Category: Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday, that time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books.

This week, we’re back to my stand-by, and the inspiration for Sonderling Sunday, James Kennedy‘s The Order of Odd-Fish, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge.

After all this time, we’re past the halfway point, on page 225 in English, and Seite 283 auf Deutsch. I’m still hoping that the phrases I choose to translate, while obviously being tremendously practical, will also intrigue readers into picking up this book, without giving away spoilers.

“straying” = streunten

Hmm. What does this translation say about the title?
“freakish” = seltsamer

“extinct” = ausgestorben (“out-died”)

“his skin became bark-like” = seine Haut aus wie Borke

“sneaked” = schlichen

“muttered scathing insults” = murmelte beißende Beleidigungen (“murmured biting insults”)

“deliriously colored butterflies” = berauschend bunte Schmetterlinge

Interesting that English is more efficient here:
“prodded” = stupste mit einem Finger (“poked with a finger”)

“trudged” = schlurfte

You never know when you’ll need to say this:
“beeping crystal-like flowers” = piepsenden kristallartigen Blume

“Amazingly” = Verblüffenderweise

And how handy to know the German word for this, for your next vacation!
“secret dissection lab” = geheimen Sezierlabor

“colorful guts” = bunte Innereien

Should we be worried that I find this fun to say?
“sliced into sheets” = in Scheiben geschnitten

“stole” = stibitzte

“furry starfish” = pelziger Seestern

Another fun one to say:
“roar of shock” = erschreckte Schrei

“campaign” = Schlachtplan

“funeral” = Beerdigung

“It’s become harder and harder to fritter away the entire day.”
=Es wird immer schwerer, den ganzen Tag nur herumzuhängen.

Okay, I can’t get past that sentence, when I look at the clock! I’m going to call it a night.

Some fun words to say tonight. On your next vacation to Germany, be sure to ask where you can find piepsenden kristallartigen Blume or a geheimen Sezierlabor.

Bis bald!

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Hooray! At long last, it’s again time for Sonderling Sunday: That time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books.

I hardly got to it when I was reading for the Cybils. And then I wanted to catch up on posting reviews. And then I went to ALA Midwinter Meeting. And had a medical scare. (Benign!) And have just been busy.

So tonight I may not be able to go as long as I’d like. But I am going to do it. And since it’s been awhile, I am going to go back to the book that started it all, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, The Order of Odd-fish, by James Kennedy.

Last time, we actually finished up Chapter 17, so we are on Kapitel 18, which is on page 223 and Seite 281.

It begins with a sentence that’s good to know in any language:

“Jo and Audrey became fast friends.”
= Jo und Audrey freundeten sich rasch an.
(“Jo and Audrey friended themselves rapidly.”)
Apparently “to friend” was a concept in German before Facebook!

Now you know what to call these people:
“a stuttering deliveryman” = den stotternden Lieferanten

“a hapless tourist” = den ahnungslosen Touristen

“seemingly inexhaustible collection” = scheinbar unerschöpfliche Sammlung

And now you know how to ask for this if you’re ever in Germany and need to go undercover:
“false whiskers” = falschen Backenbärten

“fat suits” = Fettpolstern

I like this one:
“furious” = recht ergrimmt

“slightly daunted” = leicht eingeschüchtert zusammen

This is for when you’re describing why you’re going undercover:
“nefarious plans” = ruchlosen Pläne

This is a good word to know:
“nonsense” = Quatsch

“barely restrained contempt” = kaum verhüllter Verachtung

“scrawling notes in the margins” = Notizen in kleine Hefte kritzelte

“constructing bewildering charts of arrows and boxes and labels”
= merkwürdige Tabellen mit Pfeilen, Kästchen und Etiketten anfertigte

Okay, that’s actually a good stopping place — the end of the first section of Chapter 18. Perhaps if I give it a short segment tonight, it will be easier to get around to next week.

And this week I’ll wish you someone with whom you may friend yourselves rapidly!

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It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! That time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of Children’s Books.

Tonight, on a whim, I think I’ll go back to Pu der Bär, otherwise known as Winnie-the-Pooh, by A. A. Milne.

