Useful Phrases In Useless Languages

    Keywords: Culture & History, Humour

For Go players who anticipate meeting fictional characters or other players who don't share a language, it can be useful to know how to ask for a game. Here are the most idiomatic (by consensus of SL patrons) phrases in various useless languages for:

  • asking someone for a game of Go
  • a likely response to accept a game
  • a likely response to decline a game
  • sportsman-like wishes to begin play
  • resignation
  • thanking the opponent after the game

Please help fill in the blanks and correct errors (or discuss below).

Table of contents

English

English

Asking: "Would you like a game?"
Accept: "Yes"
Decline: "No thanks"
Begin: "Enjoy"; "Have a good game"
Resign: "I resign"
Thanks: "Thanks for the game"

NB. The UK variant of English is unique in that when spoken loudly and accompanied by hand waving and arbitrary signalling it becomes universally understandable

International languages

Esperanto

Asking: "Ĉu ni ludu?" ("Shall/should we play?")
Accept: "Jes" ("Yes")
Decline: "Ne dankon" ("No thanks")
Begin: "Havu bonan ludon" ("Have a good game")
Resign: "Mi rezignas" ("I resign")
Thanks: "Dankon" ("Thanks")

toki pona

Asking: "musi ala musi?" ("Shall/should we play?")
Accept: "pona" ("Yes")
Decline: "ala" ("No thanks")
Begin: "musi pona" ("Have a good game")
Resign: "mi musi pakala" ("I resign")
Thanks: "pona" ("Thanks")

Leet or |33t

Asking: "G4/\/\3 n00b???"("want to play?")
Accept: "C00|_" ("yes")
Decline: ":p" ("no thanks") "l4/\/\3R" ("go away")
Begin: "L37Z R0X" ("enjoy the game") "gl hf" ("good luck, have fun")
Resign: "3y3 r pwnd D:" ("i have lost") "0MG H4X"[2] ("you must have cheated"; meant jokingly of course)
Thanks: "\o/" ("nice game")

Fictional languages

Klingon

Asking: "*go* wIQuj 'e' DaneH'a' " ("Would you like to play Go?"), yIQuj! (Play!)
Accept: "HIja' " ("Yes")
Decline: "Qo' " ("No")
Begin: "batlh maSuvchuqjaj" ("May we fight each other honorably")
Resign: "jIjegh" ("I surrender"), "bIQapchu' " ("You win perfectly")
Thanks: "Qujmo' qatlho' " ("Thanks for the game") [1]

Quenya

Asking: "Ma tyaluvammė" ("Shall we play?")
Accept: "Tancavė" ("Certainly"), "Nį" ("Yes")
Decline: "Lau" ("No")
Begin: "Į harya mįra tyaliė" ("Have a good game")
Resign: "Hehtanyes" ("I abandon it")
Thanks: "Hantanyel (tyalien)" ("Thank you (for the game)")

Sindarin

Asking: "" ("")
Accept: "" ("")
Decline: "" ("")
Begin: "" ("")
Resign: "" ("")
Thanks: "" ("")

Westron

Asking: "" ("")
Accept: "" ("")
Decline: "" ("")
Begin: "" ("")
Resign: "" ("")
Thanks: "" ("")

Baronh

Asking: "" ("")
Accept: "" ("")
Decline: "" ("")
Begin: "" ("")
Resign: "" ("")
Thanks: "" ("")


Notes

Also see: Useful Phrases In Other Languages.

[1] You don't need to learn this one. If you win the game the Klingon might kill you for dishonoring him. If you lose he'll kill you anyway...

[2] This phrase can also be used in reference to a specific move or tesuji. Example:

Gennan Inseki: 0Mg! l34rn +3h +415h4, n00b (you messed up the taisha, grasshopper!)
Shusaku: 3y3 w1LL 0wn j00! *plays move 127* (Victory will be mine!)
Gennan: 0mg! H4X! (Ears turn red)

This is a copy of the living page "Useful Phrases In Useless Languages" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2007 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.
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