Category: Sonderling Sunday

Believe it or not, 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.

But you may well ask, Sonderling Sunday, where have you been? Hasn’t it been almost a year since your last post?

That’s right — it’s been far too long. But in case you hadn’t heard, last year I had this little activity of being on the Newbery Committee and basically that was eating up every minute, forcing me to read children’s books whenever I could find the time. (I know, twist my arm!) But one very good thing that did go by the wayside was Sonderling Sunday.

And I didn’t even manage to finish going through Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge before I went on hiatus!

This book, with the original title The Order of Odd-fish, by James Kennedy, is the book that started it all. And I am so close to the end! Last time we left off on page 334 in the original edition, Seite 424 auf Deutsch.

There are some fun ones on this page. Surely you can find a reason to say these things, right?

“fawning psychoanalysts” = kriecherischen Psychoanalytikern

“guffawed” = johlte

“a venerable therapist” = ein ehrwürdiger Therapeut

“you hit the nail on the head!” = Sie haben den Nagel auf den Kopf getroffen!

“cooed a spinster nurse” = gurrte Eine altjüngferliche Krankenschwester

“Take it down a notch.” =
Schalten Sie einen Gang runter.
(“Switch you a gear down.”)

Okay, I need to see how they handled this one:
“Why, you’re a regular ding-a-ling ding-dang-doodle, Belgian Prankster!” chirped a young doctor. “A first-class, blue-ribbon, dippity-doopity ding-a-ling ding-dang-doodle, and you can take that to the bank! Huh, fellas?”
=
»Also wirklich, Sie sind ein echter Kni-Kna-Knüller, Belgischer Scherzkeks«, zirpte eine junge Ärztin. »Ein erstklassiger, ausgezeichneter Kni-Kna-Kno-Knüller, darauf können Sie Gift nehmen! Stimmt’s, Jungs?«

(Hmmm. They seem to have translated “dippity-doopity” as Kno. Doesn’t seem quite as creative to me.)

“Esteemed doctors” = Hochgeschätzte Doktoren

“You got us that time, I’ll give you that!” = Sie uns aber wirklich drangekriegt, das muss ich Ihnen lassen!

“zinger” = Hammer

“What have you done to them?” = Was haben Sie mit ihnen gemacht?

“rigors of the workday” = strapaziösen Arbeitstag

“at random” = willkürlich

The German is so much more specific:
“She bit her cheek.”
= Sie biss sich auf die Innenseite der Wange.
(“She bit herself on the inside of her cheek.”)

“empty jest” = hohlen Witz

“unnecessary” = überflüssig
(“superfluous,” “over-fluid”)

Let’s finish with that important sentence:
“The party was over.”
= Der Party war vorbei.

That’s all for tonight, and I must say, it’s good to be back! One of the things that I think is so much fun about this pseudo-phrasebook is that we’ve gone through almost the entire book — and I’m guessing I haven’t given away the plot at all. I have given away how much James Kennedy likes to play with language, though.

Here’s wishing my readers a Kni-Kna-Kno-Knüller of a week!

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In honor of Memorial Day weekend and having already finished reading 5 books this weekend and written 3 reviews, let’s do a short, late night 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. It’s been awhile since my last Sonderling Sunday post, and I’m getting so very close (proportionately) to the end of the most Sonder-book of all, that we’re going to stick with Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, The Order of Odd-Fish, by James Kennedy, again this time.

We are still on Chapter 24 (of 28), on page 331 in the English version, and Seite 420 in the German edition. As is traditional, I’ll begin with the first sentence of the section:

“Jo watched the ceiling as another sleepless night dragged on.”
= Jo betrachtete die Decke, während eine weitere schlaflose Nacht sich dahinschleppte.
(You’ve got to love “dragged on” = dahinschleppte.)

“as if she were full of squirming baby mice”
= als würde es in ihrem Innern von winzigen Mäusen nur so wimmeln

“wandered” = streifte

“deserted” = vollkommen menschenleer (“completely people-empty”)

This one’s interesting. “Flurd-Poffle” is translated Bodenhatz which means something like “ground-hunt.” It’s another made-up word, but why was it translated at all?

