Category: Sonderling Sunday

It’s Sonderling Sunday, loosely translated Nerdy Sonntag. Have you ever wondered how phrasebooks decide which phrases to translate? I’ve decided to create a sort of blog phrasebook, using phrases pulled from children’s books. After all, if it’s been used in a children’s book, it must be good to know! I admit I’m going after the more bizarre phrases, but the point is having fun and being somewhat silly. And enjoying a close look at tändeltechnisch.

This week, I’ll be back in James Kennedy‘s The Order of Odd-Fish and its translation, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge. This is the book that inspired the series, since, after all, it is obviously a Sonderbook, with Sonderlinge in the actual title! As of last week, I decided to mix it up a little, coming back to Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge every other week, and looking at other children’s books from my German collection in alternating weeks.

We left off two weeks ago in the middle of Chapter Ten, on page 110 in English, Seite 140 auf Deutsch. We were in the middle of a confrontation between the Belgian Prankster, der Belgische Scherzkeks (“the Belgian Joke-Cookie”) and aspiring archvillain Ken Kiang.

Some fun phrases to know:

“The plot thickens” = Die Geschichte verdichtet sich (“The story compacts itself.”)

“But the worst was when she would just give him a strange smile.” = Doch das Schlimmste war, wenn sie ihn einfach nur höchst sonderbar anlächelte. (I go on about how sonder is a prefix meaning “special,” but, okay, yeah, sometimes it just means “strange.”)

Oh! The translator went with the cliche, instead of what was written:
“You couldn’t see your own feet.” = Man konnte nicht einmal die Hand vor Augen sehen. (“You couldn’t see your hand before your eyes.”)

“to seep in” = zu sickern

I like the sound of this:
“meanwhile” = in der Zwischenzeit (“in the between time”)

“Food was running out.” = Lebensmittel wurden knapp.

“blue veils” = blauen Schleiern

This is simply fun to say:
“Even the howling things that flew about in the fog became still.” = Selbst die heulenden Dinger, die in dem Nebel herumflogen, verstummten.

“midwives” = Hebammen

“locked themselves in their house” = sich in seinem Haus verbarrikadiert

“a strange and unbreakable siege” = einer fremdartigen und nicht zu durchbrechenden Belagerung

This one adds an image:
“said in private” = hinter vorgehaltener Hand getuschelt hatten (“painted behind reproached hand”)

“furious” = fuchsteufelswild (“fox-devil-wild”)

“ghostly image” = geisterhaftes Bild

“screen” = Leinwand (“flax wall”)

“chalky, smoking ash” = wei?licher qualmender Asche

Oh, this is a good phrase to know:
“armored ostriches” = gepanzerten Strau?envögeln

“The camera drew back.” = Die Kamera öffnete auf die Totale. (“The camera opened to the Total.”)

This one’s shorter in German, for once:
“surrounded in a circle” = umzingelten

This one’s longer:
“squeezing” = zusammenzuquetschen

“curling” = lodernde

“throbbing, groaning, pulsing in and out” = pulsierte, stöhnte, ächzte

“melting bricks” = schmelzenden Ziegelsteinen

“spraying out the chimney” = spritzte aus dem Schornstein

“The house strained at the seams, swelling, heaving, gurgling.” = Das Haus platzte regelrecht aus den Nähten, schwoll an, pulsierte, gurgelte.

“My favorite part” = Meine Lieblingsstelle

“Sir Nils was a whirl of limbs” = Sir Nils war ein wahrer Derwisch (“Sir Nils was a true dervish.”)

“doddering” = tatterigen

“terrifyingly fast and fierce” = in ihrer Schnelligkeit und Wildheit furchterregend

“blasting out slime” = Schleim quoll heraus

“armor” = Rüstungen

“Something in Dame Lily snapped.” = In diesem Moment schien Dame Lily auszurasten.

