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That's a very valid reasoning and it makes it much more likely that your answer is correct. The only reason I haven't agreed with it yet is that one doesn't usually drop syllables when writing, only when talking, so I'm still hoping that the asker will provide some more details.
[Continuation of previous entry]. The reason that I chose my answer was because Dennis Elwell, the asker, classified his question as relating to Art, Literary Art, Crafts and Painting. Now, imagine the possibility that Dennis is a supplier of art, crafts or paintings, and that the writer of the words, “the sai kala”, had asked Dennis the price of something. If the person who wrote the words, “the sai kala”, had regarded the price that Dennis had quoted him to be unreasonably high, he might well have been tempted to say, “den eisai kala”, but, knowing that it would have been very rude for him to say this, he chose to disguise the words so that he could write the words (so as to get the emotion he was feeling off his chest) without Dennis being able to prove their precise, intended meaning. I have known other people to do precisely this, so I regarded it as being a distinct possibility. However, I wholeheartedly agree that there are other possible alternatives, but that none of us can say which of the possibilities applies in this particular instance without more information from Dennis Elwell. [I have now revised my answer. See below].
I agree that it would be best if the asker could describe the circumstances and what lead the writer of the words, “the sai kala” to write them. However, the reason why I feel that there is chance that my answer could be correct is because one of my ‘acquaintances’ who says these words precisely in this way, quite frequently, is none other than my wife. My wife says these words to me, precisely in this way, frequently, when we disagree over political issues, and, when she says the words, she leaves me in no doubt whatsoever as to her intended meaning! [Since I have been married to my wife for 45 years, I have probably heard these words said in this way thousands of times by now]. My wife though is by no means the only person that I know who says these words in this way, with this intended meaning, and a number of the other people are well-educated Athenians who come from good families and who were brought up well by their parents.
There is a chance that the sound is 'θ' instead of 'δ', that is: 'θε να 'σαι καλά (είθε να 'σαι καλά), in which case I agree with the translation "bless you" or similar.
It's true that people from Thessaly tend to drop vowels when speaking (I'm sure you've heard them say "γ'ρ'ν" and "μ'λαρ" for "pig" and "mule"!) but I still think there's a mistake in the question. If the speaker wanted to insult someone, they would have probably said what I wrote below (or even "the pas kala" - δε πας καλά), and it' very unlikely they would have started with "efharisto poly", even if they were speaking sarcastically. The reason I am insisting on this is that it would be a shame to misinterpret the phrase as an insult when it's probably just an expression of thanks. Perhaps the asker could confirm the phrase?
No, I don't. Because I personally know a number of Greeks who regularly speak in that way. However, what I would agree to is that when they do speak in that way, they are speaking very casually and when they do, they say this meaning to say, "δεν είσαι καλα".
In Greek, as in English, it is not at all uncommon for people to omit syllables or parts of words when speaking very casually. I therefore think that this person was writing the words in the manner that he might say them if his intention was not to be excessively polite. I also feel that "the" is definitely an abbreviation of "then" or "δεν", which is why I consider my answer to be correct.
It seems to me that something is missing from the Greek sentence. The second part should be either: the tha sai kala (δε θα 'σαι καλά) or then eisai kala (δεν είσαι καλά), in which case Peter is correct, or: na sai kala (να 'σαι καλά), which means something like "Bless you" (or "be well") and is a standard response when thanking someone.
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Answers
1 day 7 hrs confidence: peer agreement (net): +1
Thank you very much, you must be joking!
Explanation: The last three words of this sentence are confusing because it is impossible to tell what their intended meaning actually is. It is therefore hard to tell what these words mean without knowing the precise circumstances or why the words were written. One possible alternative is that they were written with the intended meaning of, “eyxaristo poly, then eisai kala”, and that they were purposefully written in an unclear way, because the last three words are rude, and the writer may have wanted to disguise the way he was writing them , so as to say what he may have wanted to say without you being able to definitely prove what his intended meaning was. If these words were written with the intention of meaning, “eyxaristo poly, then eisai kala”, a very literal translation would be. “thank you very much, you are not well [in the head]”, or words to that effect. However, it is equally distinctly possible that they may not have been written with this intended meaning, and no-one can really tell you what they stand for without knowing the precise circumstances as to why they were written.
Peter Close Local time: 07:18 Works in field Native speaker of: English
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