So with that in mind and some help from NiceTranslator.com I typed that sentence (using “To be or not to be, that is the question” in case there were grammatical considerations in some languages) and asked it for a translation into some 50 different languages. I’m not sure how well this is going to handle all the special characters, but we’ll worry about that later. Right now I’m fascinated by the languages that fit a sort of “B O N B” pattern, where B is their word for “to be”, O for “or”, “N” for not.
I imagined something like a Shakespearean Rosetta stone, where you knew that the language in front of you, that’d you never seen before, represented Hamlet. How much of that language’s rules, vocabulary and grammar might you be able to discern?
The similarities, rather than the differences, are most fascinating. Consider Dutch: Zijn of niet zijn, dat is de vraag. Fits my “B O N B” pattern quite nicely. Now consider Turkish : Olmak ya da olmamak, bu soru için. With a slight change to the second instance of B (olmak -> olmamak), it still fits. But would you have ever imagined similarities in language between Dutch and Turkish? Or Czech: Být či nebýt, to je otázka, where the negation is written as a single word, Být becoming nebýt.
I’ve included the entire list here for reference. What other interesting similarities leap out at you? Which languages are clearly evolved from the same roots?
Disclaimer : I’m aware that these probably go under the heading of “literal translation” and thus are more subject to matching the pattern in the original source, than if you were to ask a native speaker to translate it more freely. Understood. But there are still plenty of languages on this list that don’t fit the pattern, so clearly there’s some level of reasoning that goes into the translation.
Om te wees of nie te wees nie, dit is die vraag.
Për të qenë apo jo që të jetë, kjo është pyetja.
Быць ці не быць, вось у чым пытанне.
Да бъде или да не се, това е въпросът.
Ser o no ser, aquesta és la qüestió.
Být či nebýt, to je otázka.
Zijn of niet zijn, dat is de vraag.
Olla või mitte olla, selles on küsimus.
Upang maging o hindi na, na ang tanong.
Ollako vai eikö olla, että on kysymys.
Pour être ou ne pas être, telle est la question.
Ser ou non ser, velaí a cuestión.
Sein oder nicht sein, das ist die Frage.
Για να είναι ή να μην είναι, αυτό είναι το ζήτημα.
हो सकता है या नहीं होना है, कि सवाल यह है कि करने के
लिए.
Kell vagy nem kell, hogy ez a
kérdés.
Að vera eða ekki vera, það er spurning.
Untuk dapat atau tidak dapat, bahwa pertanyaannya.
Būti ar nebūti, tai yra klausimas.
Ser ou não ser, eis a questão.
Ser o no ser, esa es la cuestión.
Бути чи не бути, от у чому питання.
Biti ali ne biti, to je vprašanje.
Być albo nie być, oto jest pytanie.
Būt vai nebūt, tas ir jautājums.
가이되고, 그 질문하십시오.
されるかどうかに、それが問題だ。
Essere o non essere, questo è il problema.
Chun a bheith nó gan a bheith, go bhfuil an cheist.
Để được hay không được, đó là câu hỏi.
Kuwa au si kuwa, kwamba ni swali.
Att vara eller inte vara, det är frågan.
เป็นหรือไม่เป็นที่เป็นคำถาม
Olmak ya da olmamak, bu soru için.
Byť či nebyť, to je otázka.
Бити или не бити, то је питање.
Быть или не быть, вот в чем вопрос.
Pentru a fi sau a nu fi, aceasta este întrebarea.
Untuk dapat atau tidak boleh, bahawa pertanyaannya.
Biex tkun jew li ma tkunx, li hija l-kwistjoni.
Å være eller ikke være, det er spørsmålet.
Biti ili ne biti, to je pitanje.
I fod yn neu beidio, bod yn y cwestiwn.
At være eller ikke være, det er spørgsmålet.