“surprised” = überrumpeln (“overpower”)

“stopper” = Stöpsel

Here’s a nice long one:
“opposite side” = gegenüberliegenden

“exiled” = schickte sie in die Verbannung

“legal issues” = juristischen Spitzfindigkeiten

“flimsy” = fadenscheinig

“laughing silently” = lautlos zu lacheln (“loudless to laugh”)

“ghastly merriment” = gruseliger Heiterkeit

“stitched back together” = zusammengeflickt

“a horrible jelly” = ein grauenvoller Wackelpudding

“with a sickening THUP” = mit einem ekelerregenden, satten Schmatzen (“with a disgusting, rich smack”)

Here’s a good word:
“deflate” = schrumpfen

“hissing squeal” = kreischendes Zischen

“spewing stale air” = stie?en abgestandene Luft aus

“spluttering into shreds” = in kleine Fetzen auflösten

“a shriveled empty skin” = eine schlaffe, geschrumpfte, leere Hülle

“deeply humiliated” = zutiefst gedemüdigt

There! That’s it for Chapter Ten. Doesn’t that just make you want to find out what all the gruseliger Heiterkeit is about? Meine Lieblingsstelle was probably ein grauenvoller Wackelpudding or perhaps eine schlaffe, geschrumpfte, leere Hülle.

In two weeks, we’ll start in on Chapter Eleven! Kapitel Elf! In der Zwischenzeit, next week I think I will take a look at Winnie der Pu. Enjoy the Heiterkeit!

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It’s time for Sonderling Sunday – That time when I let you know the German translation of various bizarre phrases using the book Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, the translation of The Order of Odd-Fish, by James Kennedy.

I left off at the start of Chapter Ten, 10. Kapitel, page 101 and Seite 129. The start of this chapter is a good way to start the blog post.

Das alles ist ja nun ganz gut und schön, aber was hat es eigentlich mit dem Belgischen Scherzkeks auf sich?

In English, that is:

This is all well and good, but what about the Belgian Prankster?

Now, I won’t answer the question, but I’ll give you some phrases that pop up:

“hottest controversy” = hitzigsten Diskussionen

“sprawling” = ausgedehntes

This one’s much longer in German:
“interlinked airborne platforms” = miteinander verbundener schwebender Plattformen (“with one another bound together floating platforms”)

“a terrifyingly scarred Icelandic assassin” = ein schrecklich vernarbter isländischer Meuchelmörder

“steel-toothed” = Stahlzähne

“a noseless Nigerian explosives expert” = einem nasenlosen nigerianischen Sprengstoffexperten

“massive-headed” = mit einem Wasserkopf (“with a water-head”)

Why did I never learn this? “men’s toilet” = Männerklo

Oh, I’m afraid I don’t think this line of translation is up to snuff:
“And you are a Boobly-Boobly-Boo-Boo” = Und du bist ein alter Schaumschläger

And here’s something of a tongue-twister:
»Ein Schaumschläger!«, schäumte der Chinese. = “‘A boobly-boobly-boo-boo?’ raged Ken Kiang.”

Based on Google, that’s something like “a foam-batter!” foamed the Chinese.

I like this one:
“corner booth” = Ecknische (“corner niche”)

“audacious” = abgebrühter (“hard-boiled”)

“vengeance” = Vergeltung (“payback”)

“fluorescent lights” = Neonlampen

“tiny paws” = winzigen Pfötchen

“fate’s plaything” = ein Spielball des Schicksals

“satanic roar” = satanischen Brausens

“jokester” = Witzbold

“inscrutable” = undurchdringlichen

“errand boy” = Laufbursche

Here’s a fun one:
“Well, la-dee-da.” = Na gut, heiliger Bimbam.

Well, that’s all for tonight!

My thought for today: If I’m in a special corner booth, then we must have:

Sondra Eklund in einer Sonderecknische.

Tune in next week for more handy-dandy things to know!

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It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! That’s the post where we take a Sonderfahrt, a special trip, through the pages of Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, the German translation of James Kennedy‘s The Order of Odd-Fish, and glean from it a collection of delightfully useless German phrases.

You do not have to speak German to enjoy Sonderling Sunday. You should be able to enjoy the sounds of the language and the alternate way of thinking of things.

