[ANSWERED] English Idioms Confusing for Native Germans
Hey folks,
One last obstacle between me and writing, so we'll see if I can get the matter cleared up.
Background: My MC has a mother from Frankfurt am Main, Germany. While the story takes place slightly in the future (because it's from her son's POV and set when he's in his late 40s and he was born in the mid/late 80s), I want to detail some trouble she may have run into with English idioms the first time she heard them, or other words that might have been confused.
Please see the edit at the end of the post.
I imagine most of the English classes she took in the 60s-70s probably wouldn't have prepared her for some idioms/expressions in English (kind of like how most language courses no matter where you live don't seem to when teaching a foreign language), but she has some English-speaking friends growing up. Nevertheless, from time to time I imagine she would have still been a little confused/needed to think about how some idioms related to German counterparts while she was still learning, and I'm also looking for some literal translations from German to English she might confuse when tired/stressed/ not thinking, and/or English idioms that may not have a ready equivalent in German that may have confused her in the beginning.
I've tried some of the language comms and they weren't as active/helpful as I may have liked in some respects (although I always appreciate any help I do get!). I found this idiom guide which was a nice start, but I want to be sure is reliable and so I can avoid expressions no one uses anymore. I'm also trying to avoid very regional expressions because I want to keep examples general.
Sorts of examples I'm looking for: Someone told me the very common English expression 'it's raining cats and dogs' has a rough German cousin ("Es schüttet wie aus Eimern"), but its translation directly from German is more like, 'it's raining as if from a bucket' and 'they're selling like hot cakes' is closer to 'they're going away like hot buns.' Then there's the English 'that person had some nerve/cheek (if you're using British English) when they did/said X!' but the German's got something to do with someone's forehead? There's also 'pulling someone's leg' in English, but the German's closer to 'taking someone on your arm'?
Also, in English there are phrases that may read strangely for someone new to the language, like, 'that won't cut it,' which I was told German doesn't have the same imagery for, and a dilemma might be called a 'catch-22.' Would those expressions be confusing for German people? Are there any rough German equivalents (not literal) that one could use to mean the same thing?
My German is poor, so I'd really appreciate it if people literally translated any examples provided. :)
Research: Guide above, Google and Wikipedia with 'German to English idioms.'
Edit: I had questions about German funerals. When did embalming begin to be handled by state funeral homes? Would someone who died in the 80s have their embalming handled by the state or a funeral home? Is it possible to have a funeral completely at a funeral home, or are church funerals more common?
One last obstacle between me and writing, so we'll see if I can get the matter cleared up.
Background: My MC has a mother from Frankfurt am Main, Germany. While the story takes place slightly in the future (because it's from her son's POV and set when he's in his late 40s and he was born in the mid/late 80s), I want to detail some trouble she may have run into with English idioms the first time she heard them, or other words that might have been confused.
Please see the edit at the end of the post.
I imagine most of the English classes she took in the 60s-70s probably wouldn't have prepared her for some idioms/expressions in English (kind of like how most language courses no matter where you live don't seem to when teaching a foreign language), but she has some English-speaking friends growing up. Nevertheless, from time to time I imagine she would have still been a little confused/needed to think about how some idioms related to German counterparts while she was still learning, and I'm also looking for some literal translations from German to English she might confuse when tired/stressed/ not thinking, and/or English idioms that may not have a ready equivalent in German that may have confused her in the beginning.
I've tried some of the language comms and they weren't as active/helpful as I may have liked in some respects (although I always appreciate any help I do get!). I found this idiom guide which was a nice start, but I want to be sure is reliable and so I can avoid expressions no one uses anymore. I'm also trying to avoid very regional expressions because I want to keep examples general.
Sorts of examples I'm looking for: Someone told me the very common English expression 'it's raining cats and dogs' has a rough German cousin ("Es schüttet wie aus Eimern"), but its translation directly from German is more like, 'it's raining as if from a bucket' and 'they're selling like hot cakes' is closer to 'they're going away like hot buns.' Then there's the English 'that person had some nerve/cheek (if you're using British English) when they did/said X!' but the German's got something to do with someone's forehead? There's also 'pulling someone's leg' in English, but the German's closer to 'taking someone on your arm'?
Also, in English there are phrases that may read strangely for someone new to the language, like, 'that won't cut it,' which I was told German doesn't have the same imagery for, and a dilemma might be called a 'catch-22.' Would those expressions be confusing for German people? Are there any rough German equivalents (not literal) that one could use to mean the same thing?
My German is poor, so I'd really appreciate it if people literally translated any examples provided. :)
Research: Guide above, Google and Wikipedia with 'German to English idioms.'
Edit: I had questions about German funerals. When did embalming begin to be handled by state funeral homes? Would someone who died in the 80s have their embalming handled by the state or a funeral home? Is it possible to have a funeral completely at a funeral home, or are church funerals more common?