{"id":14458,"date":"2012-10-21T22:53:37","date_gmt":"2012-10-22T02:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=14458"},"modified":"2012-10-22T00:37:55","modified_gmt":"2012-10-22T04:37:55","slug":"sonderling-sunday-momo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=14458","title":{"rendered":"Sonderling Sunday – Momo"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! That time when I use children’s books to give interesting and enlightening translations of phrases that must<\/em> be useful — they’re used in a children’s book! This is intended to be interesting even for readers who don’t speak German, but who find words even a little bit fascinating.<\/p>\n

I wanted to look at a book originally written in German, and of course the first book I thought of was Momo<\/em>, by Michael Ende.<\/p>\n

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

Momo<\/em> was the first book I ever purchased from Book-of-the-Month Club, and worked out so well, I blame it for my subsequent addiction. Momo<\/em> was, I believe, the first book my husband-to-be and I read aloud to each other. We later read it aloud to our boys. A copy of Momo<\/em>, in the original language, was my very first purchase when we moved to Germany in 1996, along with a hiking map of the area we moved to. Even if I couldn’t read it yet, I wanted to own it. I can’t quite put Momo<\/em> above Anne of Green Gables<\/em> in my list of all-time favorite children’s books<\/a>, but I consistently call it Number Two.<\/p>\n

Besides being a good story, Momo<\/em> is mythic. Gray men come stealing people’s time. They convince people to save time — and then they steal it. Momo is the only one who can see them, since she has a gift of listening. My then-boyfriend and I were finishing reading this book aloud during Finals Week in college. We knew we “didn’t have time” — but it’s not a book you can use that excuse not to read!<\/p>\n

This book is only slightly longer in German than in English, unlike some others. However, my English edition uses much larger print than the German one, so that may be a factor. It is 227 pages in English, translated from 285 pages in German.<\/p>\n

I don’t have much time left of Sunday, but let’s see if I can make a start into Chapter One. Part One, Erster Teil<\/em> is called “Momo and Her Friends” in English, translated from Momo und ihre Freunde<\/em>. Erstes Kapitel<\/em> is titled Eine gro?e Stadt und ein kleines M\u00e4dchen<\/em>, which means “a big city and a small girl.” I like that much better than the English chapter title, “The Amphitheater.” Here are the two different chapter title pages:<\/p>\n

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

I love it! I looked at the front matter more carefully than before, and it turns out that the German edition has a subtitle on the title page. The English edition does not. It goes like this:<\/p>\n

MOMO<\/p>\n

oder<\/p>\n

Die seltsame Geschichte von den Zeit-Dieben und von dem Kind, das den Menschen die gestohlene Zeit zur\u00fcckbrachte<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This roughly translates to: “MOMO, or: The Strange Story of the Time Thieves and of the Child Who Got the Stolen Time Back for Mankind”<\/p>\n

Now I’ll go to some phrases from the first chapter. This time, since the original language is German, I’ll begin with the German, then tell how it was translated.<\/p>\n

breite Stra?en, enge Gassen und winkelige G\u00e4?chen<\/em> = “broad streets, narrow alleyways, and winding lanes”<\/p>\n

goldenen und marmornen G\u00f6tterstatuen<\/em> = “idols of gold and marble”<\/p>\n

aus Steinbl\u00f6cken gef\u00fcgt waren<\/em> = “built entirely of stone”<\/p>\n

Die Sitzreihen f\u00fcr die Zuschauer lagen stufenf\u00f6rmig \u00fcbereinander wie in einem gewaltigen Trichter.<\/em> = “Seats for spectators were arranged in tiers, one above the other, like steps lining the crater of a man-made volcano.”
\n(Longer in English! Google translates gewaltigen Trichter<\/em> as “mighty funnel,” and the translator’s choice does seem more descriptive.)<\/p>\n

