Sonderling Sunday – Finishing Elfte Kapitel – Through the City

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 – Chapter 11 – Sefino’s Scandalous Speeches

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 – Chapter 11 – Costumed Elephants and Schwenkery

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 – Chapter Eleven – Memories and Prophecies

It’s Sonderling Sunday! Have you ever laughed at the odd phrases tourist books choose to translate? Have you ever wondered how these words could possibly be used? On Sonderling Sundays, I take phrases from books for children and young adults and give you the German translation. Obviously, these phrases are useful: They have been used! I also hope you will enjoy a different way of hearing them or looking at them.

I’d like to think that even if you don’t speak German, you can enjoy Sonderling Sunday. In fact, with that in mind, I offer two challenges for the comments:

1) Please attempt to use one of the phrases or words from today’s post in a sentence.
2) Please translate one of the phrases or words into another language for all of our edification.

This week, I’m back to The Order of Odd-Fish, by James Kennedy. We left off on Chapter 11.

I like this sentence at the beginning, and thought it would be fun to see how it translates:
“Gone was the vast jeweled egg she’d woken up in every other morning of her life.”
This becomes:
Das riesige juwelenbesitzte Ei, in dem sie bisher jeden Morgen ihres Lebens aufgewacht war, war verschwunden.

(A literal translation is something like this: “The giant jewel-possessing egg, in which she up to now each morning of her life woke up to, was disappeared.”)

Some more intriguing phrases you never knew could be useful:
“scruffy wooden desk” = zerkratzten Holztisch

I like this one:
“a little arched leaded-glass window” = ein kleines Bogenfenster mit Bleiglas herein

This doesn’t change a lot, but I like the sound in German:
“She couldn’t get out of the crusty, stinky thing fast enough.” = Sie konnte gar nicht schnell genug aus diesem schmutzigen, stinkenden Ding herauskommen.

“in an agony of relief” = mit einer beinahe qualvollen Erleichterung

“wrapped in a fluffy white towel” = eingewickelt in ein flauschiges wei?es Handtuch

Here’s a phrase I dare you to use in a sentence:
“cars and elephants moving in the boulevards” = Wagen und Elefanten bewegten sich über die Boulevards

“Jo nearly spit out her coffee.” = Jo hätte sich fast an ihrem Kaffee verschluckt.

“painful” = sehr schmerzlich

“It was as if the ground had reeled under her.” = Jo hatte das Gefühl, als würde der Boden unter ihr schwanken.

“Just hearing it made her skin prickle.” = Es kribbelte sie am ganzen Körper, als sie dieses Wort nur hörte.
(“It tingled her on her whole body, when she this word only heard.”)

“jewelry box” = Schmuckkassette

“lead the life of a normal Odd-Fish squire” = lebe wie ein ganz normaler Knappe eines Seltsamen Sonderlings

“incredulous” = ungläubig

Well, I’m tired, so I’m stopping there for tonight. How about you? Can you think of a reasonable way to work one of these phrases or words or sentences into normal conversation? Or can you give us a translation in yet another language? I’ll be watching the comments to see.

Sonderling Sunday – More of the Belgian Joke-Cookie

It’s Sonderling Sunday, loosely translated Nerdy Sonntag. Have you ever wondered how phrasebooks decide which phrases to translate? I’ve decided to create a sort of blog phrasebook, using phrases pulled from children’s books. After all, if it’s been used in a children’s book, it must be good to know! I admit I’m going after the more bizarre phrases, but the point is having fun and being somewhat silly. And enjoying a close look at tändeltechnisch.

This week, I’ll be back in James Kennedy‘s The Order of Odd-Fish and its translation, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge. This is the book that inspired the series, since, after all, it is obviously a Sonderbook, with Sonderlinge in the actual title! As of last week, I decided to mix it up a little, coming back to Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge every other week, and looking at other children’s books from my German collection in alternating weeks.

