{"id":27032,"date":"2015-03-22T22:07:39","date_gmt":"2015-03-23T02:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=27032"},"modified":"2015-03-22T23:25:04","modified_gmt":"2015-03-23T03:25:04","slug":"sonderling-sunday-dithering-and-smell-songs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=27032","title":{"rendered":"Sonderling Sunday – Dithering and Smell-Songs"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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

This week, we’re back to James Kennedy<\/a>‘s Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge<\/a>, The Order of Odd-Fish<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Last time, we left off on page 226 in the English version, Seite 285<\/em> in the German edition. The very next paragraph begins with a lovely sentence for translation. Why isn’t this in every phrasebook, anyway?<\/p>\n

“Sir Oliver showed them around his observatory, packed with telescopes, star charts, and whirring machines.”
\n= Sir Oliver f\u00fchrte sie durch sein Observatorium, das vollgestopft war mit Teleskopen, Sternenkarten und surrenden Apparaturen.<\/em><\/p>\n

(I like “packed” = full-ge-stuffed<\/em>, I mean vollgestopft<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

“first-rate dithering”
\n= erstklassig sinnlose Arbeiten<\/em> (“first-class senseless work”)<\/p>\n

(Why am I not surprised that German doesn’t have a word for “dithering”?)<\/p>\n

Another good sentence to know:
\n“I keep all the equipment broken, so I can fiddle with it for hours.”
\n= Ich sorge zum Beispiel daf\u00fcr, dass die Instrumente alle kaputt sind, damit ich stundenlang daran herumdilettieren kann.<\/em><\/p>\n

Oh, here’s a word for dither:
\n“dither” = t\u00e4ndeln<\/em><\/p>\n

“exploring” = herumzustreifen<\/em><\/p>\n

“crawlspaces” = Kriechr\u00e4ume<\/em><\/p>\n

“peephole” = Guckloch<\/em><\/p>\n

I like the way this uses English:
\n“matching pajamas” = Partnerlook-Pyjamas<\/em><\/p>\n

“sly look” = schelmische Miene<\/em><\/p>\n

“homemade” = selbst gebaute<\/em> (“self-built”)<\/p>\n

“rubber tubes” = Gummischl\u00e4uchen<\/em><\/p>\n

“a wild, looping jig” = eine wilde, h\u00fcpfende Gigue<\/em><\/p>\n

Don’t you think you’ll need to say this if you’re ever in Germany?
\n“huffing and snorting with gusto” = voller Genuss keuchte und schnaubte<\/em><\/p>\n

“attempts” = entpuppten<\/em><\/p>\n

“smell-songs” = Duftliedern<\/em><\/p>\n

“scales” = Tonleiter<\/em> (“tone-ladders”)<\/p>\n

“clumping up the stairs” = die Treppe hinaufstampfte<\/em><\/p>\n

“embarrassing and strange” = peinlich und seltsam<\/em><\/p>\n

And I will finish that section with:
\n“the picture of happiness” = die Verk\u00f6rperung von Gl\u00fcckseligkeit<\/em><\/p>\n

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