With the intricacies of word order, it’s easier to give this complete sentence:
\nEs gab pr\u00e4chtige, mit S\u00e4ulen und Figuren verzierte, und solche, die schlicht und schmucklos waren.<\/em> = “Some were resplendent with columns and statues [S\u00e4ulen und Figuren<\/em>], others plain and unadorned [schlicht und schmucklos<\/em>].”<\/p>\n

unter freiem Himmel statt<\/em> = “open to the sky”<\/p>\n

pl\u00f6tzlichen Regenschauern<\/em> = “sudden downpours”<\/p>\n

leidenschaftlicher Zuh\u00f6rer und Zuschauer<\/em> = “enthusiastic playgoers” (“passionate hearers and viewers”)<\/p>\n

haben die Steine abgeschliffen und ausgeh\u00f6hlt<\/em> = “worn away and eaten into the stonework”<\/p>\n

I think this sentence is a little more poetic in the original language:
\nIm geborstenen Gem\u00e4uer singen nun die Zikaden ihr eint\u00f6niges Lied, das sich anh\u00f6rt, als ob die Erde im Schlaf atmet.<\/em> = “Crickets now inhabit their crumbling walls, singing a monotonous song that sounds like the earth breathing in its sleep.”<\/p>\n

This, too, sounds better in German:
\ndie H\u00fctten und H\u00e4user immer armseliger werden<\/em> = “the houses became shabbier and more tumbledown” (Google translates it as “the cabins and houses are always poor”)<\/p>\n

Pinienw\u00e4ldchen<\/em> = “a clump of pine trees”<\/p>\n

Altertumswissenschaft<\/em> = “Archaeology” (“antiquity knowledge craft”)<\/p>\n

These are simply fun to say:
\ngrasbewachsenen Sitzreihen<\/em> = “grass-grown tiers of seats”<\/p>\n

knipsten ein Erinnerungsfoto<\/em> = “took a couple of snapshots” (literally: “snapped a memory-photo”)<\/p>\n

man beim besten Willen nicht erkennen konnte, ob sie erst acht oder schon zw\u00f6lf Jahre alt war.<\/em> = “no one could have told her age” (literally: “one with the best will couldn’t tell if she was eight or maybe twelve years old”)<\/p>\n

einen wilden, pechschwarzen Lockenkopf<\/em> = “unruly mop of jet-black hair”)<\/p>\n

bunten Flicken<\/em> = “patches of different colors”<\/p>\n

reichte ihr bis auf die Fu?kn\u00f6chel<\/em> = “ankle-length” (literally: “reached to her foot-knuckle” I like that word for ankle!)<\/p>\n

deren \u00c4rmel an den Handgelenken umgekrempelt waren<\/em> = “with the sleeves turned up at the wrist”<\/p>\n

I like this one:
\naufgeschnappt<\/em> = “picked up”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>rostiges Ofenrohr<\/em> = “rusty stovepipe”<\/p>\n

(This picture is from the English edition.)<\/p>\n

ein ausgedientes, mit Schn\u00f6rkeln verziertes Eisenbett<\/em> = “a decrepit iron bedstead adorned with curlicues” (literally: “an unused, with scrolls decorated iron bed”)<\/p>\n

steinernen Loch<\/em> = “stone cell”<\/p>\n

B\u00fchne der Ruine<\/em> = “stage of the ruined amphitheater”<\/p>\n

This doesn’t sound like what it is to me:
\nbehagliches kleines Zimmerchen<\/em> = “snug little room”<\/p>\n

einen kleinen Brotwecken<\/em> = “a hunk of bread”<\/p>\n

The last sentence of the first chapter:
\nSo begann die Freundschaft zwischen der kleinen Momo und den Leuten der n\u00e4heren Umgebung.<\/em> = “And that was the beginning of her friendship with the people of the neighborhood.”<\/p>\n

Now, for a little fun. Can you use any of these phrases in a sentence? How about translating them into some other language? How do you say “ankle” in Chinese, for example? Or “snug little room” in Spanish? <\/p>\n

My favorite phrase from tonight’s chapter was knipsten das Erinnerungsfoto<\/em>, because I did lots and lots of that all over Europe during the ten years we lived in Germany. But I also have a jacket that I wear deren \u00c4rmel an den Handgelenken umgekrempelt waren<\/em>. Now when I do so, I will think of Momo.<\/p>\n

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