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!
Well it is complicated, too formal can make you appear subservient or sort of like Eddie Haskell. Too familiar and you might as well be yelling “hey dude,” lol. They do love their rules.
As I understood it, du is for friends/family while Sie was more polite and formal for everyone else.I practice whenever I run into German speakers but that’s not very often.
That’s essentially correct but not always. Some elders or authorities are nearly always “sie” and small children are nearly always “du” but it’s very easy to find yourself in a seeming gray area, getting it wrong and insulting some burgher or hausfrau by sounding too distant (snobbish) or seemingly treating them like a child. Obviously I never fully mastered it despite a semester of immersion in Trier.
Like incorrect grammar in any language although Germans seem a little more sensitive. Lots of nuance and situational stuff...declension, gender etc. (We have only one “the”!)
2 years in high school and one year in college. Stationed in WesT Berlin in ‘60’s. Maintained a basically C level of proficiency for the Air Force. Been many years since those days.
Must have been a great experience at Universität Trier!
It’s in cursive German (I think). Haven’t been able to have it translated. ............................. Ah ha, that script could be in “Austrian” or Swiss.
Stunning place.
Ven German you speak, manywordsintoone find you will. The sentence structure to them was by Yoda taught.
Gott im Himmel!
Compare Canadian "zed" for the last letter of the alphabet.
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Perhaps I was being hasty.
I should have first asked why you want this translation.
Quick, cursory translation - with plenty of awkward phrasing and outright errors - but you at least get the gist of it, cheaply? Then Google Translate is adequate.
So, for what actual reason do you want to be able to read this book?
Regards,
The singular is "Umlaut" (masculine, so "der Umlaut"). Plural: die Umlaute (except in the Dative Case, in which case it's: den Umlauten).
Visited Nürnberg last month. In my judgement: A very picturesque town.
The accepted English name is: Nuremberg.
If you liked their Racial Purity Laws, you'll love their sausage (Fränkische Bratwürste a.k.a. Nürnberger). /s
Regards,
Actually, it's even more nuanced.
Speaking to a noble lord: Ihr (2nd Person Plural Intimate = the standard way of addressing a plurality of children, family members, close friends, etc.); the Possessive is "Euer" - hence, "Ihr ergebenster Diener" - your humble servant. But also still used in some dialects, e.g., when an old market woman addresses me, an obviously high-class person.
Speaking to a coachman or other subservient person: Er or sie: Er bringt mir meinen Hut und Gehstock! = "Bring me my hat and cane!" (Literally: "He brings me...")
Ich verbleibe
Euer ergebenster Diener!
Gott Mit Uns!
Regards,
TY. I was only 10-13 back then. We were in Nurnberg for about a year in 1957-58 as my father was with a tank/armor battalion. I recall him taking us to Dachau as he had been with the liberating force in WWII. I recall Stuttgart more as we were there in 1958-60.I also used to catch space A hops to visit my father and mother when he was assigned to EUCOM in 67-70 between his two Vietnam tours. I recall the bombed out area of Nurnberg. They had already worked hard repairing the damage. I recall the Germans digging in trash cans in 57-59. Sad.
>> Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput! <<
Was machst du hier? Willst du, dass wir zusammenbrechen und vor Lachen sterben?
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