conditional

Hungarian translation: "Akkor...., ha...."

15:48 Jun 27, 2006
English to Hungarian translations [PRO]
Linguistics
English term or phrase: conditional
How would you translate the following conditional sentence? I am particularly interested in clause order. (The context is clearly ad hoc)

(Under what circumstances are you coming to the party?)
I am coming to the party if it's sunny.

Do I *have* to use "akkor", like: "Akkor...., ha...."? Or can you say this with just "ha"? (don't forget the context)

Thanks!
Giorgio Testa
Italy
Local time: 14:12
Hungarian translation:"Akkor...., ha...."
Explanation:
If the sentence is an answer to this question, you have to use akkor. If you omit this word, you don’t say whether you go to the party if it isn’t sunny.



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Note added at 55 mins (2006-06-27 16:43:19 GMT)
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ha napos idő lesz, jövök:
__it's sunny --> I come
__it isn't sunny --> ?

akkor jövök, ha napos idő lesz:
__it's sunny --> I come
__it isn't sunny --> I don't come

That's why the structure "if and only if", which is widely used in math, is redundant in Hungarian. (It [akkor és csak akkor] is still used, but its usage is the influence of other languages.)
Selected response from:

apro
Hungary
Local time: 14:12
Grading comment
thanks a million, your answer is exactly what I was looking for :)
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3ha napos idő lesz, jövök
Eva Blanar
5 +2Ha napos lesz az idő, eljövök a bulira.
JANOS SAMU
5 +1"Akkor...., ha...."
apro
4ha
MandC


  

Answers


9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
ha napos idő lesz, jövök


Explanation:
or: akkor jövök, ha napos lesz az idő (the conditionality is a bit more stressed)

Eva Blanar
Hungary
Local time: 14:12
Native speaker of: Hungarian

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Andrea Nemeth-Newhauser: Nem feltétlenül szükséges az "akkor".
5 mins

agree  László Zsák: ez a jó. "Vasárnap este buli lesz, ha eső nem lesz, ha lesz, nem lesz."
1 hr

agree  Attila Hajdu
2 hrs
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9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
ha


Explanation:
sounds better than akkor, ha.

However, if you wish to emphasize ONLY if, then CSAK AKKOR, HA ... sounds perfect.

MandC
Hungary
Local time: 14:12
Native speaker of: Native in HungarianHungarian
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8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
"Akkor...., ha...."


Explanation:
If the sentence is an answer to this question, you have to use akkor. If you omit this word, you don’t say whether you go to the party if it isn’t sunny.



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 55 mins (2006-06-27 16:43:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

ha napos idő lesz, jövök:
__it's sunny --> I come
__it isn't sunny --> ?

akkor jövök, ha napos idő lesz:
__it's sunny --> I come
__it isn't sunny --> I don't come

That's why the structure "if and only if", which is widely used in math, is redundant in Hungarian. (It [akkor és csak akkor] is still used, but its usage is the influence of other languages.)


apro
Hungary
Local time: 14:12
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in HungarianHungarian
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
thanks a million, your answer is exactly what I was looking for :)

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Eva Ballentine (X): The explanation is terrific. (Also, first right answer in.)
3 hrs
  -> Kösz.
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
Ha napos lesz az idő, eljövök a bulira.


Explanation:
While the other answers are all acceptable they lack the importance of stressing the verb tense. This is a conditional sentence where the action will take place only upon meeting a condition. Therefore the action has to have a definite form expressed with perfect tense. In the above example in colloquial Hungarian you may hear jövök instead of eljövök and everyone will understand it, but it sounds exactly the same and as erroneous as the original English: I am coming to the party if it's sunny, which should be: I will come to the party if it's sunny. This should not discredit the other answers, but since this was a linguistic question from someone who is trying to learn a language I needed to elaborate on this minor, but important detail. For practical use other colloquial forms are also acceptable, but not for learning proper Hungarian. These may inlcude: Jövök a bulira, ha süt a nap. Akkor jövök a bulira, ha süt a nap. Ha süt a nap, jövök. Csak napos időben jövök a bulira. etc.


JANOS SAMU
United States
Local time: 06:12
Works in field
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  juvera: You forgot the simplest, but equally valid answer: Ha süt a nap. :-)
2 hrs
  -> Köszönöm. Nem, nem felejtettem el, csak nem akartam több példát adni, ezért tettem oda az etc-t

agree  Erzsébet Czopyk: simply excellent
2 days 49 mins
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