It’s been more than a month since I posted Sonderling Sunday, but today I finished a fabulous book for the Cybils, so I can take an hour and indulge in Sonderling Sunday. Once again, I think I’ll dedicate this week’s post to my niece Kristen, who will be studying in Germany next year. Let’s see if I can find some handy-dandy German phrases for her to learn from Winnie-the-Pooh!

Today we’ll be looking at the second chapter, “In Which Pooh Goes Visiting and Gets Into a Tight Place” = In welchem Pu einen Besuch macht und an eine enge Stelle gerät

Now for some handy phrases:

“Pooh for short” = einfach Pu (“simply Pooh”)

I’d like Kristen to need this phrase, whether she actually does or not:
“… was walking through the forest one day, humming proudly to himself.”
= … ging eines Tages durch den Wald und summte stolz vor sich hin.

“a little hum” = ein kleines Gesumm

“Stoutness Exercises” = Kraftübungen (“Strength exercises” — not the same thing at all!)

“as he stretched up as high as he could go” = und er reckte sich, so hoch er konnte

“as he tried to reach his toes” = als er versuchte seine Zehen zu erreichen

“by heart” = auswendig
(This is interesting. It seems to be “out” + “nimble, mobile.” So it gives the idea of readily available. No heart mentioned at all.)

“right through” = vollständig

“properly” = fehlerfrei (“failure-free”)

“sandy bank” = sandigen Abhang

This one’s a bit longer in German (Surprise, surprise!):
“If I know anything about anything” = Wenn ich überhaupt irgendwas über irgendwas weiß

“Rabbit means Company” = Kaninchen bedeutet Gesellschaft

“Company means Food and Listening-to-Me-Humming and such like”
= Gesellschaft bedeutet Essen und Mirbeim-Summen-Zuhören und Ähnliches in der Art

“scuffling noise” = ein Trippeln (“a scurrying”)

“Bother!” = So ein Mist!

This has to be included for the nice long word:
“Well, could you very kindly tell me where Rabbit is?”
= Könnten Sie mir dann liebenswürdigerweise sagen, wo Kaninchen ist?

“very much surprised” = überaus erstaunt

“So Pooh pushed and pushed and pushed his way through the hole”
= Also gab sich Pu einen Schubs und noch einen Schubs und noch einen Schubs in das Loch hinein
(“So Pooh gave himself a shove and another shove and another shove through the hole.”)

“You were quite right” = Du hattest völlig Recht

“looking at him all over” = sah ihn von oben bis unten an

Words to live by:
“One can’t have anybody coming into one’s house.”
= Man kann nicht jeden in sein Haus lassen.

“a mouthful of something” = einem Mundvoll irgendwas

‘a little something” = eine Kleinigkeit

“Honey or condensed milk with your bread?” = Honig oder Kondensmilch zum Brot?

“not to seem greedy” = um nicht gierig zu wirken

“humming to himself in a rather sticky voice” = mit ziemlich klebriger Stimme vor sich hin summend

“So he started to climb out of the hole.” = Und er begann aus dem Loch zu klettern.

“front paws” = Vorderpfoten

“back paws” = Hinterpfoten

“I can’t do either!” = Es gelingt er beides nicht!

“front door” = Vordertür

“Hallo, are you stuck?” = Hallo, sitzt du fest?

“carelessly” = sorglos

“one of us was eating too much” = einer von uns beiden zu viel isst

“Silly old Bear” = Dummer alte Bär

“sniffing slightly” = schniefte leicht

“Rabbit scratched his whiskers thoughtfully” = Kaninchen kratzte sich nachdenklich am Schnurrbart

“having got so far, it seems a pity to waste it.”
= nachdem du nun schon mal so weit vorgedrungen bist, Verschwendung wäre, nicht in derselben Richtung weiterzuarbeiten.
(“after you have already penetrated so far, it would be a waste not to work further in the same direction.”)

Good words to know:
“‘We’ll read to you,’ said Rabbit cheerfully.”
= »Wir werden dir vorlesen«, sagte Kaninchen vergnügt.

It’s hard to imagine needing to use this phrase, but best to be prepared:
“do you mind if I use your back legs as a towel-horse?”
= Würde es dir etwas ausmachen, wenn ich deine Hinterbeine als Handtuchhalter verwende?