You do not need to have read The Order of Odd-Fish. I will not include spoilers, but I do hope that the phrases selected will intrigue readers enough that they will decide to get a copy of the book and read it.

The point? To be pointless! This seems delightfully in keeping with a book about an order that prides itself on researching an Appendix of unreliable and useless information.

We left off on page 90 of The Order of Odd-Fish and Seite 115 of Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge.

The first interesting translation that catches my eye is the imaginary country of the “Glovians” is translated die Handschuträger (“the glove carriers”)

Going on, some interesting words:
“slippery” = glitschig

“unexpectedly light-headed” = überraschenderweise schwindlig (“surprisingly dizzy”)

“backyard” = Hinterhof

“blueprints” = Blaupausen

“outsiders” = Au?enstehenden (“out standers”)

“unassuming” = unauffälligen

“disbanded” = Gerichtsverfahren (“legal proceedings”)

“It had a nice ring.” = Es klang irgendwie hübsch.

I like all the alliteration in the German sentence here:
“What manner of world were we passing on to them?” = Welche Welt würden wir ihnen hinterlassen?

“inconveniences” = unliebsame Vorkommnisse (Note: A couple of sentences ago, “inconvenience” was translated Ärgernis, so I suspect this translation is for variety. It literally means “unwelcome events.”)

“feed it to a walrus” = verfüttert es an ein Walross (There! Didn’t you want to know how to say that?)

“marvelously irksome” = bewundernswert ärgerlich (“wonders-worth annoying”)

“exquisitely obnoxious” = ausgesprochen nervenaufreibend ärgerliche (“very nerve-wracking annoying”)

“It annoys with panache.” = Es verärgert mit Verve.

“spluttered” = platzte

“you took an oath” = haben Sie einen Eid geleistet

“trombones, drums, violins” = Posaunen, Trommeln, Geigen

“greasy sheet music” = fettiges Notenblatt

“I’d’ve tied his arms and legs in a knot and used him as a tuffet!” = Ich hätte seine Arme und Beine zu einem Knoten gebunden und ihn als Muff benutzt!

“I’d’ve swung him around by his hair until I took off like a helicopter” = Ich hätte ihn an seinen Haaren herumgeschleudert, bis ich wie ein Helikopter in die Luft gestiegen wäre

“deflate” = zusammenzusinken (“together to sink”)

“blithering like a madman” = herumzuschreien wie ein Verrückter

“we butlers are run off our feet” = wir Butler haben uns Fü?e wundgelaufen

“curled up” = zusammengerollt (“together rolled”)

“orchestra of cockroaches” = Kakerlakenorchesters (I wonder if that word has ever been used before?)

“doze” = Schläfchen

“flailing limbs” = herumfliegenden Gliedma?en

“whirled away in the shouting, stomping throng” = von der grölenden, stampfenden Meute weggerissen

“clumsy and exhilarated” = ungeschickt und berauscht

“were smashed” = zerbarsten

“unchallenged” = unbehelligt

“ungainly” = ungelenker

“unruly” = ungebärdigen

“quietly filed out” = verlie?en ruhig im Gänsemarsch (“left quietly in goose-step”)

So, many of those phrases klang irgendwie hübsch, don’t you think? I find I’m not stopping as often, since I understood more of the sentences, so perhaps I’ll finish the book sometime in the next decade after all!

Now, which of these phrases can you work into everyday conversation in the next week or so? I’m going to try überraschenderweise schwindlig or perhaps zusammenzusinken.

And let me leave you with this thought: Welche Welt würden wir ihnen hinterlassen?

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It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! I missed last week because it was my youngest son’s 18th birthday! (Where oh where does the time go?) That reminds me of a funny thing about Germans and birthdays. Did you know that German kids sing “Happy Birthday” in English? Perhaps it was just my landlady’s family, since she grew up around Americans, but I suspect it was more widespread, because the small children who attended this birthday party in 1998 knew the words to the English “Happy Birthday” song.

