Your sentence sounds like it was written by Shakespeare
Не иммигрантами ли строилась Америка?
User translations (5)
- 1.
Wasn’t it immigrants who built America?
translation added by ⁌ ULY ⁍Gold ru-en3 - 2.
Wasn’t America built by immigrants?
translation added by ⁌ ULY ⁍Gold ru-en1 - 3.
Was/were that not the immigrants built America?
translation added by ` ALGold ru-en0 - 4.
The immigrants built America, didn't they?
translation added by Yuri DDDBronze ru-en0 - 5.
were not the builders of Averica immigrants?
translation added by Валерий КоротоношкоGold ru-en0
Discussion (21)
*AMerica
“Builders of America” is not very idiomatic
В русском вопросе другое ударение. На иммигрантах. Was it not immigrants who built America?
The same stress is used in English - reading that question, the word immigrants is stressed in speech. In modern English it’s more common to put the stressed element at the end of the sentence. “Was it not…“ sounds a bit poetic.
В русском вопросе тоже есть это дополнительное звучание. Оно не поэтическое, а скорее указывающее на предмет обсуждения... Обсуждаются иммигранты в первую очередь, а не Америка. Тут к Америке можно было бы добавить и другие страны. Как и в другом вопросе про металл. "Не из металла ли и это все сделано?" Как переведете Ули?
Isn’t all this made out of metal? A native speaker looks at this and automatically stresses the last element in the question.
I meant that questions that start with “was it not” sound a bit poetic and stilted in English.
Additionally, if we wanted to really stress the word “immigrants“ in this question, we would use italics. Unfortunately we don’t have that option here.
And along came AL and put the lid on the jar! 😂
😂
Uly, your last version was in my first comment... You start to be poetic? ))
No, darling, you said “was it not,” and I said “wasn’t it”)))
And along came AL and put the lid on the jar!
И тут пришел АЛ, и это стало послелней каплей!
Hahahahahaha
AL, actually Uly is being sarcastic. Your translation is downright wrong.
👍🏼
Ули нравится быть Уличённым в сарказме. Уличите Ули в поэтичности.... хУлительно для Ули :))
И тут пришёл АЛ и забил в крышку гроба последний гвоздь!))
Yes, Tatiana – along came Al and hammered the last nail into the coffin)))
Thank you Yevgenia for the lovely poem)