Erstes Kapitel<\/em> starting on Seite 7.<\/p>\nI’m going to begin with some interesting front matter. The translator’s name is Sylke Hachmeister.<\/p>\n
Opposite the title page, we have the author bio:
\n“Sage Blackwood lives at the edge of a large forest, with thousands of books and a very old dog, and enjoys carpentry, cooking, and walking in the woods of New York State.”<\/p>\n
This translates to: Sage Blackwood lebt am Rande eines dunklen Waldes, mit Tausenden von B\u00fcchern und einem sehr alten Hund. Sie liebt es, zu tischlern und zu kochen, und macht gerne Spazierg\u00e4nge durch die W\u00e4lder des Bundesstaats New York.<\/em><\/p>\nMy favorite in that bio is “carpentry” = tishlernen<\/em>, “table-learning.”<\/p>\nThe dedication in English is, “To Jennifer Schwabach because it’s her kind of story.”<\/p>\n
It has a lilt in German: F\u00fcr Jennifer Schwabach weil es eine Geschichte nach ihrem Geschmack ist.<\/em> (“For Jennifer Schwabach because it a story after her taste is.” But the sound of it rolling off the tongue is what’s especially nice about it.)<\/p>\nJinx<\/em> has a classic opening line, so let’s look at that.<\/p>\n“In the Urwald you grow up fast or not at all.”
\n= Im Urwald wurde man entweder schnell gro\u00df oder gar nicht.<\/em><\/p>\nNow I’ll mention interesting words and phrases as they come up:<\/p>\n
“carefully” = bed\u00e4chtig<\/em><\/p>\nInteresting. “Stepparents” = Stiefeltern<\/em> (“boot-parents”)<\/p>\n“Inherited” = geerbt<\/em><\/p>\nHere are some good-to-know phrases for your next foreign adventure!<\/p>\n
“died of werewolves” = von Werw\u00f6lfen get\u00f6tet<\/em><\/p>\n“was carried off by elves” = von Elfen verschleppt worden war<\/em><\/p>\n“a passing firebird” = eines vor\u00fcberfliegenden Feuervogels<\/em> (“an over-flying Firebird”)<\/p>\n“ignited” = angez\u00fcndet<\/em><\/p>\n“Besides” = Zu allem \u00dcberfluss<\/em> (“To all this overflow”)<\/p>\nSomething German has a word for:
\n“the winter would be a hungry one”
\n= ein Hungerwinter stand bevor<\/em>
\n(“a Hungerwinter stood before”)<\/p>\n“calculating eye” = berechnenden Blick<\/em> (“reckoning glance”)<\/p>\n“surplus children” = \u00fcberz\u00e4hlige Kinder<\/em><\/p>\n“a single bite of his toad porridge”
\n= nur einen Happen von seinem Kr\u00f6tenbrei<\/em>
\n(“only one bite of his toad-brew”)<\/p>\nAgain, it actually feels a little smoother in German:
\n“great trees as big around as cottages”
\n= gewaltige B\u00e4ume mit hausbreiten St\u00e4mmen<\/em>
\n(“huge trees with house-wide trunks”)<\/p>\n“the front of his coat” = Mantelkragen<\/em> (“coat collar”)<\/p>\n“doomed” = verdammt<\/em><\/p>\nInteresting. This must be where we got the word:
\n“twilight” = Zwielicht<\/em><\/p>\n“disapproval” = Missfallen<\/em><\/p>\n“gnarled” = knorrigen<\/em><\/p>\n“twisty hair” = zwirbeligen Haaren<\/em><\/p>\n“pointed beard” = Spitzbart<\/em><\/p>\nHere’s a good phrase:
\n“the wizard’s nose twitched at the bad smell of the lie.”
\ndie Nase des Zauberers zuckte, als er die L\u00fcge roch<\/em><\/p>\n“measly” = mickrigen<\/em><\/p>\n“Bergthold drew himself up.” = Bergthold straffte sich.<\/em><\/p>\nThat’s a good stopping place for now, just before a violent death. I feel like I need to walk in the woods to get good use out of these phrases — which makes me miss living in Germany, where there are always plenty of woods to walk in.<\/p>\n
Have a wonderful week! It may be a cold winter, but at least it’s not a Hungerwinter!<\/p>\n
![\"Jinx\"](\"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Jinx.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n