{"id":13712,"date":"2012-09-09T21:54:32","date_gmt":"2012-09-10T01:54:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=13712"},"modified":"2012-09-09T23:52:07","modified_gmt":"2012-09-10T03:52:07","slug":"sonderling-sunday-more-of-the-belgian-joke-cookie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=13712","title":{"rendered":"Sonderling Sunday – More of the Belgian Joke-Cookie"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Sonderling Sunday<\/a>, 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<\/em> 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 t\u00e4ndeltechnisch<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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

We left off two weeks ago<\/a> 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<\/em> (“the Belgian Joke-Cookie”) and aspiring archvillain Ken Kiang.<\/p>\n

Some fun phrases to know:<\/p>\n

“The plot thickens” = Die Geschichte verdichtet sich<\/em> (“The story compacts itself.”)<\/p>\n

“But the worst was when she would just give him a strange smile.” = Doch das Schlimmste war, wenn sie ihn einfach nur h\u00f6chst sonderbar anl\u00e4chelte.<\/em> (I go on about how sonder<\/em> is a prefix meaning “special,” but, okay, yeah, sometimes it just means “strange.”)<\/p>\n

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

“to seep in” = zu sickern<\/em><\/p>\n

I like the sound of this:
\n“meanwhile” = in der Zwischenzeit<\/em> (“in the between time”)<\/p>\n

“Food was running out.” = Lebensmittel wurden knapp.<\/em><\/p>\n

“blue veils” = blauen Schleiern<\/em><\/p>\n

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

“midwives” = Hebammen<\/em><\/p>\n

“locked themselves in their house” = sich in seinem Haus verbarrikadiert<\/em><\/p>\n

“a strange and unbreakable siege” = einer fremdartigen und nicht zu durchbrechenden Belagerung<\/em><\/p>\n

This one adds an image:
\n“said in private” = hinter vorgehaltener Hand getuschelt hatten<\/em> (“painted behind reproached hand”)<\/p>\n

“furious” = fuchsteufelswild<\/em> (“fox-devil-wild”)<\/p>\n

“ghostly image” = geisterhaftes Bild<\/em><\/p>\n

“screen” = Leinwand<\/em> (“flax wall”)<\/p>\n

“chalky, smoking ash” = wei?licher qualmender Asche<\/em><\/p>\n

Oh, this is a good phrase to know:
\n“armored ostriches” = gepanzerten Strau?env\u00f6geln<\/em><\/p>\n

“The camera drew back.” = Die Kamera \u00f6ffnete auf die Totale.<\/em> (“The camera opened to the Total.”)<\/p>\n

This one’s shorter in German, for once:
\n“surrounded in a circle” = umzingelten<\/em><\/p>\n

This one’s longer:
\n“squeezing” = zusammenzuquetschen<\/em><\/p>\n

“curling” = lodernde<\/em><\/p>\n

“throbbing, groaning, pulsing in and out” = pulsierte, st\u00f6hnte, \u00e4chzte<\/em><\/p>\n

“melting bricks” = schmelzenden Ziegelsteinen<\/em><\/p>\n

“spraying out the chimney” = spritzte aus dem Schornstein<\/em><\/p>\n

“The house strained at the seams, swelling, heaving, gurgling.” = Das Haus platzte regelrecht aus den N\u00e4hten, schwoll an, pulsierte, gurgelte.<\/em><\/p>\n

“My favorite part” = Meine Lieblingsstelle<\/em><\/p>\n

“Sir Nils was a whirl of limbs” = Sir Nils war ein wahrer Derwisch<\/em> (“Sir Nils was a true dervish.”)<\/p>\n

“doddering” = tatterigen<\/em><\/p>\n

“terrifyingly fast and fierce” = in ihrer Schnelligkeit und Wildheit furchterregend<\/em><\/p>\n

“blasting out slime” = Schleim quoll heraus<\/em><\/p>\n

“armor” = R\u00fcstungen<\/em><\/p>\n

“Something in Dame Lily snapped.” = In diesem Moment schien Dame Lily auszurasten.<\/em><\/p>\n

“surprised” = \u00fcberrumpeln<\/em> (“overpower”)<\/p>\n

“stopper” = St\u00f6psel<\/em><\/p>\n

Here’s a nice long one:
\n“opposite side” = gegen\u00fcberliegenden<\/em><\/p>\n

“exiled” = schickte sie in die Verbannung<\/em><\/p>\n

“legal issues” = juristischen Spitzfindigkeiten<\/em><\/p>\n

“flimsy” = fadenscheinig<\/em><\/p>\n

“laughing silently” = lautlos zu lacheln<\/em> (“loudless to laugh”)<\/p>\n

“ghastly merriment” = gruseliger Heiterkeit<\/em><\/p>\n

“stitched back together” = zusammengeflickt<\/em><\/p>\n

“a horrible jelly” = ein grauenvoller Wackelpudding<\/em><\/p>\n

“with a sickening THUP” = mit einem ekelerregenden, satten Schmatzen<\/em> (“with a disgusting, rich smack”)<\/p>\n

Here’s a good word:
\n“deflate” = schrumpfen<\/em><\/p>\n

“hissing squeal” = kreischendes Zischen<\/em><\/p>\n

“spewing stale air” = stie?en abgestandene Luft aus<\/em><\/p>\n

“spluttering into shreds” = in kleine Fetzen aufl\u00f6sten<\/em><\/p>\n

“a shriveled empty skin” = eine schlaffe, geschrumpfte, leere H\u00fclle<\/em><\/p>\n

“deeply humiliated” = zutiefst gedem\u00fcdigt<\/em><\/p>\n

There! That’s it for Chapter Ten. Doesn’t that just make you want to find out what all the gruseliger Heiterkeit<\/em> is about? Meine Lieblingsstelle<\/em> was probably ein grauenvoller Wackelpudding<\/em> or perhaps eine schlaffe, geschrumpfte, leere H\u00fclle<\/em>. <\/p>\n

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

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