(The cutie in the bottom right corner is my son, who is now 18 years old.) I believe the birthday girl was 5 years old, and we were so surprised at how well the small children sang in English. I suppose, bottom line, it’s hard to fit Alles gute zum Geburtstag into a nice song.

But back to Sonderling Sunday, the time when I play with language and supply you with delightfully useless phrases to know in German by looking at the translation of James Kennedy‘s The Order of Odd-Fish, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, a truly Sonderbook.

We left off two weeks ago in the middle of chapter 9, on page 86 in English, and Seite 110 auf Deutsch.

Last time, we learned several different translations for “dithering,” as the knights of the Order of Odd-fish discussed Sir Oliver’s six-hundred-thousand-page dissertation on the subject. I still find it interesting and not at all surprising that Germans don’t have as many different words for dithering as English speakers do.

Ah! There’s a lovely paragraph right at the start of this next section, so I’ll start off by quoting the whole thing:

The cockroaches swooped in, snatched away the soup bowls, and served plates heaping with a gooey stew. It was spicy and slimy, and after a few cautious bites, Jo decided she liked it.

That translates as:

Die Kakerlaken stürmten wieder in den Raum, entrissen allen die Suppenschüsseln und servierten Teller mit einem pappigen Eintopf. Er war würzig und schleimig und nach ein paar vorsichtigen Bissen kam Jo zu dem Schluss, dass sie ihn mochte.

Some of the goodies here:

“soup bowls” = Suppenschüsseln
“gooey stew” = pappigen Eintopf (“cardboardy one-pot”)
“slimy” = schleimig (Surely this is where we got the English word?)

Going on, there are more wonderfully useless phrases about being wonderfully useless:

“properly dubious” = angemessen zweifelhaft

“unreliable” = unzuverlässig

“useless” = nutzlos

“out of date” = überholt (shorter in German!)

“contradictory” = widersprüchlich (“speech against”)

“we never publish anything misleading” = wir niemals irgendetwas veröffentlichen, das auf eine falsche Fährte führen könnte (“we never publish anything that can send one on a wrong trip”)

“deliberately misleading” = vorsätzlich Irreführendes (See the root for trip still in there?)

I thought it was funny that with this sentence the German translator did not dither as much as in English:
“Which, er, isn’t too far, actually, sometimes.” = Was, genau genommen, manchmal nicht sonderlich weit ist. (“Which, strictly speaking, sometimes is not especially far.”)

This one sounds better in German:
“an unreliable reference book” = ein unzuverlässiges Lexikon

Here’s a fun one I didn’t know before:
“at once” = schlagartig

“Jo’s stomach dropped.” = Jo plumpste der Magen in die Kniekehlen. (“Jo flopped her stomach in the hollow of the knees.”)

“Rumors, leads, myths, things that are maybe true, maybe not.” = Gerüchte, vermutungen Mythen, Dinge, die vielleicht wahr sind, vielleicht aber auch nicht.

“whiskers” = Backenbart

“hiccups” = Schluckaufs

“dubious” = fragwürdig (“question worthy”)

“discredited metaphysics” = verrufene Metaphysiken

“It is spectacularly tiresome!” = Es ist ungeheuer ermüdend! (“It is monstrously tiresome!”)

“Some of my research positively sparkles with dullness.” = Etliche meiner Metaphysiken funkeln förmlich vor Trübsinn. (“Some of my metaphysics sparkles formally with gloom.”)

“arcane drudgery” = uralter Trübsal (“ancient sorrow”)

I like this translation:
“Oh ho ho, oh no, oh no!” = Nein und nochmals nein!” (“No, and again no!”)

“Jo couldn’t help but smile.” = Jo musste unwillkürlich lächeln. (“Jo must involuntarily smile.”)

“supreme distaste” = überlegenem Abscheu

“Jo gritted her teeth.” = Jo knirschte mit den Zähnen.

Here’s a nice concise way of putting it:
“wet with sweat” = schwei?nass.

“as Sir Alasdair dissolved into snuffling laughter” = während Sir Alasdair vor Lachen Schniefte (“as Sir Alasdair with laugher sniffed”)

That’s all I have time for tonight! I hope to meet the rest of the Order next week!

