# Limit time spent watching TV



## haiderjaleel92

Please could you help  me with your suggestions to translate this phrase into Arabic ..

  ( Limit time spent watching TV , playing video games or computer games that are not educational ) ..

This phrase was included in a flayer from school to the parents asking them to keep their children in touch with their school subjects and don't spent all the holiday just having fun. That way they will not loose their skills and knowledge.

Thank you so much!!!


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## Serafín33

Strange... An Arabic native asking something to be translated to Arabic...

In case it's useful, "limit" here is an imperative, so you may want to use something like  "limit the time you spend watching TV..." or "pay attention to how much time you watch TV..."


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## linguist786

My two-pence as a non-native. Probably doesn't sound very authentic:


إجعل حدودًا لمشاهدة التليفيزيون ولملاعبة على الكومبيوتر(-ات)ا​


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## haiderjaleel92

Thanks for your help!!

Actually it was asking about suggestions for best translating. It seems that you are an expert translator , you know there are many different ways to translate the same phrase and not necessary that I have the best one. So here is the idea , it is not just translate it and go ...In that way we will learn more .

Thanks again..


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## linguist786

I am in no way an expert translator! - In fact my Arabic is very limited. I just thought I would propose a possible translation which others could comment on.


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## Xence

My attempt:
حدِّد الوقت المخصَّص لمشاهدة التلفزة أو التسلّي بألعاب الفيديو أو ألعاب الكمبيوتر غير التربوية


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## إسكندراني

( Limit time spent watching TV , playing video games or computer games that are not educational ) ..
إجعل الوقت الّذي تقضيه أمام التلفاز أو في ممارسة الألعاب الغير تعليمية محدوداً.


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## إسكندراني

linguist786 said:


> إجعل حدودًا لمشاهدتك التليفيزيون وللعبك على الكومبيوترا​


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## lukebeadgcf

haiderjaleel92 said:


> Please could you help  me with your suggestions to translate this phrase into Arabic ..
> 
> ( Limit time spent watching TV , playing video games or computer games that are not educational ) ..
> 
> This phrase was included in a flayer from school to the parents asking them to keep their children in touch with their school subjects and don't spent all the holiday just having fun. That way they will not loose their skills and knowledge.
> 
> Thank you so much!!!



لا تكثر على مشاهدة التلفاز ولعب ألعاب الكمبيوتر غير الأكاديمية .

P.S. I think you are confusing flayer with flyer or flier. All of them are words so spell check won't catch it if you misuse one.


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## elroy

Xence said:


> My attempt:
> حدِّد الوقت المخصَّص لمشاهدة التلفزة أو التسلّي بألعاب الفيديو أو ألعاب الكمبيوتر غير التربوية


 To me, حدِّد sounds like "designate" and not "limit" in this context. 





إسكندراني said:


> ( Limit time spent watching TV , playing video games or computer games that are not educational ) ..
> إجعل الوقت الّذي تقضيه أمام التلفاز أو في ممارسة الألعاب الغير تعليمية محدوداً.


 I find this one somewhat clumsy, because of the distance between اجعل (no written hamza by the way) and محدودًا; also, I don't find اجعل محدودًا particularly idiomatic.





lukebeadgcf said:


> لا تكثر على من مشاهدة التلفاز ولعب ألعاب الكمبيوتر غير   الأكاديمية التعليمية


 I like لا تكثر!


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## linguist786

Can I what the difference is between _at-tiliifiizyoon_ and _at-tilifaaz_?


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## إسكندراني

linguist786 said:


> Can I what the difference is between _at-tiliifiizyoon_ and _at-tilifaaz_?


Depending on which country you're in the preferred word changes - and all are acceptable I think:
تِلِفِزْيُوْن و تَلْفَزَة و تِلْفاز


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## cherine

Hi guys,

I don't have a suggestion for the translation, but I just want to note that some of the translations mean that the parent should limit their own time spent watching and playing, not that of their children.
Just in case you'd like to re-word your translations, guys.


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## Xence

elroy said:
			
		

> To me, حدِّد sounds like "designate" and not "limit" in this context.



Indeed, it could be understood this way though it's not contradictory. I mean, if the parent can designate time spent on watching TV, etc., he has free hand to limit this time.
Perhaps I should have said حدِّد من الوقت , or  bluntly قلِّص (من) الوقت , but this one would seem a bit quaint in a flyer...


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## Josh_

Neqitan said:


> Strange... An Arabic native asking something to be translated to Arabic...


Why is that strange for a native Arabic speaker to ask for a translation of something into Arabic? Is it also strange when native English speakers ask for a translation of some text into their native language of English (which probably represents the bulk of translation requests started here in the Arabic forum), or when any other native speaker of a language asks for a translation into their native language? I imagine there are several reasons for that. It could be that some may not be familiar enough with a foreign language to understand a word/phrase/sentence and so would like a translation into their native language in order to know the purport of the foreign language text. Or it could be that the individual understands the foreign language, but would just like additional input in orider to arrive at the best translation.

At any rate, 

Here is my non-native attempt:

اقصروا الوقت الذي يقضونه أولادكم في مشاهدة التلفاز أو في ممارسة الألعاب غير التعليمية

Or, perhaps switching it around:

أما الوقت الذي يقضونه أولادكم في مشاهدة التلفاز أو في ممارسة الألعاب غير التعليمية فاقصروه


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## lukebeadgcf

Josh_ said:


> Here is my non-native attempt:
> 
> اقصروا الوقت الذي يقضونه أولادكم في مشاهدة التلفاز أو في ممارسة الألعاب غير التعليمية
> 
> Or, perhaps switching it around:
> 
> أما الوقت الذي يقضونه أولادكم في مشاهدة التلفاز أو في ممارسة الألعاب غير التعليمية فاقصروه



Shouldn't we write a singular verb here since it precedes أولاد ?



> Can I what the difference is between at-tiliifiizyoon and at-tilifaaz?



تلفزيون is a borrowed word that either mean "television" or "television set."

تلفزة and تلفاز are both derived from the root تلفز meaning, "to transmit by television." The root is borrowed from another language, but the words themselves follow Arabic morphological patterns. 

تلفزة means "television" in general

تلفاز specifically means "television set"


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## Josh_

lukebeadgcf said:


> Shouldn't we write a singular verb here since it precedes أولاد ?


Aah, yes. I originally had أولاد before the verb, but then decided to place the verb first. I guess I just forgot to re-conjugate it accordingly. Thanks for catching that.


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## Serafín33

Josh_ said:


> Why is that strange for a native Arabic speaker to ask for a translation of something into Arabic? Is it also strange when native English speakers ask for a translation of some text into their native language of English (which probably represents the bulk of translation requests started here in the Arabic forum), or when any other native speaker of a language asks for a translation into their native language? I imagine there are several reasons for that. It could be that some may not be familiar enough with a foreign language to understand a word/phrase/sentence and so would like a translation into their native language in order to know the purport of the foreign language text. Or it could be that the individual understands the foreign language, but would just like additional input in orider to arrive at the best translation.


You're right about those points, but I don't know... Most Arabs here at the forum seem to be really good in English, so I didn't expect that Haiderjaleel would have problems with that sentence...


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## haiderjaleel92

I'm sorry guys for the late response, I would appreciate all of your wonderful suggestions.

God bless you all!


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