Sonderling Sunday – Harry Potter in Three Languages

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It’s Sonderling Sunday, that time when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books. You do not have to speak German to enjoy this — I am not at all fluent myself. The fun is in getting a window into a different way of looking at things.

Tonight, I’m going to tackle three languages. Because, yes, it’s time to start in on Harry Potter. As it happens, copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in other languages were fun souvenirs my husband could buy as he traveled around Europe with the US Air Force Band. So we currently have 9 editions of the book, from 9 different countries.

From the top, this picture has a book from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, America, China, Israel, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany. I’ve read four of them, the American, British, German, and French. I hasten to add that I managed to read the German and French editions with copious checks back to the original. But I thought it would be fun to add some French to this week’s Sonderling Sunday. I will refer, of course, to the original British edition, though it won’t hurt to see if I can find some differences between it and the American edition.

At first glance, it looks like the Germans translated their title from the more classical British edition, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, but that the French translated from the American, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. (Incidentally, I didn’t like that change. I guess they thought Americans were too stupid to know what the classical Philosopher’s Stone was?) But looking closer, the French title, Harry Potter à L’École des Sorciers means “Harry Potter at the School of the Sorcerers,” which seems like a good title, more about Hogwarts, which is really what the first book is about. The German title, Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen means “Harry Potter and the Stone of the Wise.” When I ask Google to translate “Philosopher’s Stone” into German, Stein der Weisen is indeed what it comes up with.

Let’s go on to the first chapter, first sentence. I can’t imagine figuring out all the symbols in Bulgarian, Hebrew, Chinese, or Japanese, but just for fun, I think I’ll include the Czech first sentence as well as English, German and French:

“The Boy Who Lived”

“Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”

Auf Deutsch:

Ein Junge überlebt (“A boy survives”)

Mr. und Mrs. Dursley im Ligusterweg Nummer 4 waren stolz darauf, ganz und gar normal zu sein, sehr stolz sogar.
(“Mr. and Mrs. Dursley at Privet Way number 4 were proud to be totally and completely normal, very proud indeed.”)

En Français:

Le Survivant (“The Survivor”)

Mr et Mrs Dursley, qui habitaient au 4, Privet Drive, avaient toujours affirmé avec la plus grande fierté qu’ils étaient parfaitement normaux, merci pour eux.
(“Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, who lived at 4, Privet Drive, had always affirmed with the greatest pride that they were perfectly normal, thank you.”)

And in Czech:

Chlapec, který z?stal naživu (“The boy, who remained alive”)

Pan a paní Dursleyovi z domu ?íslo ?ty?i v Zobí ulici vždycky hrd? prohlašovali, že jsou naprosto normální, ano, d?kujeme za optání.

Fed into Google translate, this comes out: “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of house number four, Privet Drive always proudly claimed that they were perfectly normal, yes, thank you for asking.”

Okay, that took lots of time, so I think that’s all I’ll do with Czech! And, of course, I have absolutely no idea how you pronounce it. I think someone decided to switch all English’s most obscure letters, like z and v, and turn them into vowels. (When we were in the Czech Republic, playing the alphabet game on the road was really fun, because it totally switched which letters were difficult and which were not. We had to find an English language truck for one of the letters that is normally simple, but all the normally hard letters were ridiculously easy.)

Going on, I’ll focus on interesting phrases. One thing I do remember from reading this: German is so logical about potions, wands, and spells. They are simply magic drinks, magic sticks, and magic words. I’m not sure we’ll get to those in Chapter One, but if I remember right, French tended to have special words, like English does. The Germans are more economical and logical in their language.

Still from the first paragraph:
“strange and mysterious”
= merkwürdige und geheimnisvolle (“noteworthy or mystery-full”)
= d’étrange ou de mystérieux (That’s almost too close to be interesting!)

“drills”
= Bohrmaschinen (“boring machines”)
= perceuses

“beefy”
= bullig
= massif

“a very large mustache”
= einen sehr gro?en Schnurrbart
= une moustache de belle taille (“a mustache of good size”)

“for spying on the neighbors”
= zu den Nachbarn hinüberspähen
= pour espionner ses voisins

“good-for-nothing”
= Nichtsnutz (“nothing-use”)
= bon à rien

“unDursleyish”
= undursleyhaft
= un Dursley

“shuddered to think”
(not translated directly in German, just made into a question – “What would the neighbors say, should the Potters one day cross their street?”)
= tremblaient d’épouvante à la pensée (“trembled with fear at the thought”)

“dull, grey Tuesday”
= trüben und grauen Dienstag
= mardi . . . gris et triste

“most boring tie”
= langweiligste Krawatte
= cravate la plus sinistre

“None of them noticed a large tawny owl flutter past the window.”
= Keiner von ihnen sah den riesigen Waldkauz am Fenster vorbeifliegen.
(“None of them saw the giant wood owl that flew by the window.”)
= Aucun d’eux ne remarqua le gros hibou au plumage mordoré qui voleta devant la fenêtre.
(“None of them noticed the large owl of bronze plumage that fluttered past the window.”)

“pecked Mrs Dursley on the cheek”
= gab seiner Frau einen Schmatz auf die Wange
= déposa un baiser sur la joue de Mrs Dursley

“tried to kiss Dudley goodbye”
= versuchte es auch bei Dudley mit einem Abschiedskuss
= essaya d’embrasser Dudley

“having a tantrum”
= einen Wutanfall hatte
= était en proie à une petite crise de colère
(“was suffering from a small crisis of choler” – the French make it sound so refined!)