We left off two weeks ago in the middle of Chapter Ten, on page 110 in English, Seite 140 auf Deutsch. We were in the middle of a confrontation between the Belgian Prankster, der Belgische Scherzkeks (“the Belgian Joke-Cookie”) and aspiring archvillain Ken Kiang.

Some fun phrases to know:

“The plot thickens” = Die Geschichte verdichtet sich (“The story compacts itself.”)

“But the worst was when she would just give him a strange smile.” = Doch das Schlimmste war, wenn sie ihn einfach nur höchst sonderbar anlächelte. (I go on about how sonder is a prefix meaning “special,” but, okay, yeah, sometimes it just means “strange.”)

Oh! The translator went with the cliche, instead of what was written:
“You couldn’t see your own feet.” = Man konnte nicht einmal die Hand vor Augen sehen. (“You couldn’t see your hand before your eyes.”)

“to seep in” = zu sickern

I like the sound of this:
“meanwhile” = in der Zwischenzeit (“in the between time”)

“Food was running out.” = Lebensmittel wurden knapp.

“blue veils” = blauen Schleiern

This is simply fun to say:
“Even the howling things that flew about in the fog became still.” = Selbst die heulenden Dinger, die in dem Nebel herumflogen, verstummten.

“midwives” = Hebammen

“locked themselves in their house” = sich in seinem Haus verbarrikadiert

“a strange and unbreakable siege” = einer fremdartigen und nicht zu durchbrechenden Belagerung

This one adds an image:
“said in private” = hinter vorgehaltener Hand getuschelt hatten (“painted behind reproached hand”)

“furious” = fuchsteufelswild (“fox-devil-wild”)

“ghostly image” = geisterhaftes Bild

“screen” = Leinwand (“flax wall”)

“chalky, smoking ash” = wei?licher qualmender Asche

Oh, this is a good phrase to know:
“armored ostriches” = gepanzerten Strau?envögeln

“The camera drew back.” = Die Kamera öffnete auf die Totale. (“The camera opened to the Total.”)

This one’s shorter in German, for once:
“surrounded in a circle” = umzingelten

This one’s longer:
“squeezing” = zusammenzuquetschen

“curling” = lodernde

“throbbing, groaning, pulsing in and out” = pulsierte, stöhnte, ächzte

“melting bricks” = schmelzenden Ziegelsteinen

“spraying out the chimney” = spritzte aus dem Schornstein

“The house strained at the seams, swelling, heaving, gurgling.” = Das Haus platzte regelrecht aus den Nähten, schwoll an, pulsierte, gurgelte.

“My favorite part” = Meine Lieblingsstelle

“Sir Nils was a whirl of limbs” = Sir Nils war ein wahrer Derwisch (“Sir Nils was a true dervish.”)

“doddering” = tatterigen

“terrifyingly fast and fierce” = in ihrer Schnelligkeit und Wildheit furchterregend

“blasting out slime” = Schleim quoll heraus

“armor” = Rüstungen

“Something in Dame Lily snapped.” = In diesem Moment schien Dame Lily auszurasten.

“surprised” = überrumpeln (“overpower”)

“stopper” = Stöpsel

Here’s a nice long one:
“opposite side” = gegenüberliegenden

“exiled” = schickte sie in die Verbannung

“legal issues” = juristischen Spitzfindigkeiten

“flimsy” = fadenscheinig

“laughing silently” = lautlos zu lacheln (“loudless to laugh”)

“ghastly merriment” = gruseliger Heiterkeit

“stitched back together” = zusammengeflickt

“a horrible jelly” = ein grauenvoller Wackelpudding

“with a sickening THUP” = mit einem ekelerregenden, satten Schmatzen (“with a disgusting, rich smack”)

Here’s a good word:
“deflate” = schrumpfen

“hissing squeal” = kreischendes Zischen

“spewing stale air” = stie?en abgestandene Luft aus

“spluttering into shreds” = in kleine Fetzen auflösten

“a shriveled empty skin” = eine schlaffe, geschrumpfte, leere Hülle

“deeply humiliated” = zutiefst gedemüdigt

There! That’s it for Chapter Ten. Doesn’t that just make you want to find out what all the gruseliger Heiterkeit is about? Meine Lieblingsstelle was probably ein grauenvoller Wackelpudding or perhaps eine schlaffe, geschrumpfte, leere Hülle.

