Category: Sonderling Sunday

Surprise! It’s time for Sonderling Sunday — That part of the week when I make a very silly German phrasebook from the Germany translations of children’s books.

Why is this a surprise? Because ever since I started meeting with a gaming group on Sunday afternoons (10 years ago now!), my Sonderling Sunday posts have gotten more sporadic.

Why am I doing a short one tonight anyway? BECAUSE I’M GOING TO GERMANY!!!!

That’s right, I just purchased tickets for June in Germany to celebrate my 60th birthday going back to the place where I left a big chunk of my heart. So to get ready — I need to do Sonderling Sunday posts again! I want to get my ear for German back, while learning some phrases I’ll almost certainly never use.

Today I’m going back to the book that started it all – Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, which is the German translation of The Order of Odd-Fish, by James Kennedy.

Last time, which was sadly a year and a half ago, we left off on page 361 of the English edition, Seite 457 of the German translation. (Yes, German words are longer.) Let’s begin as the scene changes:

“Jo and Ian kept dancing.” = Jo und Ian tanzten weiter.

From there, I’ll just mention some interesting phrases:

“on thin ice” = auf dünnem Eis

“midnight feast” = Mitternachtsmahl

“they exchanged glances” = wechselten sie häufige Blicke

“felt something unfamiliar open up inside her”
= spürte etwas Fremdes in sich aufblühen
(“felt something strange in herself blossom”)

“unconscious” = bewusstlos (without knowing)

“take advantage of your generosity in the afterglow of victory”
= Ihre Großzügigkeit im Nachklang Ihres Sieges missbrauchen

“Always the naive crumpet.”
= Sie sind und bleiben ein naives Kätzchen!

“scandalous underclothes”
= skandalöse Unterwäsche

“unnatural vices”
= unnatürlichen Laster

“all-out onslaught of libel”
= vernichtenden Anschlag von Verleumdungen
(“devastating attack of slander”)

“inevitable” = unausweichlichen

“Further proof of my virtue”
= Ein weiterer Beweis meiner Tugend

“tireless charity work”
= unermüdliche Arbeit für wohltätige Zwecke
(“tireless work for charitable purposes”)

“shout of joy”
= Freudenschrei

This sounds serious to me:
“he’s not seriously injured”
= er hat keine ernsthaften Verletzungen davongetragen

“squawks” = quakte

Here’s a useful phrase:
“all the lizards and weeds he could eat” = so viel Echsen und Grünzeug, wie er fressen konnte

“impeccable table manners” = makellose Tischmanieren

Okay, I haven’t gotten very far, but let’s finish up on page 363, Seite 460 with this sentence:

“We are here to make an arrest!”
= Wir sind hier, um eine Verhaftung vorzunehmen!

I will take my diligence in finally getting back to this as ein weiterer Beweis meiner Tugend. May you never have reason to say, “so viel Echsen und Grünzeug, wie er fressen konnte,” but have many reasons to give a Freudenschrei!

Bis bald!

Believe it or not, 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 book, focusing on very silly phrases of course you want to learn in German. Sort of a highly impractical phrase book for very silly travelers.

Yes, it’s been a very long time since I’ve done Sonderling Sunday. I usually play games with my gaming group on Sunday — except now to make things even more complicated, I’m dating a guy who lives two hours away, and Sunday is usually the day we can manage to get together. If only I hadn’t tied Sonderling Sunday to a day of the week! Except that Sunday is also the perfect day for setting aside productivity and doing frivolous and silly things. Anyway, in my disappointment of neither of those activities happening today, I can at least make the best of things and write a Sonderling Sunday post.

And today I began reading an advance reader copy of James Kennedy‘s new book, Dare to Know, and that made me think of Sonderling Sunday and how close I am to finishing going through the book that started it all, James Kennedy’s The Order of Odd-Fish, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge.

Yikes! The last time we looked at Odd-Fish was almost a year ago! And after years of close examination and teasing translated tidbits, we are oh, so close to the end! Tonight we’re looking at Chapter 26, Kapitel 26, and, dear Reader, there are only 28 chapters in all!