“throwing his cereal at the walls”
= die Wände mit seinem Haferbrei bewarf
= s’appliquait à jeter contre les murs de la pièce le contenu de son assiette de céréales
(“applied to throw against the walls of the room the contents of his plate of cereal” – again, so refined.)

“Little tyke”
= Kleiner Schlingel
= Sacré petit bonhomme

“chortled”
= gluckste
= gloussa

“the first sign of something peculiar”
= zum ersten Mal etwas Merkwürdiges auf
= la première fois un détail insolite

“a cat reading a map”
= eine Katze, die eine Stra?enkarte studierte
= un chat qui lisait une carte routière

“a tabby cat”
= eine getigerte Katze (“a be-tigered cat”)
= un chat tigré

“a trick of the light”
= eine Sinnestäuschung (“a sense-illusion”)
= abuser par un reflet du soleil sur le trottoir (“fooled [abused] by the reflection of the sun on the sidewalk”)

“mirror”
= Rückspiegel
= rétroviseur
(I think I’m going to call my rearview mirror my rétroviseur from now on.)

This is a word I know well from living in Germany. We always thought it funny the German word is simpler than the English:
“traffic jam”
= Stau
= embouteillages

“some stupid new fashion”
= irgendeine dumme neue Mode
= une nouvelle mode particulièrement stupide

“a huddle of these weirdos”
= eine Ansammlung dieser merkwürdigen Gestalten
= un groupe de ces olibrius

“The nerve of him!”
= Der hatte vielleicht Nerven!
= Quelle impudence! (I like the French translation best here!)

“some silly stunt”
= eine verrückte Verkleidung
= une animation de rue

“collecting tin”
= Sammelbüchse
= la moindre boîte destinée à récolter de l’argent
(“the lower box destined to harvest money”)

And this one is given a cultural slant:
“a large doughnut”
= einem gro?en Schokoladenkringel
= un gros beignet

That’s enough for tonight! I’ll stop with visions of doughnuts, Schokoladenkringeln and beignets.

It takes much longer to do three languages, but I am finding it fun. I thought of German as the wordier language, but French really seems to draw it out with long phrases instead of long words.

Perhaps this activity is merely une animation de rue, but it’s diverting. And I never did claim to be normal like the Dursleys. In lieu of an Abschiedskuss for my readers, I’ll give my son a Schmatz auf die Wange and call it a night!

Cybils Round One Fun

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Tonight my plan was to post Sonderling Sunday on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone looking at the translations in German — and French!

But instead, I took a longer Sunday afternoon nap than planned. And then my sister called. To say the traditional “Tomorrow we can say tomorrow is Christmas!” Yay! And then our Cybils Round One chat went way longer than I thought it would.

So next week I will plan to do an unusual tri-lingual Sonderling Sunday.

But meanwhile: The Cybils: What fun!

I’m on the Cybils Round One panel for Middle Grade Science Fiction and Fantasy. So I’ve been reading like crazy. And still feel like a slow reader compared to the others. We had at least two people read every title nominated — at least read enough to know if they needed to read on, anyway. And we all read any title that anyone shortlisted. Or at least we will have come very close to that by the time we finalize the list.

Round One is fun because you get to read widely, and you’re going for a list, so you don’t feel too bad if one you don’t like ends up on the shortlist. If people you trust loved it, it’s probably got a lot of merit. We found our group doesn’t have a whole lot of consensus — and we haven’t made a final list yet, but discussing these books is a lot of fun. It’s always a fun challenge to be able to come up why you like or dislike a book.

The Cybils strives for a combination of literary merit and kid appeal, so besides coming up with what we like or dislike, we also tried to figure out where that was from good or bad writing and which things would matter to kids.

This is much more than my reviews. In my reviews, I admit I like to focus on recommending books and telling what’s to like about them. It’s kind of fun to tear apart books I don’t like — in the privacy of a committee where most people will never ever see it. I hope I won’t like it so much that I do that sort of thing more widely! But there is some value in figuring out precisely where a book fell short. And was it a flaw? Or simply a personal preference?

I warned them in advance, and it proved to be true: My demon is internal logic. If a fantasy book has problems with the internal logic, it really really bugs me. There were a couple books that, to me, really dropped the ball at the end. I didn’t believe the characters would act that way, or I didn’t believe the magic would work that way. And there was one that I thought was lacking in explanation of the fantasy all the way along.

But it’s nice that I’m just one person on the panel. So my personal preferences and idiosyncracies won’t dominate the list, just influence it. I think we have a nice variety of viewpoints and preferences in our panel.

We now have settled on only one book that will definitely be on our shortlist. (Not that any of us think it’s the best — just that there was one book we all agreed on.) We have several to keep for now to discuss later, and we have several more that we sent to a corner with cookies to possibly come back if the list needs rounding out. We’ll be reading and rereading and discussing again later this week.

And we will announce our shortlist to the world on January 1st! Stay tuned!

And don’t forget to tune in next week to look at Harry Potter #1 in British, German, and French!

Sonderling Sunday – Seltsamen Sonderlinge Chapter 12

Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, Sonderling Sunday 0

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! When I play with language by looking at the German translations of interesting phrases found in children’s books. This week, it’s back to the book that started it all, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, that is, The Order of Odd-Fish, by James Kennedy.

