{"id":30087,"date":"2016-05-01T16:19:05","date_gmt":"2016-05-01T20:19:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=30087"},"modified":"2016-05-01T18:13:09","modified_gmt":"2016-05-01T22:13:09","slug":"sonderling-sunday-the-duel-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=30087","title":{"rendered":"Sonderling Sunday – The Duel Begins!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"Sonderlinge3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This week it’s back to the most Sonder book of them all, Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge<\/a><\/em>, also known as The Order of Odd-Fish<\/a><\/em>, by James Kennedy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last time<\/a>, and the time before that<\/a>, we were inside the Dome of Doom, getting ready for a momentous duel between Fumo, the Sleeping Bee, versus Zam-Zam, the Dancing Ant of Sadness. The duel was preceded by ritualized insults and threats<\/a>, which were most<\/em> entertaining in German, I must say.<\/p>\n

Now, however, we’re ready for the actual duel! We left off on page 263 and Seite 334<\/em> with the words, “Oh , look, it’s starting!” (Oh, sieh nur, es geht los!<\/em>)<\/p>\n

I challenge my readers to think of a way to use this first sentence:
\n“Both duelists had mounted their ostriches.”
\n= Die beiden Duellanten waren auf ihre Strau\u00dfe gestiegen.<\/em><\/p>\n

“buckling on the ostriches’ armor”
\n= schnallten die R\u00fcstungen der Strau\u00dfe fester<\/em><\/p>\n

“The crowd roared.” = Die Menge tobte.<\/em><\/p>\n

“ignited their double-bladed lances” = ihre beidseitigen Lanzen entz\u00fcndeten<\/em><\/p>\n

“snapped at each other’s throats”
\n= sich gegenseitig nach der Kehle schnappten<\/em><\/p>\n

“slumped” = zusammengesunken<\/em><\/p>\n

“The ostriches stamped and growled”
\n= Die Strau\u00dfe stampften und knurrten<\/em><\/p>\n

“true aficionado” = echten Liebhaber<\/em><\/p>\n

“bad form” = schlecter Stil<\/em><\/p>\n

“The crowd went wild” = Die Menge flippte fast aus<\/em><\/p>\n

“ferocious” = unerbittlich<\/em><\/p>\n

“The crowd howled with delight.” = Die Zuschauer johlten vor Begeisterung.<\/em><\/p>\n

“reclaim his dangling master”
\n= seinen herunterbaumelnden Herrn zur\u00fcckzubekommen<\/em><\/p>\n

“So humiliating” = Wie dem\u00fctigend<\/em><\/p>\n

A slightly different way of putting it:
\n“plunging into the water far below”
\n= landete mit einem Riesenplatscher im Wasser weit unter ihm<\/em>
\n(“landed with a giant-splash in the water far below him”)<\/p>\n

“gurgling with embarrassment” = gurgelte vor Verlegenheit<\/em><\/p>\n

“hobbled” = humpelte<\/em><\/p>\n

“I’d like to take her down a notch.”
\n= Ich w\u00fcrde sie liebend gern ein bisschen zurechtstutzen.<\/em>
\n(“I would her love to a bit prune.”)<\/p>\n

“square-jawed” = mit einem kantigen Kinn<\/em>
\n(“with an edged chin”)<\/p>\n

“Her bald skull was gouged with scars”
\n= Ihr kahler Sch\u00e4del war von Narben \u00fcbers\u00e4t<\/em><\/p>\n

“low rumble” = tiefen Grollen<\/em><\/p>\n

Huh. That’s funny. At the bottom of page 337, “whispered Audrey” is translated fl\u00fcsterte Orwell.<\/em> Either that’s a mistake, or I forgot that Audrey’s last name is Orwell.<\/p>\n

“The smell of sweat!” = Der Geruch von Schwei\u00df!<\/em><\/p>\n

“The smell of ostrich poop!” = Der Geruch von Strau\u00dfenkot!<\/em><\/p>\n

“gangly” = schlaksiger<\/em><\/p>\n

“collapse” = zusammenbrechen<\/em><\/p>\n

“screams, yelps, shouts of panic” = schrien, kreischten und br\u00fcllten voller Panik<\/em><\/p>\n

“rock ceiling” = Felsendecke<\/em><\/p>\n

“What a kid!” = Was f\u00fcr ein Prachtkerl!<\/em><\/p>\n

“This kid doesn’t waste words.”
\n= Dieser Junge verschwendet wirklich keine Worte.<\/em><\/p>\n

“moxie” = Mumm<\/em><\/p>\n

“headlock” = Schwitzkasten<\/em><\/p>\n

“muffled” = genuschelte<\/em><\/p>\n

“ya big lug!” = du Knilch!<\/em><\/p>\n

“bozos” = Saufk\u00f6pfe<\/em><\/p>\n

“One good turn deserves another, eh!”
\n= Eine Hand w\u00e4scht die andere, sagt man nicht so?<\/em>
\n(“One hand washes the other, isn’t that so?”)<\/p>\n

“pals” = Kumpel<\/em><\/p>\n

Translating made-up words are always interesting:
\n“moffle-hoppers” = Schlappohren<\/em> (“limp-ears”)<\/p>\n

“buzzing voice box” = Verzerrer<\/em> (“distortion”)<\/p>\n

“Consider yourself challenged!”
\n= Betrachte dich als herausgefordert!<\/em><\/p>\n

And we’ll finish it off with the last sentence of the chapter:
\n“I was kidding about the shoe.”
\n= Das mit Schuh war nur ein kleiner Scherz von mir.<\/em><\/p>\n

I challenge you to use that<\/em> in your conversation this week!<\/p>\n

Till next time! Bis bald!<\/em><\/p>\n

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