It begins on page 357, Seite 453 auf Deutsch.

So let’s delve right in with the first sentence:

“Jo landed and was overwhelmed.”
= Jo landete und wurde fast von den Zuschauern überwältigt.
(“Jo landed and was almost by the onlookers overwhelmed.” — Seems like the translator has elaborated a bit.)

“Jo was in a daze.”
= Jo war wie benommen.

“ruby palace” = Rubinpalast

“doorknob” = “Türknauf

“to fall apart” = zusammenbrechen (“together-break”)

“one wrong move” = eine falsche Bewegung

“victory party” = Siegesparty

“mobbed” = umzingelt

Here’s something we say more easily in English:
“Phil Snurr pumped her arm”
= schüttelte Phil Snurr ihr die Hand, bis ihre Schulter wehtat
(“shook Phil Snurr her hand, until her shoulder hurt”)

“nailed her” = sie fertiggemacht (“her finished-made”)

“was burned in her eyes”
= war in ihre Netzhaut wie eingebrannt
(“was in her retina burned”)

“good-naturedly” = gutmütig

“her bruises and cuts and aches”
= ihre Wunden und Schnitte und ihre schmerzenden Knochen
(“her wounds and cuts and her aching bones”)

“exposed” = enttarnt

“bang” = Knall

“in a small voice” = Stimme klang kläglich (“voice sounded pathetic”)

“surrender” = Kapitulation

I like the way this sounds:
“and trudged out of the room, sniffing”
= und schlurfte schniefend aus dem Saal
(“and shuffled sniffing out of the hall”)

And that’s where I’m going to have to stop tonight. I’m nowhere near the end of the chapter, but I will still endeavor not to schlurfe schnüffelnd aus dem Saal

I won’t promise bis bald! this time, but some day, I vow, I will finish the tantalizing translation tidbits from Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge!

Surprise! It’s been months since I’ve done it, but tonight it’s time for Sonderling Sunday!

Sonderling Sunday is that time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books, sort of a Very Silly Phrasebook for armchair travelers.

Since I’m skipping so many weeks now, I’m going back to the Sonderbook that gave me the idea, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, with the original English title The Order of Odd-fish, by James Kennedy.

Last time, which I’m afraid was back in April, we left off on page 353 in the English edition, Seite 449 auf Deutsch. For a very long time, Jo and Fiona have been fighting a bitter battle. (I try not to give away any spoilers, just intrigue you with the language and phrases used, so I won’t say more than that.)

The way the next section begins hints at the drama:
“Jo grabbed the bars of the cage, hanging on. It wasn’t over until she fell in the water.”
= Sie erwischte die Stangen des Gitters und hielt sich fest. Der Kampf war erst vorbei, wenn sie ins Wasser fiel.

See if you can find a reason to use this sentence this week:
“But she had lost her ostrich.”
=Aber sie hatte ihren Stauß verloren.

The translator has often lost alliteration:
“she was bruised, bloody, and broken”
=sie war übel mitgenommen, blutüberströmt und am Ende ihrer Kräfte
(“she was evilly run-down, blood-overflowing and at the end of her strength”)

“gibbered” = plapperte sinnlos (“babbled senselessly”)

“a black, sludgy gelatin” = eine schwarze, schlammige Gelatine

“the universe itself might unravel”
= das Universum selbst möglicherweise vernichtet werden würde

“She was still clinging to the side of the cage.”
= Sie klammerte sich noch immer an den Käfigstäben fest.

“bestial and ugly, screaming for blood”
= bestialisch, hässlich und nach Blut schreiend

“bucked fiercely” = bockte wild

“every chance” = bei jeder sich bietenden Gelegenheit

“waving her over” = winkten sie zu sich.