Last time, we finished Chapter 11, so now we’re ready to tackle Chapter 12, on page 136 in the original English, and Seite 173 auf Deutsch. I will endeavor to give no spoilers, but merely tantalizing phrases that will lure my readers into reading the book itself, if you have resisted so far. I don’t think you have to know German to enjoy this series, and I’d love to get some comments about how some of these phrases might be said in other languages. (I enjoyed Reads for Keeps‘ recent post on children’s book titles in Chinese. I’m not the ONLY one who thinks about this!)

I still say German makes bureaucracy sound even worse. In fact, maybe this is where we got the term “bureaucracy”?
“The Municipal Squires Authority’s offices” = Die Büros der Städtischen Knappenbehörde

Here’s a nice long word:
“fallen into disrepair” = vollkommen heruntergekommen

“twisty trees” = krumme Bäume

“roots oozed over tumbled blocks like melted cheese” =
Wurzeln überzogen zertrümmerte Quader wie geschmolzener Käse

“with a crazy quilt” =
mit einem seltsamen Flickenteppich (There’s the word seltsamen again!)

I like the sound of this phrase:
“dimly lit” = schlecht erleuchtet

Now this one we simply must find out how to say in German:
“sweaty civil servants in ill-fitting suits” =
verschwitzten Beamten in schlecht sitzenden Anzügen

“confidence” = Selbstvertrauen (“self-trust”)

“punched Ian’s arm” = knuffte Ians Arm (I’m pretty sure it would have been a different word for punching with intent to hurt. I like knuffte – the ‘K’ is pronounced – for a playful punch on the arm.)

“the nastiest, stalest lumps of crud” = die widerlichsten und muffigsten Teigklumpen
(Google translates muffigsten as “mustiest”)

“crumpled” = zusammengesunkener (“together-sunken”)

“wretch” = Schuft

“eyepatch” = Augenklappe

“Milquetoasts” = Duckmäuser

“This whole week has been a waste.” =
Die ganze Woche war reine Zeitverschwendung
(“The whole week was pure Time-disappearance.”)

And you must want to know how to say this:
“pancreas” = Bauchspeicheldrüse (“belly-saliva-gland”)

“pleasantries” = Schmeicheleien

“Excuses!” = Ausflüchte!

“rasped” = knarzte

Oops! The translator accidentally said that Korsakov knarzte, when it was Olvershaw, and assigned the entire speech that follows to the wrong person. This is the first actual mistake I’ve found.

“Ignominious!” = Absolut erbärmlich!

“You insects!” = Ihr Ungeziefer! (Google translates it “vermin.”)

“satisfaction” = Genugtuung

“her stomach felt full of bees” = sie Bienen im Bauch zu haben schien

“Lint” = Leinsamen (translates as “linseed” — not sure that’s the right idea)

“bashful” = schüchternes

“one obnoxious remark” = einer aufsässigen Bemerkung (She did give him some sass.)

“impertinence” = Unverschämtheit

That finishes up Jo’s initial meeting with Olvershaw. Next time, we’ll find out about quests….

Meanwhile, I always find the insults more interesting than the Schmeicheleien, with the exception of Schmeicheleien itself.

Sometimes, I think that looking at all these translations is reine Zeitverschwendung, but I must admit it gives me great Genugtuung.

Bis nächste Woche!

Sonderling Sunday – Grimms Märchen

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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, or, in this case, the English translation of German fairy tales. I hope that this post is fun for everyone, whether or not you speak any German.

I’m not sure what took me so long to think of Grimm’s fairy tales. I bought my German edition of this Klassiker der Weltliteratur (classic of world literature) at Sababurg, the castle where the Grimm brothers traditionally set the story of “Sleeping Beauty.” My English edition was given to me by Jeff Conner, the librarian who first hired me to work in a library. It was an excellent choice! So both books mean a lot to me.

I don’t think I’ll go straight through the fairy tales. I’ll start with something more well-known. There are 158 in my German edition, but 211 in my English one. I guess that’s why it calls itself “complete.”

Since I purchased the German edition at Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, why not begin with “Sleeping Beauty,” known in German as Dornröschen (“Briar Rose,” or, more literally, “Little Thorn Rose,” but we’d never call her that!)

Now, my English edition may not be a direct translation of this exact German edition, but it does seem pretty similar, so I have things I can work with.

I like the first sentence of the German edition, with all its alliteration:

Ein König und eine Königin kriegten gar keine Kinder, und hätten so gern eins gehabt.
This translates to: “A king and a queen had absolutely no children, and wanted one very much.”

The English edition puts it more beautifully: “In times past there lived a King and Queen, who said to each other every day of their lives, ‘Would that we had a child!’ and yet they had none.”

In the next part, the English is again wordier, and again I like all those K’s:
Einmal sa? die Königin im Bade, da kroch ein Krebs aus dem Wasser ans Land und sprach:
My translation: “Once when the queen sat in the bath, there crept a toad out of the water onto the land and spoke:”
In the book: “But it happened once that when the Queen was bathing, there came a frog out of the water, and he squatted on the ground, and said to her,”

I’ll continue with cool phrases:

Feen = “wise women” (Google translates it “fairies,” which is what I expected.)

