300 Ways to Ask the Four Questions

Newest Translations!

Additional language translations received after our book was published. See "300 Ways to Ask the Four Questions" for discussion of dialects vs languages, rank, number of speakers and related questions.

Ancient languages

Middle English (Chaucerian)
Language of:England
Time Period:Norman invasion (1066) – Late 15th century.

Translator: Professor George Petty, Professor Emeritus of English from Montclair State University
From: Denville, NJ

Middle English is the language of Chaucer and thus is known as Chaucerian English.

Ugaritic
Language of:Ugarit (Modern day Syria)
Time Period:14th C BCE – 1180/70 BCE

Why is this night not like every night?

On all nights we eat all kinds of bread; on this night we eat bread that does not rise.

On all nights we eat all kinds of the produce of the field; on this night we eat bitter produce.

On all nights we do not wet the bread even once; on this night twice.

On all nights we eat sitting or reclining; on this night, reclining.

On all other nights we eat in any manner; on this night, we do not eat in this way.
¹Term for "manner" (bi'alakti) borrowed from Akkadian.

Translator: Christopher Dost, adjunct instructor of religion and Bible at Sacred Heart University, Nyack College and Nyack-Alliance Theological Seminary.
From: Waterbury, CT

Language of Canaanites, precursors to Phoenicians. . They devised 30 symbols from which alphabets of all phonetic languages are derived (Hebrew, Latin, Sanskrit, Aramaic, Arabic, Greek, etc.). Ugarit produced great royal palaces, temples, shrines and libraries.
Note: Ugaritic character

separates words.

Living languages

Bhojpuri
Language of:India
Rank:41
Number of Speakers:26,666,684

Translator: Binay Pandey
From: Jharkhand, India

Flemish:
Language of:Belgium
Rank:308
Number of Speakers:1,202,000

Waarom is deze avond anders dan alle andere avonden?
Op alle andere avonden eten we ofwel gegist brood ofwel matses;
op deze avond alleen matses.
Op alle andere avonden eten we alle soorten kruiden;
op deze avond alleen bittere kruiden.
Op alle andere avonden dippen we zelfs niet n maal;
op deze avond dippen we tweemaal.
Op alle andere avonden eten we rechtop zittend of achterover leunend;
op deze avond leunen we achterover.
Op alle andere avonden eten we op een gewone manier;
op deze avond eten we volgens een speciale ceremonie.

Translator: Jan Leys
From: Antwerp, Belgium

Gullah / Sea Island Creole English
Language of:USA
Rank:774
Number of Speakers:250,000

Wha fa disya ain same as oda res a ednin?
Oda res a ednin, we nyam pun disya bread o one wha flat;
dis ebnin, e got disya flat one by e dry sef.
(We do not have words for leavened bread nor matzah.)
Oda res a ednin, we da nyam pun pleny herb;
dis ebnin, de herb bitta an e by e dry sef.
Oda res a ednin, we an gwine chook one time;
disya ednin, wi da chook een two time.
Oda res a ednin, wi nyam da sit up;
disya ednin, we da mos lay doung.
Oda res a ednin, we jus nyam;
disya night nyam da mek special.
(There is no word for ceremony.)

Translator: on behalf of Queen Quet
This Gullah translation is noted as being included by Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation. For further information about the Gulla nation and culture, look at http://www.officialgullahgeechee.info or contact Queen Quet and De Gullah Cunneckshun: GullGeeCo@aol.com

Tlingit
Language of:USA
Rank:5058
Number of Speakers:845

Wáasá yá xáanaa tlél tatgé xáana yáx utí.
Ldakát xáanaa sakwnéin tooxáa nooch; yáa xáanaa ku.aa, máatsa gaxtooxáa.
Ldakát xáanaa yáa kayaaní tooxáa nooch; yáa xáanaa ku.aa, si.áax'u kayaaní gaxtooxáa.
Ldakát xáanaa yáa s'íx' tóodein tooteech nuch haa atxaayí, tléix' dahéen; yáa xáanaa ku.aa, déix dahéen s'íx' tóodei gaxtootee.
Ldakát xáanaa k'idéin yéi tookéech nuch atooxaayí; yáa xáanaa ku.aa ch'a koogéi yéi gaxtookée.
Ldakát xáanaa ch'a tlákw k'idéin at tooxáa nooch; yáa xáanaa ku.aa k'idéin aax sateeyích kúnáx k'idéin at gaxtooxáa.