“a large, cold room with glass walls”
= ein großer, steriler Raum mit gläsernen Wänden

“harsh light” = grelles Neonlicht

“little rips” = kleinen Kerben

“pallor” = Blässe

“a guard or a receptionist” = einem Wächter oder einem Pförtner

“eerie” = gruselig

“empty skin” = leere Hülle

“maximum security section” = Hochsicherheitstrakt

“nurses” = Pfleger

“made his long-dreaded return”
= seine so lange gefürchtete Rückkehr inszeniert
(“his so long feared return staged”)

“a swank bachelor’s pad”
= eines prahlerischen Junggesellen

“centerpiece” = Prunkstück

“swinging lounge music” = coole Swingmusik

“off balance” = aus dem Gleichgewicht

“sipped” = schlürften

“laboratory glassware” = Reagenzgläsern

“robotic merriness” = mechanische Unbekümmerheit

“that creeped Jo out”
= bei der Jo ein Schauder über den Rücken lief
(“that Jo a shadow over her back ran”)

“desperate lightheartedness” = verzweifelte Fröhlichkeit

“blithely” = schlichtweg

They preserved alliteration:
“toast of the town” = Star der Stadt

“interchangeable” = austauschbaren

It’s very late and not, technically, Sunday any more, so I’m going to end with this sentence in the middle of a section:

“Wherever he went, he warped everything around him into an empty jest.”
= Wohin auch immer er ging, er verzerrte alles um sich herum zu einem hohlen Witz.

That’s all for tonight. It’s fun now to imagine scenarios where you could possibly use these new German words you know.

Bis zum nächsten Mal!

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 it’s back to the especially Sonder-book, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, which is the translation of The Order of Odd-fish, by James Kennedy.

Last time, we finished Chapter 23! So now it’s on to Chapter Twenty-Four! [This is out of 28 chapters. My Sonderling Sunday posts are becoming less and less frequent. This is mostly because I’ve become part of a group that plays games on Sunday afternoon. And I just like the sound of “Sonderling Sunday” too much to switch to another day. Theoretically, as the year 2018 progresses, I should spend less time posting and more time reading. So we shall see what happens. But anyway, tonight the gaming hosts are getting home from a holiday weekend with family, so here I am ready to translate!]

The first sentence of Chapter 24 is a perfect sentence for translating. I’m sure you want to know how to say this, should you ever be in Germany!
“The return of the Belgian Prankster sparked a citywide panic.”
= Die Rückkehr des Belgischen Scherzkekses löste in der ganzen Stadt einen wahren Tumult aus.

“breathless and exhausted” = atemlos und erschöpft

“flurry of chaos” = Chaos der Verwirrung

“still others sat numbly on the sidewalk”
= wieder andere saßen wie betäubt auf dem Bürgersteig

It amuses me how much longer this is in German:
“Everybody had the same panicked expression.”
= Die Menschen dort trugen alle denselben panikerfüllten Gesichtsausdruck zur Schau.

“jittery conversations” = nervösen Gesprächen

“headlines” = Schlagzeile (“strike-row”)

“baffling” = verblüffende

“No one dared venture near.”
= Niemand wagte es auch nur, in seine Nähe zu kommen.
(“No one dared it even, in his neighborhood to come.”)

“stern chiding” = scharfe Rüffel

“public ridicule” = öffentlichen Gespött

“poked him” = piksten ihn

This is a great sentence:
“People will put up with being terrified, but no one will tolerate being bored.”
= Die Menschen ertragen es, in Angst und Schrecken zu leben, aber keiner nimmt es hin, gelangweilt zu werden.

“Asylum for the Feeble of Brain” = Asyl für die Geistesschwachen

“Jo drank coffee after coffee”
= Jo trank unablässig Kaffee
(“Jo drank ceaselessly coffee”)

“suicide” = selbstmörderisch

“sticky and sluggish” = stickig und zäh

“Nothing seemed worth doing.”
= Nichts schien der Anstrengung wert zu sein.

“eyes ache” = Augen wehtaten

“writhed” = wälzte

“feeling like she was wrapped in hot wet cotton”
= hatte das Gefühl, sie wäre in heiße, nasse Baumwolllaken eingewickelt

The last sentence of the section about the Belgian Prankster:
“Furious but repulsed, fascinated but terrified, she felt herself pulled toward him.”
Sie war wütend und angewidert, fasziniert und verängstigt und fühlte sich trotz allem zu ihm hingezogen.

Here’s hoping you never have occasion to use that sentence!

That’s all for tonight! Until next time, may you not be terrified or bored!

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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’m going back to the especially Sonder-book, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, which is the translation of The Order of Odd-fish, by James Kennedy.

Last time, I left off in the middle of Chapter 23, page 314, in English, Seite 399 auf Deutsch.

