Translation help!

@JamesInTokyo Hello! How are you? = Kumusta po kayo?
- "Kumusta" already includes "hello". It would be better if you'd say "Magandang araw/umaga/hapon/gabi po sa inyo/sa inyong lahat." instead of "hello".I speak a little Tagalog, but not very well. = Marunong po akong magsalita ng kaunting Tagalog, pero hindi po gaanong maayos. Please forgive me, but i will make this presentation in English. = Pasensiya na po, pero sa Ingles ko na lang po gagawin ang presentasyon na ito. 1. Hello, how can I help you today? = Kumusta. Ano po ang maitutulong ko sa inyo?2. Are you a robot? = Robot ka ba?3. I’m a virtual assistant created to help you get answers to your questions. My intelligence may be artificial, but my knowledge is real! = Ako ay isang virtual assistant na nilikha para matulungan kayong masagot ang iyong mga katanungan. 4. How old are you? = Ilang taon ka na? (casual) /Ilang taon na po sila? (formal)5. Today is my Tagalog language debut, so you could say that today is my birthday! Happy birthday to me... = Ngayong araw ang simula ang aking pagta-Tagalog, kaya puwede mong/ninyong sabihin na ngayon ang aking kaarawan/birthday! Maligayang kaarawan/Happy birthday sa akin...6. I want to renew my driver's license = Gusto kong magpabago ng aking driver's license. - I don't think we have an exact word in Tagalog that means "renew". "Magpabago" may be contextually understood as "to renew", but it can also mean "to change/alter". Filipinos usually just say "renew" also.

Wow, you are amazing, thank you so much!!!Is there any way to add audio to these posts so I can imitate the pronunciation??

@Tagamanila Ako si Beginner Level (BL).
Kumusta actually includes Hello and not just How are you ? Is this a modern interpretation or it has always been that way ?
Konti is a 'lazy' or modern kaunti ? Which is preferred ?
Kumusta is also used 'only' as a hello ? Sometimes ?

I just noticed all the alternatives in the translations!mong/ninyong - 'mong' is singular 'your', and 'ninyong' is plural?
kaarawan/birthday - I assume most people would just say 'birthday'?
Maligayang kaarawan/Happy birthday - Same here? Is 'Maligayang kaarawan' ever sung as a song?araw/umaga/hapon/gabi - day/morning/afternoon/evening?sa inyo/sa inyong - not sure what the difference is here?

And for #3 above, I think the Tagalog just means the first sentence? Is there a funny way to say the 2nd sentence or something similar?3. I’m a virtual assistant created to help you get answers to your questions. ***My intelligence may be artificial, but my knowledge is real!*** = Ako ay isang virtual assistant na nilikha para matulungan kayong masagot ang iyong mga katanungan.

@stevesmi We do not have a Filipino word for "hello" and so we just use the English word for it. You will notice that when we answer the phone, for example. "How are you?" is "Kumusta ka?". However, we also usually just "kumusta" to greet each other. It will still be understood as "how are you", but is normally just taken as a rhetorical question. It is like saying "howdy", which is also the equivalent of saying "hello". Often you will hear us respond to "kumusta" with "eto" (here it is). It has the effect of saying, "I am (as good/bad) as you see me now". @stevesmi The correct spelling is "kaunti", but you will also often see it written informally as "konti". I believe that the "konti" spelling is the result of it sounding closer to the way we actually pronounce "kaunti". "Kaunti" is a 3-syllable word, but the "ka" and "un" tend to blend into a single syllable when we pronounce it in our normal speed of talking.

@JamesInTokyo - Yes, that's correct.We also tend to use "birthday" colloquially more often than "kaarawan". I don't think "Maligayang Kaarawan" is used in the Filipino translation of the Happy Birthday song. The reason might be because it has too many syllables to fit into the song. I have heard of "Maligayang Batì" (Joyous Greeting) used for it instead. The phrase takes the place of the 6-syllables of "Happy Birthday to you". >> araw/umaga/hapon/gabi - day/morning/afternoon/evening? - Yes, just pick the one that would best fit the time you're using it. If it's around noon or lunch time, you may also use "tanghalì" (noon).>> sa inyo/sa inyong - not sure what the difference is here? - "Sa inyo" is "to you (formal)/to you all (informal)". "Sa inyong" can't stand alone. It was that way because I used it as "sa inyong lahat" (sa inyo na lahat = (lit.) to you, which is, all) = to you all. Pick the one that would be more appropriate as you would decide between "to you" and "to you all" in English.

@JamesInTokyo Sorry, about ignoring that. It's just that I don't think there's a way of saying it in Filipino that can give it the same effect as it does in English. The best translation I can think of is "Ang katalinuhan ko ay maaaring hindi totoo, pero ang kaalaman ko ay tunay", but it sounds rather corny to me.

@stevesmi About this:"Ako si Beginner Level (BL)." - This will translate to "I am Beginner Level", which is like saying, "Beginner Level is my name".Here's why:"Si" precedes a proper noun when it is the subject of a sentence. As a result, your sentence becomes "Beginner Level is me".I am sure that what you wanted to say was "I am (in the) Beginner Level" where the subject is "I" and Beginner Level is part of the predicate. "Ako" is "I" when used as the subject of the sentence. To make "Beginner Level" as the predicate, you need the "ay" to link the subject to the predicate. Your sentence, therefore, should be: Ako ay Beginner Level. You may also say that as "Beginner Level ako" and since Beginner Level is not preceded by a "si", it will be understood as the predicate and "ako", the subject.

As a practical matter...that strikes me as a lot of Tagalog to pronounce correctly from stone cold memory without much practical experience.I would suggest less is MORE here. Filipinos applaud the most modest attempts at their language. Complicated attempts without experience...tend to draw blank looks.Just a thought. Good luck.

Hi all,I want to give a HUGE thank you for all the help in this thread. The event was a tremendous success and the Tagalog was very well received.For a bit of background, @BoraMac was 100% correct. I wanted to have several phrases prepared and see how much I could get memorized in the 2 days of prep I had. I decided to go with the first 2 phrases:Magandang hapon po sa inyong lahat.Marunong po akong magsalita ng kaunting Tagalog, pero hindi po gaanong maayos.And then I switched to English. The impact was beautiful and exactly what I'd hoped for!The phrases for the virtual assistant were also very well received and generated lots of buzz and laughter.So thanks again! And now I'll never forget those 2 phrases as long as I live 😂 Hopefully I'll have a chance to spend more time in the Philippines and slowly learn more of the language.