Translator: Ethel Daasdiyaa Joseph, Elder among the Tlingits
From: Sitka, Alaska

Urkers:
Language of:Netherlands
Rank:n/a
Number of Speakers:n/a

Woromme is disse aved angers as alle angere aveden?
[Why is this evening different from all other evenings?]
Woromme eten we allieneg matzes in gien brood?
[Why do we eat just matzot and no bread?]
Woromme eten we allienig bittere kruien in gien angere gruunte?
[Why do we eat only bitter herbs and no other vegetables?]
Woromme stippen we et eeten twie keer?
[Why do we dip the food twice?]
Woromme leggen of zitten we elleke aved an tafel, maar vanaved leggen we allemoal?
[Why do we sit or recline at the table every evening, but tonight we all recline?]
Woromme is et vles normoal eroosterd, mariniert of ekookt, maar vanaved is et allemoal eroosterd?
[Why is the food normally roasted, marinated or cooked, but this evening it is all roasted?]

Translator: Bert
From: Urk/Amsterdam

Urkers is a dialect of Dutch. Urk is a village that used to be an island, and it developed a dialect very different from Dutch. There are Jewish people living there also.

Constructed languages

Binary Code (ASCII English)
Language of:Computers
Number of Users:Billions and billions

Why is this night different from all other nights?
101011111010001111001 11010011110011 1110100110100011010011110011 11011101101001110011111010001110100 110010011010011100110110011011001011110010110010111011101110100 1100110111001011011111101101 110000111011001101100 11011111110100110100011001011110010 1101110110100111001111101000111010011100110111111
On all other nights, we eat either leavened bread or matzah; on this night, only matzah.
10011111101110 110000111011001101100 11011111110100110100011001011110010 1101110110100111001111101000111010011100110101100 11101111100101 110010111000011110100 110010111010011110100110100011001011110010 11011001100101110000111101101100101110111011001011100100 11000101110010110010111000011100100 11011111110010 110110111000011110100z110000111010000111011 11011111101110 1110100110100011010011110011 110111011010011100111110100011101000101100 1101111110111011011001111001 110110111000011110100z110000111010000101110
On all other nights, we eat all kinds of herbs; on this night, only bitter herbs.
10011111101110 110000111011001101100 11011111110100110100011001011110010 1101110110100111001111101000111010011100110101100 11101111100101 110010111000011110100 110000111011001101100 11010111101001110111011001001110011 11011111100110 110100011001011110010110001011100110111011 11011111101110 1110100110100011010011110011 110111011010011100111110100011101000101100 1101111110111011011001111001 110001011010011110100111010011001011110010 110100011001011110010110001011100110101110
On all other nights, we do not dip even once; on this night, we dip twice.
10011111101110 110000111011001101100 11011111110100110100011001011110010 1101110110100111001111101000111010011100110101100 11101111100101 11001001101111 110111011011111110100 110010011010011110000 1100101111011011001011101110 11011111101110110001111001010111011 11011111101110 1110100110100011010011110011 110111011010011100111110100011101000101100 11101111100101 110010011010011110000 111010011101111101001110001111001010101110
On all other nights, we eat either sitting up or reclining; on this night, we recline.
10011111101110 110000111011001101100 11011111110100110100011001011110010 1101110110100111001111101000111010011100110101100 11101111100101 110010111000011110100 110010111010011110100110100011001011110010 1110011110100111101001110100110100111011101100111 11101011110000 11011111110010 1110010110010111000111101100110100111011101101001110111011001110111011 11011111101110 1110100110100011010011110011 110111011010011100111110100011101000101100 11101111100101 11100101100101110001111011001101001110111011001010101110
On all other nights, we eat in an ordinary manner; on this night, we dine with special ceremony.
10011111101110 110000111011001101100 11011111110100110100011001011110010 1101110110100111001111101000111010011100110101100 11101111100101 110010111000011110100 11010011101110 11000011101110 11011111110010110010011010011101110110000111100101111001 1101101110000111011101101110110010111100100111011 11011111101110 1110100110100011010011110011 110111011010011100111110100011101000101100 11101111100101 1100100110100111011101100101 1110111110100111101001101000 1110011111000011001011100011110100111000011101100 110001111001011110010110010111011011101111110111011110010101110

