lha dalah
English translation: Goddammit!
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| 08:35 Nov 11, 2011 |
| Indonesian to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / b. Jawa? | |||||||
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|  Selected response from: Budi Suryadi- Indonesia Local time: 13:05 | ||||||
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| 4 +1 | Good grief |
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| 4 | What the hell ! |
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| Discussion entries: 7 | |
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Answers
36 mins confidence: 
peer agreement (net): +1
peer agreement (net): +1Good grief Explanation: "lha dalah" is actually an expression, and it is a single phrase, cannot be separated. Sometimes people use the longer form "weladalah", other variation is "ealah". 'lah' is actually coming from the word Allah. Javanese muslim usually expresses feelings with "Ya Allah". This then becomes various colloquies depends on who is speaking. This is simply an expression upon what the Betawi said to the Javanese. In English, there are various ways of expressing this kind of feeling, from the rudest to the best euphemism. It can be "Oh my God"; "Oh, come on"; "What a", "Holy cow" etc. It all depends on the nuance you are presenting in the translation. In this sentence, the Javanese is quite polite by using "lha dalah." If he were very angry, he would use some animal names. -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 2 days23 hrs (2011-11-14 07:41:09 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- Something like "Asu" (dog) or "Celeng" (wild boar). These are considered very rude. -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 2 days23 hrs (2011-11-14 07:48:38 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- He may say "Asu, kowe!" Kowe is Javanese for "you" |
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2 days 22 hrs confidence:
What the hell ! Explanation: Considering the given context, perhaps the expression *Good grief!* would be too polite/refined. SOmething a little stronger could fit the bill. -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 2 days22 hrs (2011-11-14 07:24:22 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- We, lha dalah ! is often used in dialogue, and the speaker could be someone like Semar, the lowly clown servant who happens to be one of the most powerful gods. -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 3 days2 hrs (2011-11-14 10:40:05 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- Just a few more alternatives to choose from: Damn you / Holy Shit ! Goddamn ! |
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