Meanwhile, here are some highlights:
Most fun to say: Suppenschüsseln, unzuverlässiges Lexikon, Schluckaufs
Best exclamation: Nein und nochmals nein!
Best figure of speech: Jo plumpste der Magen in die Kniekehlen.
Most concise: schwei?nass.

Bis nächste Woche!

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It’s time at last for another issue of Sonderling Sunday, where I play with words by looking Der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, the German translation of James Kennedy‘s The Order of Odd-fish, and find translations that give interesting insights or are simply fun to say.

The title of this post is a warped German-English hybrid to say The Squires of The Order of Odd-fish. I plan to look at only the beginning section of Chapter Nine. We’ll see if I get carried away….

We’re beginning on page 78 in English, Seite 100 auf Deutsch.

Interesting. Here’s a pretty direct translation:
“homelier” = heimeliger (I wonder which word meant “ugly” first?)
“arched brass ceiling” = verzierten Messingempore (“ornate brass gallery” says Google)

I like this one. It’s so obvious:
“vines” = Schlingpflanzen = “sling plants”

“unidentifiable fruit” = undefinierbaren Früchten (“undefined fruit.” This appeals to my mathematical brain.)

This sentence has a candidate for longest word at 16 letters:
“It was as if they had all been stolen from different places.” = Die Teile schienen von überallher zusammengeklaubt worden zu sein.

More fun to say in German:
“filthy black robes” = schmutziger, schwarzer Roben

Here’s the word for Squires:
“Squires” = Knappen (Ah! So my sixth-grade teacher, Mr. Knapp, may have had a squire in his ancestry. Only in German, the K is pronounced.)

“precisely knotted bow tie” = einer sorgfältig gebundenen Fliege (Interesting. The word for “bow tie” is also the word for “fly.”)

Better in English:
“teetering trays” = beladenen Tabletts

Better auf Deutsch:
“rushing back and forth” = hin- und herhuschten (“there and here scurried”)

I’ve mentioned this one before but love it:
“tiptoe” = Zehenspitzen (“toe points”)

“discredited metaphysics” = Ungnade gefallene Metaphysik (“disgrace-befallen metaphysics”)

“a beloved eccentric.” = ein hochgeschätzter Exzentriker

“flash photography” = Fotos mit Blitzlicht (very descriptive, nicht?)

More fun to say in German:
“wooden stool” = hölzernen Hocker

“one weirdly birdlike” = der einem Vogel unheimlich ähnelte

“an unfortunate nose” = eine knubbelige Nase (“knobbly nose”)

I like this better in German, too. You could say your kid is in this, and it sounds mysterious and important:
“growth spurt” = Wachstumsphase

“perpetual stoop” = ständig gebückt

“babbling” = plapperte

“the Silent Sisters” = der Stummen Schwestern

Shorter in German!:
“a tattered tan corduroy jacket” = ein verschlissenes Cordsakko

Maybe a little more dignified in German?:
“the wispy beginnings of a mustache” = der erste Flaum eines Bartes (“the first fuzz of facial hair”)

That’s the end of the first section, and all I have time for tonight. To sum up:

Most logical: Schlingpflanzen
Most fun to say: hin- und herhuschten
Most descriptive: Fotos auf Blitzlicht
Best German short form: Cordsakko
Best Euphemism: der erste Flaum eines Bartes

Armed with this knowledge, I can aspire to be ein hochgeschätzter Exzentriker!

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It’s time for Sonderling Sunday, loosely translated as “Nerdy Sonntag.” I hasten to add that you definitely do not need to be a German speaker to enjoy this series. Indeed, I wouldn’t really call myself a German speaker. This series is, quite simply, for people who love words. In it, I look at Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge and compare it with its original English version, The Order of Odd-Fish, by James Kennedy, to discover some bizarre and fun things about German and English and different ways of thinking about things and different combinations of wonderful sounds.