In two weeks, we’ll start in on Chapter Eleven! Kapitel Elf! In der Zwischenzeit, next week I think I will take a look at Winnie der Pu. Enjoy the Heiterkeit!

Sonderling Sunday – Chapter 10 – Back with the Belgische Scherzkeks

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday – That time when I let you know the German translation of various bizarre phrases using the book Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, the translation of The Order of Odd-Fish, by James Kennedy.

I left off at the start of Chapter Ten, 10. Kapitel, page 101 and Seite 129. The start of this chapter is a good way to start the blog post.

Das alles ist ja nun ganz gut und schön, aber was hat es eigentlich mit dem Belgischen Scherzkeks auf sich?

In English, that is:

This is all well and good, but what about the Belgian Prankster?

Now, I won’t answer the question, but I’ll give you some phrases that pop up:

“hottest controversy” = hitzigsten Diskussionen

“sprawling” = ausgedehntes

This one’s much longer in German:
“interlinked airborne platforms” = miteinander verbundener schwebender Plattformen (“with one another bound together floating platforms”)

“a terrifyingly scarred Icelandic assassin” = ein schrecklich vernarbter isländischer Meuchelmörder

“steel-toothed” = Stahlzähne

“a noseless Nigerian explosives expert” = einem nasenlosen nigerianischen Sprengstoffexperten

“massive-headed” = mit einem Wasserkopf (“with a water-head”)

Why did I never learn this? “men’s toilet” = Männerklo

Oh, I’m afraid I don’t think this line of translation is up to snuff:
“And you are a Boobly-Boobly-Boo-Boo” = Und du bist ein alter Schaumschläger

And here’s something of a tongue-twister:
»Ein Schaumschläger!«, schäumte der Chinese. = “‘A boobly-boobly-boo-boo?’ raged Ken Kiang.”

Based on Google, that’s something like “a foam-batter!” foamed the Chinese.

I like this one:
“corner booth” = Ecknische (“corner niche”)

“audacious” = abgebrühter (“hard-boiled”)

“vengeance” = Vergeltung (“payback”)

“fluorescent lights” = Neonlampen

“tiny paws” = winzigen Pfötchen

“fate’s plaything” = ein Spielball des Schicksals

“satanic roar” = satanischen Brausens

“jokester” = Witzbold

“inscrutable” = undurchdringlichen

“errand boy” = Laufbursche

Here’s a fun one:
“Well, la-dee-da.” = Na gut, heiliger Bimbam.

Well, that’s all for tonight!

My thought for today: If I’m in a special corner booth, then we must have:

Sondra Eklund in einer Sonderecknische.

Tune in next week for more handy-dandy things to know!

Sonderling Sunday – Chapter 9 – Yet More Silliness

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! That’s the post where we take a Sonderfahrt, a special trip, through the pages of Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, the German translation of James Kennedy‘s The Order of Odd-Fish, and glean from it a collection of delightfully useless German phrases.

You do not have to speak German to enjoy Sonderling Sunday. You should be able to enjoy the sounds of the language and the alternate way of thinking of things.

You do not need to have read The Order of Odd-Fish. I will not include spoilers, but I do hope that the phrases selected will intrigue readers enough that they will decide to get a copy of the book and read it.

The point? To be pointless! This seems delightfully in keeping with a book about an order that prides itself on researching an Appendix of unreliable and useless information.

We left off on page 90 of The Order of Odd-Fish and Seite 115 of Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge.

