Language Comparison Texts

[lpetrich]

For comparing different (natural) languages, a variety of comparison texts have been used, and I'll list some of them.

The Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) is a common one:

Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored,
may your kingdom come,
may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
(New English Translation)

Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
(For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.)
(King James Version)

Some conlangers like to use the story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9), a Just So Story about why people speak different languages.

Another one I've seen is

Universal Declaration of Human Rights | United Nations (Article 1):

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

 

[lpetrich]

Some people have tried to construct connected text in reconstructions of long-gone languages like Proto-Indo-European. Some linguists dismiss that sort of thing as silly, but others consider it a useful exercise.

 Schleicher's fable - The Sheep and the Horses
The first version was composed by August Schleicher in 1868, and several other Indo-Europeanists have come up with versions that reflect later reconstructions.

Lehmann and Zgusta (1979)

Owis eḱwōskʷe

Gʷərēi owis, kʷesjo wl̥hnā ne ēst, eḱwōns espeḱet, oinom ghe gʷr̥um woǵhom weǵhontm̥, oinomkʷe meǵam bhorom, oinomkʷe ǵhm̥enm̥ ōḱu bherontm̥. Owis nu eḱwobh(j)os (eḱwomos) ewewkʷet: "Ḱēr aghnutoi moi eḱwōns aǵontm̥ nerm̥ widn̥tei". Eḱwōs tu ewewkʷont: "Ḱludhi, owei, ḱēr ghe aghnutoi n̥smei widn̥tbh(j)os (widn̥tmos): nēr, potis, owiōm r̥ wl̥hnām sebhi gʷhermom westrom kʷrn̥euti. Neǵhi owiōm wl̥hnā esti". Tod ḱeḱluwōs owis aǵrom ebhuget.

The Sheep and the Horses

A sheep that had no wool saw horses, one of them pulling a heavy wagon, one carrying a big load, and one carrying a man quickly. The sheep said to the horses: "My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses." The horses said: "Listen, sheep, our hearts pain us when we see this: a man, the master, makes the wool of the sheep into a warm garment for himself. And the sheep has no wool." Having heard this, the sheep fled into the plain.

Another one is  The king and the god composed much more recently.

Lehmann's version:

H₃rḗḱs dei̯u̯ós-kwe

Pótis gʰe ʔest. Só-kʷe n̥gn̥ʔtós ʔest, sū́num-kʷe wl̥next. So ǵʰutérm̥ pr̥ket: "Sū́nus moi gn̥hjotām!" ǵʰutḗr nu pótim weukʷet: "Jégeswo gʰi déiwom Wérunom." úpo pro pótis-kʷe déiwom sesore déiwom-kʷe jegto. "Kludʰí moi, dejwe Werune!" Só nu km̥ta diwós gʷāt. "Kʷód wl̥nexsi?" "Wl̥néxmi sū́num." "Tód ʔestu", wéwkʷet lewkós déjwos. Pótnī gʰi sū́num gegonʔe.

The king and the god

Once there was a king. He was childless. The king wanted a son. He asked his priest: "May a son be born to me!" The priest said to the king: "Pray to the god Werunos." The king approached the god Werunos to pray now to the god. "Hear me, father Werunos!" The god Werunos came down from heaven. "What do you want?" "I want a son." "Let this be so," said the bright god Werunos. The king's lady bore a son.

 

[lpetrich]

Vladislav Markovich Illich-Svitych | Nostratic Language
That's an earlier reconstructed language, and a very controversial one.

K'elHä wet'ei ʕaK'un kähla
k'aʎai palha-k'a na wetä
śa da ʔa-k'a ʔeja ʔälä
ja-k'o pele t'uba wete

K = k/q (back of mouth or lower down), ' means glottalized (a short pause between the consonant sound the voicing), ʎ sort of "thl", ʔ a glottal stop (the ' in a'a'a), and ʕ a voiced version of "h".

Tongue time-of water-of path/ford
gone-of dwelling-to us lead(s)
he but there-to come(s) no(t)
which-who fear(s) deep water

Language is a ford through the river of time
It leads us to the dwelling of those gone ahead
But he does not arrive there
Who is afraid of deep water

 

[Swammerdami]

There is one sentence that has, supposedly, been translated into more languages than any other sentence! Perhaps this would be a good piece of text for some studies. The sentence is called "John:3:16." Here it is in English, French and (two slightly different versions) Thai.


For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son: that whosoever believeth in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting.

Car Dieu a tant aimé le monde, qu'Il a donné son fils unique, afin que quiconque croit en Lui ne périsse point, mais ait la vie éternelle.

เพราะว่าพระเจ้า ทรงรักโลก จนได้ทรงประทาน พระบุตรองค์เดียว ของพระองค์ ที่บังเกิดมา เพื่อผู้ใด ที่เชื่อใน พระบุตรนั้น จะไม่พินาศ แต่มีชีวิต นิรันดร์.

