tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096844366367766843.post2244089843797523397..comments2024-03-27T09:27:33.931+00:00Comments on Idiotic Hat: Every Translation is TerribleMike C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11279776665185060446noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096844366367766843.post-24229566039358940652012-12-01T23:09:03.588+00:002012-12-01T23:09:03.588+00:00Many thanks, Carsten, that's exactly what I wa...Many thanks, Carsten, that's exactly what I wanted to hear. It's difficult for a non-native speaker to pick up that sort of nuance -- I can see it's there, but not why or what it's doing there, if you know what I mean.<br /><br />Poetry is full of this sort of twist on familiar expressions, of course. It's one reason I'm amazed to see Google do it so well! Next stop, Paul Celan, I think... That should put a spanner in the works...<br /><br />Thanks again,<br /><br />MikeMike C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11279776665185060446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096844366367766843.post-5785876518061858362012-12-01T22:41:47.949+00:002012-12-01T22:41:47.949+00:00Hello Mike,
we Germans like to call ourselves the...Hello Mike,<br /><br />we Germans like to call ourselves the „Land der Dichter und Denker“, but it seems to me that the English speaking world loves their poets much more, at least in terms of actually reading them.<br /><br />I had read the footnote before the text itself and my first reaction was that „von“ is simply wrong. After reading the poem I have to say that the construction makes sense there, even though it seems strange and I wondered if I understood it correctly. I cannot say how a reader a hundred years ago would have felt about it. What I took it to mean agrees with your translation <br /><br />The expression „vor etwas vergehen“ is known to me only in cases where the something is some strong feeling of the person, not something exterior. I would think that the most common example is „ich vergehe vor Sehnsucht“. This is quite different from the use in the poem.<br /><br />I think you get the „gesetzt selbst“ completely right. I am not sure if “suppose” would work better than “assuming̦”. I do not know if this use of „gesetzt“ was common, I only know it in the expression „gesetzt den Fall, dass“.<br /><br />I am so pleased that I had something to contribute.<br /><br />Best<br /><br />CarstenCarsten Schultzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16040095694356968541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096844366367766843.post-54483331701243596742012-11-30T14:23:35.086+00:002012-11-30T14:23:35.086+00:00Thanks, Unknown, I was pleased with it when I saw ...Thanks, Unknown, I was pleased with it when I saw it -- I didn't quite get the "zombie eyes" lined up right in the gloom, but it still works.<br /><br />I've actually used it again in the next post, too...<br /><br />MikeMike C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11279776665185060446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096844366367766843.post-53341069782060426352012-11-30T14:13:50.308+00:002012-11-30T14:13:50.308+00:00Can't help you with the translation, but I lov...Can't help you with the translation, but I love that picture.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01732395599654966762noreply@blogger.com