The first interesting translation that catches my eye is the imaginary country of the “Glovians” is translated die Handschuträger (“the glove carriers”)

Going on, some interesting words:
“slippery” = glitschig

“unexpectedly light-headed” = überraschenderweise schwindlig (“surprisingly dizzy”)

“backyard” = Hinterhof

“blueprints” = Blaupausen

“outsiders” = Au?enstehenden (“out standers”)

“unassuming” = unauffälligen

“disbanded” = Gerichtsverfahren (“legal proceedings”)

“It had a nice ring.” = Es klang irgendwie hübsch.

I like all the alliteration in the German sentence here:
“What manner of world were we passing on to them?” = Welche Welt würden wir ihnen hinterlassen?

“inconveniences” = unliebsame Vorkommnisse (Note: A couple of sentences ago, “inconvenience” was translated Ärgernis, so I suspect this translation is for variety. It literally means “unwelcome events.”)

“feed it to a walrus” = verfüttert es an ein Walross (There! Didn’t you want to know how to say that?)

“marvelously irksome” = bewundernswert ärgerlich (“wonders-worth annoying”)

“exquisitely obnoxious” = ausgesprochen nervenaufreibend ärgerliche (“very nerve-wracking annoying”)

“It annoys with panache.” = Es verärgert mit Verve.

“spluttered” = platzte

“you took an oath” = haben Sie einen Eid geleistet

“trombones, drums, violins” = Posaunen, Trommeln, Geigen

“greasy sheet music” = fettiges Notenblatt

“I’d’ve tied his arms and legs in a knot and used him as a tuffet!” = Ich hätte seine Arme und Beine zu einem Knoten gebunden und ihn als Muff benutzt!

“I’d’ve swung him around by his hair until I took off like a helicopter” = Ich hätte ihn an seinen Haaren herumgeschleudert, bis ich wie ein Helikopter in die Luft gestiegen wäre

“deflate” = zusammenzusinken (“together to sink”)

“blithering like a madman” = herumzuschreien wie ein Verrückter

“we butlers are run off our feet” = wir Butler haben uns Fü?e wundgelaufen

“curled up” = zusammengerollt (“together rolled”)

“orchestra of cockroaches” = Kakerlakenorchesters (I wonder if that word has ever been used before?)

“doze” = Schläfchen

“flailing limbs” = herumfliegenden Gliedma?en

“whirled away in the shouting, stomping throng” = von der grölenden, stampfenden Meute weggerissen

“clumsy and exhilarated” = ungeschickt und berauscht

“were smashed” = zerbarsten

“unchallenged” = unbehelligt

“ungainly” = ungelenker

“unruly” = ungebärdigen

“quietly filed out” = verlie?en ruhig im Gänsemarsch (“left quietly in goose-step”)

So, many of those phrases klang irgendwie hübsch, don’t you think? I find I’m not stopping as often, since I understood more of the sentences, so perhaps I’ll finish the book sometime in the next decade after all!

Now, which of these phrases can you work into everyday conversation in the next week or so? I’m going to try überraschenderweise schwindlig or perhaps zusammenzusinken.

And let me leave you with this thought: Welche Welt würden wir ihnen hinterlassen?

Sonderling Sunday – Chapter 9 – Meeting the Sonderlinge

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! I missed last week because it was my youngest son’s 18th birthday! (Where oh where does the time go?) That reminds me of a funny thing about Germans and birthdays. Did you know that German kids sing “Happy Birthday” in English? Perhaps it was just my landlady’s family, since she grew up around Americans, but I suspect it was more widespread, because the small children who attended this birthday party in 1998 knew the words to the English “Happy Birthday” song.

(The cutie in the bottom right corner is my son, who is now 18 years old.) I believe the birthday girl was 5 years old, and we were so surprised at how well the small children sang in English. I suppose, bottom line, it’s hard to fit Alles gute zum Geburtstag into a nice song.

But back to Sonderling Sunday, the time when I play with language and supply you with delightfully useless phrases to know in German by looking at the translation of James Kennedy‘s The Order of Odd-Fish, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, a truly Sonderbook.

We left off two weeks ago in the middle of chapter 9, on page 86 in English, and Seite 110 auf Deutsch.

