I can't figure out how to translate this
对我来说，北方人的口音和语速makes it difficult for me to understand them.
What's the best way to say this without losing any of the above meaning and structure?
asked Sep 5, 2015 at 3:26
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1...使得我难以懂得他们说的是什么– user6065Sep 5, 2015 at 6:00
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3My vote is for makes = 让. 使、令、whatever, are all a little too formal and not practical for day to day conversation– Mou某 ♦Sep 5, 2015 at 13:55
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4 Answers
The pattern
[...] makes it [adj] for me to [...]
You can use any of the following
[...] 使得我 ...
[...] 让我 ...
[...] 弄得我 ...
[...] 搞得我 ...
对我来说，北方人的口音和语速makes it difficult for me to understand them.
对我来说，北方人的口音和语速让我很难明白他们在说什么。
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5This is a good answer, but keeping in mind while this sentence sounds natural, it also sounds "translated". The authentic Chinese way to express the same meaning does not involve a "make", instead, the causality is implied by the semantic advancement of the phrases. E.g. "北方人有口音，语速也快，我听不明白。" This difference is also reflected in C-E translation - we have to add prepositions, conjunctions and verbs to make explicit of the phrase relationships that's hidden in Chinese texts.– NS.X.Sep 5, 2015 at 19:22
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Another version could be simply 让我很难理解. The "them" in the question is not quite clear, maybe referring to 北方人 or maybe to 口音和语速. "让我很难理解" would preserve the ambiquity, because it omits the objective.– golddcSep 8, 2015 at 15:54
对我来说，北方人的口音和语速 makes it difficult for me to understand them.
This translation sounds more like English grammar. Chinese people will say
对我来说，北方人有口音，语速很快，很难听明白。
Hope this could be of some help.
A English to Chinese translation of your sentence:
對我來說，北方人的口音和語速使我難以聽懂他們的談話內容。
But the sentence sounds very translated. A more Chinese way can be:
我聽不大懂北方人在說什麼，因為他們有口音，語速也比較快。
(I don't understand the northern Chinese very much, because the northern men have accents, and they speak quicker.)
The sentence I give is closer to the Chinese thinking. Note that in your sentence, you use 北方人的口音和语速 as the subject. However, it sounds unnatural to have subject other than 我 when you are talking about your feeling. (but it would be OK if your sentence is to be written down)
The simplest way is:
对我来说，北方人的口音和语速让我很难听懂。
