Saturday 29 July 2017

"Mo Li Hua", Cantonese lyrics

Chinese:

好一朵美麗的茉莉花
好一朵美麗的茉莉花
芬芳美麗滿枝椏
又香又白人人誇
讓我來將你摘下
送給別人家
茉莉花呀茉莉花

Cantonese pronunciation:

Hou yat do meilai dik mutleifa
Hou yat do meilai dik mutleifa
Fanfong meilai munzi aa
Yau heung yau baak yanyan kwaa
Yoeng ngo loi zoeng nei zaak haa
Sungkap bityan gaa
Mutleifa aa mutleifa

Translation into English:

What a beautiful jasmine flower,
With its fragrant, lovely blossoms,
Sweet-smelling white flowers beloved by all.
Let me pluck you down
And give you away to other people,
Jasmine blossom, oh, jasmine blossom.


As a Cantonese person myself, I cannot help it by try to sing "Mo Li Hua" (a popular Chinese song about gifts of jasmine flowers) in my native dialect, for fun!

Sunday 21 May 2017

Houyhnhnm language

(?) - approximate, guessed

Yahoo - a barbaric humanoid; evil; having worse or poor quality; human (?) : Part 4, Chapter 1 (4,1)
Houyhnhnm - horse; perfection of nature; a sentient horse from an island south of the Australian coast : 4,1
Hhuun - attend [to him] : 4,1
Hnea-Yahoo - the Yahoo's evil; a disease (?) : 4,7
Ylnhiamshy - aborigines, natives : 4,8
Ihnuwnh - to return to a first mother; to die : 4,8
Hhnm Yahoo - the folly of a servant : 4,9
Whnaholm Yahoo - the loss of a child : 4,9
Ynlhmndwihlma Yahoo - a stone that cuts their feet (?) ; continued bad weather (?) : 4,9
Ynholmhnmrohlnw Yahoo - a poorly-built house : 4,9
Nnuhnoh - a small mammal that is as large as a rabbit that is hunted for its fur : 4,10
Hnuy illa nyha majah Yahoo - take care of thyself, gentle Yahoo : 4,11

The Houyhnhnm language is based on the neighing of horses.

Laputan language, and Barlnibarbian and Luggnaggian as well

Laputan:

Lap (archaic) - high
untuh (archaic) - governor
Lapuntuh (archaic) - high governor, modernized as "Laputa"; the name of the flying island
Lagado - capital city
Flandona Gagnole - Astronomer's Cave
Balnibarbi - a continent located under Laputa
Munodi - a governor in Laputa
"Tribnia" (invented) - Gulliver's anagram for "Britain", a nation of informers
"Langden" (invented) - Gulliver's anagram for "England"

Balnibarbian:

Ickpling gloffthrobb squut serumm blhiop mlashnalt zwin tnodbalkuffh slhiophad gurdlubh asht - May your celestial majesty outlive the sun eleven moons and a half
Fluft drin yalerick dwuldom prastrad mirpush - My tongue is in the mouth of my friend; I need to bring my interpreter
bliffmarklub - high chamberlain

Luggnaggian:

Luggnagg - an island east of Japan
Maldonada - a large port in Luggnagg
Glubbdubdribb - an island of sorcerers and magicians
Clumegnig - a river that flows along the southeastern point of Luggnagg
Traldragdubb, Trildrogdrib - a port in Luggnagg
struldbrug -an immortal with a red mark on his forehead who becomes incapable on activity upon reaching old age
slumskudask - an item given by a struldbrug to ensure that the receiver remembers him
Glanguenstald - a port in southwestern Luggnagg, that functions as its only link with Japan

Monday 8 May 2017

Brobdingnagian language

(?) approximate, guessed

Brobdingnag - (name of a country) : not mentioned
Grildrig - a tiny man : Part 2, Chapter 2 (2,2)
Glumdalclitch - a little nurse : 2,2
splacnuck - a six-foot long animal : 2,2
grulrud - town crier : 2,2
Lorbrulgrud - Pride of the Universe : 2,2
Slardral - gentleman usher : 2,3
relplum scalcath - freak of nature, unrestrained person
glomglung - a unit of measurement; three glomglungs correspond to 54 English miles (86.9 kilometres) : 2,4
Flanflasnic - a city "within eighteen English miles of the seaside" (28.97 kilometres) : 2,8

Russian vulgar slang (part 1 - Warning: NSFW topics)

(Many of these words can be very inappropriate in most settings, or just too offensive to be used. Be careful!)