Need some help with the Croatian language

Hi,
The Croatian language is heavily affected by the dialects of the various regions.  You'll need to specify where your speakers come from.  And you'll need to pinpoint the actual village or city.  Believe it or not, the words and phrases can be incredibly different.  Especially if you are looking for a bit of slang.  Maybe contact one of the Croatians you met in the outback, and just ask them their origins.  And then come back to the forum here and ask for specifics.

Hope that helps!

That's interesting. I'm of Greek background on my father's side and have never noted such differences in the Greek language, other than the fact people from the north tend to speak in a rapid and clipped manner.

It's not like I need a whole compendium of phrases, just one or two basic phrases I'm using and some curse words, which I'd guess are pretty universal! Here's a few examples of what I need right at the moment. (I've written them in English while awaiting the Croatian translations) -
'bastard'
'thieving arsehole'
'It's on us. Give him a glass' (meaning the person has just had a drink bought for him by others)
'Goodbye' or 'farewell' (as if you're leaving a party and are saying goodbye to everyone)

As for contacting the people, that's out of the question. We're talking about a period 30 years ago, and they would all be scattered to the winds by now.

Hi Timbo,

  Feel free to send me what you need and if I can't come up with the specific answer, I'll ask my Croatian friends, family and associates to help fill in the best translation. That's moreless how I handled the identical situation with both the Croatian and Italian dialogue in my English-written book. What kind of time frame are you looking at?

You can use the email address at my book's web site to contact me directly: xxx

  Regards,
  croauthor