Long word alert:
“opposite side” = gegenüberliegenden Seite

“stamping, hollering, and pressing their faces against the cage”
= stampften und brüllten und pressten ihre Gesichter gegen den Käfig

“encouragement” = Aufmunterungen

“screamed abuse” = beschimpften sie

“extra lance” = Ersatzlanze

“blast” = Knall

“clogging the doors and hallways” = verstopften Türen und Gänge

“unheard-of” = absolut unerhört

“breaking the furniture” = zertrümmerte die Möbel

“debris” = Trümmer

“flung aside” = beiseitegestoßen

“squirting out of her eyes” = spritzte aus ihren Augen

“running out her nose” = lief aus ihrer Nase

“gurgling in the back of her throat” = gurgelte in ihrer Kehle

“seeping from under her fingernails” = sickerte unter ihren Fingernägeln hervor

“in the back of her throat” = an ihrem Gaumen

“piteously” = erbärmlich

“dark and angry” = düster und wütend

“thunderous cheer” = donnernder Jubel

And the last sentence of Chapter 25:
“She had betrayed them all.”
= Sie hatte sie alle betrogen.

Auf wiedersehen! Now until next time, see how many of these phrases you can work into conversation, preparing for the day when we can travel to Germany again! When that day comes, we’ll surely hear donnernder Jubel. Let this be Aufmunterungen until that day! Bis bald!

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday, the time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books, sort of a Very Silly Phrasebook for armchair travelers. Tonight I’m back to the Sonderbook that started this series, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, with the original English title The Order of Odd-fish, by James Kennedy.

Last time we looked at this book, we left off on page 350, Seite 445 in the German edition. Fiona and Jo are finally beginning their duel!

Just in case you ever get yourself into a duel in Germany, you’ll want to know how to say this:

“Jo swung her leg over Ethelred, and the ostrich sprang to its feet.”
= Jo schwang sich auf Ethelred und der Strauß sprang auf.

“Ethelred scampered back, spun, hunched, and charged into the air, diving toward Fiona.”
= Ethelred nahm Anlauf, drehte sich um, duckte sich, sprang hoch in die Luft und stürzte sich dann auf Fiona hinunter.

“Jo brandished her lance” = Jo schwang ihre Lanze

I’d like to think of a reason to say this:
“so that fire blossomed out either side”
= sodass aus beiden Enden Flammen schossen
(“so that out of both ends flames shot”)

“the flames zigzagging blindingly”
= die Flammen blendend hin und her loderten
(“the flames dazzlingly back and forth blazing”)

“clawed each other” = mit den Klauen nacheinander schlugen

“distant darkness” = fernen Schwärze

“a tiny, colorful man, dancing”
= ein winziger bunter Mann zu tanzen

“She gasped for air.”
= Sie rang nach Luft.

“overwhelmed” = überwältigt

“tiny glowing man” = kleine glühende Mann

One of those nice long German words:
“one-second snatches” = Sekundenbruchteilen

“crumb of color” = Farbpunkt (“color-point”)

“I’m blacking out!”
= Ich verliere das Bewusstsein

“noise” = Lärm

“encouragement” = irgendetwas Ermutigendes (“anything encouraging”)

“This time Fiona didn’t mess around.”
= Diesmal spielte Fiona nicht herum.

Not a bad job translating this:
“Fiona’s lance stabbed, slashed, bashed, and skewered her”
= Fiona stach und schlug mit ihrer Lanze zu, hämmerte und rammte sie

“biting into her armor”
= zertrümmerte ihre Rüstung

“tearing at the fur”
=riss an dem Fell

“burning her skin”
= verbrannte ihre Haut

“pummeling her”
= verprügelte sie

“practicing” = geübt

“growling and snapping” = knurrten und schnappten

“striking range” = Reichweite (“kingdom-width”)

“skill” = Geschicklichkeit

“to hold Fiona at bay” = sich Fiona vom Hals zu halten
(“Fiona from the neck to hold”)

“The crowd groaned and booed.”
= Die Menge stöhnte und buhte.