เพราะว่าพระเจ้า ทรงรักโลก จนได้ประทาน พระบุตรองค์เดียว ของพระองค์ เพื่อทุกคน ที่เชื่อใน พระบุตรนั้น จะไม่พินาศ แต่มีชีวิต นิรันดร์.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I had the French version memorized — not because I'm a Christian, but because I like the sound and sometimes use it to practice my French diction. I Googled and copy-pasted however, rather than bothering with é on the keyboard. (The version I memorized has a "qu'il" before the "ait" near the end of sentence.)

Thai writing uses spaces between clauses, NOT between words. But I have added spaces after some of the words. Why? It doesn't render correctly without such spaces! Rendering is OK in the Edit window, but not on Preview. (I'll comment further on the Thai version in another thread.)

 

[steve_bank]

Mon Dieu! Sacre Bleu! Hasta Maniana, chow, putz, and a long list of non English terms that are part of the American lexicon.

Many distortions of standard grammar that are not definable. Probably like any language. One can learn a language, then one has to learn how it is actually used.

One of the oddest things I have seen was an Asian barista in a coffee shop using Yiddish terms. Oy Vey! she exclaimed.

 

[Elixir]

There is one sentence that has, supposedly, been translated into more languages than any other sentence! Perhaps this would be a good piece of text for some studies. The sentence is called "John:3:16." Here it is in English, French and (two slightly different versions) Thai.


For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son: that whosoever believeth in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting.

Car Dieu a tant aimé le monde, qu'Il a donné son fils unique, afin que quiconque croit en Lui ne périsse point, mais ait la vie éternelle.

เพราะว่าพระเจ้า ทรงรักโลก จนได้ทรงประทาน พระบุตรองค์เดียว ของพระองค์ ที่บังเกิดมา เพื่อผู้ใด ที่เชื่อใน พระบุตรนั้น จะไม่พินาศ แต่มีชีวิต นิรันดร์.

เพราะว่าพระเจ้า ทรงรักโลก จนได้ประทาน พระบุตรองค์เดียว ของพระองค์ เพื่อทุกคน ที่เชื่อใน พระบุตรนั้น จะไม่พินาศ แต่มีชีวิต นิรันดร์.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I had the French version memorized — not because I'm a Christian, but because I like the sound and sometimes use it to practice my French diction. I Googled and copy-pasted however, rather than bothering with é on the keyboard. (The version I memorized has a "qu'il" before the "ait" near the end of sentence.)

Thai writing uses spaces between clauses, NOT between words. But I have added spaces after some of the words. Why? It doesn't render correctly without such spaces! Rendering is OK in the Edit window, but not on Preview. (I'll comment further on the Thai version in another thread.)

I thought that the most published phrase in history was "close cover before striking match".

What has always impressed me is how few syllables English uses vs other languages to express something. For instance, a phone tree in English that says "please press one" might come up in Spanish as "por favor oprima el numero uno".
- three syllables vs twelve. (I am not particularly fluent in Spanish so maybe I have that wrong, but you get the idea). I am no linguist by any stretch, so maybe it's just my bias as a lazy American English speaker?

Is it an illusion or is it true?

 

[Swammerdami]

There is one sentence that has, supposedly, been translated into more languages than any other sentence!

I thought that the most published phrase in history was "close cover before striking match".

What has always impressed me is how few syllables English uses vs other languages to express something.
...
Is it an illusion or is it true?

As I allege in the Lounge thread, Thai sentences often have a very tiny number of syllables compared with the English equivalent. Of course, much of this simplicity results in ambiguity in Thai utterances!

 

[lpetrich]

 Schleicher's fable refers to articles about this composition in several other languages, and Schleicher's Fable - zompist bboard has some amateur translations.

I'll collect them here. Some translations add "On a hill" to the beginning.

The Sheep and the Horses
-
A sheep that had no wool saw horses, one of them pulling a heavy wagon, one carrying a big load, and one carrying a man quickly. The sheep said to the horses: "My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses." The horses said: "Listen, sheep, our hearts pain us when we see this: a man, the master, makes the wool of the sheep into a warm garment for himself. And the sheep has no wool." Having heard this, the sheep fled into the plain.

Old English:

Se Eow ond Þā Eos
-
Ēow, þe ne wull hæfde, seah ēos, ānne hefigne wegn pulliendne, ānne micelne berendne, ānne guman snelle berendne. Ēow ēom cwæþ: min heorte me þrǣsteþ, guman ēos drīfendne to sēonne. Ēos cwǣdon: "Hlysn, ēow. Ūr heortan ūs þrǣstaþ þis to sēonne: guma, hlāford þæs ēowes wull seolfes wearmum wǣdum to āwendanne. And ēow nāne wulle hæfþ." Ēow, þǣm gehȳred, þǣm æcre flēah.

German (Schleicher's, present-day):

[Das] schaf und [die] rosse.
-
[Ein] schaf, [auf] welchem wolle nicht war (ein geschorenes schaf){,} sah rosse, das [einen] schweren wagen fahrend, das [eine] große last, das [einen] menschen schnell tragend. [Das] schaf sprach [zu den] rossen: [Das] herz wird beengt [in] mir (es thut mir herzlich leid), sehend [den] menschen [die] rosse treibend.
[Die] rosse sprachen: Höre schaf, [das] herz wird beengt [in den] gesehen-habenden (es thut uns herzlich leid, da wir wissen): [der] mensch, [der] herr{,} macht [die] wolle [der] schafe [zu einem] warmen kleide [für] sich und [den] schafen ist nicht wolle (die schafe aber haben keine wolle mehr, sie werden geschoren; es geht ihnen noch schlechter als den rossen).
Dies gehört-habend bog (entwich) [das] schaf [auf das] feld (es machte sich aus dem staube).