“doing nothing” = untätig

“it would be very convenient just to hang the towels on them.”
= es wäre sehr praktisch, wenn ich meine Handtücher dort zum Trocknen aufhängen könnte.
(“It would be very convenient, if I my hand towels there to dry could hang.” — Now it’s wet towels!)

“gloomily” = düster

And practical to know:
“What about meals?”
= Wie ist es mit den Mahlzeiten?

“getting thin quickly” = schnelleren Dünnerwerdens

“Bear began to sigh” = Bär wollte gerade seufzen

“tightly stuck” = eingeklemmt

And my favorite sentence from this chapter:
“Then would you read a Sustaining Book, such as would help and comfort a Wedged Bear in Great Tightness?”
= Würdest du dann bitte ein gehaltvolles Buch vorlesen, eins, das einem eingeklemmten Bären in starker Bedrängnis Hilfe und Trost spendet?

“slenderer” = schlanker

“all Rabbit’s friends and relations” = sämtliche Bekannten-und-Verwandten von Kaninchen

And not to give anything away, but here’s the last paragraph of the Zweite Kapitel:

“So, with a nod of thanks to his friends, he went on with his walk through the forest, humming proudly to himself. But, Christopher Robin looked after him lovingly, and said to himself, ‘Silly old Bear!'”

= Also schenkte er seinen Freunden ein Nicken des Dankes und setzte seinen Weg fort, wobei er stolz vor sich hin summte.

Aber Christopher Robin sah ihm liebevoll nach und sagte »Dummer alter Bär!« vor sich hin.

That’s quite enough for this week! Here’s wishing that you may read ein gehaltvolles Buch this week!

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It’s Sonderling Sunday, that time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books!

This week’s installment is dedicated to my niece, Kristen, who recently learned that she gets to spend her Sophomore year of college in Heidelberg, Germany!

During my ten years living in Germany, we were only about 30-45 minutes from Heidelberg, and it was one of my favorite places to bring visitors. I hope I’ll get the chance to go visit Kristen while she’s there!

And now for Sonderling Sunday. This week, I was asked to step in at the last minute to be a Cybils panelist for first-round Middle Grade Speculative Fiction! What this means is that I probably shouldn’t spend much time on Sonderling Sunday until after the end of the year — I should be reading! (And I *love* that I can legitimately say “I should be reading.”) However, it’s been a long time since I posted, and last week, I spent an hour on a post — and then lost it in a fluke (I hope) WordPress accident. When it got to where it was taking me as long to try to recover it as it would to rewrite it, I decided to stop. But it’s still eating at me that I want that section done!

For Kristen — I like to think of Sonderling Sunday as a sort of phrasebook, with translations you won’t find in ordinary phrasebooks, but which are clearly useful, since they have been used in a children’s book, for goodness’ sake!

This week (and last week), I’m back to Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, The Order of Odd-fish, by the illustrious James Kennedy, whom, it turns out, also knows a lot about Star Wars.

Last time — or anyway, the last time I managed to post — we left off on page 216 in the original English edition, and Seite 273 auf Deutsch. I have to start with the reply to the last line I posted.

“Knitting? I’ll knit you!”
= Stricken? Ich werde dir gleich zeigen, wie man strickt!
(“Knitting? I will you the same show, how one knits!”)

“awkward pause” = verlegene Pause

“snorted” = schnaubten

Here’s hoping you will never ever need to use this phrase, but just in case:
“a rotting face smiling inches from her own”
= ein verrottetes Gesicht, das nur wenige Zentimeter vor ihrem eigenen grinste

“murmuring just beneath human hearing”
= das unterhalb der Hörschwelle des menschlichen Ohres schlug
(“that below the hearing-threshold of the human ear struck”)

“throat” = Schlund

This is mellifluous:
“ruby-lipped” = mit dem rubinroten Lippen

“with all the noise and fury of an oncoming train”
= mit dem Lärm und der Wucht eines heranrasenden Zuges

“sharp lights were stabbing behind her eyes”
= stechendes Licht flammte hinter ihren Augen auf

“Jo was left treading water.”
= Jo blieb zurück und strampelte im Wasser.
(“Jo stayed back and struggled in the water.”)