We are on Chapter Eight, which begins on page 65 in the English version and Seite 84 in the German. This is a long chapter, so I’m going to go straight to focusing on the most interesting sentences and phrases.

On the first page a fun one comes:
“Crashing into the ocean” = in den Ozean zu plumpsen

“pretty dull afterlife” = Ein ziemlich trübseliges Leben nach dem Tod (Google translates that as “a rather dreary life after death.”)

“The plane was destroyed, its hull torn and flooded with black, swirling seawater.” = Das Flugzeug war zerstört; der Rumpf war zerfetzt und von schäumendem schwarzem Meerwasser überflutet.

Just to clarify, here Rumpf is “hull”; zerfetzt is “torn,” and schäumendem is “swirling.”

This one is evocative:
“oily murk” = ölige Brühe (Be sure to put lots of “oo” and “ew” in those vowels.)

“floated” = herumdümpelten (“bobbed about”)

“waterlogged” = aufgeweichte (Google just translates this “softened.” Ewww.)

“soaked” = durchnässt (“through-wetted”)

“gash” = klaffenden Riss (“gaping cracks”)

“slimier” = irgendwie schleimiger und glitschiger (Google: “Somewhat slimier and slipperier” – I suspect we have a little elaboration here.)

I like this sentence. Perhaps some insight on where the word “wade” came from, not to mention “slimy”?
“Soon they were all wading in the slimy water.” = Kurz darauf wateten sie alle durch das schleimige Wasser.
Now, “slimy” sounds slimy. But schleimige?! You can almost feel it clinging to you.

“squishy” = matschig

More exquisite disgustingness:
“spilling juices” = aus denen Flüssigkeiten sickerten (“from which liquids leaked”)

For once the German is shorter:
“whoop of delight” = Jubelschrei (Now there’s a good name for a band.)

“treacherous goo” = verräterische Brühe

“rhapsodized” = schwärmte

Okay, say this a few times, just to savor the sounds:
“an enormous mucilaginous gorge” = eine gewaltige, schleimige Schlucht
(Has it struck you, like me, that English has more different words than German for the concept of “slimy”? But you have to give them that the one German word is really good.)

This paragraph is too fun in English not to mention:

“Wonders upon wonders!” said Colonel Korsakov. “I don’t recall eating a small law firm.”

Auf Deutsch:

»Wunder über Wunder!«, erklärte Oberst Korsakov. »Ich kann mich nicht erinnern, eine Anwaltskanzlei gegessen zu haben.«

“with a shiver” = dann fröstelnd ab

“Its crumbling bricks were crabbed with gray, sickly ivy, and cold thin mist twisted around.” = Die verfallenen Steine waren von krausem widerlichem Efeu überzogen und ein kalter, dünner Nebel wirbelte um das Haus.

“yellowed books” = vergilbten Büchern

“crumbling maps” = zerbröselnden Karten

“shattered chandelier” = zerborstener Kronleuchter (“burst crown-lights”)

“gangly” = schlaksig

Oh this is good:
“freckled” = Sommersprossen (“summer sprouts”)

Longest word candidate (19 letters):
“squinted at his visitors” = musterte seine Besucher aus zusammengekniffenen Augen (“looked at his visitors with together-narrowed eyes”)

“whimsical tomfoolery” = wunderlichen Albernheiten

“bony” = knorrige

“snug” = kuschelig Ah! “cushy”!

“puzzlement” = Verblüffung (I think I’ve mentioned this one before, but it’s so good.)

“jars” = Einmachgläsern

“floating” = schwammen

“stunned” = verblüfft

“violence” = Neigung zur Gewalttätigkeit (“inclination to violence”)

“questionable” = Fragwürdiges (“question worthy”)

This phrase is nice in German:
“Just the opposite” = Ganz in Gegenteil

A simple one that’s just fun to say:
“wondered” = nachgedacht (“thought after”)

Nice and alliterative:
“shook again” = erbebte erneut (“quaked anew”)

“Grunting, sweating, shouting” = Grunzend, schwitzend und brüllend

“sunset” = Sonnenuntergang (“sun downfall”)

“foaming river” = von Gischt schäumenden Fluss (“with spray foaming river”)

“booming and trumpeting” = mit viel Tamtam und Tschingderassa

“We would be run out of town.” = Wir würden geteert und gefedert aus der Stadt geworfen. (“We would be tarred and feathered and thrown out of the city.”)