Here’s the sentence that begins the section:
“The sun sank behind the trees, and the sky darkened, but the festival went on.”
= Die Sonne versank hinter den Bäumen und es wurde dunkel, aber das Fest ging weiter.

“A sweaty man by nature”
= Der Ritter neigte ohnehin zu Schweißausbrüchen
(“The knight tended anyway to sweat-outbreaks”)

“particularly damp” = besonders verschwitzt

“golden swimsuit” = goldfarbenen Badeanzug

“Stroke him, reassure him.” = Streichelt ihn, beruhigt ihn.

“pinching” = zwackt

A good sentence to know:
“Now you’re just being silly.”
= Jetzt sind Sie aber wirklich albern.

And you thought we’d never learn how to say this!
“ridiculous farts and burps” = alberne Fürze und Rülpser

Ha! I caught a mistake in the translation! The English says:
“It was difficult to believe the music was grunts and snorts forced out of a giant worm.”

But the translation says:
dass es schwer zu glauben war, diese Musik würde aus Grunzen, Schnauben, Fürzen und Rülpsern eines gigantischen Wurms bestehen.

See what they’ve done? Although when Sir Alasdair began playing the Urk-Ack by climbing inside it and pinching its organs at first all that came out was farts and burps. Now he has progressed and is giving a lovely concert – but the translator put the farts and burps back in! Oops!

“like a blob of pink putty” = wie ein rosafarbener Gummiball

You should be able to say this:
“This is my moment of triumph!”
= Das ist mein Augenblick des Triumphes!

“explosive” = Sprengstoff

“roguishly” = schelmisch

“candy wrappers” = Bonbonpapier

“reckless zeal” = rücksichtslosem Eifer

“The audience was booing.” = Die Zuschauer buhten.

“caterwauling” = jaulenden

“adoring fans” = hingebungsvollen Anhänger

“jeers” = die höhnischen Zwischenrufe (“the sneery calls”)

“the stage” = der Bühne

“savior” = Retter

“pusillanimous” = kleinkarierten

“Consarn it” = Sapperlot

“handyman” = Faktotum

“tousling” = verwuselte

“whirlwind” = Wirbelwind

“parachutes” = Fallschirmen

“conductor” = Dirigenten

“shoved aside” = beseitegeschoben worden

Here’s a good sentence to know:
“I expect you to solve all my problems!”
= Ich erwarte, dass Sie alle meine Probleme lösen!

“waved” = wedelte

“crumpled papers” = zerknüllter Blätter

“cameo” = Nebenrolle

“unbutton” = aufzuknüpfen

“grunting and grinning” = grunzend und grinsend

“footlights” = Rampenlichter

“waggled his hips” = wackelte mit seinen Hüften

“a throbbing, squirming mass of blubber and muscle”
= eine pulsierende, wabernde Masse von Speck und Muskeln

And that brings us to the end of Chapter 23!

I think it’s fun how little these phrases give away the plot – I hope they tantalize the reader to want to know the details!

Bis bald!

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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’m going back to the especially Sonder-book, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, which is the translation of The Order of Odd-fish, by James Kennedy.

I am getting close to the end! And I got to thinking that it would be really nice to finish looking at this book before I start my real work of reading for the 2019 Newbery committee (reading books published in 2018). Because I fear I won’t have a lot of time for Sonderling Sunday once that happens. So – let’s push on! Last time, I finished Chapter 22. Let’s look at what the next chapter holds, beginning on page 309 in the English edition, Seite 393 in the German edition.

Let’s start with the first sentence:
“The rain stopped as suddenly as if someone had switched it off.”
= Der Regen hörte so plötzlich auf, als hätte jemand ihn abgeschaltet.

“alarmingly lush” = beunruhigenden Üppigkeit (“disturbingly luxuriant”)

“exploding with ferns and lurid tropical flowers”
= schien von Farnen und grellen tropischen Blumen nur so zu explodieren

“smothered in ivy, creepers, and weeds
= wurde von Efeu, Kriechpflanzen und Kräutern förmlich erstickt
(“was by ivy, creeper plants and herbs formally stifled”)

I’m using this word this week, if I can manage to pronounce it:
“humid” = schwül

“freaks” (as in “freakshows”) = Monstrositätenschauen

“roller coaster” = Achterbahn (“8-train” as in “figure-8 train”)

