees en 'n gelukkige nuwe jaar
Dutch : Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!
Flemish : Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar
Low Saxon -Heughliche Winachten un 'n moi Nijaar
German - Frohliche Weihnachten und ein glツ・kliches Neues Jahr!
Luxemburgish - Schテゥi Krツ・chtdeeg an e Schテゥint Nテゥi Joer
Pennsylvania German - En frehlicher Grischtdaag unen hallich Nei Yaahr!

Once again words like "froeliche/vrolijk/frehlicher/glaedig/zalig/hallich/heughliche..." (happy, glad), "gesunde/geseende/..." (healthy), "gut/goeie/god/..." (good), "schoene/schei/moi/..." (beautiful) are just different adjectives to express the same feeling.

The pattern for "New Year" is basically the same for all languages : Neues Jahr, Nieuw Jaar, Nijaar, Nije Jier, Nei Joer, Nei Yaahr, Nytar...
 
OMG, Maciamo, did you major in languages in college or something? I'm very impressed with your knowledge of so many languages!! :)

Satori
 
Thats a nice list!!!

the dutch says happy christmas and a happy new year... Vrolijk kerstfeest en een gelukkig nieuwjaar.
 
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