A question for people who speak Dutch!

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Hi I'm from Breda and I was wondering, In dutch we use lines like:

Zullen we anders pannenkoeken bakken?

Or

Zullen we anders buiten gaan spelen?

Now I wonder how do you translate lines like this to english?

I mean the: "zullen we anders" part of it, or cant you make a line like:
"zullen we anders" Make pancakes?

Or:
"zullen we anders" play outside?

I was thinking about "otherwise we could" But that doesn't sound right...

Please help!

[This message has been edited by SleepleSS (edited June 19, 2002).]

 

you can always write.
differently, we could bake pancakes.

Or reconstruct the sentence.
Should we bake pancakes instead?
Which is basicly what "zullen we anders" means.

[This message has been edited by ArchAngel (edited June 19, 2002).]

 

Thanks ArchAngel I was thinking about that to but it just doesn't seem to sound right I mean:

Guy one: What are you doing?
Guy Two: Nothing, I gonna sleep now.
(Guy one lays down then get's up again)
Guy two: Differently, we could bake pancakes.
Guy one: Pancakes at midnight?

That line doesn't fit the same waty as:

Guy one: What are you doing?
Guy Two: Nothing, I gonna sleep now.
(Guy one lays down then get's up again)
Guy two: zullen we anders pannenkoeken bakken?
Guy one: Pancakes at midnight?

That sounds so much better...But I bet it just isn't possibel to translate te feelings of a sentence to another language ;(


[This message has been edited by SleepleSS (edited June 19, 2002).]

 

Well, the word "anders" is very useless. I don't use it often, maybe it's something for South-Netherlands (wablief, ik ga aanrijden naar Amsterdam etc... rare jongens, die limburgers en brabanders)... no offense... at least they have good beer and nice parties in South-Netherlands.

But the word "anders" is still useless:

Anders (else, otherwise) only suggests that you are doing something or just nothing, and you have an idea what else to do.

Take this sentence for example:

Zullen we anders naar de bios gaan?

Remove the word "anders":

Zullen we naar de bios gaan?

The meaning of both sentences are EXACTLY the same, so why should you try to translate a word that has no additional value to what you want to say? You get it?

 

BTA, are you sure you don't know any Dutch. I also think 'anders' is used just to suggest something better to do than what you're doing. Or it is a just stupid word without no meaning at all, you throw into a sentence.

SleepleSS: the word 'anders' has been actually banished in all intelligent parts of Holland.

[This message has been edited by Silverblade (edited June 19, 2002).]

 

Hmmm, Well thanks :0) I think Blackthorne is right about the noting else to do part but the word instead doesn't sound right. But If I listen to headbanger then "anders" isn't used by everybody who speaks dutch, not whit this meaning anyway.

I think you can best translate it to Let's make pancakes! So don't put it as a question. Then the responce could be: Don't be silly! Or yeah good idea! You get that can't of reactions to a question like that in dutch. So it's not only something that you do because you have nothing else to do but more somthing that is odd in some way as in the example Baking pancakes at midnight would not happen that much!

I think this will do

 

I understand now. The appropiate translation might be?;

"we could always bake pancakes"

 

Guy two:"we could always bake pancakes"
Guy one: pancakes at midnight? No I gonna sleep now!
Guy two starts to set things ready
Guy one: Well I can't sleep, lets make pancakes!

Yeah, I like it that way


[This message has been edited by SleepleSS (edited June 20, 2002).]

 

OK... then we have a deal... Anders has no meaning, no sense so why use it? Instead is the right word.... but Why don't we bake panacakes instead..... instead of what?! The word instead is only useful when there is an alternative. In the first occasion, you use instead without an alternative.

You could use it in this example:

Boy: What do we eat this evening?
Mother: We eat Potatoes with cooked carrots
Boy: Yech! Why don't we eat pancakes instead?

Nobleman, always is a different word....

 

I think 'anders' doesn't really have an exact English translation, just like a lot of words don't have a correct translation in another language. The only thing I'm sure of is that I'm hungry for pancakes.

[This message has been edited by Silverblade (edited June 20, 2002).]

 

Being Belgian (I'm being kinda patriotic because of the recent "success" in the WC)
I feel it is my duty to clear this up. I don't use 'anders' very often and we are not strange (well, maybe a little) and we do have great parties.

Anyway, I agree with Silverblade, I don't think you can translate 'anders'


[This message has been edited by Uytuun (edited June 22, 2002).]

 

That's not right there is an alternative! They where (In my example) trying to sleep. But they couldn't sleep so the other guy offered to bake pancakes INSTEAD of sleeping...