Time for another Sonderling Sunday, where I use Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, the German Translation of The Order of Odd-Fish, by James Kennedy, as a bizarre German-English phrasebook. It’s also where I use some surprising and delightful German translations to open my eyes to a completely different way of looking at something. It’s also where I learn some German words that are terribly fun to say.

This week, I’m beginning Chapter Two.
The Order of Odd-Fish: pages 13-26
Der Orden der Seltsamer Sonderlinge: Seite 21-38

Let’s begin with the first paragraph:

“There was something ridiculous about the ruby palace by day. It looked tired, not exuberant; its concrete walls were cracked, its paint faded and stained. The debris of last night’s party lay strewn about in the harsh daylight — ripped streamers, broken champagne glasses, burnt-out torches, and some guy’s underwear floating in the pool.”

Auf Deutsch:

“Tagsüber wirkte der Rubinpalast ein bisschen lächerlich. Er sah eher morbide aus, nicht strahlend; die Betonwände waren rissig, die Farbe verblasst und schmutzig. Das helle Tageslicht beleuchtete den Müll der gestrigen Party, zerrissene Wimpel, zerbrochene Champagner gläser, ausgebrannte Fackeln und irgendjemandes Unterwäsche, die im Pool trieb.”

Some notable translations:
“ridiculous” = “lächerlich” (“laughly,” or, more properly, “laughable”)
“tired” = “morbide” (That’s not the translation I learned to say I’m tired!)
“exuberant” = “strahlend”
“cracked” = “rissig” which you can see is the same root as in:
“ripped streamers” = “zerrissene Wimpel”
“burnt-out torches” = “ausgebrannte Fackeln”
“underwear” = “Unterwäsche” (“Underlaundry” Is that because Germans wash more than we do or just a more polite way to talk about it?)

Later on the page, we’ve got a choice sentence:
“Her little bed, plastic table, and scattered clothes were dwarfed inside the vast sparkling gaudiness, as if lost in a giant jeweled egg.”

“Ihr kleines Bett, der Plastiktisch und die überall verstreute Kleidung wirkten in dieser riesigen funkelnden Buntheit winzig, wie verloren in einem gigantischen juwelengeschmückten Ei.”

Here we have
“scattered” = “verstreute”
“dwarfed” = “wirkten. . . winzig”
“sparkling gaudiness” = “funkelnden Buntheit” (I think “Buntheit” is color-ness)
But the greatest word here?
“jeweled” = “juwelengeschmückten” (I think this means something like decorated with jewels.)

Another paragraph:
“Who was Colonel Korsakov? Jo went to the bathroom, splashed cold water on her face, and squinted at herself in the mirror. In the morning light, she found it hard to believe Korsakov really existed. Still, she could hear him grunting and shifting upstairs; it made her uneasy, as if there were a wild rhinoceros in the house.”

This becomes:
“Wer war Oberst Korsakov? Jo ging ins Bad, spritzte sich kaltes Wasser ins Gesicht und musterte sich kritisch im Spiegel. Bei Tageslicht betrachtet, konnte sie kaum glauben, dass der Russe tatsächlich existierte. Trotzdem konnte sie hören, wie er sich oben stöhnend herumwälzte; sie verspürte Unbehagen, so als wäre ein wildes Nashorn im Haus.”

“splashed” = “spritzte” (We’ve borrowed that one, it’s so good.)
“squinted at herself” = “musterte sich kritisch” (I think that’s something like “looked at herself critically”)
“made uneasy” = “verspürte Unbehagen”
And the really good one?
“rhinoceros” = “Nashorn” (“nose horn”)

Interesting. Further down, the translation of “Jo padded out of the bathroom” is “Jo ging auf nackten Fü?en aus dem Bad.” I believe the literal translation of that would be “Jo went on naked feet out of the bathroom.” That pretty much describes “padding,” don’t you think?

This is a bit more awkward in German: “fumbling with an antique shoebox-sized remote control” becomes “fummelte ungeschickt mit einer antiken Fernbedienung herum, die die Grö?e einer Schuhschachtel hatte.”
“remote control” = “Fernbedienung,” which I think is roughly “far service.”

And then, the moment we’ve all been waiting for: The introduction of the Belgian Prankster!