Das Schaf und die Pferde
-
Ein Schaf, das keine Wolle mehr hatte, sah Pferde, eines einen schweren Wagen fahrend, eines eine große Last, eines einen Menschen schnell tragend. Das Schaf sprach: Das Herz wird mir eng, wenn ich sehe, dass der Mensch die Pferde antreibt. Die Pferde sprachen: Höre Schaf, das Herz wird uns eng, weil wir gesehen haben: Der Mensch, der Herr, macht die Wolle der Schafe zu einem warmen Kleid für sich und die Schafe haben keine Wolle mehr. Als es dies gehört hatte, floh das Schaf auf das Feld.

Dutch:

Het schaap en de paarden
-
Een schaap zonder wol zag drie paarden; een van hen trok een zware wagen, een droeg een zware last en een rende met een man op zijn rug. Het schaap zei tegen de paarden: "Het doet me pijn om te zien dat een mens paarden ment." De paarden zeiden: "Luister, schaap, het doet ons pijn om het volgende te zien: een mens, de meester, maakt van het wol van een schaap een warm kledingstuk voor zichzelf. En het schaap zit zonder wol." Toen het schaap dit hoorde vluchtte het de vlakte op.

Afrikaans:

Schaf und rosse
-
Schaf, welchem wolle nicht war(,) sah rosse, das schweren wagen fahrend, das große last, das menschen schnell tragend. Schaf sprach rossen: Herz wird beengt mir, sehend menschen rosse treibend.
Rosse sprachen: Höre schaf, herz wird beengt gesehen-habend: mensch, herr macht wolle schafe warmen kleide sich und schafen ist nicht wolle.
Dies gehört-habend bog schaf feld.

Swedish:

Fåret och hästarna
-
På ett berg såg ett får, som inte hade någon ull, några hästar, en som drog en tung vagn, en som bar en stor börda, en som snabbt bar en människa. Då sade fåret till hästarna: ”Hjärtat gör ont för mig när jag ser en människa driva på hästar.” Men hästarna sade: ”Hör, får! Hjärtat gör ont när vi ser: Mannen, herren, gör fårens ull åt sig till en varm klädnad. Och fåren har ingen ull.” När det hört detta flydde fåret till fältet.

Proto-Germanic (reconstruction):

Awiz eχwôz-uχe
-
Awis, þazmai wullô ne wase, eχwanz gasáχwe, ainan kurun waganan wegandun, anþeran mekelôn burþînun, þridjanôn gumanun berandun. Awiz eχwamiz kwaþe: "Χertôn gaángwjedai mez seχwandi eχwanz gumanun akandun." Eχwôz kwêdund: "Gaχáusî, awi, χertôn gaángwjedai unsez seχwandumiz: gumô, faþiz awjôn wullôn sez warman westran garwidi; avimiz wullô ne esti." Þat gaχáusijandz awiz akran þlauχe.

 

[lpetrich]

I'll now do Latin and the Romance languages.

French (Wikipedia edited, zompist):

Le Mouton et les chevaux
-
[Sur une colline,] un mouton qui n'avait pas de laine vit des chevaux, l'un tirant une lourde charrette, l'un soutenant une grosse charge, l'un conduisant un homme à toute allure. Le mouton dit aux chevaux: «Cela me fait mal au cœur de voir un homme conduire des chevaux.» Les chevaux dirent: «Écoute, mouton, cela nous fait mal au cœur de voir ceci: l'homme, le maître, se fabrique un chaud vêtement avec la laine du mouton. Et le mouton n'a pas de laine.» Ayant entendu ceci, le mouton s'enfuit dans la plaine.
-
[Un mouton qui n’avait pas de laine vit des chevaux, dont un premier tirait un chariot lourd, dont un deuxième portait un grand chargement sur le dos, et dont un troisième galopait en portant un homme. Le mouton dit aux chevaux : « Il me fait peine de voir un homme qui pousse ainsi ses chevaux. » Les chevaux répondirent : « Écoutez, mouton, ce qui nous fait peine de voir est l’homme, le maître, qui se sert de la laine de ses moutons pour faire des vêtements chauds, et les moutons qui n’ont donc plus de laine. » Ayant entendu cela, le mouton s’enfuit dans la plaine.

Catalan:

L'ovella i els cavalls
-
[En un turó,] una ovella que no tenia llana va veure cavalls, un d'ells arrossegava una pesada carreta, un altre carregava una gran càrrega i un altre cavalcava ràpidament amb un genet. L'ovella va dir als cavalls: «Mal de cor veient un home manejant cavalls». Els cavalls van dir: «Escolta, ovella: els nostres cors ens fan mal quan veiem això: un home, l'amo, converteix la llana d'una ovella en roba abrigada per a si mateix. I l'ovella no té llana». En sentir això, l'ovella va fugir al prat.