Tugend = “virtue”

Schönheit = “beauty”

was nur auf der Welt herrlich und zu wünschen war = “whatever there is in the world to wish for”

recht zornig (direct translation is “right furious” — doesn’t that sound King James English?) = “burning to revenge herself”

an einer Spindel sich stechen = “prick herself with a spindle” (That one’s better in German…)

und tot hinfallen wird = “and shall fall down dead” (…but this one’s better in English.)

ershraken = “were terrified”

abgeschafft = “burned up” (direct translation: “abolished”)

die Tauben auf dem Dach = “the pigeons on the roof”

die Hunde im Hof = “the dogs in the yard”

die Fliegen an den Wänden = “the flies on the wall”

ja das Feuer, das auf dem Herd flackerte = “the very fire that flickered on the hearth.”

der Braten hörte auf zu brutzeln = “the meat on the spit ceased roasting”

aber sie Hecke nicht hindurchdringen = “but they couldn’t get through the hedge” (My translation)

es war als hielten sich die Dornen fest wie an Händen zusammen = “the thorns held fast together like strong hands”

und sie bleiben darin hängen und kamen jämmerlich um = “and the young men were caught by them, and not being able to get free, there died a lamentable death” (I like jämmerlich for “lamentable” — It makes me think of “Quit your yammering!”)

sie wären aber in den Dornen hängengeblieben und totgestochen worden
My translation: “But they were in the thorns still hanging and stabbed to death.”
In the book: “they had been caught and pierced by the thorns, and had died a miserable death”

Da war der Königssohn so erstaunt über ihre Schönheit, da? er sich bückte und sie kü?te
= “And when he saw her looking so lovely in her sleep, he could not turn away his eyes; and presently he stooped and kissed her”

From that, I especially like:
erstaunt über ihre Schönheit = “astonished over her beauty” (my translation)
er sich bückte und sie kü?te = “he bent and kissed her”

der Braten brutzelte fort = “the spit began to roast”

und der Koch gab dem Küchenjungen eine Ohrfeige = “and the cook gave the scullion a box on the ear”

und die Magd rupfte das Huhn fertig = “and the maid went on plucking the fowl”

And to finish off:
Da wurde die Hochzeit von dem Königssohn mit Dornröschen gefeiert, und sie lebten vergnügt bis an ihr Ende.
= “Then the wedding of the Prince and Rosamond was held with all splendor, and they lived very happily together until their lives’ end.”

How about you? How would you translate some of these phrases into other languages? Any fun ones come up?

Sonderling Sunday – Finishing Elfte Kapitel – Through the City

Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, Sonderling Sunday 0

It’s Sonderling Sunday! When I play with language by looking at the German translation of odd phrases from children’s books. This is the week I’m back with the book that started it all – Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge by James Kennedy, the translation of The Order of Odd-Fish.

We left off last time on page 131 in English, which is Seite 167 in the German edition. Jo and Ian are about to ride elephants through the city.

In the very first paragraph, we’ve got some phrases you must have always wanted to hear translated (without knowing it):

“The elephants were painted with colorful, swirling designs.” =
Die Elefanten wurden mit bunten, blumigen Mustern bemalt.

“brass necklaces” = Messingshalsketten (“brass neck chains”)

“jewel-studded bracelets” = juwelenbesetzten Fu?kettchen (“jewel-beset foot-chainlets” – these are bracelets on elephants, so it would be around their feet, after all.)

“a lush garden” = ein üppiger Garten

“huge bulbous trees” = riesiger, knolliger Bäume

“flimsy shacks” = baufälligen Baracken

“smoky” = verqualmt

“shuffling heaps of rags” = wandelnden Lumpenbündeln

“seething” = brodelnde

“crushing, surging throngs of people” = wogenden Menschenmassen (“surging mass of mankind”)

“iguanas” = Eidechsen

“clanking and clattering” = klappernd und scheppernd

“wispy mustache” = flaumigen Schnurrbart

“Municipal Squires Authority” = Städtischen Knappenbehörde

“gnarled trees” = knorrigen Bäumen

I dare you to pronounce this one! Maybe just spit:
“spliced” = gepfropft

“change the subject” = das Thema wechseln

That’s it for chapter 11!

Hmm. This week’s wasn’t too terribly exciting, only I know now how to describe certain flaumigen Schnurrbart I’ve seen lately. (November was No Shave November at the College of William and Mary. Are those two things related? Maybe.) And now I can say not just that I don’t like crowds, but that I don’t like Menschenmassen. But bottomline, I will probably spend the next week trying to pronounce gepfropft.

Sonderling Sunday – Drachenreiter

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It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! Where I play with language by looking at the German translations of children’s books.

Only tonight, I’m going to go with the opposite approach, looking at the English translation of a German children’s book.

Cornelia Funke is popular in many countries, and tonight I’ll look at her book Drachenreiter, which is a pretty simple translation into English as Dragon Rider. Now, I discovered when I looked at the lengths of the books I own in English and German, this is the only one where the German edition is shorter (448 pages) than the English edition (536 pages). In Momo, the difference wasn’t as extreme as in others, particularly The Order of Odd-Fish. My theory is that it’s easier to be less wordy when you’re actually writing and thinking in German than you have to be when you’re trying to explain rather bizarre English concepts in German.

