It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! The time to be nerdy and play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books – sort of a silly phrasebook for unserious travelers.
Today we’re looking at Das Buch der Tausend Tage, the translation of one of my very favorite books, Shannon Hale‘s Book of a Thousand Days. The German edition is translated by Anne Brauner.
Last time we used this book, we left off on Day 6 of “The Adventure Thereafter,” which is page 118 in English and Seite 130 auf Deutsch. Here’s the first sentence of the new section:
“Is her khan’s land burned down as well?”
= Wurde das Land ihres Khans auch niedergewalzt?
[I looked up walz on Google Translate, and it means “rolling”. Niedergewalzt is literally “down-rolled.”]
“drift from tree shade to tree shade”
= von Baumschatten zu Baumschatten treiben
“swallows people whole”
= die Menschen verschluckt
“queasy” = mulmig
“whispers” = Geflüster
“vessels to carry water”
= Gefäße, in denen wir Wasser aufbewahren können
“pillagers” = Plünderern
“stubborn mare” = störrische Stute
“must dangle my own carrot”
= muss meinen eigenen Köder baumeln lassen
“scratched-out letters” = ausgekratzten Buchstaben
“many a body” = so manche Leiche
“burned bones” = verkohlte Knochen
“missing skulls” = fehlende Schädel
“dread” = Bestürzung
“Both are different shades of darkness.”
= Beide ist Dunkelheit, in unterschiedlichen Schattierungen. (This is why German is longer.)
[“Both are darkness, in different shades.”]
“While I sorted through the rubble”
= Als wir in dem Geröll stocherten
“heap of rubble” = Schutthaufen
“barley meal” = Gerstenmehl
“some rope” = Tauwerk
“ceramic pot” = Keramiktopf
“spout” = Tülle
“sharpen sticks” = Stöcke anspitzen
“rodents” = Nagetiere [“gnaw-animals”]
“spear” = aufspießen
“bubbles up” = lossprudelt
“herd of horses” = Pferdeherde (It rhymes!)
“nuzzles” = schnuppert
“spiced food” = gewürztes Essen
“Stars light my page.”
= Die Sterne beleuchten diese Seite.
“setting sun” = untergehenden Sonne
“No walls trap us now!”
= Mauern mehr in die Falle locken!
“smell of grass and yak”
= Duft von Gras und Yak
And the last sentence of the day:
“The Ancestors will honor such a life as mine, I hope.”
= Ich hoffe, dass die Ahnen ein Leben wie meines ehren werden.
That’s the last sentence of Tag 8, but our narrator doesn’t take up her pen again until Tag 33. Next time!
I do hope the phrases that turn up intrigue you a bit about the book, as well as giving you handy things to say next time you see a Pferdeherde!