Spanish:

La oveja y los caballos
-
[En una colina,] una oveja que no tenía lana vio unos caballos. Uno de ellos arrastraba una pesada carreta, otro soportaba una carga y otro cabalgaba con un hombre encima. La oveja les dijo a los caballos: «Me duele el corazón de ver a un hombre manejando a los caballos». Los caballos le respondieron: «Escucha, oveja. A nosotros nos duele el corazón de ver que un hombre, el amo, convierte la lana de una oveja en ropa abrigada para sí mismo y la oveja no tiene lana». Al oír esto, la oveja huyó a la pradera.

Galician:

A ovella e os cabalos
-
[Nun outeiro,] unha ovella que non tiña la veu cabalos, tirando un deles dun carro, outro levando unha pesada carga e outro portando un home velozmente. A ovella díxolle aos cabalos: "O meu corazón dóeme, ao ver un home guiando cabalos". Os cabalos dixeron: "Escoita, ovella, os nosos corazóns dóennos cando vemos isto: un home, o amo, converte a la da ovella nun vestido cálido para el. E a ovella non ten la". Tras oír isto, a ovella escapou á chaira.

Italian:

La pecora e i cavalli
-
Una pecora tosata vide dei cavalli, uno dei quali tirava un pesante carro, un altro portava un grande carico e un altro trasportava un uomo. La pecora disse ai cavalli: "Mi piange il cuore vedendo come l'uomo tratta i cavalli". I cavalli le dissero: "Ascolta, pecora: per noi è penoso vedere che l'uomo, nostro signore, si fa un vestito con la lana delle pecore, mentre le pecore restano senza lana". Dopo aver sentito ciò, la pecora se ne fuggì nei campi.

Latin:

Ovis equique
-
Ovis, cui lana non erat, vidit equos, tum vehiculum grave vehentem, tum onus magnum, tum hominem ociter ferentem. Ovis equis dixit: cor dolet mihi videnti hominem equos agentem. Equi dixerunt: audi, ovis, cor dolet nobis (hoc) videntibus: homo potis lanam ovium facit sibi formam vestem, ovibusque lana non (iam) est. Hoc audito ovis (in) agrum confugit.

 

[lpetrich]

I'll now take on Slavic.

Czech:

Ovce a koně
-
Ovce, která neměla vlnu, uviděla koně - jeden tahal těžký povoz, druhý nesl velký náklad, třetí rychle nesl člověka. Ovce řekla koním: "Srdce mě bolí, když vidím, jak člověk jezdí na koni". Koně odpověděli: "Poslyš ovce, nás bolí srdce, když vidíme, jak člověk, pán, bere ovci vlnu a dělá si z ní teplý oděv. A ovce nemá žádnou vlnu." Ovce uslyševši to uprchla do pole.

Slovak:

Ovca a kone
-
Ovca, ktorá nemala vlnu, videla kone - jeden ťahal ťažký povoz, druhý niesol veľký náklad, tretí rýchlo niesol človeka. Ovca povedala koňom: "Srdce ma bolí, keď vidím, čo človek káže robiť koňom". Kone odpovedali: "Počuj, ovca, nás bolia srdcia, keď vidíme, ako človek, pán, berie ovci vlnu a robí si z nej teplý odev. A ovca nemá žiadnu vlnu." Ovca, počujúc to, ušla cez lúku.

Polish:

Owca i konie
-
Na wzgórzu owca, która nie miała wełny, zobaczyła konie; jeden ciągnął ciężki wóz, drugi dźwigał wielki ładunek, a trzeci wiózł szybko człowieka. Owca rzekła do koni: „Serce mnie boli, widząc, co człowiek nakazuje robić koniom”. Konie odpowiedziały: „Słuchaj, owco, serca nas bolą, kiedy widzimy, jak człowiek, pan, zabiera twoją wełnę na płaszcz dla samego siebie. I owca nie ma wełny”. Usłyszawszy to, owca pobiegła przez równinę.

Croatian:

Óvca i kònji
-
Óvca koja níje ìmala vȕnē vȉd(j)ela je kònje na br(ij)égu. Jèdan je òd njīh vȗkao téška kȍla, drȕgī je nòsio vèliku vrȅću, a trȅćī je nòsio čòv(j)eka.
Óvca rȅče kònjima: «Sȑce me bòlī glȅdajūći čòv(j)eka kako jȁšē na kònju».
A kònji rȅkoše: «Slȕšāj, ȏvco, nȃs sȑca bòlē kada vȉdīmo da čòv(j)ek, gospòdār, rȃdī vȕnu od ovácā i prȁvī òd(j)eću zá se. I ȍndā óvca nȇmā vȉše vȕnē.
Čȗvši tō, óvca pȍb(j)eže ȕ polje.

Serbian:

Овца и коњи
-
Овца, у које вуне не јесте, гледаше коње, тог, како вуче вагон тежак, тог, који бреме велико носи, тог, који човека брзо носи. Овца коњима рече: срце боли моје кад видим човека како коње гони. Коњи рекоше: Слушај, овцо, срца боле наша кад видимо ово: човек прави од вуне овчије себи топлу одећу, а овца је та у које вуне не јесте. Тад побеже овца у поље.

