Give My Horse Feed!

or How I Learned Serbo-Croatian From The US Army

Jen, preparing for a possible trip to the Balkans, got a Serbo-Croatian phrase book to see how well her Russian skills would transfer, and to learn enough to communicate with the locals. We got the only such book in the Minneapolis library system, the US Government (Restricted) Serbo-Croatian Phrase Book published in 1943, now declassified.

Below is a sampling of some of the more useful phrases Jen managed to learn. See how many of these you know!

English		Serbo-Croatian
Give my horse feed.		Dajte mom konju hrane.
Are you a sniper?		Da li ste odlican strijelac?
Don't try any tricks!		Ne sali se glavom!
You will be rewarded.		Biti cete nagradjeni.
Obey or I'll fire!		Poslusajte, ili pucam!
Are they our enemies?		Da li su oni nasi niprijatelji?
Quick! A tourniquet!		Brzo! Zavoj da podvezivanje!
He is hurt in the privates.		On je ranjen u spolne organe.
I have been poisoned by gas.		Otrovan cam plinom.
This is American money.		Ovo je americki novac.
The U.S. Government will pay you.		Americha vlada ce vam platiti.
Where is the foxhole?		Gdje je streljacki zaklon?
Where can I find a sleigh?		Gdje mogu naci saone?
Are there any troops around here?		Ima li vojske u okolini?
How many machine guns are there?		Koliko ima mitraljeza?
Are there any booby traps? Pillboxes?		Ima li sakrivenih mina? Zaklona?
Have the troops been building tank traps?		Da li su vojnici Gradili stupice sa tankove?
Did they plant any mines?		Da li su polagali mine?
Am I clear to land?		Koje je to aerodrom?
How is the surface of the runway?		Kakva je povrsina piste?
I need ammunition.		Treba mi municije.
No spitting.		Ne pljuj po podu.

Armed with these key phrases, Jen will be well prepared for her trip. As a bonus, she is equipped to lead an attack on a Serbian bunker, or commandeer a plane to bomb enemey positions. She will not be caught unprepared again, as she was when asked to repel attackers in the Yemeni city of Marib and didn't know the Arabic word for bazooka.

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