“divert” = ablenken

“handlebar mustache” = Schnauzbart

“heave” = Kraftakt (“might act”)

“The applause outside was tremendous.” = Der Applaus war ohrenbetäubend. (“The applause was ear-numbing.”)

An even longer word, right at the end of the chapter:
“the screech of grinding metal, laughter and carousing” = das Kreischen von aneinanderschabendem Metall, Gelächter und Freudenschreie (“the screech of on-one-another-scraping metal, laughter and joy-cries”)

Very evocative:
“stuff myself” = mich vollzustopfen

And finally, even more “Sonder” than in the title:
“The Grand Feast of the Odd-Fish” = Das gro?e Fest der Sonderbaren Sonderlinge (“The grand feast of the “special” “special ones”.)

Summing up:

Longest word: aneinanderschabendem

Most improved translation: “an enormous mucilaginous gorge” = eine gewaltige, schleimige Schlucht

Most disgusting translation: Tie between schleimiger und glitschiger and ölige Brühe

Most onomatopoetic: plumpsen

Best name for a band: Jubelschrei

Best image: “freckles” = Sommersprossen

Most alliterative translation: Ganz in Gegenteil

Now then, wasn’t that fun? And a delightful way to spend my time in the 48-Hour Book Challenge. Definitely book-related. Tune in next week as we explore Das gro?e Fest der Sonderbaren Sonderlinge!

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It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! Where we play with words in all their nerdy glory, by looking at the German translation of The Order of Odd-Fish, by James Kennedy, in the volume Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge.

I’m on Chapter Seven, which begins on page 60 in the English version and on page 78 in the German translation.

My caption comes from the first sentence. And I will continue, because it’s too full of wonderful words and alliterative delights not to mention:

“Here’s to villainy!” cried Ken Kiang, lifting his glass. “Here’s to wicked work well wrought! Here’s to outrage, injustice! Violence and venom! Marvelous murderers and cutthroat criminals! I embrace you all, brothers! I’m one of you now!“

How will the translator deal with this? Will he attempt to retain the alliteration? Will he simply define the concepts as closely as possible? Will he retain the rollicking, roll-off-the-tongue language? The feeling of criminal glee in a moment of apparent triumph?

Here’s what the translator presents us with:

»Auf die Schurkerei!«, schrie Ken Kiang und hob sein Glas. »Auf gut gemachte widerliche Werke! Auf Wahnsinn und Ungerechtigkeit! Gewalt und Gift! Makellose Morde und gemeine Gauner! Ich umarme euch alle, Brüder! Ich bin jetzt einer von euch!

Answer? Yes, he pretty much kept the alliteration, with the understandable exception being “wicked work well wrought.” gut gemachte widerliche Werke is close, anyway.

Some other phrases to look at:
“villainy” = Schurkerei (Google translates this word “roguery”)

gut gemachte widerliche Werke would be “well-made disgusting work,” a good translation, I think, for “wicked work well wrought.”

“outrage, injustice!” is a pretty straight translation, Wahnsinn (“madness”) und Ungerechtigkeit

“Violence and venom!” = Gewalt und Gift!

“Marvelous murderers”= Makellose Morde (“flawless murders,” which is not quite the same thing, but worth it for the alliteration.)

“cutthroat criminals” = gemeine Gauner (“common crooks.” Hmm. Pretty good.)

Later, as Ken Kiang confesses:
“Until tonight, I was all hat and no cattle!” = Bis heute Nacht habe ich nur gebellt, nicht gebissen! They didn’t attempt the cowboy metaphor, but translated it as “I’d only barked, not bitten.”