Ovca i konji
-
Ovca, u koje vune ne jeste, gledaše konje, tog, kako vuče vagon težak, tog, koji breme veliko nosi, tog, koji čoveka brzo nosi. Ovca konjima reče: srce boli moje kad vidim čoveka kako konje goni. Konji rekoše: Slušaj, ovco, srca bole naša kad vidimo ovo: čovek pravi od vune ovčije sebi toplu odeću, a ovca je ta u koje vune ne jeste. Tad pobeže ovca u polje.

Russian (Wikipedia, zompist)

Овца и кони.
-
Овца, [на] которой не было шерсти (стриженая овца), увидела коней, везущих тяжелую повозку [с] большим грузом, быстро несущих человека. Овца сказала коням: сердце теснится [во] мне (сердце мое печалится), видя коней, везущих человека. Кони сказали: послушай, овца, сердце теснится [от] увиденного (наше сердце печалится, потому что мы знаем): человек — господин, делает шерсть овцы теплой одеждой [для] себя и [у] овец нет шерсти (у овец больше нет шерсти, они острижены, им хуже, чем коням). Услышав это, овца повернула [в] поле (она удрала, ретировалась).

Ovtsa i koni.
-
Ovtsa, [na] kotoroy ne bylo shersti (strizhenaya ovtsa), uvidela koney, vezushchikh tyazheluyu povozku bol'shim gruzom, bystro nesushchikh cheloveka. Ovtsa skazala konyam: serdtse tesnitsya [vo] mne (serdtse moye pechalitsya), vidya koney, vezushchikh cheloveka. Koni skazali: poslushay, ovtsa, serdtse tesnitsya [ot] uvidennogo (nashe serdtse pechalitsya, potomu chto my znayem): chelovek — gospodin, delayet sherst' ovtsy teploy odezhdoy [dlya] sebya i ovets net shersti (u ovets bol'she net shersti, oni ostrizheny, im khuzhe, chem konyam). Uslyshav eto, ovtsa povernula [v] pole (ona udrala, retirovalas').

Овца и кони
-
Овца, на которой не было шерсти, увидела коней, одного везущего тяжёлую повозку, одного большую ношу, одного быстро несущего человека. Овца сказала коням: «Моё сердце горит, когда вижу, как человек управляет конями». Кони сказали: «Слушай, овца! Сердце горит от увиденного: человек, господин, из овечьей шерсти делает себе тёплую одежду; а у овец нет шерсти». Услышав это, овца убежала в поле.

Ovca i koni
-
Ovca, na kotoroj ne bylo šersti, uvidela konej, odnogo vezuščego tjažëluju povozku, odnogo bol'šuju nošu, odnogo bystro nesuščego čeloveka. Ovca skazala konjam: “Mojë serdce gorit kogda vižu, kak čelovek upravljajet konjami”. Koni skazali: “Slušaj, ovca! Serdce gorit ot uvidennogo: čelovek, gospodin, iz oveč'jei šersti delajet sebe tëpluju odeždu; a u ovec net šersti”. Uslyšav eto, ovca ubežala v pole.

Ukrainian

Вівця та коні
-
Вівця, [на] якій не було вовни (стрижена вівця), побачила коней: (один) — тягнув важкий віз, (один) — великий вантаж, [ще один] швидко ніс людину. Вівця сказала коням: «Серце стискується [в] мене (це сердечно засмучує мене), коли бачу людину, керуючу кіньми». Коні сказали: «Слухай, вівце, [наше] серце [теж] стискується від побаченого ([нас теж] щиро засмучує те, що ми знаємо): людина, пан, перетворює вовну вівці [у] теплу одежу [для] себе; а у вівці не залишається вовни» (хоча вівця більше не матиме шерсті, її стригтимуть; їй стає ще гірше, ніж коням). Почувши це, вівця втекла [у] поле.

Vivtsya ta koni
-
Vivtsya, [na] yakiy ne bulo vovny (stryzhena vivtsya), pobachyla koney: (odyn) — tyahnuv vazhkyy viz, (odyn) — velykyy vantazh, [shche odyn] shvydko nis lyudynu. Vivtsya skazala konyam: «Sertse styskuyetʹsya [v] mene (tse serdechno zasmuchuye mene), koly bachu lyudynu, keruyuchu kinʹmy». Koni skazaly: «Slukhay, vivtse, [nashe] sertse [tezh] styskuyetʹsya vid pobachenoho ([nas tezh] shchyro zasmuchuye te, shcho my znayemo): lyudyna, pan, peretvoryuye vovnu vivtsi teplu odezhu [dlya] sebe; a u vivtsi ne zalyshayetʹsya vovny» (khocha vivtsya bilʹshe ne matyme shersti, yiyi stryhtymutʹ; yiy staye shche hirshe, nizh konyam). Pochuvshy tse, vivtsya vtekla pole.

