19 Comments
:D that translation is the most awkward English sentence I've ever had to read
It's funny being forced to write "you all" or "y'all" randomly because it's not in my dialect, so my brain immediately wants to add other things I think of as Southern US dialect (but may not actually be).
The reason it wasn't accepted is because the sentence isn't grammatically correct. "Look at the children they are playing" is a double subject, I believe. Either that, or a tautology, as "they" is unnecessary and specifies "children", but "children" is the only noun given to perform the verbs (are and playing). Hope this helped!
I think Duolingo is doing a great job, but Americans are not the only people learning languages. The English answers should be in correct Standard English, or Standard English and spelling should be allowed.. Plus- the inconsistencies are a handicap. For example, I get marked wrong for not using "a", indefinite article, the next time I use the same sentence, it's ok not to use it! Or I am penalised for using " a", told to use " the". Next time it's the other way round. It does mean that I am afraid to try "testing out".
I think it is the ending "ni" that refers to second person plural which is not clear in the english translation unless it is put like that.. as awkward as it is. The verb ending "ni" refers to the subjects "nyinyi".
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I wrote angaliene, does anyone know why this was treated as wrong and not a typo?
These translations are really ridiculous. I'm from the United States, and from the South, and I can tell you that NOBODY I know speaks like this, literally! What kind of hillbilly dialect is this?!?
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Not only that, but even if they insist on making you include "you all" or "y'all" in your answer, which sounds completely unnatural, then it's also necessary to include a comma to indicate that it's an imperative sentence, i.e. "Y'all, look at the children playing."
I am from South Louisiana, because of Cajun suppression most of us don't have country ot hillbilly accents
Wow, Duolingo just cut off the entire end of my comment because I had an emoji. Anyway what I was saying was that we have general "American" accents, to the point where I thought Southern accents were an antiquated myth or stereotype, until I visited Alabama. To us, "y'all" sounds natural among every group, and "you all" sounds foreign and blocky. Hope this helped!
In English we do not say y'all. Maybe the people who write these courses could do an English course.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/y'all
There is even a map of "y'all" usage in the USA.