“feints” = Täuschungen

“stabs” = Hieben

“thrusts” = Schlägen

“slashes” = Prügeln

“The crowd cheered wildly.”
= Die Menge johlte vor Vergnügen

“seething power” = kochender Macht

“sticky” = klebrigen

“back of her head” = Hinterkopf

“undertow” = Strömungen

“The crowd went nuts.” = Die Zuschauer drehten förmlich durch.

“victory swoop” = Siegesschleife

“fray” = Manege (“ring”)

“audacious move” = kühne Aktion

“somersaulting through the air” = Purzelbäume durch die Luft

I’ll finish with this dramatic sentence:
“Finally, with a ferocious kick, the ostrich flung her across the arena, and Jo hit the cage wall.”
= Schließlich schleuderte der Strauß sie mit einem wilden Tritt quer durch die Arena und Jo landete an der Wand des Käfigs.

May you have lots of occasions to make a Siegesschleife this week!

Surprise! After several months off, it’s time for Sonderling Sunday!

Sonderling Sunday is when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s book and making a very silly phrasebook of Useful Phrases To Know in German — that I challenge you to ever actually use in any language.

Since it’s been so long since I’ve written a post, tonight I’m going back to the book that started it all, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, by James Kennedy, known in the original English as The Order of Odd-Fish.

We left off last time on page 348 in the English edition, Seite 442 auf Deutsch. We left off when Jo and Fiona were about to start their duel. Since duels begin with threats, this is going to be especially fun.

I like to begin by translating a complete sentence, and this is a good one:

“Fiona had already dismounted and started the threats:”
= Fiona war bereits abgestiegen und hatte begonnen, ihre Drohungen auszustoßen:

“Silver Kitten of Deceit” = Silbernes Kätzchen der Arglist

“Know the terror of your doom!”
= Erkenne den Schrecken deines Untergangs!

“the All-Devouring Mother” = die All-Vershlingende Mutter

“Tonight your deceits shall be overthrown, your silver fur gnashed between my all-masticating jaws!”
= Heute Nacht werde ich deinen Tücken ein Ende bereiten und dein silberner Pelz wird zwischen meinen alles zermalmenden Kiefern zerfetzt werden!

“boos” = Buhrufen (“Boo-cries”)

Here’s something you may want to try on the next person who threatens you in German:
“Boasting in speech, yet paltry in deed!”
= Du prahlst mit Worten und bist doch so erbärmlich in deinen Taten!

“my meow is your death sentence” = mein Miauen wird deine Todesstrafe sein

“my purr, your despair” = mein Schnurren deine Verzweiflung

“my litterbox, your grave!” = mein Papierkorb dein Grab!

“Let fly your thrashing tongue, your gnawing teeth, your gulping throat”
= Lass nur deine widerliche Zunge fliegen, deine Zähne beißen, deine Kehle schlucken!

“I choke your esophagus with the foodstuffs of destruction”
= Ich werde deine Speiseröhre mit dem Labsal der Vernichtung stopfen

“I fill your greedy maw with the meal of dishonor!”
= Ich werde dein gieriges Maul mit den Speisen der Schande füllen!

“savor your doom” = genieße deinen Untergang

I like this one, because I don’t think it’s a direct translation:
“The crowd went wild.”
= Die Zuschauer flippten aus.
(“The spectators flipped out.”)

“sneered” = schnaubte

“wearable” = tragbaren

“idle braggadocio” = alberne Prahlerei

“weakling” = Schwächling

“pusillanimous” = zaghaft

I write out this whole sentence for the sake of the big long word at the end in German, but I dare you to find a way to utter this sentence:
“Do you not know, Aznath, that I, Ichthala, the All-Devouring Mother, shall gather unto myself a thousand living scorpions and sew them into a pair of scorpion underwear?”
= Weißt du nicht, Aznath, dass ich, Ichthala, die All-Vershlingende Mutter, tausend lebende Skorpione versammelt und zu einer Skorpionunterwäsche genäht habe?