And more alliteration: “It’s only now, with this magnificent quadruple murder, that I’ve married my malevolent mistress of malefaction and started sliding down the slippery slope to sweet sin!” There’s not as much alliteration in the translation, but there is some: Erst jetzt, nach diesem herrlichen vierfachen Mord, habe ich endlich meine bösartige Geliebte der Schandtaten geheiratet und den ersten Schritt getan, um diese schlüpfrig schiefe Bahn der sü?en Sünde hinabzugleiten!

“married my malevolent mistress of malefaction” = meine bösartige Geliebte der Schandtaten geheiratet (“my evil Beloved of crime married”)

“started sliding down the slippery slope to sweet sin” = den ersten Schritt getan, um diese schlüpfrig schiefe Bahn der sü?en Sünde hinabzugleiten! Yeah, okay, that just isn’t the same. But it means “took the first steps to slide down the slippery sloping path of sweet sins.”

schlüpfrig schiefe Bahn is almost, but not quite, as good as “slippery slope” because the slippery sound of schlüpfrig schiefe almost makes up for the out of place word Bahn. But I’m sorry, “slide down” fits much, much better into the sentence than hinabzugleiten! I do have to say that sü?en Sünde is much more seductive sounding than “sweet sins.”

Moving on, I’d like to say a little bit about Pie.

Hoagland Shanks is obsessed with pie. This is translated as “Kuchen.” Now, I always was told that “Kuchen” is “cake.”

Ah, but some things are un-translatable! I’m not crazy about a lot of German food. Not a big fan of various kinds of Schnitzels. But anything that comes from a German bakery? Outstanding.

This kind of explains why my dear German friend, Elfriede, called all of the wide range of German pastries, “cake.” They were called Kuchen, which she’d been told is the English word “cake.” But, truth be told, we simply don’t have English words for all the kinds of German kuchen available.

For example, when Elfriede would take a break and go to the “coffee place,” she’d always want to bring me something, and she’d ask what I wanted: “fruity or creamy?” One of my favorites was Flockensahne which was almost (but not quite) a phyllo dough filled with cream. (Ha! I found an image on the internet. Follow the link to see the credit for this image of Flockensahne.)

Would you call that Pie? Certainly not! But it’s not exactly cake either.

And when we’d go there on my birthday in June, I’d always have one of the concoctions that involved fresh strawberries. This Erdbeerkuchen is similar to strawberry pie. Similar, but not the same.

Mmmm. I’m getting so hungry. Thinking about those wonderful birthdays in Germany always makes me nostalgically sad. (The weather is always perfect in June as well. We’d go to a castle for dinner…..)

However, as it appears that Americans do not have words to adequately describe German Kuchen, neither do Germans have words for pie. This is perhaps appropriate, since haven’t we all heard the words “as American as apple pie”?

I like where Hoagland Shanks tells Ken Kiang to stop waxing so eloquent and get him some pie:

“Now talk sense, talk pie!” = Jetzt reden Sie endlich Klartext, reden Sie von Kuchen!

I like Klartext. Make your text clear.

I have to mention this one:
“The Club of Weird Desserts” = dem Klub der Sonderbaren Desserts

A candidate for longest word!
“dormant taste buds” = schlummernde Geschmacksknospen (Yes, you pronounce both those ks.)

Oh! I spoke too soon! Here’s one with 23 letters:
“black-and-white TV” = Schwarzwei?fernsehgerät

This translation doesn’t come out as catchy:
“A deal’s a deal.” = Eine Abmachung ist eine Abmachung.

Nor this one:
“a mighty yawp” = einen lauten Schrei (“a loud cry”)

There we have it! That’s it for Chapter Seven. Summing up:

Longest word: Schwarzwei?fernsehgerät

Hardest to say: Geschmacksknospen

Most fun to say: sü?en Sünde

Clunkiest translation: habe ich endlich meine bösartige Geliebte der Schandtaten geheiratet

Best metaphor: nur gebellt, nicht gebissen

Best new concept: Klartext

Best use of the prefix Sonder: Sonderbaren Desserts

Tune in next week as we find out what happened to Jo and friends!

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