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’ve got a hankering to go back to Harry Potter und die Heiligtümer des Todes, which translates as “Harry Potter and the Hallows of Death.”
Last time we looked at this book (more than a year ago, I’m afraid), we finished on page 6 in the English edition, Seite 14 auf Deutsch.
Right away, they’ve got one word in German for a long phrase in English:
“The company around the table” = Die Tischgesellschaft
But this is a longer phrase in German:
“Harry Potter’s continued existence”
= dass Harry Potter immer noch am Leben war
“unconscious body” = bewusstlosen Körper
This does sound like the right way for a supervillain to talk about his plans:
“best-laid plans” = bestgeschmiedeten Plänen
“a sudden wail” = ein plötzliches Wehklagen (“sudden woe-lamentation”)
“misery and pain” = Qual und Schmerz
“scrambled” = kletterte
“scurried” = huschte
“a curious gleam of silver” = ein merkwürdiges silbernes Schimmern
“volunteers” = Freiwilligen
Interestingly shorter in English:
“his eyes were sunken” = seine Augen lagen tief in ihren Höhlen (“his eyes were deep in their sockets”)
“wrist” = Handgelenk (“hand-link”)
“Elm” = Ulme
“fraction” = Bruchteil (“break-piece”)
“maliciously” = gehässig
This phrase rolls off the tongue:
“The soft voice seemed to hiss on” = Die sanfte Stimme schien weiterzuzischen
“The huge snake” = Die riesige Schlange
“thigh” = Oberschenkel (“upper-shank”)
“vertical slits” = senkrechten Schlitzen
“absently” = geistesabwesend (“spirit-absence”)
“in bearing and demeanor” = in Haltung und Gebaren
“rigid and impassive” = starr und teilnahmslos
“tears of delight” = Freudentränen
“jeering laughter” = höhnisches Gelächter
“gleeful looks” = hämische Blicke
“humiliation” = Demütigung
“outpouring of mirth” = Ausbruch von Heiterkeit
“Mudblood” = Schlammblüter
“brat” = Göre
“cubs” = Bälger
“family trees” = Familienstammbäume
“breathless and imploring” = atemlos und flehentlich
“canker” = Krebsgeschwür
“infects” = verseucht
“tiny flick” = winzige Schlenker
“cracked and terrified voice” = gebrochener und grauenerfüllter Stimme
Alliterative in both languages:
“stroking the snake’s snout” = die Schnauze der Schlange streichelte
“broad, hunched woman” = derbe, bucklige Frau
“gagged” = geknebelt
“corrupting and polluting” = verdirbt und besudelt
“resounding crash” = dröhnenden Schlag
“trembled and creaked” = bebte und knarrte
And that’s the end of Chapter One!
I’m hoping you won’t be in any conferences with powerful and evil wizards this week and won’t have too much use for these phrases, but if you ever do encounter a riesiges Schlange in Germany, at least you’ll know what to call it!
Bis bald!