Last time, we learned several different translations for “dithering,” as the knights of the Order of Odd-fish discussed Sir Oliver’s six-hundred-thousand-page dissertation on the subject. I still find it interesting and not at all surprising that Germans don’t have as many different words for dithering as English speakers do.

Ah! There’s a lovely paragraph right at the start of this next section, so I’ll start off by quoting the whole thing:

The cockroaches swooped in, snatched away the soup bowls, and served plates heaping with a gooey stew. It was spicy and slimy, and after a few cautious bites, Jo decided she liked it.

That translates as:

Die Kakerlaken stürmten wieder in den Raum, entrissen allen die Suppenschüsseln und servierten Teller mit einem pappigen Eintopf. Er war würzig und schleimig und nach ein paar vorsichtigen Bissen kam Jo zu dem Schluss, dass sie ihn mochte.

Some of the goodies here:

“soup bowls” = Suppenschüsseln
“gooey stew” = pappigen Eintopf (“cardboardy one-pot”)
“slimy” = schleimig (Surely this is where we got the English word?)

Going on, there are more wonderfully useless phrases about being wonderfully useless:

“properly dubious” = angemessen zweifelhaft

“unreliable” = unzuverlässig

“useless” = nutzlos

“out of date” = überholt (shorter in German!)

“contradictory” = widersprüchlich (“speech against”)

“we never publish anything misleading” = wir niemals irgendetwas veröffentlichen, das auf eine falsche Fährte führen könnte (“we never publish anything that can send one on a wrong trip”)

“deliberately misleading” = vorsätzlich Irreführendes (See the root for trip still in there?)

I thought it was funny that with this sentence the German translator did not dither as much as in English:
“Which, er, isn’t too far, actually, sometimes.” = Was, genau genommen, manchmal nicht sonderlich weit ist. (“Which, strictly speaking, sometimes is not especially far.”)

This one sounds better in German:
“an unreliable reference book” = ein unzuverlässiges Lexikon

Here’s a fun one I didn’t know before:
“at once” = schlagartig

“Jo’s stomach dropped.” = Jo plumpste der Magen in die Kniekehlen. (“Jo flopped her stomach in the hollow of the knees.”)

“Rumors, leads, myths, things that are maybe true, maybe not.” = Gerüchte, vermutungen Mythen, Dinge, die vielleicht wahr sind, vielleicht aber auch nicht.

“whiskers” = Backenbart

“hiccups” = Schluckaufs

“dubious” = fragwürdig (“question worthy”)

“discredited metaphysics” = verrufene Metaphysiken

“It is spectacularly tiresome!” = Es ist ungeheuer ermüdend! (“It is monstrously tiresome!”)

“Some of my research positively sparkles with dullness.” = Etliche meiner Metaphysiken funkeln förmlich vor Trübsinn. (“Some of my metaphysics sparkles formally with gloom.”)

“arcane drudgery” = uralter Trübsal (“ancient sorrow”)

I like this translation:
“Oh ho ho, oh no, oh no!” = Nein und nochmals nein!” (“No, and again no!”)

“Jo couldn’t help but smile.” = Jo musste unwillkürlich lächeln. (“Jo must involuntarily smile.”)

“supreme distaste” = überlegenem Abscheu

“Jo gritted her teeth.” = Jo knirschte mit den Zähnen.

Here’s a nice concise way of putting it:
“wet with sweat” = schwei?nass.

“as Sir Alasdair dissolved into snuffling laughter” = während Sir Alasdair vor Lachen Schniefte (“as Sir Alasdair with laugher sniffed”)

That’s all I have time for tonight! I hope to meet the rest of the Order next week!

Meanwhile, here are some highlights:
Most fun to say: Suppenschüsseln, unzuverlässiges Lexikon, Schluckaufs
Best exclamation: Nein und nochmals nein!
Best figure of speech: Jo plumpste der Magen in die Kniekehlen.
Most concise: schwei?nass.

Bis nächste Woche!