Binary is the code used by digital computers. The "dialect" shown here is ASCII. There are other character coding schemes, e.g. EBCDIC and others, and, of course, there is binary coding for non-latin characters used in other languages. For human readability, the spaces (100000) are not translated above to show word boundaries. The actual binary for the introductory question is: 10101111101000111100101000001101001111001101000001110100110100011010011110011010000011011101101001110011111010001110100010000011001001101001110011011001101100101111001011001011101110111010001000001100110111001011011111101101010000011000011101100110110001000001101111111010011010001100101111001001000001101110110100111001111101000111010011100110111111

Ithig (also known as Gibberish)
Language of:Children everwhere
Number of Speakers:Millions

Withighy ithigis thithigis nithigight dithigiffithigerithigent frithigom ithigall ithigothithiger nithigights?
Ithigon ithigall ithigothithiger nithigights withige ithigeat ithigeithithiger lithigeavithigened brithigead ithigor mithigatzithigah; ithigon thithigis nithigightithigonlithigy mithigatzithigah.
Ithigon ithigall ithigothithiger nithigights withige ithigeat ithigall kithiginds ithigof hithigerbs; ithigon thithigis nithigight withigee ithigeat bithigithithiger hithigerbs.
Ithigon ithigall ithigothithiger nithigights withige dithigo nithigot dithigip ithionce; ithigon thithigis nithigight withige dithigip twithigice.
Ithigon ithigall ithigothithigher nithigights; withige ithigeat sithigithithiging ithigup ithigor rithigeclithiginithiging; ithigon thithigis nithigight withige rithigeclithigine.
Ithigon ithigall ithigothithiger nithigights withige ithigeat ithigin ithiganithigy ithigordithiginithigarithigy mithigannithiger; ithigon thithigis nithigight withige dithigine withigith spithigecithigial cithierithigemithigonithigy.

Translator: Robyn Stein
From: North Brunswick, NJ

Ithig and its variants (Ittig, Ithiga) are children's languages like Pig Latin. The language inserts Ithig/Ittig/Ithiga in each syllable (there are varying rules). The language is chronicled in Sweet Valley Twins, Keeping Secrets.

Sandorian
Artificial language of:Nation of Ventnor (a tiny piece of land near Crawford Creek, Wisconsin)
Number of Speakers:3

hRIind Cid doCE Det fIrek lorlok fedE Deten?
(English transliteration) h'va-yind sid da-see shet fai-rik lar-lock fedee sheten?
nod GrBf fedE Deten yUd DrIn bEzuflOkom zUAlu rod motzu;
nod doCE Det inCitin motzu.
nod grouf fedee sheten yood shrine bee-zu-flo-kum zoo-ay-la rod matza;
nod da-see shet insi-tin matza.
nod GrBf fedE Deten yUd DrIn GrBf Rritulen rod brAuren;
nod doCE Det inCit IRurd brAuren.
nod grouf fedee sheten yood shrine grouf vritulen fod brayeren;
nod dosee shet insit ayverd brayeren.
nod GrBf fedE Deten yUd fIrek nalEtEd trofA gapCno;
nod doCE Det yUd nalEtEd cekCno.
nod grouf fedee sheten yood fay-rek nal-ee-teed traw-fay jap-sna;
nod da-see shet yood nal-ee-teed check-sna.
nod GrBf fedE Deten yUd iCit bEzuflOkom pud ruk;
nod doCE Det yUd iCit ruk.
nod grouf fedee sheten yood isit bee-zu-flow-kum pud ruck;
nod dosee shet yood isit ruck.
nod GrBf fedE Deten yUd DrIn nid jo trAdalEak krakin rARam;
nod doCE Det yUd DrIn srok Ontuc CpiR.
nod grouf fedee sheten yood shrine nid ja tray-da-lee-ack krackin ray-tham;
nod dosee shet yood shrine throck own-touch spith.

