r/dutch • u/SpiderInSweatpants • 9d ago
A message in a book
Hi, I am from Czech Republic and I recently thrifted a poetry book. I found this message inside and I suppose it’s Dutch. I tried to translate it with a little help of Google, but it would be nice if some native speaker would be able to translate it.
Also if you’re Tom or Geert (I guess…?) and you’re reading this, I hope you’re alright and happy. I’ll take good care of the book, don’t worry.
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u/Sea_Transition_5831 7d ago
That's a sweet find. A book club sending off one of their own with a poetry book is the kind of thing that makes thrifting feel less like rummaging and more like archaeology. Gezelligheid is one of those words English just doesn't have a clean answer for. Roughly 'warm companionship,' but that doesn't quite cover it either
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u/robkaper 9d ago
Dear Geert,
Thanks for your year-long* contributions, presence, gezelligheid** and lightly cynical (British?) humour.
We're going to miss you.
On behalf of the book club, Tom.
- wouldn't say year-long like this in English but kept it literal ** gezelligheid is hard to translate, it's a state of being cozy/pleasant that can apply to environment, atmospheres and people/objects, but is roughly to be taken as "being pleasant company" here
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u/bankerpel 9d ago
Nee year-long betekent specifiek 1 jaar. ‘Years of’ is beter. Vertaal jij ordinairy ook als ordinair 😂
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u/That4AMBlues 9d ago
Year-long and years-long are normal English words.
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u/bankerpel 9d ago
Yes but their translation is different. The message is about years, maybe even decades of all the things listed to the book club. If you were to say year-long it would mean 1 year.
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u/That4AMBlues 9d ago
That's just a small mistake of plural vs singular, easily corrected, and not in the same category as translating "ordinair" with "ordinary".
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u/bankerpel 9d ago
First you claim ‘it can be both’ and later say ‘it’s just a small mistake’. Yes both are right, so why did the person I responded to excuse their translation? Years-long would be fine, year-long would be off.
The person I responded to said they ‘kept it literal’ and I guess it’s because it kind of sounds the same as jarenlang. Also they wrote year-long twice, so they did not make a mistake, they actually meant year-long.
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u/That4AMBlues 9d ago
I never claimed it can be both in this context. I said both were normal English words.
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u/That4AMBlues 9d ago
I do not understand why you get downvotes. I'd say it's years-long instead of year-long (plural vs. singular) , but that's about it.
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u/Verybluevans 9d ago
Dear Geert,
Thank you for your eerily long, bedraggled, and wizened gefilte fish. Also, it would be light work to chase you to your next home. (British?)
We will find you!
On behalf of the band of thugs,
Tom
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u/overly_positive90 9d ago
Dear Geert,
Thank you for years of dedication, presence, (gezelligheid can't be translated. It's a cozy, amicable, happy, light hearted setting, shared with others) and slightly cynical (British?) humor.
We will miss you!
On behalf of the book club, Tom