Sonderling Sunday – Chapter 9 – Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge at Last!

It’s time again for Sonderling Sunday! That time when I play with language by looking at James Kennedy‘s choice turns of phrase in The Order of Odd-Fish and how they are translated into German in Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge. We look at all the things you’d really like to be able to say in German!

Today I’m part way into Chapter 9, when Jo finally meets The Order of Odd-Fish. I’m on page 82 in English, and Seite 105 auf Deutsch.

We start off with a handy-dandy phrase that’s actually shorter in German, for once!
“dressed in tails” = im Frack

“unkempt” = ungebärdigen

“alarmingly tiny teeth” = beunruhigend winzige Zähne (unrestfully tiny teeth)

Here’s a good one, and candidate for longest word, at 18 letters:
“blare of trumpets” = Fanfarengeschmetter

And I love this one we’ve already seen:
“great shout” = Jubelschrei

“a bejeweled bib” sounds less silly in German: einer juwelenbesetzten Krawatte

Another one that gains a little dignity in translation:
“a trailing cape that looked like a doily gone berserk for seven feet” = ein Häkeldeckchen grö?enwahnsinnig geworden und hätte sich auf zwei Meter ausgedehnt (“a crocheted blanket gone hugely insane and extending behind them for two meters”)

I always like alliteration:
“clinking and jangling” = klingelten und klapperten

More about the trumpets, including an even longer word:
“The trumpets died down” = Die Trompetengeschmetter verstummte

“a multitiered mountain of buttons and bows and collars and jewelry and bustles” = einem vielschichtigen Werk aus Knöpfen, Schleifen, Kragen, Schmuck, Tournüren

“a billowing, flapping, teetering mass of crepe and silk and velvet” = einem wogenden, wehenden, schwankenden Berg aus Krepp, Seide und Samt

“imprisoned in a gigantic, nightmarish wedding cake” = in einen gigantischen, albtraumhaften Hochzeitskuchen eingesperrt

(Come on, doesn’t that just make you want to read the book?)

“firmly” = unerschütterlich

“Jo was starving” = Jo hatte einen Mordshunger (“Jo had a death-hunger.” I like that! Means the same thing, but a fresh take on it, nicht?)

“with a mild pork-plum flavor” = Sie schmeckte ein bisschen nach Schwein und Pflaumen (Well, usually German takes a few more words, I must admit.)

“wrinkles” = einige Falten aus ihrem Gesicht (“some folds on her face”)

“It is a pleasantly futile task.” = Es ist eine höchst erfreulich vergebliche Aufgabe.

“accuracy” = Genauigkeit

“to dither about” = herumzutändeln (I’m so glad I know how to translate that!)

“charter” = Gründungsurkunde (“founding certificate”)

Oh, and here’s a good sentence to say:
“The bit about dithering is the most important.” = Der Teil mit dem Tändeln ist der wichtigste.

“a society of ditherers” = eine Gesellschaft von Tändlern

Oh, and the response is worth quoting the full paragraph:

“You know — fiddling about, puttering, loafing. The Order of Odd-Fish has a long and distinguished history of dithering. Sir Oliver is the world’s foremost authority.”

Auf Deutsch:

»Ihr wisst schon, herumtrödeln, faulenzen, Zeit verbummeln. Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge hat eine lange und würdevolle Geschichte des Tändelns. Sir Oliver ist tändeltechnisch die führende Autorität weltweit.«

Now, you have to wonder if the word tändeltechnisch has ever been used before. It’s basically saying that on the technicalities of dithering, Sir Oliver is the foremost authority worldwide.

Breaking down the other key phrases, we have, of course:
“fiddling about” = herumtrödeln
“puttering” = faulenzen
“loafing” = Zeit verbummeln (“time idling away”)

Oh, and the title of Sir Oliver’s book provides us yet more:
Puttering, Muddling, and Mucking About: An Inquiry into Idleness” becomes Tändeln, Bummeln und Herumtrödeln: eine Untersuchung über den Mü?iggang

Now, they’re clearly using some of the same German words for different English ones. Perhaps they don’t have as many different words for dithering as English does? Knowing the German character of industry, I wouldn’t be surprised. But you definitely get the idea!