“dragged” = kramten

“float” = Karren

“seethed” = siedete

“wildly boiling soup” = heftig kochende Suppe

“mocking her” = sie verhöhnen

“numb” = betäubt

“marching bands” = Marschkapellen

“dazzling” = blendende

“furry pink boots” = pinkfarbene Fellstiefel

“puffy blouse” = Rüschenbluse

“compliment” = bewundern

“artful restraint” = künstlerische Zurückhaltung

“hallmark” = Markenzeichen

“urgently” = drängend

“brazen” = Tollkühnes

“newsworthy” = berichtenswert

“big scoop” = Knüller

“paralyzing dread” = lähmenden Furcht

“tilt-a-whirls” = Raupe (“caterpillar”)

“pinched” = kniff

“pterodactyls” = Flugsaurier

“skip every line” = an den Wartenden vorbeigewunken

“put two and two together” = eins und eins zusammenzählen (“one and one together-count”)

Ah! A Sonderword:
“special treatment” = Sonderbehandlung

And I’ll stop at the end of that section, as they’re going to the festival.

Now, may you enjoy the Marschkappellen und blendende fireworks on the fourth of July!

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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’m going back to the book that started this feature, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, which is the translation of The Order of Odd-fish, by James Kennedy.

Last time (far too long ago), I covered Jo’s dinner with Fiona, and ended on page 304 in the original English edition, Seite 387 in the German edition.

The first sentence of the next section is so practical, I’ll start with that:

“Jo couldn’t sleep.” = Jo konnte nicht einschlafen.

“bubbling and boiling” = überschlugen
(Google Translate says “raced.” The context is this is what Fiona’s thoughts are doing. The original English seems a bit more vivid.)

“dream-wracked” = von Träumen gepeinigt (“by dreams tormented”)

I hope you won’t need to say this!
“Everyone up. It’s Desolation Day.”
= Aufstehen. Es ist der Tag der Verwüstung.

“underground courtyard” = unterirdischen Hof

“exhausted and disoriented” = erschöpft und orientierungslos

I think this sentence has come up before, but I like it.
“Jo was astonished.” = Jo war verblüfft

“disobeyed” = missachtet

“veil” = Schleier

Just fun to say:
“who was who” = wer wer war

“a familiar face” = ein vertrautes Gesicht

“shuffling echo of footsteps” = Schlurfen von Schritten

“rustle of skirts” = Rascheln von Kleidern

“turn back” = umgekehrt

“queasily and unsteadily” = Unbehagen und schwankend

“confusion and horror and guilt” = Verwirrung, Entsetzen, Schuldgefühlen

“found out” = enttarnen

“not a human sobbing” = kein menschliches Schluchzen

“long, twisty pipes” = langen, krummen Flöten

“windy sky” = sturmgepeitschten Himmel (“storm-whipped sky”)

“rising and falling” = hoben und senkten

“bright” = grell

“frenzy” = Raserei

“tipping” = torkelte

“climbed up” = hinaufkletterten

“milky liquid” = milchigen Flüssigkeit

“gurgling” = blubbernd

“puddles” = Pfützen

“sidewalk” = Bürgersteig

And the last sentence of Chapter 22:
“She had never felt more alone.”
= Noch nie hatte sie sich einsamer gefühlt.

That’s all for tonight! May you never have to describe kein menschliches Schluchzen.

Bis bald!

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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 we’re back to the most Sonder book of them all, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, which is the translation of The Order of Odd-fish, by James Kennedy.

Last time, I did a short post, beginning Chapter 22 with Jo getting ready for Desolation Day. I do my best not to post any spoilers, but I do hope readers of my blog will be intrigued to ask What sort of book would use these fascinating phrases? Pick up a copy!

But in the meantime, let’s take a look at the first sentence of the next section, to set the stage:

“The night before Desolation Day, Jo, Ian, and Nora huddled from the rain under an awning in East Squeamings, waiting to be picked up by the Wormbeards.
= Am Vorabend des Tages der Verwüstung drängten sich Jo, Ian und Nora unter eine Markise in Ost-Heikel, wo sie darauf warteten, von den Wurmbärten abgeholt zu werden.