Belarusian:

Авечка і коні
-
Авечка, [на] якой не было поўсці (стрыжаная авечка), убачыла коней, якія везлі цяжкі воз [з] вялікім грузам і хутка неслі чалавека. Авечка сказала коням: сэрца туліцца [ў] мне (сэрца маё сумуе), бачачы коней, якія вязуць чалавека. Коні сказалі: слухай, авечка, сэрца туліцца [ад] пабачанага (нашае сэрца сумуе, таму што мы ведаем): чалавек — гаспадар, робіць поўсць авечкі цёплай вопраткай [для] сябе і [у] авечак няма поўсці (у авечак больш няма поўсці, яны астрыжаныя, ім горш, ніж коням). Пачуўшы гэта, авечка павярнула [ў] поле (збегла, уцякла).

Aviečka i koni
-
Aviečka, [na] jakoj nie bylo poŭsci (stryžanaja aviečka), ubačyla koniej, jakija viezli ciažki voz [z] vialikim hruzam i chutka niesli čalavieka. Aviečka skazala koniam: serca tulicca [ŭ] mnie (serca majo sumuje), bačačy koniej, jakija viazuć čalavieka. Koni skazali: sluchaj, aviečka, serca tulicca [ad] pabačanaha (našaje serca sumuje, tamu što my viedajem): čalaviek — haspadar, robić poŭsć aviečki cioplaj vopratkaj [dlia] siabie i aviečak niama poŭsci (u aviečak boĺš niama poŭsci, jany astryžanyja, im horš, niž koniam). Pačuŭšy heta, aviečka paviarnula [ŭ] polie (zbiehla, uciakla).

Common Slavic:

Ovьca i kobni
-
Ovьca, na nejiže ne bě vьlna, uvide kobnь, togo vezǫtja tęgъkъ vozъ, togo velikǫ nosjǫ, togo bystrě nesǫtja mǫži. Ovьca kobnemъ reče: “Sьrdьce moje goritь koda vidjǫ, kako mǫžь ženetь kobnь”. Kobni rěšę: “Slušaji, ovьce! Sьrdьce goritь otъ uvidenьnajego: mǫžь, gospodь, jьzъ ovьkji wilny dělajetь si teplǫ odēdjǫ; a ovьca vьlnǫ ne jьmastь”. Uslyšavъ to ovьca uběže vъ polje.

Proto-Slavic:

Awikā kabuwes če
-
Awikā, jāi wilnā ne bēt, widet kabuwens, tam wazom tingu wezantiām, tam nasiām welām, tam manžim āsu berantiam. Awikā kabuwimus rečet: “Sirdika anžētai majam widintiāi manžim kabuwens ganintiam”. Kabuwes rekšint: “Slaušiāiāi, awika! Sirdika anžētai widintiamus: manžis, patis, wilnām awijam dēneti sai teplām apidēdiām; awikāmus če wilnā ne esti”. Tad slūšēwas awikā paliam aubēže.

 

[lpetrich]

The only other Indo-European language that has a translation in Wikipedia is Kurdish:

Mî û Hespan
-
Mi(yekê), kê hirî (lê) tune ye, hesp dîtin, (yek) erebane(yeke) giran dikêşe, (yek) (barekî) mezin bar dike, (yek) mêr(ekî) bi lez hildigire. Miyê (ji) hespan (re) got: "Dilê min teng dibe, mêr hespan siwar dikin, bibînim". Hespan got "Miyê, guhê xwe bide, dilên me teng dibin dema em vê bibînin: mêr, xwedan, hiriya miyê jê re bike cilê germ. Û pezê hiriya wan tune ye". (Gava ku) ew bihîst, mî reviya (ber bi) zeviyê.

Proto-Celtic:
Owis ekʷoi-kʷe
-
Owis, yosmūi wlānon ne esāt, ekʷūs dedorke, oinom yos trummom karrom srāge, oinom yos mārom luxtum berte, oinom-kʷe yos wirom ākus berte. Owis ekʷobi sākʷe: "Galarom esti eni mene kridyūi, kʷistyone agnās ekʷom dū wirobo." Ekʷūs sākʷar: "Klewe, owi, galarom esti eni ansrom kridyobi yom sindom kʷisyomo: wiros, tirgernos, wlānei oweis brattinom klitom swoi gniyeti. Eti-kʷe owei wlānom ne esti!" Sodesū klutūi, owis eni magos tākʷe.

That zompist thread mentions this Proto-Indo-European translation, from "An Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Early Indo-European Languages", by Joseph Voyles and Charles Barrack.

Owis eḱwōs kʷe
-
Owis, jāi wl̥nā ne eest, dedorḱe eḱwons, tom woǵʰom gʷr̥um weǵʰontm̥, tom bʰorom meǵm̥, tom ǵʰm̥onm̥ ōku bʰerontm̥. Owis eḱwobʰjos eweket: “Ḱerd angʰetai moi widontei ǵʰm̥onm̥ eḱwons aǵontm̥”. Eḱwos wewekur: “Ḱludʰe, owei! Ḱerd angʰetai widontbʰjos: ǵʰm̥on, potis, wl̥nam owijōm kʷr̥neti soi gʷʰermom westrom; owibʰjos kʷe wl̥nā ne esti”. Tod ḱeḱlōts owis aǵrom ebʰuget.