Speaking of Zeit verbummeln, my timer informs me I’ve already been at this an hour. There is much much delightful frippery left in the chapter, but I must stop for today.

Summing up, I hope this installment has given you insight into tändeltechnisch.

Longest word: Trompetengeschmetter
Shorter in German: im Frack
Most useful: einen Mordshunger

And of course summing up today’s entire discussion: Der Teil mit dem Tändeln ist der wichtigste.

May your herumzutändeln cause you a great Jubelschrei!

Bis zum nächsten Mal!

Sonderling Sunday – Chapter Nine – The Seltsamen Sonderlinge’s Squires

It’s time at last for another issue of Sonderling Sunday, where I play with words by looking Der Seltsamen Sonderlinge, the German translation of James Kennedy‘s The Order of Odd-fish, and find translations that give interesting insights or are simply fun to say.

The title of this post is a warped German-English hybrid to say The Squires of The Order of Odd-fish. I plan to look at only the beginning section of Chapter Nine. We’ll see if I get carried away….

We’re beginning on page 78 in English, Seite 100 auf Deutsch.

Interesting. Here’s a pretty direct translation:
“homelier” = heimeliger (I wonder which word meant “ugly” first?)
“arched brass ceiling” = verzierten Messingempore (“ornate brass gallery” says Google)

I like this one. It’s so obvious:
“vines” = Schlingpflanzen = “sling plants”

“unidentifiable fruit” = undefinierbaren Früchten (“undefined fruit.” This appeals to my mathematical brain.)

This sentence has a candidate for longest word at 16 letters:
“It was as if they had all been stolen from different places.” = Die Teile schienen von überallher zusammengeklaubt worden zu sein.

More fun to say in German:
“filthy black robes” = schmutziger, schwarzer Roben

Here’s the word for Squires:
“Squires” = Knappen (Ah! So my sixth-grade teacher, Mr. Knapp, may have had a squire in his ancestry. Only in German, the K is pronounced.)

“precisely knotted bow tie” = einer sorgfältig gebundenen Fliege (Interesting. The word for “bow tie” is also the word for “fly.”)

Better in English:
“teetering trays” = beladenen Tabletts

Better auf Deutsch:
“rushing back and forth” = hin- und herhuschten (“there and here scurried”)

I’ve mentioned this one before but love it:
“tiptoe” = Zehenspitzen (“toe points”)

“discredited metaphysics” = Ungnade gefallene Metaphysik (“disgrace-befallen metaphysics”)

“a beloved eccentric.” = ein hochgeschätzter Exzentriker

“flash photography” = Fotos mit Blitzlicht (very descriptive, nicht?)

More fun to say in German:
“wooden stool” = hölzernen Hocker

“one weirdly birdlike” = der einem Vogel unheimlich ähnelte

“an unfortunate nose” = eine knubbelige Nase (“knobbly nose”)

I like this better in German, too. You could say your kid is in this, and it sounds mysterious and important:
“growth spurt” = Wachstumsphase

“perpetual stoop” = ständig gebückt

“babbling” = plapperte

“the Silent Sisters” = der Stummen Schwestern

Shorter in German!:
“a tattered tan corduroy jacket” = ein verschlissenes Cordsakko

Maybe a little more dignified in German?:
“the wispy beginnings of a mustache” = der erste Flaum eines Bartes (“the first fuzz of facial hair”)

That’s the end of the first section, and all I have time for tonight. To sum up:

Most logical: Schlingpflanzen
Most fun to say: hin- und herhuschten
Most descriptive: Fotos auf Blitzlicht
Best German short form: Cordsakko
Best Euphemism: der erste Flaum eines Bartes

Armed with this knowledge, I can aspire to be ein hochgeschätzter Exzentriker!