“unmentionable places” = unaussprechlichen Stellen

“writhing, poisonous underwear” = windenden giftigen Unterwäsche

“retorted” = konterte

“stitching disgraceful underwear” = schamlose Unterkleidung zusammenzuflicken

“thin twine” = dünnen Schnüren

They’ve got a word for this!
“second least favorite song” = vorletztes Lieblingslied
“least favorite song” = letztes Lieblingslied

“spicy gumbo” = würzigen Gumboschotensuppe

“intestines” = Eingeweide

“dollhouses” = Puppenhäusern

Now here’s an insult:
“your dark, unholy, malformed, unnatural, godless, nauseating, cancerous, wretched, crap-spackled heart”
= dein düsteres, unheiliges, missgestaltetes, unnatürliches, gottloses, widerwärtiges, geschwürgleiches, verdammtes, mächtiges Herz

The duel is about to begin!

I’m going to finish by showing how the translator rendered their last cries at each other before they engage in battle:

“Avaunt!” = Hinweg mit dir!
“Hark!” = Hört, hört!
“Fie!” = Pfui!
“Alack!” = Ach weh!
“Egad!” = Oh Gott! (I’m not sure I agree with this translation.)
“Forsooth!” = Fürwahr!
“Aaaaaaaagh!” = [Not translated] Mit einem lauten Schrei…

Now if you ever want to spout off some alberne Prahlerei in German, you’ll know what to say!

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 to the book that drives this whole series, The Order of Odd-Fish, by James Kennedy, otherwise known as Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge.

Last time, we left off in the middle of Chapter Twenty-Five, on page 344 in the English edition, Seite 437 auf Deutsch.

The first sentence has some fun words to know:
“Jo’s ready room was a moldy locker area that it seemed had never been cleaned.”
= Jos Garderobe war ein muffiger Umkleideraum, der offenbar noch nie gesäubert worden war.

(My day is complete, now that I can call moldy things muffiger. Seems perfect for that fuzzy appearance…. Umkleideraum means “undress-room.”)

“the tiles were dirty and chipped” = die Fliesen waren schmutzig und angeschlagen

I hope you never need to use this sentence:
“and the rusty plumbing dripped with mysterious juices.”
= und aus den rostigen Rohrleitungen tropften mysteriöse Flüssigkeiten.

“teasing” = Neckereien

“unexpected tenderness” = unerwarteter Zärtlichkeit

Oh, this one’s much better in German:
“a little gasp”
= einen kleinen Überraschungsschrei
(“a little surprise-cry”)

Germans can make up words at a moment’s notice:
“cat’s-head helmet” = Katzenhelm

I never get tired of saying this word:
“silver whiskers” = silberfarbenen Schnurrbarthaaren

“pointed ears” = spitzen Ohren

“insults” = Beleidigungen

“hard-core” = hartgesotten (“hard-boiled”)

Okay, this just doesn’t capture the English:
“Atta girl”
= So will ich dich hören, Mädchen
(“That’s how I want to hear you, girl”)

Another one that has come up before, whose sound I love:
“sipped” = schlürfte

“hero” = Heldin

“hissed and bubbled” = zischte und blubberte

“tickling her veins” = prickelnd durch ihre Adern

“bruise” = blauer Fleck (“blue spot”)

“putrid air” = stinkende Luft

“fabulous” = fabelhaft

“demolish” = auseinandernehmen (“out-another-take”)

“pep talk” = aufmunternder Worte

“usher” = Lakai

“stirrups” = Steigbügel (“climb-hangers”)

“tumultuous crowd” = tosende Menge

“announcer’s” = Ansagers

“cheering” = spornten

“tying her up” = sie einzuschnüren

“lolled” = lümmelte

“convention of eelmen” = Abordnung von Aalmännern

“streamers” = Papierbahnen

And I’ll stop right before the duel begins:

“She looked up and swallowed. This was it.”
= Dann blickte sie hoch und schluckte. Das war’s.

Gute Nacht! I suspect this week if I run across an Abordnung von Aalmännern, I will give out at least einen kleinen Überraschungsschrei! Bis bald!