“hopelessly lost”
= hoffnungslos verirrt

“her body” = ihre Leiche (“her corpse”)

“a concrete shelf near a sewer pipe”
= einem Betonvorsprung in der Nähe eines Abflussrohrs

“Ian kicked open the sewer grate”
= Ian öffnete das Gitter des Abflusskanals mit einem kräftigen Tritt
(“Ian opened the gate of the outflow-channel with a powerful kick”)
— That one gains something in translation.

“humming city” = summenden Stadt

Interesting. This time through I noticed a little stitching up in the German. Nick and Jo are outside the sewers, and it said nothing about bringing Nick out. But as they’re talking, the English then jumps to describe the cut across Nick’s brow. The German covers that, but first inserts, Sie gingen zurück, “They went back.”

Speaking of Nick’s brow:
“There was a nasty cut across Nick’s brow”
= Nicks Stirn zierte eine hässliche Platzwunde
(“Nick’s brow graced an ugly gash”)

“wig” = Perücke

This is definitely longer in German:
“familiar jeweled key”
= vorkommenden juwelenbesetzten Schlüssel

But this one’s shorter:
“half running, half walking”
= im Laufschritt
(“on the run-step”)

And here’s another one I hope Kristen will never use:
“dragging around an unconscious girl”
= ein bewusstloses Mädchen herumschleppten

“front parlor” = Empfangsalon

“Jo suddenly realized what must have happened.”
= Jo begriff plötzlich, wie alles zusammenhängen musste.

“Unscramble the letters”
= Schüttle die Buchstaben… durcheinander

“nursing the lump on her head”
= betastete die Beule auf ihrem Kopf

“deathly croak” = heiserem Krächzen

“sleepily mischievous” = verschlafen-mutwillig

“shyly hopeful” = zaghaft hoffnungsvoll

“petty” = albern

“East Squeamings” = Ost-Heikel (“East-Delicate”)

“Nora’s head would explode”
= dann platzt Nora der Kragen
(“then bursts Nora the collar”)

“every last thing”
= die kleinste Kleinigkeit
(“the littlest littleness”)

“garish” = grelle

“the buttery glow of the moon”
= das gelbliche Glühen des Mondes

And to finish off Chapter 17 with a sentence I hope Kristen will have many occasions to use:
“They took the long way home.”
= Sie nahmen den längeren Weg nach Hause.

Until next time!

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It’s time for Sonderling Sunday – That time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books. This week it’s back to the delightful book that started it all — Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, by James Kennedy, otherwise known as The Order of Odd-fish.

Last time, we left off on page 210 in English, Seite 265 auf Deutsch. Jo and Ian have followed Nick past the Drehkreuz.

Here’s one of those rare phrases that’s shorter in German:
“crowded subway platform” = überfüllten Bahnsteig (Well, okay, just barely shorter. That means, essentially, “over-filled train-climb”)

“straggler” = Nachzügler (“after traveler”)

“tracks” = Gleise

Not as much of a ring to it:
“Down, down, down” = Hinunter, hinunter, hinunter

“cramped and filthy passageways” = enge, schmutzige Gänge

“darker, slimier, and rougher” = dunkler, schleimiger und primitive

“lantern” = Taschenlampe (“pocket-lamp” I wonder if the translator thought it meant a flashlight?)

This sounds even more repulsive in German:
“a wet hole” = ein feuchtes Loch

“slick, spongy moss” = glattem schwammigem Moos

I like this one:
“crawled headfirst” = kroch kopfüber

“which suddenly contracted and slurped”
= das sich plötzlich zusammenzog und ein schlürfendes Geräusch von sich gab
(“that itself suddenly together-moved and a slurping noise from itself gave”)

“warily” = mistrauich

“a sloppy, drooling mouth” = ein schlaffes, sabberndes Maul

One word for this!
“just to make sure” = sicherheitshalber (“for safety’s sake”)

“jealous” = eifersüchtig (“zeal-seeking”)

