Pros and cons in Slovenian
A building residents’ meeting, discussing the roof repair in Slovenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Predlagam, da streho prenovimo še letos.» — I propose we repair the roof this very year.; «Kljub temu da je nujno, nimamo dovolj denarja v skladu.» — Even though it’s urgent, we don’t have enough money in the fund. Every line can be played right on the page. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a building residents’ meeting, discussing the roof repair. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Predlagam, da streho prenovimo še letos.I propose we repair the roof this very year.
- Kljub temu da je nujno, nimamo dovolj denarja v skladu.Even though it’s urgent, we don’t have enough money in the fund.
- Po mojem mnenju bo čez leto dni še dražje.In my view, in a year it will be even more expensive.
- Deloma se strinjam, vendar ne morem podpreti dviga stroškov.I partly agree, but I can’t support raising the payments.
- Zato pa predlagam, da najamemo kredit in plačujemo postopoma.That’s exactly why I propose taking a loan and paying gradually.
- To je sporno. Nekateri sosedje se bodo pritožili.That’s debatable. Some neighbors will complain.
- Naj se pritožijo. Navsezadnje bo streha zamakala vsem.Let them complain. In the end, the roof will leak for everyone.
- Skratka, glasujmo. Kdor je za, naj dvigne roko.In short, let’s vote. Whoever is in favor, raise your hand.
Lines one by one
| Slovenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Predlagam, da streho prenovimo še letos. | — | I propose we repair the roof this very year. |
| Kljub temu da je nujno, nimamo dovolj denarja v skladu. | — | Even though it’s urgent, we don’t have enough money in the fund. |
| Po mojem mnenju bo čez leto dni še dražje. | — | In my view, in a year it will be even more expensive. |
| Deloma se strinjam, vendar ne morem podpreti dviga stroškov. | — | I partly agree, but I can’t support raising the payments. |
| Zato pa predlagam, da najamemo kredit in plačujemo postopoma. | — | That’s exactly why I propose taking a loan and paying gradually. |
| To je sporno. Nekateri sosedje se bodo pritožili. | — | That’s debatable. Some neighbors will complain. |
| Naj se pritožijo. Navsezadnje bo streha zamakala vsem. | — | Let them complain. In the end, the roof will leak for everyone. |
| Skratka, glasujmo. Kdor je za, naj dvigne roko. | — | In short, let’s vote. Whoever is in favor, raise your hand. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Slovenian in this situation?
“Predlagam, da streho prenovimo še letos.” — I propose we repair the roof this very year.. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.