English
Hi. I’ve got my phrase translated in English, but I have some doubts. Please help me to correct it if it’s possible.
The speaker is an elf (as in LOTR) who was fluent in English in 16 or 17 century (so there shouldn’t be any modern words).
"It has been many years since we spoke to the local people, and few of us know the language of these lands. But if you speak English, we can try to converse in it."
In fact there are only two things that bother me:
1. “It has been many years...” - in truth it was several centuries. Do you think it can\should be expressed somehow? “Many years” sounds like an underestimation to me (it’s just my impression, if I’m wrong please tell me so).
2. About “in it” in the end. I know it sound strange, but this elf was addressed to in the “local language” first, so what I was trying to say was not “let’s try to converse”, but rather “let’s try to converse in THIS language instead of the one you have addressed to me a minute ago, because I didn’t understand it”. If “converse in it” sounds wrong, than maybe something like “if you speak English, we can try it”? Any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance. (And please forgive me if my English is far from perfect.:/ )
The speaker is an elf (as in LOTR) who was fluent in English in 16 or 17 century (so there shouldn’t be any modern words).
"It has been many years since we spoke to the local people, and few of us know the language of these lands. But if you speak English, we can try to converse in it."
In fact there are only two things that bother me:
1. “It has been many years...” - in truth it was several centuries. Do you think it can\should be expressed somehow? “Many years” sounds like an underestimation to me (it’s just my impression, if I’m wrong please tell me so).
2. About “in it” in the end. I know it sound strange, but this elf was addressed to in the “local language” first, so what I was trying to say was not “let’s try to converse”, but rather “let’s try to converse in THIS language instead of the one you have addressed to me a minute ago, because I didn’t understand it”. If “converse in it” sounds wrong, than maybe something like “if you speak English, we can try it”? Any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance. (And please forgive me if my English is far from perfect.:/ )