“tumbling and sliding” = rutschte taumelnd

“splashed” = platschend

“torches” = Fackeln

“their faces looked strange and red in the flickering fire”
= ihre Gesichter wirken im Licht der flackernden Flammen merkwürdig rötlich
(“their faces looked in the light of the flickering flames strangely red”)

“twinkling jewels” = funkelnden Juwelen

“elaborate arched passages” = kunstvoll gemeißelte Durchgänge

“dome” = Kuppel

“humbled by age” = vom Alter gedmütigt

“arranged in glimmering mosaics” = zu schimmernden Mosaiken angeordnet

“whistled” = pfiff

“snorts” = schnaubte

“tame” = zahm

“squids” = Kalmare

“scratched” = kraulte

“We’ll go for a ride.” = Wir machen einen kleinen Ausritt.

“falling off” = herunterfielen

“squeeze them with your legs” = klemmt sie euch zwischen die Beine

“grunting beasts” = grunzenden Tieren

“oozed” = sickerte

“the back of her head” = ihren Hinterkopf

This time English has the compound word:
“slingshot” = Schleuder

“hushed gibbering” = leises Schnattern

“monkey-like beast” = affenähnliches Tier

“bolder” = kühner

“the roar of a hundred tiny throats” = einem tosenden Brüllen aus Hunderten winziger Kehlen

“leaped” = griffen

“snarling shapes” = knurrenden Gestalten

“bursting out of the water” = aus dem Wasser auftauchten
(I like that. auftauchten is, basically, “out-dived.”)

“bucked and dived” = bockte und tauchte

“surface” = Wasseroberfläche

“That was close.” = Das war knapp.

“peevish” = ein bisschen gereizt

“with heavy irony” = troff von Sarkasmus

“a spot of tea” = ein Schlückchen Tee

And let’s finish up with a tremendously useful phrase:
“I understand that knitting is very soothing.”
= Ich habe gehört, Stricken soll sehr entspannend sein.

I find myself hoping my readers don’t have any occasion to say these things this week. May you not hear the leises Schnattern of any affenähnliches Tier, nor einem tosenden Brüllen aus Hunderten winziger Kehlen.

But if you do, you’ll know what to call them!

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It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! That time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books. And my comments work again this time!

This week, it’s back to my stand-by, the book that inspired me to start Sonderling Sunday, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, by James Kennedy, otherwise known as The Order of Odd-fish.

Last time, we left off right around the halfway point, on page 208 in the English version, and Seite 262 auf Deutsch.

Just to set the stage, I’m going to write out the whole first paragraph of this section.

Jo and Ian searched the neighborhood, but they didn’t really know what they were looking for. It wasn’t clear what “Duddler Yarue” would look like, and anyway, the streets were almost deserted. After a half hour of wandering, Jo despaired of ever making any headway, and was ready to give up when they saw an effeminate boy smoking a cigarette on the corner. He watched Jo and Ian idly.

Auf Deutsch:

Jo und Ian suchten das ganze Viertel ab, aber sie wussten nicht einmal genau, wonach sie eigentlich suchen sollten. Es war nicht klar, wie dieser »Duddler Yarue« eigentlich ausschaute, und außerdem waren die Straßen beinahe vollkommen menschenleer. Nachdem sie eine halbe Stunde herumgeirrt waren, glaubte Jo nicht mehr daran, dass sie noch irgendetwas erreichen würden. Sie wollte schon aufgeben, als sie einen etwas affektierten Jungen an der Ecke stehen sah, der eine Zigarette rauchte. Er beobachtete Jo und Ian gelangweilt.

“suspicious” = Verdächtiges

“clue” = Spur (“trail”)

“to boil over” = die Beherrschung zu verlieren (“the mastery to lose”)

“rude” = unhöflich

“street wisdom” = Straßenweisheit

“some guy” = irgendein Bursche

“snapped his fingers” = schnippte mit den Fingern (I just like that one.)

“startled and a little pleased” = erschrocken und zugegebenermaßen auch ein bisschen erfreut
(“frightened and admittedly also a little bit pleased”)

“the sights” = Sehenswürdigkeiten

“secret places” = geheime Orte

“I wouldn’t want you to miss it.” = Ich möchte nicht, dass du das versäumst.

