Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 August 31

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August 31

Hello Africa, tell me how you doing?

It appears to me that this is a fairly well known phrase. However I seem to be out of luck when it comes to sorting out the origins of the phrase. Any ideas? --GSchjetne 12:20, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I've never heard it. It's not even grammatical English. - Paul D. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.29.16.127 (talk) 12:41, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I think it's just lyrics from the title track on this album. Never heard it before, but that's what Google says. Recury 13:41, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

I remember a song from the 90s (early?) which went 'Hello Nigeria, tell me how you doing' Which came first? Drmaik 05:03, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

It is the title of a book; 'Hello Africa, Tell Me How Are You Doing?' Sub-titled: 'A Noble Continent in Painful Renaissance' by Ghanian author, journalist and UN correspondent Osei G Kofi. Published by One World Books (South Africa) ISBN 0-620-35534-4 "This is a book on Africa that tells it like it is."

German to English

I have some postcards wrote in German and I need help to translate them to english —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.47.60.119 (talk) 17:24, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

If you post them here then someone can translate them. Strad 18:16, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Language identification (Russian or Latin?)

Howdy! I'm in the middle of knocking up an article on Diageo's latest Smirnoff advertising campaign. The television/cinema commercial uses an original song created by Peter Raeburn, but the online sources seem to disagree over whether the lyrics are in Russian or Latin. Since I've no knowledge of either, I figured I'd come here for a quick judgement on which of the two it is, or whether it's a third or even completely fictitious language. I figure Russian is the more likely of the two, given the advert is promoting vodka, but it never hurts to double check :)

The spot can be seen here, among many other places. I'm not looking for a full translation (though it might be interesting just for curiosity's sake), just an identification. GeeJo ^(t)⁄_(c) • 20:15, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

not Russian. Possibly Latin, although I can't catch any words. dab (𒁳) 20:43, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

It sounds like Latin to me too. I think I can hear some words like purus and mare that make sense in the context. —Keenan Pepper 02:20, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

Ta muchly :) Apropos of nothing, the tiny lo-fi versions around the internet really don't do that advert justice. It's spectacular at the cinema. GeeJo ^(t)⁄_(c) • 13:47, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

And you can now find the article at Sea (Smirnoff advert). It should be appearing on Did you know in a few days. Thanks again for the hand! GeeJo ^(t)⁄_(c) • 17:19, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

My guess: it's nonsense. Doesn't strike me as Latin; chance resemblance of a few words is to be expected. The rhythm sounds to me somehow Scandinavian. —Tamfang 10:10, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Just a side comment: Isn't it fascinating how adverts have become the (or at least a) focus of attention. They're even making programs about the making of adverts. Adverts used to be the things that conveyed information about other things they want you to buy, they were never the thing itself. But I guess it's par for the course. Journalists now regularly report on the doings of other journalists, rather than on the other news they're all supposed to be telling us about. What's this phenomenon called, when the medium becomes the message itself? Marshall McLuhan was right. -- JackofOz 13:10, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Well, getting people to point out good adverts, comment on what worked, and celebrate what does helps encourage more good adverts in the future, which can only be good! As an aside, I only posted the article up just over 24 hours ago, and it's already the first hit on Google for Sea + Smirnoff, and in the top ten for the generic Smirnoff + advert. Amazing how fast Google'll respond. GeeJo ^(t)⁄_(c) • 21:38, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

This isn't really that new a thing. How Do They Do That? often used to look into the makings of adverts, and that must have been at least a decade ago. Skittle 23:07, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Russian Song

Can anyone translate the name of the song 'Полюшка Поле'? Plus, does anyone know who it's by? Cheers!--Manga 23:31, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia article: Polyushko Pole. Alternative Russian-English edition. Wareh 02:52, 1 September 2007 (UTC)