 

[lpetrich]

The Wikipedia article mentions these non-Indo-European examples:

Chinese (didn't have a Chinese translation)

Japanese:

羊と馬たち
-
毛が (刈られて) ない 羊が 馬たちをみた, ある (馬) は 重い 車を ひいているのを, ある (馬) は 大きな 荷物を, ある (馬) は 人をすばやく 運んでいくのを. 羊は 馬たちに いった, 心が 痛む 人が 馬たちを 駆り立てるのをみているわたしには. 馬たちは いった. きけ, 羊よ. 心が 痛む, (次のことを) み知った (われわれ) には. 人間の主人が 羊たちの 毛を 自分のために あたたかな 衣服にしてしまう. そして 羊たちには 毛が ない. これをきいて 羊は 野へ 逃げていった.

Hitsuji to uma-tachi
-
Ke ga (kara rete) nai hitsuji ga uma-tachi o mita, aru (uma) wa omoi kuruma o hīte iru no o, aru (uma) wa ōkina nimotsu o, aru (uma) wa hito o subayaku hakonde iku no o. Hitsuji wa uma-tachi ni itta, kokoro ga itamu hito ga uma-tachi o karitateru no o mite iru watashi ni wa. Uma-tachi wa itta. Kike, hitsuji yo. Kokoro ga itamu, (tsugi no koto o) mi shitta (wareware) ni wa. Ningen no shujin ga hitsuji-tachi no ke o jibun'notameni atataka na ifuku ni shite shimau. Soshite hitsuji-tachi ni wa ke ga nai. Kore o kīte hitsuji wa no e nigete itta.

Indonesian:

Domba dan kuda
-
[Di atas sebuah bukit], seekor domba, yang (padanya) tak ada bulu, melihat kuda yang berjalan dengan (menarik) kereta yang berat, yang memuat beban yang besar, yang membawa dengan cepat seorang manusia. Domba berkata kepada kuda: Saya merasa sedih melihat manusia menggiring kuda itu. Kuda berkata: "Dengarlah domba, hatiku sangat sedih karena melihat manusia menjadi tuan atas bulu domba untuk menjadi pakaian yang hangat bagi dirinya, dan domba tidak memiliki lagi bulunya". Sesudah mendengar itu, domba menghindar ke padang.

 

[Swammerdami]

Trying to reconstruct long-extinct languages in this way is error-prone! And anyway, spoken language is key to linguistic science, not written language.

I found "Grammaticalization and compounding in Thai and Chinese" to be very useful for my (layman's) understanding of the named topic. (You may need to set up a free account to view the pdf -- no credit card needed.) Here's how its author collected samples of Thai and Chinese:

The text database was collected using the “Pear Story” video and methodology as developed by Chafe and DuBois, described in Chafe (1980). Sixteen participants of mixed age and gender, eight Chinese and eight Thai, all of them students at the University of Oregon, were shown a six-minute video in groups of two or three. Participants were either acquaintances of the author or his assistants, or had answered an ad.

The video consisted of sound and action in a rural setting, with no dialogue. After watching the video, participants were asked to describe its contents in their native language to a native-speaker interlocutor who they were told had not seen the video. Participants were told the purpose of the text collection was to provide material for comparative research on some broad grammatical topics in a number of Asian languages, and that ‘normal, everyday conversational speech’ was the target of elicitation.

 

[lpetrich]

 Nostratic languages also has Illich-Svitych's poem.
I have interleaved the word-for-word English translation in Vladislav Markovich Illich-Svitych | Nostratic Language

VIS: K̥elHä wet̥ei ʕaK̥un kähla
IPA: /KʼelHæ wetʼei ʕaKʼun kæhla/
WfW: tongue time-of water-of path/ford
Russ: Язык – это брод через реку времени,
Ru-Ro: Jazyk – eto brod cherez reku vremeni,
Eng: Language is a ford through the river of time,
Finn: Kieli on kahluupaikka ajan joen yli,

VIS: k̥aλai palhʌ-k̥ʌ na wetä
IPA: /kʼat͡ɬai palhVkʼV na wetæ/
WfW: gone-of dwelling-to us lead(s)
Russ: он ведёт нас к жилищу умерших;
Ru-Ro: on vedjot nas k zhilishchu umershikh;
Eng: it leads us to the dwelling of those gone before;
Finn: se johdattaa meidät kuolleiden kylään;

VIS: śa da ʔa-k̥ʌ ʔeja ʔälä
IPA: /ɕa da ʔakʼV ʔeja ʔælæ/
WfW: he but there-to come(s) no(t)
Russ: но туда не сможет дойти тот,
Ru-Ro: no tuda ne smozhet dojti tot,
Eng: but he cannot arrive there,
Finn: mutta ei voi tulla sinne se,

VIS: ja-k̥o pele t̥uba wete
IPA: /jakʼo pele tʼuba wete/
WfW: which-who fear(s) deep water
Russ: кто боится глубокой воды.
Ru-Ro: kto boitsja glubokoj vody.
Eng: who fears deep water.
Finn: joka pelkää syvää vettä.