“rather enjoying Ian’s jealousy” = genoss Ians Eifersucht

“teetered back and forth” = zögerte unschlüssig (“hesitated indecisively”)

“turnstile” = Drehkreuz

“Ian bought three tokens and went through properly.”
= Der kaufte drei Münzen und warf sie ordnungsgemäß in den Schlitz.
(“He bought three coins and threw them properly in the slot.”)

And that’s it for tonight! A short one, but it’s nice to get back in the swing of it. After all, Ich möchte nicht, dass du das versäumst.

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It’s time — at last! — for Sonderling Sunday! That time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books!

It’s been a *very* long time since I last posted. My blog had issues, and my life was busy, the most fun part of that being that I started dating someone! Juhu!

This week, it’s back to my standby, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, The Order of Odd-fish, by James Kennedy. We left off right at the halfway point, at the beginning of Chapter Seventeen.

I do enjoy starting with the opening sentence:

“Jo and Ian sat in a gloomy parlor, waiting for an old woman to speak.”
= Jo und Ian saßen in einem dämmrigen Salon und warteten darauf, dass die alte Frau sprach.

“dim and dreary” = dämmrig und trübselig

“ancient lace drapes strangled the sunlight” = alte Spitzenvorhänge hielten das Sonnenlicht fern
(“old lace curtains held the sunlight far”)

Here’s a useful sentence:
“Jo couldn’t stop her leg from jiggling.”
= Jo konnte nicht verhindern, dass ihr Bein wippte.

“the whole enterprise” = diese ganze Angelegenheit

“insulting” = beleidigend

“the last of his enthusiasm vanished” = der letzte Rest seiner ursprünglichen Begeisterung verpuffte
(“the last remnant of his original [ancient-sprung] enthusiasm evaporated [puffed out]”)

“She was a withered noodle of a woman.” = Sie war eine vertrocknete, dürre Frau
(“She was a dried-up, withered woman.” Pooh! Lost the metaphor there.)

“thick dark veils” = dichten, dunklen Schleier (That’s kind of fun to say.)

“incredulous disdain” = ungläubiger Verachtung

“icy silence” = eisiges Schweigen

“tightly controlled rage” = mühsam beherrschter Wut
(Google translates that as “tedious dominated rage.”)

“She hooted, gurgled, and shrieked” = Sie heulte, gurgelte, und kreischte

“Hoo nelly, that’s rich!” = Nie und nimmer, das ist ja köstlich!
(“No way [Not and never], that is expensive!”)

“Oh, you can’t make this stuff up!” = Oh, so etwas kann man sich nicht mal ausdenken!

“moldy cake” = muffigen Kuchen (Oo, can’t you just see the “muffigen” cake?)

“guided” = manövrierte

“a rattling cackle” = ein schrilles Keckern

“threatening letters” = Drohbriefen

[Incredible! At this point, I finished the post — and then WordPress ate the last part of what I posted! Urgh! I will now try to reproduce it.]

“joke quests” = albernen Aufgaben

“clouds of dust” = Staubwolken

“make my death swift and merciful” = gewähren Sie mir einen schnellen und gnädigen Tod

“villainous” = schurkischen

“Sincerely” = Mit vorzüglicher Hochachtung

“smelling salts” = Riechsalz

That’s it for tonight!

I have to add that I recently saw “Muppets Most Wanted,” and one of the funniest things (to me) was when Kermit was mistaken for a criminal mastermind frog and captured in Germany. The headlines screamed about the “Evilen Froggen”! Readers of Sonderling Sunday will know the correct translation is Böse Frosch, but of course how to translate English to German is just to stick “en” on the ends!

And look at the useful phrases we’ve learned tonight! Now if you travel to Germany and get pulled over by police, you know how to say, “Gewähren Sie mir einen schnellen und gnädigen Tod!”

May your week be the opposite of dämmrig und trübselig!

Mit vorzüglicher Hochachtung,

Sondra Eklund

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It’s time for Sonderling Sunday, that time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books. This week, I’m back with my stand-by, the book with the most bizarre phrases of all, The Order of Odd-fish, by James Kennedy, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge.