I need to keep it short tonight, because today I spent 7 hours on the road, taking my son back to college, came home and took a nap, and now am trying to do a little bit before I go back to sleep to get me good and sleepy. So let’s dip into Drachenreiter

Oo! The first thing I learn on the title page is that the German edition is Mit Illustrationen der Autorin, “with illustrations by the author.” The English edition gives no such credit, except on the copyright page for the “inside illustrations,” and doesn’t seem to include all of them. The English edition lists two other Cornelia Funke books published by Scholastic. The German edition lists 23, so there are surely many translations to go.

Chapter 1 is SCHLECHTE NACHRICHTEN, which is translated straightforwardly as “Bad News.”

I’ll continue my method of listing phrases that catch my eye. Since the original is German, I’ll list that first.

zwitscherten zaghaft = “twittered uncertainly”

Ah! Germans have a shorter concept for “fell head over heels”:
Sie überschlug sich = “fell head over heels” (translated more literally “she tripped over herself”)

“moss-covered rocks” = vermoosten Felsen

“Snuffling” = Schnuppernd

This sentence doesn’t quite say the same thing, it seems to me:
“It was so dark under the fir trees that you could scarcely see the gaping crevice in the mountainside that swallowed up the mist.”
That’s translated from:
Unter den Tannen war es dunkel, so dunkel, dass man den Spalt kaum sah, der in der Bergflanke klaffte. Wie ein Schlund schluckte er den Nebel.
(More literally translated: Under the fir trees was it dark, so dark, that you could scarcely see the gap, that in the side of the mountain gaped. Like a gullet it gulped the mist.” Okay, overall it means the same thing, but I like Wie ein Schlund schluckte, and there’s no direct translation of that.)

This rant by a rat is more fun to say in German:
“They know absolutely nothing about the world. Not the least little thing.”
Sie wissen gar nichts von der Welt. Nichts, überhaupt nichts.

“brownie hairs” = Koboldhaaren

“Sorrel” = Schwefelfell

Here’s a nice insult in German:
du hohlköpfige Pilzfresserin! = “you brainless mushroom-muncher!” (It’s really more “you cave-headed mushroom-muncher,” but this works.)

Longer in English:
mit geflecktem Fell = “with a spotted sulfur-yellow coat” (The sulfur-yellow part must be found somewhere else?)

“furry faces” = Pelzgesichter (There! Aren’t you glad to know that word?)

Here’s a much less interesting name:
“Firedrake” = Lung

The translator got more creative with this exclamation:
Pfui, Schimmelpilz = “Oh, festering fungus!” (It’s a good translation. More direct is something like “Phooey, mold!”)

Shorter in German:
Sein langer, gezackter Schwanz = “his long tail with its spiny crest” (gezackter translates alone as “serrated”)

Another handy expression:
“in a rather hoarse voice” = Seine stimme war ein bisschen rau. (“His voice was a bit raw.”)

“bristling” = sträubte

Another insult (The rat and the brownie don’t like each other.):
pelzigen Dummheiten = “fur-brained fancies”

The translator likes alliteration almost as much as I do:
Bleichstieliger Schüpperling! = “Oh, putrid puffballs!” (I’ve got to go with the translator on this one.)

winzige Sternschnuppen = “tiny shooting stars”

Here’s a choice word:
Drumherumgerede Google translates it “Trappings talk” or “all around talk.” The translator embedded it in a sentence, “The way that rat carries on is enough to drive anyone crazy.”

Why are the insults the most fun?
du blätterwühlender, pilzfressender, zottelköpfiger Kobold = “you leaf-burrowing, mushroom-munching, shaggy-haired brownie” (zottelköpfiger literally means “rat’s-tail-headed.” Seems like an odd insult from a rat, but otherwise a handy thing to know.)

mit beleidigter Miene = “looking offended”

And with that, fully tired now, I need to get to bed. What about you? Know any good insults in another language? How would you translate zottelköpfiger Kobold into Spanish? Korean? Anyone?

Sonderling Sunday – Chapter 11 – Sefino’s Scandalous Speeches

Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, Sonderling Sunday 0

It’s Sonderling Sunday! That time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books. Today, I’m back to the book that started this mad passion — Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, The Order of Odd-Fish, by James Kennedy. I fondly hope that you do not have to understand German or have read the book in order to enjoy this series. I simply use the book to find utterly bizarre phrases to translate. Please see if you can find ways to use these phrases, as James Kennedy has so deftly done! Or perhaps you can give readers insight as to interesting ways they might be translated into yet another language? There are many possibilities.

Last time I was in Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, I left off on page 128 in English, which is Seite 164 auf Deutsch. Let’s look for some interesting sentences. Here’s one that is fun to say:

“These gossip-mongers have gone too far!” = Diese Klatschmäuler sind einfach zu weit gegangen! (“These gossip-mouths are simply too far gone!”)

“a reckless disregard” = eine rücksichtslose Missachtung (“a hindsight-less mis-attention”)

“Chatterbox” = Plaudertasche

“headline” = Schlagzeile (“hitting line”)

Oh! They did a marvelous job of translating the alliterative headlines. Let me write out them all for our enjoyment:

“SIMPERING SEFINO SUNK IN SKY-HIGH SKIRMISH” = SCHLUCHZENDER SEFINO STÜRTZT IN SCHARMÜTZEL SCHLUNDWÄRTS (Never mind that it would never fit in a headline, it’s alliterative! It translates, roughly, as “Sobbing Sefino crashes in skirmish gullet-ward.”)

