{"id":18518,"date":"2013-03-10T21:41:57","date_gmt":"2013-03-11T01:41:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=18518"},"modified":"2013-03-10T23:19:50","modified_gmt":"2013-03-11T03:19:50","slug":"sonderling-sunday-neverending-unendliche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=18518","title":{"rendered":"Sonderling Sunday – Neverending, Unendliche"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Sonderling Sunday<\/a>! That time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books — or the English translation of German children’s books.<\/p>\n

Last week, my Sonderling Sunday post<\/a> was interrupted when I found out the offer I’d made on a new home was accepted, and I was way too distracted to continue. (I’m so excited! It’s a lovely condo with a lake view! And my very first home purchase!)<\/p>\n

So this week, I’ll continue where I left off in Die unendliche Geschichte<\/em>, by Michael Ende, translated into English as The Neverending Story<\/em><\/p>\n

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About all I’d covered last time was the snorkeled letters on the door of the shop. This is the section before the chapters with large alphabet illustrations. I didn’t mention that in the German edition, this section is in red type, while the later chapters are in green type. The English version has this section in italics.<\/p>\n

Continuing on, listing German first, because that’s the original language:<\/p>\n

regenfleckige Mauer<\/em> = “rain-splotched wall”<\/p>\n

da? eine kleine Traube von Messinggl\u00f6ckchen, die \u00fcber hing, aufgeregt zu bimmeln begann<\/em>
\n= “that a little cluster of brass bells tinkled wildly”
\n(literally: “that a little bunch of grapes of little brass bells, that hung over it, excited to jingle began”)<\/p>\n

Der Urheber dieses Tumult<\/em> = “The cause of this hubbub”<\/p>\n

durchweicht<\/em> = “soaked” (“through-wet”)<\/p>\n

Schulmappe<\/em> = “school satchel” <\/p>\n

D\u00e4mmerlicht<\/em> = “half-light” (“twilight”)<\/p>\n

mannshohen<\/em> = “shoulder-high” (“man-high”)<\/p>\n

I like this one:
\nRauchkringel<\/em> = “ring of smoke”<\/p>\n

Es zieht<\/em> = “There’s a draft.” (“It attracts.”)<\/p>\n

in einem hohem Ohrenbackensessel aus abgewetztem Leder<\/em>
\n= “in a high worn leather wing chair”
\n(“in a high Ears-back-chair of threadbare leather”)
\n“Wing chair” or “Ears chair”? I kind of like the latter!<\/p>\n

B\u00fcschel<\/em> = “outcroppings”<\/p>\n

bissigen Bulldogge<\/em> = “vicious bulldog” (“biting bulldog”)<\/p>\n

knollenf\u00f6rmigen Nase<\/em> = “bulbous nose” (“tuber-formed nose”)<\/p>\n

Oh, I like this word!
\nMundwinkel<\/em> = “corner of his mouth” (“mouth angle”)<\/p>\n

A new expression to try:
\nAch du liebes Bi?chen!<\/em> = “Goodness gracious.” (“Oh dear little bit!”)<\/p>\n

ein Mordsgetue<\/em> = “a terrible fuss” (“a murder-to-do”)<\/p>\n

I probably shouldn’t challenge you to use this sentence:
\nIch bin ganz and gar kein Kinderfreund.<\/em>
\n= “I simply have no use for children.”
\n(“I am completely and totally no child-friend.”)<\/p>\n

Oh, goody! More insults! (Always the most fun)<\/p>\n

bl\u00f6de Schreih\u00e4lse<\/em> = “screaming”
\n(“stupid screamnecks” — I guess the translator didn’t want to be so rude.)<\/p>\n

Qu\u00e4lgeister<\/em> = “torturing people”
\n(“spirits of torment”)<\/p>\n

die alles kaputt machen<\/em> = “breaking things”
\n(“who make everything broken”)<\/p>\n

die die B\u00fccher mit Marmelade vollschmieren<\/em> = “smearing books with jam”
\n(“who the books with jam fully smear”)<\/p>\n

die Seiten zerrei?en<\/em> = “tearing the pages” <\/p>\n

die sich den Teufel darum scheren, ob die Erwachsenen vielleicht auch ihre Sorgen und K\u00fcmmernisse haben<\/em>
\n= “It never dawns on them that grown-ups may also have their troubles and cares.”
\n(“who don’t give a damn that adults possibly also have their worries and cares.”)<\/p>\n

seine Lekt\u00fcre fort<\/em> = “went on reading”
\n(Interesting! Lekt\u00fcre<\/em> means reading, not talking. I bet that’s how the English word “lecture” started out.)<\/p>\n

Here’s a fun expression, and a tongue-twister, to boot:
\nManieren hast du nicht f\u00fcr f\u00fcnf Pfennig<\/em> = “Where are your manners?”
\n(“Manners have you not for five pennies.”)<\/p>\n

dich verspotten<\/em> = “make fun of you”<\/p>\n

Spinner<\/em> = “Screwball” (“spider”)<\/p>\n

Mondkalb<\/em> = “nitwit” (“mooncalf”)<\/p>\n

Aufschneider<\/em> = “braggart” (“out-cutter”)<\/p>\n

Schwindler<\/em> = “liar”<\/p>\n

Love those sch-<\/em> words!
\nschlurfte<\/em> = “shuffled”<\/p>\n

dumpfes Gemurmel<\/em> = “low mumbling”<\/p>\n

Unwiderrufliches<\/em> = “irrevocable”<\/p>\n

wundersch\u00f6ne, gro?e Anfangsbuchstaben<\/em>
\n= “large, beautiful capital letters at the beginning of the chapters”
\n(I love it! German has a word for “capital letters at the beginning of the chapters”)<\/p>\n

eigent\u00fcmlich verschlungenen Buchstaben<\/em> = “strangely intricate letters”
\n(“strangely inter-snaked letters”)<\/p>\n

I’ll stop tonight where Bastian reads the name of the book he has discovered:
\nDie unendliche Geschichte<\/em><\/p>\n

Summing up, I think the best new word of the night was Anfangsbuchstaben<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Most fun to say: schlurfte<\/em><\/p>\n

Hardest to say: Manieren hast du nicht f\u00fcr f\u00fcnf Pfennig<\/em><\/p>\n

Cutest word: bimmeln<\/em><\/p>\n

Biggest change of perspective: Ohrenbackensessel<\/em><\/p>\n

Best insult: bl\u00f6de Schreih\u00e4lse<\/em><\/p>\n

Worst insult: die die B\u00fccher mit Marmelade vollschmieren<\/em><\/p>\n

Again, go out and practice your new vocabulary! If only in the form of a dumpfes Gemurmel<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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