Last time, we left off at the start of page 202 in the English edition, Seite 254 auf Deutsch.

Have you ever wondered how they decide which phrases to put in a phrasebook? Well, think of this as a set of phrases that have actually been used! So surely English-speaking travelers to Germany could find a use for them, nicht?

“former life” = ehemaligem Leben

“petty” = armselig (“pathetic”)

“to leave anything undone” = etwas unerledigt zu lassen

“loathed” = verachtete

“repulsed him” = widerte ihn an

“unbearable disgust” = unerträglichem Ekel

“smug” = Selbstgefälliges (“self-pleasing”)

“self-satisfied” = Selbstzufriedenes

“vowed” = schwur

This isn’t as melodious:
“happy-go-lucky handyman” = unbekümmerte Faktotum (“unencumbered factotum”)

Here the alliteration was preserved:
“humdrum happiness” = fade Fröhlichkeit

“guessed” = vermutete

Here’s a good one:
“wild pleasures” = ausschweifendsten Vergnügungen (“extravagant pleasures”)

This whole sentence needs to be translated:
“That is, what if Ken Kiang gave Hoagland Shanks unlimited access to any kind of pie he wanted?”
= Was wäre, wenn Ken Kiang Hoagland Shanks unbegrenzten Zugang zu jeder Art von Kuchen gewährte, nach der ihn gelüstete?
(“What would be, if Ken Kiang Hoagland Shanks unbounded access to each kind of Cake granted, after which he lusted?”)

“addicted” = süchtig

“generosity” = Großzügigkeit

“a changed man” = ein verwandelter Mensch

“desperate things” = verzweifelte Dinge

“but at best would serve to numb him against his sordid existence”
= sondern höchstens noch dazu dienten, ihn gegen die Erbärmlichkeit seiner Existenz abzustumpfen
(“but at highest still served to, him against the wretchedness of his existence to blunt”)

“suicidal quest” = selbstmörderische Aufgabe

“encroached upon every idle moment” = sich in jedem winzigen Moment an ihn heranschlich
(“in each tiny moment on him sneaked up”)

“unquenchable emptiness” = unfüllbare Leere

“a ravenous nothing” = ein alles verschlingendes Nichts (“an all devouring nothing”)

“jerk back” = zuckte er zurück

“mounting terror” = steigendem Entsetzen

“fantasized” = ausgemalt (“painted”)

“pity” = Mitgefühl (“with-feeling”)

And that’s it for Chapter 16! We are now more than halfway through the book!

There are some good phrases to try to work into your conversation this week! If you find you have steigendem Entsetzen when confronted with ein alles verschlingendes Nichts, you have all my Mitgefühl!

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At last! It’s again time for Sonderling Sunday, that time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books. What with Christmas and a vacation in California, it’s been more than a month since my last installment, so I’m happy to get back to it tonight.

And after such a long time off, of course I’m coming back to my stand-by, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, The Order of Odd-Fish, by James Kennedy.

Last time, we finished up chapter 12, so now we begin Chapter 16, which is page 199 in the English original, and Seite 251 auf Deutsch. We are almost to the halfway point! (There are 403 pages in the English version, and 511 pages in the German version.)

The chapter starts with a question we may well ask:

“But what about Ken Kiang?”
= Wie aber war ist Ken Kiang ergangen?
(“But how has Ken Kiang fared?”)

“Ken Kiang was overwhelmed. He was overpowered.”
= Ken Kiang war überwältigt, er war übermannt.

“before he would feel his soul dwindle and teeter on the precipice of being blasted to nothing by the sheer demonic grandeur that was the Belgian Prankster”
= sonst lief er Gefahr, dass seine Seele schrumpfte und er kurz davor war, ins Nichts zu verschwinden, und das allein durch die reine dämonische Größe, die den Belgischen Scherzkeks ausmachte
(“otherwise he was in danger, that his soul shrank and he was shortly into nothing to disappear, and that alone through the pure demonic size, that the Belgian Joke-Cookie achieved.”)

“He had come away baffled and reeling.”
= Vollkommen verdattert und mit schwindelndem Kopf hatte er ihn verlassen.
(“Completely flabbergasted and with dizzy head had he left him.”)

