{"id":13195,"date":"2012-08-19T21:25:32","date_gmt":"2012-08-20T01:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=13195"},"modified":"2012-08-19T23:14:14","modified_gmt":"2012-08-20T03:14:14","slug":"sonderling-sunday-chapter-9-yet-more-silliness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=13195","title":{"rendered":"Sonderling Sunday – Chapter 9 – Yet More Silliness"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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.<\/p>\n

You do not need to have read The Order of Odd-Fish<\/em>. 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

We left off on page 90 of The Order of Odd-Fish<\/em> and Seite 115 of Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The first interesting translation that catches my eye is the imaginary country of the “Glovians” is translated die Handschutr\u00e4ger<\/em> (“the glove carriers”)<\/p>\n

Going on, some interesting words:
\n“slippery” = glitschig<\/em><\/p>\n

“unexpectedly light-headed” = \u00fcberraschenderweise schwindlig<\/em> (“surprisingly dizzy”)<\/p>\n

“backyard” = Hinterhof<\/em><\/p>\n

“blueprints” = Blaupausen<\/em><\/p>\n

“outsiders” = Au?enstehenden<\/em> (“out standers”)<\/p>\n

“unassuming” = unauff\u00e4lligen<\/em><\/p>\n

“disbanded” = Gerichtsverfahren<\/em> (“legal proceedings”)<\/p>\n

“It had a nice ring.” = Es klang irgendwie h\u00fcbsch.<\/em><\/p>\n

I like all the alliteration in the German sentence here:
\n“What manner of world were we passing on to them?” = Welche Welt w\u00fcrden wir ihnen hinterlassen?<\/em><\/p>\n

“inconveniences” = unliebsame Vorkommnisse<\/em> (Note: A couple of sentences ago, “inconvenience” was translated \u00c4rgernis<\/em>, so I suspect this translation is for variety. It literally means “unwelcome events.”)<\/p>\n

“feed it to a walrus” = verf\u00fcttert es an ein Walross<\/em> (There! Didn’t you want to know how to say that?)<\/p>\n

“marvelously irksome” = bewundernswert \u00e4rgerlich<\/em> (“wonders-worth annoying”)<\/p>\n

“exquisitely obnoxious” = ausgesprochen nervenaufreibend \u00e4rgerliche<\/em> (“very nerve-wracking annoying”)<\/p>\n

“It annoys with panache.” = Es ver\u00e4rgert mit Verve.<\/em><\/p>\n

“spluttered” = platzte<\/em><\/p>\n

“you took an oath” = haben Sie einen Eid geleistet<\/em><\/p>\n

“trombones, drums, violins” = Posaunen, Trommeln, Geigen<\/em><\/p>\n

“greasy sheet music” = fettiges Notenblatt<\/em><\/p>\n

“I’d’ve tied his arms and legs in a knot and used him as a tuffet!” = Ich h\u00e4tte seine Arme und Beine zu einem Knoten gebunden und ihn als Muff benutzt!<\/em><\/p>\n

“I’d’ve swung him around by his hair until I took off like a helicopter” = Ich h\u00e4tte ihn an seinen Haaren herumgeschleudert, bis ich wie ein Helikopter in die Luft gestiegen w\u00e4re<\/em><\/p>\n

“deflate” = zusammenzusinken<\/em> (“together to sink”)<\/p>\n

“blithering like a madman” = herumzuschreien wie ein Verr\u00fcckter<\/em><\/p>\n

“we butlers are run off our feet” = wir Butler haben uns F\u00fc?e wundgelaufen<\/em><\/p>\n

“curled up” = zusammengerollt<\/em> (“together rolled”)<\/p>\n

“orchestra of cockroaches” = Kakerlakenorchesters<\/em> (I wonder if that word has ever been used before?)<\/p>\n

“doze” = Schl\u00e4fchen<\/em><\/p>\n

“flailing limbs” = herumfliegenden Gliedma?en<\/em><\/p>\n

“whirled away in the shouting, stomping throng” = von der gr\u00f6lenden, stampfenden Meute weggerissen<\/em><\/p>\n

“clumsy and exhilarated” = ungeschickt und berauscht<\/em><\/p>\n

“were smashed” = zerbarsten<\/em><\/p>\n

“unchallenged” = unbehelligt<\/em><\/p>\n

“ungainly” = ungelenker<\/em><\/p>\n

“unruly” = ungeb\u00e4rdigen<\/em><\/p>\n

“quietly filed out” = verlie?en ruhig im G\u00e4nsemarsch<\/em> (“left quietly in goose-step”)<\/p>\n

So, many of those phrases klang irgendwie h\u00fcbsch<\/em>, 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!<\/p>\n

Now, which of these phrases can you work into everyday conversation in the next week or so? I’m going to try \u00fcberraschenderweise schwindlig<\/em> or perhaps zusammenzusinken<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And let me leave you with this thought: Welche Welt w\u00fcrden wir ihnen hinterlassen?<\/em><\/p>\n

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