Hi thanks for looking at my query. I recently as a joke changed some writing on the board of a friends EAL (English as an Additional Language) classroom from English to German. She liked the idea, but using Google Translate resulted in an overly formal phrasing that made it seem more a demand than a suggestion or polite request.
So my ask, if you speak (or I guess write) another language I would love to request you take a moment to translate “Please stack chairs at the end of the day” into whichever language you can help me with, it should be a polite request though.
I’m really not sure what the composition of her class is but she is a fan of languages as a whole so even if it’s not a language that is represented in her class I am sure it will be a bit of fun and a talking point to figure it out.
If you have the time and the skills to help I really appreciate it, otherwise I appreciate you taking the time to read this post. Have a fantastic day.
Not the person you asked, but a native Spanish speaker myself. The formal way to say “excuse me” (for example to a teacher or boss, or to a stranger on the street if you wish to be polite) would be “disculpe señor/a”, or “discúlpeme señor/a”. You can also remove señor/a and simply say “disculpe” or “discúlpeme” to anyone and it will still carry the same meaning, since the verb in both cases already implies it’s about yourself.
The informal way would be “disculpame” or “discúlpame”, although in this case adding señor/a sounds way off. You can definitely add a name though, ie, “discúlpame Shads” and that would be okay.
Edit: as for your specific request of an adult teacher asking something to the students, that would depend a lot on the relationship they have, some teachers are distant while others get more familiar with time. I’ve seen both. By all means the formal one would always be correct. I’ve seen teachers with a usually more relaxed or casual approach revert to the formal when they are getting serious or upset.
You know the more I reflect on this the more sure I am that I am falling into a trap that I am sure a lot of English speakers fall into. I am trying to apply English rules to Spanish as there is a shared language root and a bunch of shared words and at some level syntax. I need to acknowledge that Spanish is a distinct mature language and trying to treat it as a different dialect of English is a wall I need to stop butting my head off.
Really appreciate you stepping in to clarify for someone with my calcified language abilities, the lack of comprehension is entirely my own.
I think I will go with “Por favor, apila las sillas al final del día. Gracias.” and save deeper understanding until I can devote more time and mental energy to understanding Spanish as Spanish.
You rock!
Fair conclusion, but don’t be so hard on yourself. Honestly as a native speaker these things don’t come across as “rules” for me even though of course they have rules. It’s just the natural and obvious way of using the language. And that’s something very hard to get right if you weren’t raised with that language. In other words, I’ve heard a gazillion people say so many examples of phrases in Spanish since before I have memory, that hearing or seeing something outside of the expected pattern stands out immediately, but I can’t always explain why.
It’s unreasonable to expect ever having the same level of fluency with a language you weren’t raised with. I’ve been speaking English half my life and I still screw up sometimes.
Thank you, I should disclose that I am a Gen X Australian, we do self deprecation at a super advanced level. I absolutely get that language becomes so engrained that things just don’t sound/read as correct for reasons you would understand if you took the time to think about them, but you don’t really have to expend any effort to know it.
I promise I’m not being too hard on myself just accepting there’s things I don’t know and haven’t earnt a shortcut to bypass learning to understand.
Also, if you are adhressing the request to a group, it could be better to go with “Por favor apilen las sillas al finalizar el día”, plural
That’s a great point, thank you.