“KORSAKOV’S COWARDLY COCKROACH CALLOWLY CRINGES, CRIES, IN CATASTROPHIC COMBAT” becomes:
KORSAKOVS KLÄGLICHE KAKERLAKE
KRÜMMT KÖRPER KECKERND,
KREISCHT KATASTROPHALEM KAMPF
This translates back to something like: “Korsakov’s pathetic cockroach curves body brazenly, yells in catastrophic war.” (I guess it was harder to keep it alliterative.)

And finally:
“INFAMOUS INSECT INDIGNANTLY IRKED IN INSIPID IMBROGLIO”
This becomes:
INFAMES INSEKT IRRITIERT INDISPONIERT IN INFERNALISCHEM INTERMEZZO
That means pretty much what it sounds like (“Infamous insect irritated indisposed in infernal intermezzo”), but hey, they found “I” words that were also German words.

Oh, this paragraph is good! I’ll take it in bits:
“ceaseless slanderous scribblings” = unaufhörlichen schmutzigen Schmierereien

“mischievous muckrakers” = schändlichen Schlammwühler (Oh, that is just too fun to say! I may not be correct, but it comes out phonetically (in English phonetics) something like “schendlischen schlahmvooler.”)

“ruthless rabble” = rücksichtlosen Rabauken

“no libel… too licentious” = keine Schmähung zu schimpflich

All that great alliteration, then they kind of fall flat with this one:
“no hearsay too hurtful” = kein Gerücht zu vage

And this doesn’t quite match the original either:
“to perniciously print in their poppycock periodicals” = um nicht derberweise in ihren dümmlichen Druckerzeugnissen dargestellt zu werden

With this one, they don’t even try:
“sneaking slander” = frechen Verleumdungen

This one’s pretty good:
“ink-inebriated idlers” = Tinte trunkenen Taugenichtse (“ink-drunken rascals”)

I have to say, I wouldn’t like to try to translate this stuff. (And I’m curious — Anyone know how to translate this into Spanish? French? Italian? Japanese?)
“a billion-headed beast of babblement” = die milliarden köpfige Bestie der Plappereien

Here we’ve got a useful word:
“slain” = neidergemetzelt (“massacred”)

And here’s one of the longest words yet:
“constitutional” = Gesundheitsspaziergänge (“health-pleasure-walk”) (23 letters)

Well, that’s it for tonight. I didn’t get far, but I did finish a section, and there’s only one section left in chapter 11. I hope this week I won’t encounter any schändlichen Schlammwühler, but if I do, at least I know what to call them!

Next week, I’ll be driving my son back to the dorm on Sunday, so I’m not sure I’ll get around to Sonderling Sunday, but meanwhile have a herrlich holiday!

Sonderling Sunday – Book of a Thousand Days – Day 6

Sonderling Sunday 0

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday — that time of the week when I play with language by looking at handy-dandy phrases translated into German — from children’s books. You do not have to understand German, nor do you have to have read the books in question, in order to enjoy this. You simply have to be a little bit of a Sonderling — a little nerdy.

Today I’m going back to Shannon Hale‘s Book of a Thousand Days, Buch der Tausend Tage.

Last time, we left off on Day 6 of the 1000 Days of the title. This section begins on page 5 of the English original, and Seite 17 in the German version, but the German version counted all the front matter, and the English didn’t.

So, let’s start off with phrases you’re sure to want to use:

“dried and salted mutton” = getrocknetem und gesalzenem Hammelfleisch

I just like the sound of this one:
“boxes of candles” = Kisten mit Kerzen

“a stack of parchment” = einen Haufen Pergament

“flat barleycakes” = flachen Gerstenkuchen

“fresh mare’s milk” = frischer Stutenmilch

“crude term” = grobe Wort (not grosse but grobe. Interesting.)

“wrapped in dough” = in Teig gewickelt

“cooked on coals” = auf Kohlen gegart

“beautiful and bright” = schön und strahlend

“dried peas” = Dörrerbsen

“raisins” = Rosinen

“pinch of sugar” = Prise Zucker

“Delicious” = Köstlich

“lady’s maid” = Dienerinnendasein (Google: “servant be there inside”)

“then you’ll never hear me complain” = wird keine Klage mehr über meine Lippen kommen (“will no action over my lips come”)

Here’s a good one!
“Even so, she swears she’s starving.” = Dennoch schwört sie Stein und Bein, sie wäre am Verhungern. (“She swears she’s stone and bone from hunger.”)

Interesting, the translator didn’t translate this exactly.
English: “The mouth grumbles more than the stomach, my mama used to say.”
Translation: Die Augen sind grö?er als der Mund, hat meine Mama immer gesagt. That means “The eyes are bigger than the mouth,” which isn’t really the same thing at all.

I will go on with phrases from Day 11:

Here’s a phrase as lovely in German as in English:
“It tosses and bobs like a spring foal.” = Sie zuckt und ruckt wie ein Frühlingsfohlen.

“floating fevers” = Schlammfieber (“mud fever”)

“still in two braids” = noch zwei Zöpfe trug

“summer pastures” = Sommerweiden

“the hopping tune for buried pain” = die trällernde Weise für begrabene Schmerzen

“a lady in fits” = eine Dame mit Weinkrämpfen

“calluses” = Schwielen

“What a strange and wondrous time it was.” = Was für eine seltsame und erstaunliche Zeit war das!

