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    Long time, no talk!

    Sources
    What would be the idiomatic way of starting an e-mail in German to someone I haven't spoken to in a very long time but am still (somehow) close to? Something along the lines of "long time, no talk" or "It sure has been a while!"



    Comment
    Vielen Dank!
    AuthorMarcy11 Aug 08, 00:56
    Comment
    Yep. "Lange nicht gesehen/gelesen." would be fine.
    #1Author bluesky (236159) 11 Aug 08, 01:03
    Comment
    Wir haben uns zwar lange nicht mehr geschrieben, aber neulich musste ich wieder an Dich denken. Weil...

    Dann hast Du gleich einen Einstieg in den aktuellen Anlass. Eine "Standard-Floskel" gibt es eigentlich nicht.

    #2Author Harald (dede) [de] (370386) 11 Aug 08, 01:05
    Comment
    Eine Standardfloskel fällt mir auf die Schnelle nicht ein, aber ein paar lockere Sprüche:

    Doch, mich gibt's noch, auch wenn's schon länger nicht mehr so aussah!

    Was lange währt, wird endlich ... ein Brief / ein(e) E-Mail.

    - Kaum sind zwei (oder wieviel auch immer) Jahre vergangen ...
    - Jahre später, die Kinder waren schon groß ...
    [sollst Du auch schon wieder ein paar Zeilen bekommen]

    HTH
    #3Author Peter <de> (236455) 11 Aug 08, 01:07
    Comment
    I quite sincerely do not mean to be pedantic here but I am just really curious as to where, specifically, "Long time, no talk!" is colloquial English - I've never heard it in America - just curious THANKS!
    #4Authormags22 (423223) 11 Aug 08, 02:19
    Comment
    Lange nichts von Dir gehört!
    Hört man von dir auch noch mal was!
    Hast lange nichts von dir hören lassen!
    #5AuthorClogue Sceyssor (465418) 11 Aug 08, 02:22
    Comment
    @Clogue Sceyssor: das würde man als Antwort schreiben, Marcy will aber selbst die Initiative ergreifen, das ist ein Unterschied.

    Man kann natürlich auch schreiben: He, du oide Wurschthaut, was treibschn so alles. Das wäre aber sehr, sehr, sehr familiär.
    #6Author bluesky (236159) 11 Aug 08, 02:43
    Comment
    @mags22: "long time no talk" (no comma there) is just another version of the old "long time no see," which I'm sure you've heard, right?
    #7Authorsammy11 Aug 08, 02:48
    Comment
    re # 7 "long time no see" is common enough in spoken English - however the common phrase in (badly) written English is "long time no hear" - I have never ever heard OR read "long time no talk"
    And loathe as I am to be pedantic, as it seems to be the exclusive purview of a limited number of posters here, I was curious, as is my right in a free world, as to where, specifically, "Long time, no talk!" is colloquial English

    Stick the commas wherever they feel most comfortable to you, personally (note my proper use of the comma there?) - punctuation in nonsensical English is well... nonsensical
    You good now sammy?
    #8Authormags22 (423223) 11 Aug 08, 03:10
    Comment
    @#8
    mags22, the origin of 'long time no see' is 18th and 19th century pidgin Chinese, a simplified language developed for trade purposes with Imperial China. As such, I concur with sammy that there should be no comma. And, as sammy pointed out, it is immediately obvious for anybody familiar with 'long time no see' what is meant by 'long time no talk' (even if you cannot find any example for).
    #9Authorfairfax11 Aug 08, 03:20
    Comment
    I don't have a problem with "long time no talk" personally. Long time no see means the two of you haven't seen each other in a while, so in that sense, long time no hear doesn't even make sense: a long time since you've heard each other? I like the talk version better. But that's just me. :-)
    #10Authorsammy11 Aug 08, 03:25
    Comment
    @#9
    I meant 'pidgin English', of course, and there is an 'it' missing at the end of the last parenthetical clause. Sorry.
    #11Authorfairfax11 Aug 08, 03:27
    Comment
    re #s 9 & 10 and time spent that I will never ever regain:
    @ fairfax thank you ever so much for the elucidation - might I suggest taking / carrying coals to Newcastle if you have the time and are so inclined?
    @ sammy _ I find it absolutely splendid that you have no qualms about the misuse of the English language! Well Done! Good on you!
    I shall immediately get on to those whose responsibility it is to see to such things and let them know that sammy says, despite all evidence to the contrary, "I like the talk version better."
    Who knows? Perhaps your version will catch on???
    My one & only question was: where this, perchance, might be colloquial - as it it most certainly is not in any of the English speaking countries I have lived in.
    Long time no hear - (It's been a long time since I've heard from you)
    Long time no see- (It's been a long time since I've seen you)
    Where is this common please...
    Long time no talk- (It's been a long time since I've talked at/ with / for/ / to - you)
    BTW My parents were not previously related
    #12Authormags22 (423223) 11 Aug 08, 03:45
    Comment
    @mags: wtf is your problem tonight? a bit too much substance?
    #13Authorsammy11 Aug 08, 03:53
    Comment
    my f**king problem, tonight sammy boy, has nothing to do with any substances I may or may not have ingested - rather with the fact that many people read these forums and go on to quote posts here as biblical fact
    I was born in America, lived most of my life there, I studied in Ireland & worked in England -
    I HAVE NEVER EVER HEARD THE PHRASE and I quite simply wanted to know if it had come into colloquial usage somewhere in the ENGLISH SPEAKING WORLD
    I grew up in an English speaking world - I communicate with many people who still live in that world - this is not a common phrase, as far as I know and telling people that it would be "understandable", is tantamount to telling people " "Du arbeiten" is understandable and therefore acceptable - perhaps it is you who needs another toke of a substance?
    #14Authormags22 (423223) 11 Aug 08, 04:19
    Comment
    For what it's worth, "long time no talk" gets over 2,000,000 googluritos. And if people rather phone than meet, then it might make sense.
    [but I leave that to the native speakers to decide]
    #15Author Wachtelkönig (396690) 11 Aug 08, 04:56
    Comment
    @mags: whoa! slow down, babe! Just because you haven't heard of something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I'm a native AE speaker myself, and I've heard that phrase lots of times. And as Wachtelkönig has pointed out, there are more than 2 million hits on google for this, so there it does enjoy some amount of popularity, don't you think? Or is mags' English the only English that counts here on LEO (speaking of biblical facts)?
    #16Authorsammy11 Aug 08, 05:45
    Comment
    Please reread # 14
    I HAVE NEVER EVER HEARD THE PHRASE and I quite simply wanted to know if it had come into colloquial usage somewhere in the ENGLISH SPEAKING WORLD
    #17Authormags22 (423223) 11 Aug 08, 09:14
    Comment
    I know this thread is a few weeks old but just wanted to add my 2 cents.

    In England "long time no speak" is very common. I've never heard it with 'talk' either, but it's basically the same thing.
    #18Authorbevalisch29 Aug 08, 14:43
     
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