Here he is on TV:
“Aunt Lily clicked the remote and the television slowly came to life. A goggled man in furs was rampaging around the streets of Copenhagen on a dogsled, chasing screaming Danes. ‘The Belgian Prankster!’ said Aunt Lily, and her eyes glazed.”

“Tante Lily drückte auf die Fernbedienung und das Fernsehgerät erwachte langsam zum Leben. Ein Mann mit einer grünen Skibrille und einem Pelzmantel fegte mit einem Hundeschlitten durch die Stra?en von Kopenhagen und hetzte schreiende Dänen vor sich her. ‘Der Belgische Scherzkeks!’ Tante Lilys Augen glänzten.”

Yes, the Belgian Prankster is “der Belgische Scherzkeks.” Remember how last week I said “joke” = “Scherz.” This is basically “joke cookie.”

I also find it interesting that “goggled man” is translated “Mann mit einer grünen Skibrille.” That would be “man with green ski glasses.” Okay, but why are they green?

“Dogsled” is “Hundeschlitten,” which is a good one.

The next paragraph is also interesting:

“Jo lag im Sarkophag, hatte die Augen geschlossen und versuchte, das Gequatsche des Belgischen Scherzkekses auszublenden. Sie sollte in einer Stunde auf ihrer Arbeitsstelle sein, allerdings war noch etwas Zeit, sich nach der erschöpfend kurzen Nacht zu entspannen. Das innere des Mumiensarges war mit schwarzen Samtkissen ausgekleidet und überraschend gemütlich. Als sie jetzt darin lag, fühlte sie sich auf angenehme Weise tot.”

That is translated from:
“Jo lay in the sarcophagus, her eyes closed, and tried to block out the yammering of the Belgian Prankster. She was expected at work in an hour, but there was still some time to relax after her exhausting late night. The inside of the mummy’s coffin, lined with black velvet cushions, was surprisingly comfortable. Lying in it, she felt pleasantly dead.”

I like these ones:

“yammering” = “Gequatsche”
“block out” = “auszublenden” (like she’s trying to get those noises to blend with the background)
“exhausting” = “erschöpfend”
“relax” = “entspannen”
“surprisingly comfortable” = “überraschend gemütlich”

Now, the German translation says nothing about fish in this paragraph:
“Jo frowned. ‘It also said something about fish . . . have you ever heard of that? The Order of Odd-Fish?'”

“Jo runzelte die Stirn. ‘Au?erdem stand etwas von Sonderlingen darauf . . . Hast du schon mal etwas davon gehörrt? Von diesem Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge?'”

And “frowned” becomes basically “wrinkled her forehead” — “runzelte die Stirn.”

Here’s a nice rhyming phrase:
“Sie sa?en beide stumm in dem bröckelnden Glanz des Ballsaals, und obwohl Jo in der Hitze schwitzte, fröstelte sie.”

That’s from: “Jo and Aunt Lily sat silently in the crumbling ballroom’s gloom, and even though Jo was sweating in the heat, she shivered.”

Okay, looking closer, it doesn’t quite rhyme, but I still love that “sweating in the heat” becomes “in der Hitze schwitzte.” It’s also a lovely tongue twister to pull out this summer. Another good one is “shivered” = “fröstelte.”

One more sentence:

“The Belgian Prankster was pouring tons of cottage cheese down the streets of Copenhagen, burying his fleeing victims; the audience roared with delight.”

“Der Belgische Scherzkeks kippte Tonnen von Hüttenkäse in die Stra?en von Kopenhagen und begrub seine flüchtenden Opfer darunter. Die Zuschauer brüllten vor Entzücken.”

I like that “cottage cheese” = “Hüttenkäse,” which means, basically, “cottage cheese.”
“begrub” = “burying” (Graben means “grave,” so this is be-graving someone.)
“fleeing victims” = “flüchtenden Opfer”
“audience” = “Zuschauer”
“roared with delight” = “brüllten vor Entzücken.”

Okay, that’s enough for today. I got up to page 25 in German, and page 16 in English.

Today I think my favorite phrase was “in der Hitze schwitzte.”

Tune in next week, when we continue with Chapter Two!

Tweet

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday, otherwise known as Nerd Sonntag, otherwise known as A Bizarre German-English Phrasebook, otherwise known as Language Fun for Silly People.

