h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Does 'retevals' mean 'off-key'?

I saw it in a tweet about Eurovision. Twitter couldn't translate it.

I tried Google translate, which 'detected' the language as Catalan. I mocked it cruelly.

The quote was 'WAAROM ZINGEN DIE ALLEMAAL ZO RETEVALS?!'

I haven't listened to any of the Eurovision entries yet this year, but I was projecting the translation on the basis of past experience...

It is Dutch, so you came to the right person.

You are right about off-key, But that is just the "vals" bit.

Retevals is an expletive form.
Rete is derived from "reet" which one of the more vulgar forms of "ass" that can be usually exchanged with any other expletive, just for the sake of exaggerating whatever it is that follows.

Basically it translates as: "Why are they all singing so %@#!off-key?"

I didn't hear any Eurovision entries as well, but couldn't steer clear of the commentaries. Apparently, the first half final was of such quality that there were two entries that got through despite being offensively off-key.

Thanks for helping me out. This explains why the dictionaries failed - the usual censorship.

Also why my Dutch instructor (who was Belgian) never taught me that word. Oh, no, but the book had 200 *proverbs* in...

And thus we find Eurovision in its traditional role of providing all of Europe with something to be aghast about.

There's that. You can also see which countries like eachother (most former Soviet states) or have large minorities in other countries to vote for the homeland (like Turkey, Israel)

Any good at Dutch? (apart from the censored bits).
There are distinct differences between Flemish (Belgian Dutch) and "Netherlands" Dutch. Flemish tends to have more of its own words whereas the Dutch are more prone to borrowing from other languages, possibly due to more international trade in the past.

I'm just considering that on a daily basis, roughly 80% of what I read and probably more than 95% of what I write is in English.

I've just seen a video from Australia. One woman dressed like a giant wedding cake, another on a bungee pole...

I know what you mean about English. I read and understand Dutch just fine. I used to speak it okay, not fluently and with a German accent, but where would I practise these days? Around here, they don't dare put French on the menu. 'A la mode' means 'with ice cream'. We did have a monthly German-speaking group that met for dinner, but the restaurant closed and most of them are over eighty, anyway.

When I lived in Cologne, I used to go to Belgium and the Netherlands quite a bit. My French is terrible, so the Walloons would accuse me of being Flemish. The Flemish would express shock that I spoke their brand of Dutch ('Why?' 'Why not?'), except for one time in Bruges, when I misspoke and was forced to speak French with the waiter for the rest of the meal as penance.

I miss the days when we could watch the news from Belgium and the Netherlands. I loved the adorable lady newsreaders, dressed to the nines and emitting vocalisations that sounded like throat-clearing. Facial expressions in Dutch are so much more fun than in German.

When abroad, it is sometimes useful when people know where you come from. I once went to Hungary (still behind the Iron curtain). Most people would sprak German, but only after finding out you weren't actual Germans.

If you want some Dutch to look at, try Arjen Lubach in YouTube.

Thanks!

You may know him from the "America first, but can we be second?" Promo movie for the Netherlands.

I do now!

'We built an ocean and made Mexico pay for it.' Lovely!

Thank you for the tip.

You're welcome.