VIS = Vladimir Illich-Svitych's spelling, IPA = International Phonetic Alphabet, WfW = word-for-word English translation, Russ = Russian, Ru-Ro = romanized Russian, Eng = English, Finn = Finnish
The value of K̥ or Kʼ is uncertain—it could be /kʼ/ or /qʼ/. H could similarly be at least /h/ or /ħ/. V or ʌ is an uncertain vowel.

 

[lpetrich]

I have collected translations from Danish, French, Spanish, Italian, and Hungarian from Wikipedia, though I have had to revise the Spanish translation.

IS-Sm: Kelhä wete ki ʕakun kähla
WfW: tongue time-of water-of path/ford
Eng: Language is a ford through the river of time,
Dan: Sproget er et vadested over tidens flod
Fr: La langue est un gué à travers la rivière du temps,
Sp: La lengua es un vado a través del rio del tiempo,
It: La lingua è un guado nel fiume del tempo,
Hung: A nyelv gázló az idő folyamán át,

IS-Sm: kaλai palha ka na wetä
WfW: gone-of dwelling-to us lead(s)
Eng: it leads us to the dwelling of those gone before;
Dan: det fører os til de dødes bolig;
Fr: elle nous conduit à la demeure des morts;
Sp: a las casas de los ancestros nos lleva,
It: ci porta alla dimora dei nostri antenati;
Hung: a halál falujába vezet minket;

IS-Sm: śa da ʔakä ʔeja ʔälä
WfW: he but there-to come(s) no(t)
Eng: but he cannot arrive there,
Dan: men han kan ikke komme dertil
Fr: mais il ne peut pas y arriver,
Sp: pero nunca llegará allí
It: ma non vi potrà mai giungere,
Hung: de nem érhet oda,

IS-Sm: jako pele tuba akwä wete.
WfW: which-who fear(s) deep water
Eng: who fears deep water.
Dan: [han] som er bange for det dybe vand
Fr: celui qui a peur de l'eau profonde.
Sp: que teme aguas profundas.
It: colui che ha paura delle acque profonde.
Hung: aki féli a mély vizet.

 

[lpetrich]

I'll try Latin.

Lingua est per flumen temporis via.
Ad sedes avorum nos ducit.
Sed non potest advenire
Qui aquam profundam timet.

 

[excreationist]

An interesting thing about the KJV is that it uses the same word order as the original text. Other translations sometimes rearrange the original word order.

Also Hebrew and Arabic go from right to left instead of left to right. About the possible reasons:

https://www.chabad.org/library/arti...Why-Do-We-Write-Hebrew-from-Right-to-Left.htm

 

[lpetrich]

My simplified version of Illich-Svitych's poem:

Language is a path through the river of time.
It leads us to the homes of our ancestors.
But he will not arrive there
Who fears deep water.

Latin:

Lingua per flûmen temporis via est.
Ad domûs avôrum nôs dûcit.
Sed ibi non adveniet
Quî aquâs profundâs timet.

(I've noted the long vowels, something not usually done in a lot of Latin spelling)
(Lewis & Short - recommending plural of aqua in contexts like these)

 

[lpetrich]

 Proto-Germanic language

Phonetic changes only:

Awiz ehwōz-uh: awiz, hwisi wullō ne est, spihi ehwanz, ainą kurų wagą wegandų, ainą-uh mekǭ burą, ainą-uh gumanų ahu berandų. Awiz nu ehwamaz wiuhi: hert agnutai mek, witandī ehwanz akandų gumanų. Ehwōz weuhą: hludi, awi! hert agnutai uns witundumaz: gumô, fadiz, wullǭ awją hwurniudi sibi warmą westrą. Awją-uh wullō ne isti. Þat hehluwaz awiz akrą buki.

Reconstructed Proto-Germanic with grammar and vocabulary from later Germanic languages:

Awiz ehwōz-uh: awiz, sō wullǭ ne habdē, sahw ehwanz, ainanǭ kurjanǭ wagną teuhandų, ainanǭ-uh mikilǭ kuriþǭ, ainanǭ-uh gumanų sneumundô berandų. Awiz nu ehwamaz sagdē: hertô sairīþi mek, sehwandē ehwanz akandų gumanų. Ehwōz sagdēdun: gahauzī, awi! hertô sairīþi uns sehwandumiz: gumô, fadiz, uz awīz wullō wurkīþi siz warmą wastijǭ. Awiz-uh wullǭ ne habaiþi. Þat hauzidaz awiz akrą flauh.

 

[lpetrich]

I like Carl Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot" text, because I find it very eloquent and very meaningful.

Pale Blue Dot – Wikipedia (German) - has three paragraphs that other Wikipedia versions have translations of.

We succeeded in taking that picture [from deep space], and, if you look at it, you see a dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever lived, lived out their lives. The aggregate of all our joys and sufferings, thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilizations, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every hopeful child, every mother and father, every inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species, lived there on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam.

The earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and in triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of the dot on scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner of the dot. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light.

Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity -- in all this vastness -- there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. It is up to us. It's been said that astronomy is a humbling, and I might add, a character-building experience. To my mind, there is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly and compassionately with one another and to preserve and cherish that pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.