What I’m doing is looking at translations found in Der Orden der Seltsamer Sonderlinge of the so-interesting words and sentences from The Order of Odd-Fish, by James Kennedy. I’m hoping to finish Chapter One today.

I left off last week on page 8 of The Order of Odd-Fish and page 15 of Der Orden der Seltsamer Sonderlinge.

Let’s pick up where Lily Larouche returns after having been missing for forty years and where she meets Jo:

“LILY LAROUCHE RETURNS!
(WITH A ‘DANGEROUS’ COMPANION)

“Lily Larouche had awakened in her dusty bed, in her ruby palace. But she had no idea how she had got there. And she had no idea what she had been doing for the past forty years.

“Then she heard a distant crying. She followed the sound to her laundry room — and there, inside the washing machine, she found a baby.

“She also found a note:

“This is Jo. Please take care of her.
But beware.
This is a DANGEROUS baby.”

In the German translation, these paragraphs read:

“LILY LAROUCHE KEHRT ZURÜCK!
(MIT EINER ‘GEFÄHRLICHEN’ GEFÄHRTIN)

“Lily Larouche war in ihrem staubigen Bett in ihrem Rubinpalast aufgewacht, hatte aber keinerlei Ahnung, wie sie dorthin gekommen war. Ebenso wenig wusste sie, was sie in den letzten vier Jahrzehnten gemacht hatte.

“Sie hörte ein leises Wimmern. Daraufhin folgte sie dem Geräusch bis zu ihrer Waschküche und dort, in der Waschmaschine, fand sie ein Baby.

“Und eine Nachricht.

“Das ist Jo. Bitte kümmere Dich um sie.
Aber sei vorsichtig.
Sie ist ein GEFÄHRLICHES Baby.”

Okay, there’s a super good one here, right at the start:

“DANGEROUS COMPANION” = “GEFÄHRLICHEN GEFÄHRTIN”

How lovely! This is another serendipitous one to say three times fast: Gefährlichen Gefährtin. Gefährlichen Gefährtin. Gefährlichen Gefährtin.

As far as I can tell, it is simple happy circumstance that these sound so much alike. This is a case where the translation trumps the original by at least ten points.

Some other words from these paragraphs:

“dusty” = “staubigen”

Instead of “forty years,” the translator used “four decades” = “vier Jahrzehnten.”

“crying” = “Wimmern”

“sound” = “Geräusch”

“laundry room” = “Waschküche” (Wash kitchen)

Let’s move on. I simply must tell you how this paragraph is translated:

“‘Balderdash,’ said Aunt Lily. ‘Whoever left that note was just having their little joke. The girl’s as dangerous as a glass of milk. Lived with her for thirteen years, so I should know. Not a peep, not a pop.’

“Jo glared at Aunt Lily.”

In German:

“‘Papperlapapp’, erklärte sie. ‘Wer diese Nachricht hinterlassen hat, hat sich einfach nur einen kleinen Scherz erlaubt. Das Mädchen ist genauso gefährlich wie ein Glas Milch. Ich lebe jetzt seit dreizehn Jahren mit Jo zusammen, sollte es also wissen. Sie ist so still wie ein Mäuschen.’

“Jo warf ihrer Tante einen bösen Blick zu.”

Okay, I think this is my favorite translation so far:

“Balderdash” = “Papperlapapp” Too fun!

As for the rest, we’re going to encounter this one later:

“joke” = “Scherz”

I’m a little disappointed with the translation of “Not a peep, not a pop.” They just said, “She is as quiet as a mouse.” (Something with peep and pop would have gone so very well with Papperlapapp, too!) And they don’t really say Jo “glared” at Aunt Lily, more that she gave her an evil look.

Ah! In the next paragraph we have a new translation of daffodil! Here’s the German:

“Der Oberst wirkte ein wenig enttäuscht und selbst die Osterglocke auf seinem Kopf schien ihre Blätter ein wenig hängen zu lassen. Doch dann erholte er sich. ‘Blödsinn. Ich wei? von höchster Stelle, dass Jo Larouche tatsächlich gefährlich ist und dass ein extrem bedeutungsvoller Gegenstand, ein Gegenstand, der in den falschen Händen möglicherweise sogar gefährlich sein könnte, noch heute Abend hierher geliefert wird, an ebendiese. . .'”

