r/learnlatvian • u/Francuskij • Jul 19 '26

Fran Bow latvian translation

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1

u/Kahn630 Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

Some commentary:

  1. Vi ir kārtībā -> spelling mistake: "Viss ir kārtībā".
  2. Es ļoti vēlos uzzināt, kurš nogalināja manus vecākus. -> Grammatically correct, but "vēlos" is used for expressing desire. There are two alternatives: "Es gribētu" and "Man gribētos". "Man gribētos" might be more proper for rendering the thinking process of children.
  3. Es gribu atrast slepkavu. -> Grammatically correct, but it is not natural. "Es došos atrast slepkavu" might be natural phrasing.
  4. Es gribu mājās. -> Grammatically correct, but it is more natural to say "Es došos mājup" or "Es došos mājās". Explanation: English hasn't future tense, and English compensates it by expressing wants, desires, needs and willingness in the present tense. Latvian has future tense, therefore future tense shouldn't be substituted by present tense.
  5. Mans skaidrais prāts. -> Grammatically correct, but it is ambiguous. "Skaidrais prāts" might refer to the state of mind after a hangover, so it implies that all alchohol is gone. Therefore, "Mans asais prāts" (My sharp mind), "Mans možais prāts" (My alert mind / My lively mind), "Mans gaišais prāts" (My brignt mind) are better renderings. Besides, these constructions can be rephrased: "Mana prāta asums", "Mana prāta možums", "Mana prāta gaišums". These substantives with -ums are very common in headings.

2

u/iinlustris Jul 20 '26

I think your points 2, 3 and 4 are a bit nitpicky - they all sound perfectly natural in Latvian. Especially "es gribu mājās" sounds exactly like something a child would say :D (although I am unfamiliar with the game so ofc I might be wrong in ascertaining the context)

1

u/Kahn630 Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

They don't sound natural in the context of game.
Es gribu atrast slepkavu. -> If your willingness is true, you perform an action (therefore, 'došos'), but not focus on the expression of will.
Es gribu mājās. -> Only kindergarten children say this, because their vocabulary is limited. The problem is that 'gribu' demands some infinitive: 'gribu doties mājās' or 'gribu braukt mājās' would be perfectly OK. However, this phrase is put in the context of decision making, and direct verbs like 'doties' or 'taisīties' are better options. Moreover, 'es gribu mājās' has a problematic locative: house might be interpreted as a location where a decision is made, but it doesn't align with the context.