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- "Non siamo internazionali."
55 Comments
This is an awkward sentence in American English. The only way I could accept it, in my mind, was as an answer to the question. "Do you and your partners do business worldwide?" Even then, I think the better answer would be "No, non siamo internazionali."
Just when I thought what the sentence was trying to say. Right, I am with the other Milan, so...
Without context this phrase makes no sense to me. Closest thing might be foreign nationals.
I am not English, but I would say that "international" is an adjective and then it doesn't take the "s" for plural.
If it could be a noun in this sentence, then you're right. Some English natives should help us! Or maybe YOU are, and you know it could be a noun. In case, please let me know how it works, I am pretty curious now!
182
yeah, you can say internationals. When you use an adjective that stands in the place of an unstated noun that it describes, it basically becomes a noun (this is known as a substantive). We use the word "locals" and "natives" all the time in English, so why not "internationals"?
In UK English "an international" is someone who plays sport for his or her country. Most English top division footballers are internationals.
In this sentence "internazionali" is used as an adjective, but if it were being used as a noun then the correct translation would be "internationals" and I would assume the context to be a group of footballers saying they had not been chosen to play for their countries.
- 126
Would the Italian sentence change if the noun is used? I just want to know how to translate "We are not internationals".
English/American/Australian et cetera. Sorry, I am used to say English native, if there is a more politically correct way including all speakers of the different kinds of English, I will try to use that wording next time! I tend to use UK English because that's the one I learnt, but I mix it up with random American things and a lot of mistakes of my own.
- 32
No worries about "English native"; the best catch-all phrase would be "English-speakers". But yes, I am American, and you could say "internationals", but I'm not sure how proper that usage is. It sounds colloquial, like something I could definitely hear someone say, but would probably never see anyone write.
- 32
Then again, "We are not international" is probably something I would be unlikely to see as well. It would more likely be "We are not foreign", or something like that.
I can imagine it as a company. We are not working in the international market... Non siamo internazionali.
Or people from the countryside (but even people of my age from big cities, unfortunately), complaining because somebody wants them to say one word of English could say... "Non siamo internazionali! Non sappiamo l'inglese!"
But, of course, out of context, it sounds a bit strange.
In the context of activism I have been to places where a person is referred to as either "a local" or "an international". In such cases, a group if foriegn aid/NGO workers are referred to as "internationals". And when a group of local NGO members brush with authorities, they may very well declare "we are not internationals".
- 321
re trevro: I don't think so. using it as a noun might require a definite article (gli). it would be an abstract object and require the article. here is a web page on this: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/1012366/When-to-use-the-definite-article and another: https://blogs.transparent.com/italian/using-the-definite-article/
The thing that immediately came to mind for me was the concept of "international students". For example, someone asks if you've voted in the election for International Student Rep yet and you reply "but we are not international" (i.e. we are studying in our home country)
At this point in the lessons, enough with this challenge. Who in the heck would say this anyway, in any language?
I cannot imagine a context in which this would be acceptable English. International is an adjective and needs to qualify something. It could be said 'We are not international travelers' for instance.
I would have liked to have chanced "extraterrestrials" as that was an option on the pull-down vocab, but I played safe.
- 1193
It is a quite common italian phrase.
It might be the answer you get if you ask a shop keeper if they can ship an item to your home country . . . or if you like to pay in dollars.
we are not internationals should be correct or there would be an e instead of i at the end of international.
- 321
adjectives have to agree in gender and number with the noun they modify unless they are invariable as some colors are (blu, rosa, viola, lilla); those that have 'anti-' prefixes (antiriflesso); compounds of '-bene' (perbene) or '-poco' and a few others.
'internazionale' is not invariable for number; just gender.
- 1193
No, that would be "Non siamo stranieri".
Non siamo internazionali = We are not internationals (as internazionali is a plural form)
I agree with everybody. It is the same as saying "foreign books" (???). NOt used. One could say "I am not from another country (or overseas)."