“so hugely, senselessly lawless”
= so Gewaltigem, gefühllos Gesetzlosem

“piddling mischief” = kläglichen Übermut

“unimaginably gargantuan evil” = unvorstellbaren, riesigen Bösen

“a slap in the face” = ein Schlag ins Gesicht

“only play into the schemes of his incalculable foe”
= nur seinem unberechenbaren Feind in die Hände spielte

“bit players” = Statisten

“crackling fire” = knisterndes Feuer

“invincible” = Unbesiegbaren

“inscrutable mechanisms” = unergründlichen Mechanismen

“awesome calculations” = Ehrfurcht einflößenden Berechnungen
“Glory-fear inspiring calculations”)

“minor functionary” = unbedeutendes Rädchen
(“insignificant cog”)

“vainglory” = eitlen Ruhm (“vain fame”)

“vanity” = Eitelkeit

“burned away” = vernichtet

“painstakingly” = pingelig

“Fleet of Fury” = Furiosen Flotte

“moody teenager” = launischer Teenager

“stashed” = verstaut

“crawling chaos” = wimmelndes Chaos

“coaxed” = hervorlockten

“silly props” = albernen Kostüme

“showy fanfare” = schmetternde Fanfare

That’s it for tonight, finishing at the end of page 201, thus being so close to the halfway point of the book.

And tomorrow morning, the Youth Media Awards are announced, including the Newbery and Caldecott Medals! There will be some wonderful schmetternde Fanfare for a situation that is Ehrfurcht einflößenden!

Have a wonderful week! May you avoid both kläglichen Übermut and unvorstellbaren, riesigen Bösen!

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It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! That time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books. Tonight I’m going to again look at Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, The Order of Odd-Fish by James Kennedy.

Last time, we left off on page 195 in the English version, and Seite 247 auf Deutsch. Jo is in a tight spot, surrounded by Wormbeards (Wurmbärte).

Oh, it starts right off with a nice one:
“deafening roar” = ohrenbetäubendes Brüllen
(“ears-numbing bellow”)

“and a powerful force knocked everyone on their backs”
= und eine ungeheuerliche Kraft schleuderte alle zu Boden, wo sie rücklings landeten
(“and a monstrous force hurled all to the ground, where they backwards landed”)

“heightening howls” = gellenden Heulen

“tossed around” = herumgeschleudert

Fun to say:
“paper dolls” = Papierpuppen

“barking and shrieking” = kläfften und heulen

“fences and walls” = Zäune und Wände

“to throw off the lizard-dogs” = um die Echsenhunde abzuschütteln

“A lizard-dog’s jaw nipped at her thigh” = Ein Echsenhund schnappte nach ihrer Wade

“East Squeamings” = Ost-Heikel (“East Squeamish”)

Interesting. In the fish market, the translator translated “squishy blobs” with one word: Quallen, which means “jellyfish.” That’s probably what they were?

“slimy stones” = glitschigen Steinen

“crashing through the stalls” = durch die Buden krachten

“reckless glee” = rücksichtslosem Eifer

“hissing smoke” = zischte und qualmte (“hisses and smokes”)

“swinging clubs” = Knüppel swingend

“surrounded” = umzingelt

“whirled and yanked” = herumgewirbelt und herumgezerrt

“roiling crowd” = keuchende Menge (“coughing mass”)

I like that there’s a word for this:
“mask of scabs” = Schuppenmaske

“riot” = Aufruhr

“cobbled” = gepflasterte

“half-assembled” = zerlegte (Google translates this word as “decomposed.”)

This is fun:
“Woo!” = Juhu!

“a gargantuan, flapping, snorting, screeching bird” = ein riesiger flatternder, schnaubender, kreischender Vogel

“got up” = aufgerappelt

“unreliable weapons” = unzuverlässigen Waffen

“cheeky” = hinterhältig (“underhanded”)

“lost causes” = aussichtlose Aufgaben

And, with lost causes, we wrap up Chapter Fifteen! Juhu!

Now you know that many more useful phrases in German! You know just what to say if you see someone with a Schuppenmaske or you’re in a situation where you need um die Echsenhunde abzuschütteln.

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