Translator: Cantor Daniel Singer Audio Sample of the Sandorian translation
From: New York, NY

Many individuals have created artificial/constructed languages. One finalist in the reknowned Westinghouse Science Talent Search (now sponsored by Intel) had created one, and spoke it nearly exclusively, much to the annoyance of his co-finalists.

The artificial language Sandorian originated in 1986-1987 at the hands of Brett Quist and Alex Sandor, after an early fascination with homespun codes. Sandorian was born after its eponymous inventor became enchanted with the Cyrillic alphabet. Sandor began scrawling his own oddly shaped characters and assigned sounds. Sandor and Quist soon were creating secret naughty words using the alphabet. During the Sandorian Renaissance (c. 1989-1994), a dictionary was developed, along with writing rules, an elaborate grammar and eloquent yet charming Haikus. When Daniel Singer began his study of Sandorian in 1992, it had truly become a vibrant, living language. Daniel, Brett and Alex relied almost exclusively on Sandorian to communicate with each other at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Also during the 1980s, the "Nation of Ventnor" briefly claimed its independence from the USA. The language fell into disuse when its three fluent speakers moved to three different states. This Four Questions translation is the first published communication in Sandorian.

Ubbi Dubbi
Language of:Children everywhere
Number of Speakers:Millions

Mubah nubeeshtubahnubah hubahlubilubah hubahzubeh mubeekubol hubahlubaylubot?
(English) Whuby ubis thubis nubight dubiffuberubent frubom uball ubothuber nubights?
Shubehbubekhubol hubahlubaylubot ubahnubu ubokhlubeen khubahmubayts ubumubahtsubah;
hubahlubilubah hubahzubeh kubulubo mubahtsubah.
Ubon uball ubothuber nubights wube ubeat ubeithuber lubeavubenubed brubead ubor mubatzubah;
ubon thubis nubight ubonluby mubatzubah.
Shubehbubekhubol hubahlubaylubot ubahnubu ubokhlubeen shubihubahr yubihrubahkubot;
hubahlubilubah hubahzubeh mubahrubor.
Ubon uball ubothuber nubights wube ubeat uball kubinds ubof huberbs;
ubon thubis nubight ubonluby bubittuber huberbs.
Shubehbubekhubol hubahlubaylubot ubayn ubahnubu mubahtbubeelubeen ubahfubeelubu pubahubahm ubehkhubat;
hubahlubilubah hubahzubeh shubihtubay fubihubahmubeem.
Ubon uball ubothuber nubights wube dubo nubot dubip ubevuben uboncube;
ubon thubis nubight wube dubip twubicube.
Shubehbubekhubol hubahlubaylubot ubahnubu ubokhlubeen bubayn yuboshvubeen ubuvubayn mubihsubububeen;
hubahlubilubah hubahzubeh kubulubahnubu mubihsubububeen.
Ubon uball ubothuber nubights wube ubeat ubeithuber subittubing ubup ubor rubeclubinubing;
ubon thubis nubight wube rubeclubinube.
Shubehbubekhubol hubahlubaylubot ubahnubu ubokhlubeen ubokhubilubeen bubihtzuburuba rubagubeeluba;
hubahlubilubah hubahzubeh bubihrubov tubeekubihsubeeubot.
Ubon uball ubothuber nubights wube ubeat ubin uban ubordubinubaruby mubannuber;
ubon thubis nubight wube dubinube wubith spubecubiubal cuberubemubonuby.

Ubbi Dubbi was popularized by the PBS kids show, Zoom (1972-2005).