“the secret language of ink strokes” = die Geheimsprache der Tintenstriche

Here’s a figure of speech that we saw last week in Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge! I still love it:
“when I tossed on my mattress” = wenn ich mich auf der Matratze wälzte (Google says that just means “I rolled on my mattress,” but I think it’s pretty clear that’s where we got the word “waltz,” so I much prefer to think of it as meaning “I waltzed on my mattress.”)

“mostly” = im Gro?en und Ganzen (“in the big and all”)

I’ve mentioned this one before, I know, but I like it so much:
“shriveled” = eingeschrumpelt

“ginger roots” = Ingwerwurzeln

“a world to do their bidding” = eine Welt, die nach seiner Pfeife tanzt (“a world that dances to their pipe”)

That’s all for tonight! Some fun ones. Can you use these phrases in a sentence? Or maybe let us know how they’d be translated into some other language? Have we hit on any interesting turns of phrase in some other language? How would you translate “It tosses and bobs like a spring foal,” “the secret language of ink strokes,” or “the hopping tune for buried pain”? Well, I’m going to eat something before I become Stein und Bein. (Ha! As if there’s danger of that!) Ah! Was für eine seltsame und erstaunliche Zeit war das!

Sonderling Sunday – Chapter 11 – Costumed Elephants and Schwenkery

Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, Sonderling Sunday 0

It’s Sonderling Sunday! That time of the week when we play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books. You do not have to speak German to enjoy these, and you do not have to read the books. In fact, not having done these things might well make the chosen phrases more bizarre, and thus more fun for those of us with a Sonderling sense of humor.

As I’m writing this, I’m about to experience my very first hurricane, and I find it frightfully funny that it is named Sandy. No wonder she is raging — she ALMOST got a really great name! Now, it didn’t happen that Sandy struck Sondy on Sunday, but I do have Monday off. Here’s hoping that the only way Sandy will affect me is to get some extra time off work to read. But we shall see. Anyway, I can stay up late tonight writing Sonderling Sunday and tomorrow sleep late!

This week, we’re back to the original Sonderbook that started Sonderling Sunday, James Kennedy‘s The Order of Odd-Fish, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge. We left off on page 124 in English, Seite 158 auf Deutsch.

Some truly useful phrases:

“still in a state of numb shock” = noch immer wie betäubt von dem Schock

“studded with chrome spigots” = mit Chromzapfen gespickt war

“breezed through the room” = fegten aufgescheucht durch den Raum (Hmm. Google translates that translation as “swept scared through the room”)

“a lavishly costumed elephant” = einen prachtvoll kostümierten Elefanten

“stables” = Stallungen

“dazed envy” = gedämpften Neid (“dampened envy”)

Ah! Shorter in German:
“overstuffed chairs” = Plüschsessel

“The Prancing Gobbler!” = Der Stolzierende Schlinghals!

“engaging in rampant Schwenkery” = in schwenkischen Eskapaden ergangen

“as I tossed and turned” = während ich mich in meinen Bett gewältzt (“as I in my bed waltzed”)

“all due respect” = bei allem gebotenen Respekt

“Municipal Squires Authority” = Städtischen Knappenbehörde

“trailed by a group of curious squires” = eine Gruppe von neugierigen Knappen im Kielwasser (“a group of curious squires in her wake” — her “keel-water”)

“snorted” = schnaubte (That’s a good one.)

“frowning at Nora” = schaute Nora missbilligend an (“looked at Nora disapprovingly”)

“earshot” = Hörweite (“hear-far”)

“You look sick.” = Du bist plötzlich so grün im Gesicht (“You are suddenly so green in the face.”)

Now, didn’t you want to know how to say this?
“bristling . . . with claws and spikes and goo-shooting tubes” = mit Klauen und Dornen und Drüsen besetzt ist, aus denen irgendeine Flüssigkeit spritzt

Well, I’m afraid I’m going to have to stop in the middle of a section. I’m feeling strangely dizzy tonight, and I’m guessing it’s a vestibular migraine starting from the extreme low pressure in the approaching hurricane. (Drat that Sandy!) Here’s hoping that I can sleep it off!

Meanwhile, can you use one of these phrases in a sentence? Maybe translate into a different language yet?

As for me, I guess I stopped because ich bin plötzlich so grün im Gesicht. I hope the sounds of the storm won’t have me waltzing in my bed tonight! I will try to sit out the storm tomorrow in Plüschsessel.

Stay safe!

Sonderling Sunday – Momo

Sonderling Sunday 0

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! That time when I use children’s books to give interesting and enlightening translations of phrases that must be useful — they’re used in a children’s book! This is intended to be interesting even for readers who don’t speak German, but who find words even a little bit fascinating.

I wanted to look at a book originally written in German, and of course the first book I thought of was Momo, by Michael Ende.

Momo was the first book I ever purchased from Book-of-the-Month Club, and worked out so well, I blame it for my subsequent addiction. Momo was, I believe, the first book my husband-to-be and I read aloud to each other. We later read it aloud to our boys. A copy of Momo, in the original language, was my very first purchase when we moved to Germany in 1996, along with a hiking map of the area we moved to. Even if I couldn’t read it yet, I wanted to own it. I can’t quite put Momo above Anne of Green Gables in my list of all-time favorite children’s books, but I consistently call it Number Two.

