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Help! Need Help With German Translation
15 DEC 2017 | David Kielek

Posted on 12/15/2017 6:11:21 AM PST by notdownwidems

Freepers: I am in the process of translating, for the first time, a non-fiction book from it's original German into English. As a non-German speaker, I am attempting to use Google Translate, and a painstaking paragraph-by-paragraph mode. However, there are some letters in the original text that are not present on an English keyboard. Particularly a letter that resembles a stylized capital B. Not knowing what sound this iteration represents, I have been using guesswork to try to overcome my ignorance, with only mixed results. For instance, the sentence "Junge Burgersohne, die bisher Sportseglermutzen getragen hatten, lie(stylized B)en sie jetzt lieber zu Hause" renders, upon translation, the nonsensical "Young Burgersohne, who had previously worn Sportsegler caps, now love them at home. " when I interpret the unknown letter as an actual 'B', ie 'lieben'. Does anyone here know German and can direct me as to how to 'retranslate' the unknown character to effect a correct translation? Any help one can give would be greatly appreciated. Note to Moderator: I have posted this in the Bloggers and Personal forum; if that is incorrect, please move to the appropriate forum. Thanks!


TOPICS: Books/Literature; Education; History; Politics
KEYWORDS: german; language; translation
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To: central_va

Well, that was an interesting read.

Thanks for the link. I love me some Mark twain.


21 posted on 12/15/2017 7:10:57 AM PST by T-Bone Texan
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To: notdownwidems

When I studied German (decades ago), the instructors always called the B-looking thing that stands for a double S an “S-set”.


22 posted on 12/15/2017 7:13:48 AM PST by Sans-Culotte (Time to get the US out of the UN and the UN out of the US!)
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To: notdownwidems

In a former life I used Alta vista to translate, it worked pretty good. I think it is still around.


23 posted on 12/15/2017 7:17:53 AM PST by phormer phrog phlyer
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To: notdownwidems

Use Google Translate with caution. It’s not always accurate.


24 posted on 12/15/2017 7:22:57 AM PST by Fiji Hill
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To: notdownwidems
first off, google translate is not going to give you a good translation. ive used it extensively. sometimes it is completely wrong.

second, in the windows control panel -> region and language -> keyboards and languages tab -> change keyboards

you should be able to click 'add' and add a german keyboard that will allow you to type the missing letters.
25 posted on 12/15/2017 7:29:30 AM PST by wafflehouse (RE-ELECT NO ONE !)
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To: Lumper20

I also started learning German from a native German in a Department of Defense Dependent school in Germany, took two years of it in college, and spent my junior year in Germany. I also took classes in Russian, a language that seems to have been deliberately designed so as to be impossible for outsiders to master.


26 posted on 12/15/2017 7:30:44 AM PST by Fiji Hill
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To: notdownwidems

LOL, even today’s Germans have trouble reading the old script.


27 posted on 12/15/2017 7:32:44 AM PST by Bringbackthedraft (Damn, the tag line disappeared again? Coursors!)
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To: notdownwidems

German is easier to learn if you speak with an English accent, but if you speak with an American accent, Russian is easier to learn.


28 posted on 12/15/2017 7:34:34 AM PST by Fiji Hill
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To: notdownwidems

>> Das ist Loser-Talk! Gib mir etwas, das ich benutzen kann <<

Vy muss ju dis Dutch-speakene Folderol heer auf FR putten?

Vee ar onlig Englische-speakene folk heer-in.


29 posted on 12/15/2017 7:34:50 AM PST by Hawthorn
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To: notdownwidems
"Vieleicht kann ich sie hilfen? Ich spreche Deutsch und Englische."


30 posted on 12/15/2017 7:49:52 AM PST by Bonemaker (White Southerners have been under attack since 1860.)
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To: Bonemaker

Isn’t “sie” too formal in this context? German’s a neat language in many ways but miscalculating the correct level of formality can be very offensive to them and it’s often difficult for English speakers to gauge.


31 posted on 12/15/2017 7:56:24 AM PST by RegulatorCountry
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To: Fiji Hill

I have no clue with Russian but their expletives after crashing their cars are amusing, whatever they mean.


32 posted on 12/15/2017 7:58:54 AM PST by RegulatorCountry
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To: Bringbackthedraft
LOL, even today’s Germans have trouble reading the old script.

I have a post card written by my uncle to my father circa 1914.
It's in cursive German (I think). Haven't been able to have it translated.

33 posted on 12/15/2017 7:58:56 AM PST by Vinnie
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To: notdownwidems
I know a little German.


34 posted on 12/15/2017 8:00:28 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: Bonemaker

Bonemaker and you post a picture like that. :)


35 posted on 12/15/2017 8:00:58 AM PST by pas
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To: Vinnie

I learned German in order to translate church records pertaining to family from the early to mid-1700’s. It’s really not that hard, the strokes of the letterforms were just stylized to work with a quill, in addition to being connected to minimize lifting it.


36 posted on 12/15/2017 8:02:53 AM PST by RegulatorCountry
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To: Fiji Hill
I also took classes in Russian, a language that seems to have been deliberately designed so as to be impossible for outsiders to master.

Now that i am teaching a class on the Eastern Front, a class on the Siege of Leningrad, and working on Russian Civil War class i have not only gotten into romanticized Cyrillic but some Finnish. My understanding is Finnish is so difficult 25% of Finns speak Swedish. Since we are here does anyone have a source that can show me how to pronounce "englishcized" Russian words and names like a Russian instead of pronouncing them as if they were English words. Spasiba

37 posted on 12/15/2017 8:09:48 AM PST by bravo whiskey (Never bring a liberal gun law to a gun fight.)
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To: Hawthorn

Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!


38 posted on 12/15/2017 8:11:26 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: RegulatorCountry

All right have it your way...make it “du”.


39 posted on 12/15/2017 8:18:01 AM PST by Bonemaker (White Southerners have been under attack since 1860.)
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To: pas

Check my #30!


40 posted on 12/15/2017 8:19:22 AM PST by Bonemaker (White Southerners have been under attack since 1860.)
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