“sodden” = überschwemmtes

“put away” = beiseitegeschafft (“aside-made”)

I dare you to find a reason to say this:
“torn apart by lizard-dogs”
= von diesen Echsenhunden zerfetzt zu werden

“a quiet satisfaction” = eine stille Befriedigung

“a calculated insult” = eine wohlüberlegte Beleidigung (“a well-considered insult”)

“glowing fungi” = schimmernden Pilze

“stale, spicy air” = abgestandene, würzige Luft

“covered with minutely detailed carvings”
= mit peinlichst genau gearbeiteten Steinmetzarbeiten verziert

“the tree’s bark” = die Rinde des Baumes

This is fun to say:
“between the branches” = zwischen den Zweigen

“simmering in this cauldron of dishonor”
= siedend in diesem Kessel der Ehrlosigkeit

“trickery” = Hinterlist

“trickled” = tröpfelten

“chunky boulders” = klobigen Felsbrocken

“well-tended little groves” = gut gepflegten kleinen Hainen

“spacious” = geräumig

“slum” = Baracke

“sculptor” = Bildhauerin

“Fiona’s studio was a large concrete bunker smelling of plaster and clay and paint.”
= Fionas Atelier war ein großer Betonbunker, in dem es nach Gips, Lehm und Farbe roch.

“throwing wheels” = Wurfscheiben

“found objects” = offenbar zusammengesammelten Objekten

“furnace” = Hochofen

“goo” = klebriges Zeug

“bubbled” = blubberte

“idol” = Götzenbild

“a lumpy, bulging grotesque tower” = ein plumper, praller, grotesker Turm

“fins and scales” = Flossen und Schuppen

“viciously clashing colors” = beißenden Farben
(“biting colors”)

“shrunken” = geschrumpft

Try to say this!
“grafted on” = aufgepfropft

“tangled hair” = verfilztes Haar

“a shambling, snarling, unclean beast”
= eine watschelnde, zähnefletschende, unreine Bestie

“sketches” = Skizzen

“tempting” = verlockend

“addition” = Ergänzung

Just what you wanted to know how to say in German:
“earlobe” = Ohrläppchen

“scrambling” = taumelte

“stumbling down the hallway” = schwankte durch den Flur

“moan” = Fauchen

That’s all for tonight! I got eine stille Befriedigung from doing Sonderling Sunday again!

Bis Bald!

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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.

I’m afraid it’s actually been months since the last time I did Sonderling Sunday. When I was reading for the Cybils, it was hard to fit in, and then I got out of the habit… and went to ALA Midwinter Meeting….

So tonight, I’m going to write a short one, even though it’s late — the better to get back in the habit!

I’m going back to my stand-by, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, by James Kennedy, known in the original English as The Order of Odd-fish.

Last time, we finished a chapter! So we are now beginning Chapter 22, which is on page 296 in the English edition, and on Seite 376 in the German edition.

It’s always nice to start a chapter with the first sentence, and this time I’ll go with the first two:

“The rain kept coming. Two months into the rainy season, Jo found it hard to remember life without rain.”
= Es regnete unaufhörlich. Nach zwei Monaten Regenzeit konnte Jo sich kaum noch daran erinnern, wie das Leben ohne Regen gewesen war.

“a dull weariness” = eine dumpfe Trägheit

“colorless, drenched, and dead” = farblos, nass und tot vor

This just doesn’t have the same sound in German:
“when the rain pattered gently on her windowpane”
= wenn der Regen sanft an ihr Fenster klopfte

“bang of thunder” = Donnerschlag

“Jo tried to shove it into the back of her mind”
= Jo wollte den Gedanken eigentlich beiseiteschieben
(“Jo wanted the thoughts actually to aside-push”)

Here’s a nice long word:
“background noise” = Hintergrundgeräusch

“constant worry” = ständiger Furcht

“didn’t dull its edge”
= schmälerte das die Intensität des Gefühls nicht
(“reduced it the intensity of the feeling not”)

“She needed distractions.”
= Sie brauchte dringend eine Ablenkung.
(“She needed urgently a distraction.”)

“specialties” = Fachgebiete

“slept over” = genächtigt hatte

“but no, it was too nerve-wracking to think about”
= Doch nein, schon darüber nachzudenken, war eine zu große Belastung für ihre Nerven.
(“But no, already about that overthinking, was a too big burden for her nerves.”)

“Desolation Day” = der Tag der Verwüstung (“the day of devastation”)

“special festival” = besonderes Fest

“It was bad luck even to mention Desolation Day.”
= Es brachte bereits Unglück, wenn man den Tag der Verwüstung auch nur erwähnte.

And I’m going to stop there, with just the first section of Chapter 22 finished. But I’m going to look for reasons to talk about Hintergrundgeräusch this week.

Bis Bald!

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