Besides being a good story, Momo is mythic. Gray men come stealing people’s time. They convince people to save time — and then they steal it. Momo is the only one who can see them, since she has a gift of listening. My then-boyfriend and I were finishing reading this book aloud during Finals Week in college. We knew we “didn’t have time” — but it’s not a book you can use that excuse not to read!

This book is only slightly longer in German than in English, unlike some others. However, my English edition uses much larger print than the German one, so that may be a factor. It is 227 pages in English, translated from 285 pages in German.

I don’t have much time left of Sunday, but let’s see if I can make a start into Chapter One. Part One, Erster Teil is called “Momo and Her Friends” in English, translated from Momo und ihre Freunde. Erstes Kapitel is titled Eine gro?e Stadt und ein kleines Mädchen, which means “a big city and a small girl.” I like that much better than the English chapter title, “The Amphitheater.” Here are the two different chapter title pages:

I love it! I looked at the front matter more carefully than before, and it turns out that the German edition has a subtitle on the title page. The English edition does not. It goes like this:

MOMO

oder

Die seltsame Geschichte von den Zeit-Dieben und von dem Kind, das den Menschen die gestohlene Zeit zurückbrachte

This roughly translates to: “MOMO, or: The Strange Story of the Time Thieves and of the Child Who Got the Stolen Time Back for Mankind”

Now I’ll go to some phrases from the first chapter. This time, since the original language is German, I’ll begin with the German, then tell how it was translated.

breite Stra?en, enge Gassen und winkelige Gä?chen = “broad streets, narrow alleyways, and winding lanes”

goldenen und marmornen Götterstatuen = “idols of gold and marble”

aus Steinblöcken gefügt waren = “built entirely of stone”

Die Sitzreihen für die Zuschauer lagen stufenförmig übereinander wie in einem gewaltigen Trichter. = “Seats for spectators were arranged in tiers, one above the other, like steps lining the crater of a man-made volcano.”
(Longer in English! Google translates gewaltigen Trichter as “mighty funnel,” and the translator’s choice does seem more descriptive.)

With the intricacies of word order, it’s easier to give this complete sentence:
Es gab prächtige, mit Säulen und Figuren verzierte, und solche, die schlicht und schmucklos waren. = “Some were resplendent with columns and statues [Säulen und Figuren], others plain and unadorned [schlicht und schmucklos].”

unter freiem Himmel statt = “open to the sky”

plötzlichen Regenschauern = “sudden downpours”

leidenschaftlicher Zuhörer und Zuschauer = “enthusiastic playgoers” (“passionate hearers and viewers”)

haben die Steine abgeschliffen und ausgehöhlt = “worn away and eaten into the stonework”

I think this sentence is a little more poetic in the original language:
Im geborstenen Gemäuer singen nun die Zikaden ihr eintöniges Lied, das sich anhört, als ob die Erde im Schlaf atmet. = “Crickets now inhabit their crumbling walls, singing a monotonous song that sounds like the earth breathing in its sleep.”

This, too, sounds better in German:
die Hütten und Häuser immer armseliger werden = “the houses became shabbier and more tumbledown” (Google translates it as “the cabins and houses are always poor”)

Pinienwäldchen = “a clump of pine trees”

Altertumswissenschaft = “Archaeology” (“antiquity knowledge craft”)

These are simply fun to say:
grasbewachsenen Sitzreihen = “grass-grown tiers of seats”

knipsten ein Erinnerungsfoto = “took a couple of snapshots” (literally: “snapped a memory-photo”)

man beim besten Willen nicht erkennen konnte, ob sie erst acht oder schon zwölf Jahre alt war. = “no one could have told her age” (literally: “one with the best will couldn’t tell if she was eight or maybe twelve years old”)

einen wilden, pechschwarzen Lockenkopf = “unruly mop of jet-black hair”)

bunten Flicken = “patches of different colors”

reichte ihr bis auf die Fu?knöchel = “ankle-length” (literally: “reached to her foot-knuckle” I like that word for ankle!)

deren Ärmel an den Handgelenken umgekrempelt waren = “with the sleeves turned up at the wrist”

I like this one:
aufgeschnappt = “picked up”

rostiges Ofenrohr = “rusty stovepipe”

(This picture is from the English edition.)

ein ausgedientes, mit Schnörkeln verziertes Eisenbett = “a decrepit iron bedstead adorned with curlicues” (literally: “an unused, with scrolls decorated iron bed”)

steinernen Loch = “stone cell”

Bühne der Ruine = “stage of the ruined amphitheater”

This doesn’t sound like what it is to me:
behagliches kleines Zimmerchen = “snug little room”

einen kleinen Brotwecken = “a hunk of bread”

The last sentence of the first chapter:
So begann die Freundschaft zwischen der kleinen Momo und den Leuten der näheren Umgebung. = “And that was the beginning of her friendship with the people of the neighborhood.”

Now, for a little fun. Can you use any of these phrases in a sentence? How about translating them into some other language? How do you say “ankle” in Chinese, for example? Or “snug little room” in Spanish?

My favorite phrase from tonight’s chapter was knipsten das Erinnerungsfoto, because I did lots and lots of that all over Europe during the ten years we lived in Germany. But I also have a jacket that I wear deren Ärmel an den Handgelenken umgekrempelt waren. Now when I do so, I will think of Momo.