Yay! More fun with languages! This is fascinating. It sounds like my original style would have worked much better in German. :) I spent my last couple years of high school getting drilled by English teachers who were determined to make my writing more concise. It worked (sort of). My first beta also drummed it into me. She was Norweigian, incidentally. Many of the best writers I've known are writing in a second language.
It was cool seeing the cognates. I'd always heard that English and German shared similar origins, but I'd never seen the proof before. Out of curiosity, are the pronunciations of "brusk" and "advokat" similar to their English counterparts?
You know, German might be exactly the wrong language for you. It's easy to ramble on in German. It's much harder to try and keep it short. I've read lots of English fic by writers who had a tendency to use too many words, but it's nothing compared to what I've seen in German. :) I have a tendency to use too few words, myself. Some of my first drafts in English are positively gaunt. :D
This is so interesting to me because I don't really know a language that isn't English and I've always loved reading translations of poetry into English and the notes on how those are translated. It seems so strange to me to understand something twice at once, that way, and I love reading how it works. Thank you for providing this.
I am having so much fun reading your commentary on language. I wouldn't have thought it would be as fascinating as all this, especially the way American English is more pointed.
If you come up with the sex metaphor, be sure to share, won't you? ;)
It would have been something in the likes of German being like long-lasting, drawn-out sex with an orgasm in the end, while English is more like a kinky quickie where you have to cool down by taking deep breathes... and falling asleep. Or some such. It kept being not as good a comparison as it could be. I like the cattle and frogs better. ;)
I was right. I always get something out of this, no matter what it is you're discussing. I'm very much aware that I should take the time and really get into the material I'm translating (and possibly try and get the author to talk to me).
The second thing I get out of this is something alike to a kick in the behind. Reading your talk about translating is motivating me to turn back to my own translation. That's nice. You should post stuff like this more often. xD
It's easy to get the writers to talk to you. They usually squeal like demented squirrels when you ask them about their fic. ;)
I can only post stuff like that when I actually translate fic. Which isn't that often. I've finished up all the fic I planned on translating, except one which is long and which I'd definitely discuss because the writer asked me to (she too is of the squirrel varity. We all are!). :D But I don't know when I'll have time for that.
Yeah, well, I can only post stuff like that when I get to actually translate something as well. Let's see when I get around to it. Not tonight, because I have to drive my parents and their friends to a disco. xD It feels kind of wrong. Alternate Universe...
You don't have to answer to this. I just like ramble. >.
I'm so glad I finally remembered to go back and read this. I can't believe I took so long! This was really interesting, and not just because it was about my own fic
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It was a pleasant surprise to get a comment from you on this old post! :) I had a lot of fun with those translations and with the meta about them. It's nice that it still holds your interest.
"deranged"... uhm, it's possibly a more academic and esoteric word in English. It's all with the lack of education on psych again. "deranged" is actually quite the insult word though in this context, it comes across more as a clinical assessment than as the generic insult it could be. But it's still a crude thing to say. Hmmm.
Does that still come across in German by taking away the word "need?"
It does. It surprised me but it does. It's strange how you need the "need" in English to convey this while you don't in German. If I'd translated it literally, it would have watered down the meaning.
Because if I had to totally generalize, I'd say that given my experiences with Germans, they themselves tend to be pretty to the point and no-nonsense. :)
Maybe we're compensating. :)
It was a lovely fic to translate. Thanks for allowing me to do it.
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This is fascinating. It sounds like my original style would have worked much better in German. :) I spent my last couple years of high school getting drilled by English teachers who were determined to make my writing more concise. It worked (sort of). My first beta also drummed it into me. She was Norweigian, incidentally. Many of the best writers I've known are writing in a second language.
It was cool seeing the cognates. I'd always heard that English and German shared similar origins, but I'd never seen the proof before. Out of curiosity, are the pronunciations of "brusk" and "advokat" similar to their English counterparts?
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I think the pronunciation is rather similar. Uhm. Listen yourself? "Brüsk" and "(der) Advokat" (both courtesy of my dictionary of choice).
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If you come up with the sex metaphor, be sure to share, won't you? ;)
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The second thing I get out of this is something alike to a kick in the behind. Reading your talk about translating is motivating me to turn back to my own translation. That's nice. You should post stuff like this more often. xD
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I can only post stuff like that when I actually translate fic. Which isn't that often. I've finished up all the fic I planned on translating, except one which is long and which I'd definitely discuss because the writer asked me to (she too is of the squirrel varity. We all are!). :D But I don't know when I'll have time for that.
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Yeah, well, I can only post stuff like that when I get to actually translate something as well. Let's see when I get around to it. Not tonight, because I have to drive my parents and their friends to a disco. xD It feels kind of wrong. Alternate Universe...
You don't have to answer to this. I just like ramble. >.
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"deranged"... uhm, it's possibly a more academic and esoteric word in English. It's all with the lack of education on psych again. "deranged" is actually quite the insult word though in this context, it comes across more as a clinical assessment than as the generic insult it could be. But it's still a crude thing to say. Hmmm.
Does that still come across in German by taking away the word "need?"
It does. It surprised me but it does. It's strange how you need the "need" in English to convey this while you don't in German. If I'd translated it literally, it would have watered down the meaning.
Because if I had to totally generalize, I'd say that given my experiences with Germans, they themselves tend to be pretty to the point and no-nonsense. :)
Maybe we're compensating. :)
It was a lovely fic to translate. Thanks for allowing me to do it.
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