Recipe grammar in different languages

[Amira]

Okay, so this is a really random question, but I'm curious about this.

 

Recipes in English use imperative voice in the instructions (mix the ingredients together, add butter to the pan, etc.).

 

The recipes I've used in Spanish use passive voice (the masa and broth are combined, the water is heated in the pot).

 

Recipes in Arabic (or at least in Levantine Arabic) use 1st person, either singular or plural (we slice the eggplant, I fry the meat).

 

IIRC, Russian uses imperative.

 

If you speak a language besides English, how are the instructions in recipes phrased?

[regentrude]

German uses very different types of grammar, depending on source of the recipe. I have seen:

-recipes that use the verb in its unconjugated, i.e. infinitive, form (Zutaten verruehren - ingredients mix.) The distinction from the imperative does not translate well since in English the imperative and the infinitve form are often (always?) identical.

-recipes that use the imperative (verruehre die Zutaten - stir the ingredients)

-recipes that use passive voice (Die Zutaten werden verruehrt - the ingredients are stirred )

 

Edited October 20, 2016 by regentrude

[bibiche]

French uses the infinitive.

[Amira]

Thanks! I hadn't really thought about the differences between languages till my teacher pointed out that Arabic uses first person.

[luuknam]

In Dutch, mostly imperative. Example from a children's cook book:

 

"Tik elk ei even op de rand van de kom, hou met 2 handen vast en breek dan open boven de kom. Stukjes eierschaal kun je er het makkelijkst uitvissen met een groot stuk eierschaal."

 

"Tap each egg on the edge of the bowl, hold with 2 hands, and break open over the bowl. You can remove pieces of egg most easily with a big piece of the egg shell."

 

https://www.okokorecepten.nl/recept/pannenkoeken/pannenkoeken/pannenkoeken-basisrecept

 

So, that second sentence I copied and translated starts with "you can", and the recipe in fact says something similar later on as a tip too, but in general, the actual instructions of things you *have* to do (and not the little bits of advice thrown in) are imperative. Adult cook books of course tend to throw in less advice like that.

 

And now I'm reminded of a parody of Pen Pineapple Apple Pen for those people who might get confused about whether you bake a pannekoek in a koekepan or vice versa:

 

[nd293]

In Dutch, mostly imperative. Example from a children's cook book:

 

"Tik elk ei even op de rand van de kom, hou met 2 handen vast en breek dan open boven de kom. Stukjes eierschaal kun je er het makkelijkst uitvissen met een groot stuk eierschaal."

 

That was fun! I speak Afrikaans (second language) and find I'm competent enough to cook using a child's recipe book. Although I'm not sure where those eggs would have ended up - "kom" doesn't translate. I think Afrikaans would use "bak" for dish or bowl but I'm not sure. Also "even" and "er het" aren't phrases I recognise or need to translate the text word for word into Afrikaans.

 

To get back to the original question, I checked a few recipes online, and Afrikaans uses the imperative.