This is translated from:

“Colonel Korsakov looked disappointed — even the daffodil on his head seemed to droop a little — but then he rumbled, ‘Nonsense. I have it on excellent authority that Jo Larouche is dangerous — and that an extremely important item, an item that may even be unsafe in the wrong hands, will be delivered here tonight, to this very — ‘”

Yes! This time “daffodil” is translated as “Easter bell,” “Osterglocke.” Oh, the delights of language! And the daffodil doesn’t just droop. It “lets its leaves hang a little,” “schien ihre Blätter ein wenig hängen zu lassen.”

Of course, you have to catch this one:

“Nonsense” = “Blödsinn”

“important” = “bedeutungsvoller” (which I would have translated “meaningful”)

“possibly” = “möglicherweise” (I knew that one already, but it’s just fun to say.)

Well, I simply must include the dramatic next paragraph:

“But Korsakov never finished. A futuristic white sports car burst out of nowhere, skidded through the rosebushes, and spun to a stop in the sand. Its door flew open and the hedgehog leaped out, shouting, ‘All right, where is he? Let me at him!'”

This translates as:

Der Russe kam nicht dazu, seinen Satz zu beenden. Ein futuristischer wei?er Sportwagen tauchte wie aus dem Nichts auf, fegte durch die Rosenbüsche und kam schleudernd im Sand zum Stehen. Der Wagenschlag flog auf und der Igel sprang heraus. ‘Also gut, wo steckt er? Lasst mich zu ihm!'”

From these:

“skidded” = “fegte”

“spun to a stop in the sand” = “kam schleudernd im Sand zum Stehen” (I’ll give equal points to those phrases.)

“car door” = “Wagenschlag”

“hedgehog” = “Igel” (I still don’t get that one.)

Here’s another dramatic paragraph:

“There was a shrieking blast of wind that sent sand flying, paper lanterns swaying. A plane roared far above — and something fell from the sky, down into the garden, and down onto the hedgehog’s head.”

This becomes:

“Ein kreischender Windsto? wirbelte Sand auf und lie? die Papierlampions heftig schaukeln. Hoch über ihnen dröhnte ein Flugzeug hinweg und etwas fiel vom Himmel in den Garten und dem Igel auf den Kopf.”

We’ve got:
“shrieking blast of Wind” = “kreischender Windsto?”

“sent sand flying” = “wirbelte Sand auf” (might mean “whirled sand up”?)

“paper lanterns flying” = “Papierlampions heftig schaukeln” (“paper lanterns violently rocking”)

“plane roared” = “dröhnte ein Flugzeug” (“droned the flying thing”)

And let’s finish up the chapter with the final paragraphs:

“Jo scrambled back, just barely avoiding Korsakov as he thudded into the sand, and tripped over the thing that had fallen from the sky — a brown cardboard package, with these words written across the top:

“TO: JO LAROUCHE
FROM: THE ORDER OF ODD-FISH

“After that, everyone had the leisure to start screaming.”

Auf Deutsch:

“Jo krabbelte hastig zurück. Es gelang ihr gerade noch, sich vor der massigen Gestalt Korsakovs in Sicherheit zu bringen, als der Russe mit einem dumpfen Aufprall auf dem Sand landete. Dabei stolperte sie über das Ding, das aus dem Himmel gefallen war. Es war ein brauner Pappkarton, auf dem die Worte geschrieben standen:

“EMPFÄNGER: JO LAROUCHE
ABSENDER: DER ORDEN DER SELTSAMEN SONDERLINGE

“Dann endlich hatten sich alle so weit erholt, dass sie loskreischen konnten.”

Some final goodies:

“scrambled back” = “krabbelte hastig zurück” (“crawled quickly back.” I picture her crawling backwards like a crab.)

“just barely avoiding Korsakov” talks about in the nick of time avoiding his massive body safely.

“tripped” = “stolperte”

“cardboard package” = “Pappkarton”

“screaming” = “loskreischen”

There you have it! We’ve gotten through one chapter, and it only took three weeks! Isn’t this fun?

I just have one more thing to say:

Papperlapapp! And beware of gefährlichen Gefährtin!

Tweet