Just farewelled stepson on a school Classics trip to Greece and Italy.
Add in the Vatican City and the stopover in Thailand and by the end of the trip his list of countries visited will stand at 11.
At his age (16) I had yet to embark on my first overseas flight – a hockey trip to Christchurch. My first real overseas trip came at 21.
It’s a very different world from the 1970s, and a grasp of foreign phrases has never been more vital.
Here is one of the most vital, translated into every language the intrepid young traveller is likely to encounter.
(Like the overgrown child I am, I still can’t help but chuckle at the Cebuano, Thai and Tagalog words for hovercraft)…
Afrikaans My skeertuig is vol palings.
Albanian Hoverkrafti im është plot me ngjala.
Arabic Hawwāmtī mumtil’ah bi’anqalaysūn.
Armenian (Eastern) Im odatirry li e odzadz.kerov.
Aromanian Pãmporea-a mea-i ãmplinã di uhelji.
Azerbaijani Hoverkraftimin içi ilan balıǧı ilə doludur.
Basque Nire aerolabangailua aingirez beteta dago.
Belarusian Moj pavetrany čoven pouny vugramі.
Bhojpuri Hamar mandaraye wali jahaj sarpminan se bharal ha.
Breton Leun gant sili eo ma aeroglisseur.
Bulgarian Korabãt mi na v’zdyšna vãzglavnica e pãlen sãs zmiorki.
Catalan El meu aerolliscador està ple d’anguiles.
Cebuano Puno ug kasili ang akong hoberkrap.
Chinese (Cantonese) Ngóh jek heidínsyùhn jòngmúhnsaai síhn.
Chinese (Mandarin) Wǒ de qìdiànchuán chōngmǎn le shànyú.
Croatian/Serbian Moja lebdilica je puna jegulja.
Czech Moje vznášedlo je plné úhořů.
Danish Mit luftpudefartøj er fyldt med ål.
Dutch Mijn luchtkussenboot zit vol paling.
English My hovercraft is full of eels.
Estonian Mu hõljuk on angerjaid täis.
Faroese Luftpútufar mítt er (skít)fult í álli.
Finnish Ilmatyynyalukseni on täynnä ankeriaita.
French Mon aéroglisseur est plein d’anguilles.
Frisian (Northern) Min luftdümpetbüüdj as ful ma äil.
Galician O meu aerodeslizador esta cheo de anguías.
German Mein Luftkissenfahrzeug ist voller Aale.
German (Swiss) Mis Luftchüssiboot isch volle Aal.
Greek (Modern) To hóverkráft mu íne gemáto hélia.
Hebrew Harahefet sh’eli mele’ah betzlofahim.
Hindi Merī ṃḍarāne vālī nāv sarpamīnoṁ se bharī hai.
Hungarian A légpárnás hajóm tele van angolnákkal.
Icelandic Svifnökkvinn minn er fullur af álum.
Indonesian Hovercraft saya penuh dengan belut.
Inuktitut Umiaryuap Publimaaqpaga tattaurniq ammayaq.
Irish (Gaelic) Tá m’árthach foluaineach lán d’eascainn.
Italian Il mio aeroscivolante è pieno di anguille.
Japanese Watashi no hobākurafuto wa unagi de ippai desu.
Korean Nae hoebuhkeurapeuteuneun changuhro kadeuk cha isseyo.
Latin Mea navis aëricumbens anguillis abundat.
Latvian Mans gliseris ir pilns ar zušiem.
Lithuanian Mano laivas su oro pagalve pilnas ungurių.
Luxembourgish Mäi Loftkësseboot ass voller Éilen.
Macedonian Moeto letačko vozilo e polno so jaguli.
Manx Ta my haagh crowal lane dy astan.
Māori Kī tōnu taku waka topaki i te tuna.
Malay Hoverkraf saya penuh dengan belut.
Malayalam Ente prrakkum-paetakam niraye vlankukalanu.
Maltese Il-hovercraft tiegħi hu mimli sallur.
Marathi Majhī hoḍi māsaḷyaṅni bharlī āhe.
Norwegian Luftputefartøyet mitt er fullt av ål.
Occitan Mon aerolisador es plen d’anguilas.
Persian Havercrafte man pore mārmāhi ast.
Polish Mój poduszkowiec jest pełen węgorzy.
Portuguese Meu hovercraft está cheio de enguias.
Romanian Vehicolul meu pe pernă de aer e plin cu ţipari.
Russian Moio sudno na vozdušnoy poduške polno ugrey.
Scottish Gaelic Tha mo bhàta-foluaimein loma-làn easgannan.
Shona Hovercraft yangu yakazara nemikunga.
Slovak Moje vznášadlo je plné úhorov.
Slovenian Moje vozilo na zračni blazini je polno jegulj.
Spanish Mi aerodeslizador está lleno de anguilas.
Swahili Gari langu linaloangama limejaa na mikunga.
Swedish Min svävare är full med ål.
Tagalog Puno ng palos ang aking hoberkrap.
Tamil En kappal muzhuvadhum meengal.
Telugu Naa hoavarkraapht aṅthaa eelu chaepalathoa niṅdipoayiṅdhi.
Thai Hō woe khrāp kong phom tem pai duay pla lha.
Tok Pisin Bilong me hangamapim bot stap pulap maleo.
Turkish Hoverkraftımın içi yılan balığı dolu.
Ukrainian Moje sudno na povitrianij podušci napovnene vuhrami.
Vietnamese Tàu cánh ngầm của tôi đầy lươn.
Welsh Mae fy hofrenfad yn llawn llyswennod.
Yiddish Mayn prom (shveb-shif) iz ful mit veners.
Yorùbá Ọkọ afategun-sare mi kun fun ẹja arọ.
Zulu Umkhumbi wami u’cwele hinoka za’semanzini.
Thanks to Omniglot for this linguistic treasure. For even more languages, including Klingon, go here.
how do you write and say my hovercraft is full of eels in fijian?
Alas, this is beyond my sphere of competence — though I believe the Fijian word for eel (long slippery creature given to wriggling) is Bainimarama.
Careful…careful—I think Bainimarama in Fijian means penis.
Bless you!! Laughed out loud so hard! Love your intro, too! I do relate! Asante!