{"id":11971,"date":"2012-07-15T21:50:57","date_gmt":"2012-07-16T01:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=11971"},"modified":"2021-09-11T13:27:14","modified_gmt":"2021-09-11T17:27:14","slug":"sonderling-sunday-chapter-nine-the-seltsamen-sonderlinges-squires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=11971","title":{"rendered":"Sonderling Sunday – Chapter Nine – The Seltsamen Sonderlinge’s Squires"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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….<\/p>\n

We’re beginning on page 78 in English, Seite 100 auf Deutsch.<\/p>\n

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

I like this one. It’s so obvious:
\n“vines” = Schlingpflanzen<\/em> = “sling plants”<\/p>\n

“unidentifiable fruit” = undefinierbaren Fr\u00fcchten<\/em> (“undefined fruit.” This appeals to my mathematical brain.)<\/p>\n

This sentence has a candidate for longest word at 16 letters:
\n“It was as if they had all been stolen from different places.” = Die Teile schienen von \u00fcberallher zusammengeklaubt worden zu sein.<\/em><\/p>\n

More fun to say in German:
\n“filthy black robes” = schmutziger, schwarzer Roben<\/em><\/p>\n

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

“precisely knotted bow tie” = einer sorgf\u00e4ltig gebundenen Fliege<\/em> (Interesting. The word for “bow tie” is also the word for “fly.”)<\/p>\n

Better in English:
\n“teetering trays” = beladenen Tabletts<\/em><\/p>\n

Better auf Deutsch:
\n“rushing back and forth” = hin- und herhuschten<\/em> (“there and here scurried”)<\/p>\n

I’ve mentioned this one before but love it:
\n“tiptoe” = Zehenspitzen<\/em> (“toe points”)<\/p>\n

“discredited metaphysics” = Ungnade gefallene Metaphysik<\/em> (“disgrace-befallen metaphysics”)<\/p>\n

“a beloved eccentric.” = ein hochgesch\u00e4tzter Exzentriker<\/em><\/p>\n

“flash photography” = Fotos mit Blitzlicht<\/em> (very descriptive, nicht<\/em>?)<\/p>\n

More fun to say in German:
\n“wooden stool” = h\u00f6lzernen Hocker<\/em><\/p>\n

“one weirdly birdlike” = der einem Vogel unheimlich \u00e4hnelte<\/em><\/p>\n

“an unfortunate nose” = eine knubbelige Nase<\/em> (“knobbly nose”)<\/p>\n

I like this better in German, too. You could say your kid is in this, and it sounds mysterious and important:
\n“growth spurt” = Wachstumsphase<\/em><\/p>\n

“perpetual stoop” = st\u00e4ndig geb\u00fcckt<\/em><\/p>\n

“babbling” = plapperte<\/em><\/p>\n

“the Silent Sisters” = der Stummen Schwestern<\/em><\/p>\n

Shorter in German!:
\n“a tattered tan corduroy jacket” = ein verschlissenes Cordsakko<\/em><\/p>\n

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

That’s the end of the first section, and all I have time for tonight. To sum up:<\/p>\n

Most logical: Schlingpflanzen<\/em>
\nMost fun to say: hin- und herhuschten<\/em>
\nMost descriptive: Fotos auf Blitzlicht<\/em>
\nBest German short form: Cordsakko<\/em>
\nBest Euphemism: der erste Flaum eines Bartes<\/em><\/p>\n

Armed with this knowledge, I can aspire to be ein hochgesch\u00e4tzter Exzentriker<\/em>!<\/p>\n

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