tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post5098744357753485484..comments2024-02-27T13:06:28.163+01:00Comments on love german books: On Translating Hegemann: IIkjdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16236984779717127341noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post-80169945219338694962010-08-07T12:08:09.758+02:002010-08-07T12:08:09.758+02:00I feel very sorry for you having to translate this...I feel very sorry for you having to translate this overhyped crap. But then giving you're posting an avatar holding a copy of Feuchtgebiete, you're probably into that kind of masochism.Michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post-54115775065484642962010-08-07T12:08:01.073+02:002010-08-07T12:08:01.073+02:00I feel very sorry for you having to translate this...I feel very sorry for you having to translate this overhyped crap. But then giving you're posting an avatar holding a copy of Feuchtgebiete, you're probably into that kind of masochism.Michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post-26448784005642227862010-08-06T20:40:13.304+02:002010-08-06T20:40:13.304+02:00I find this idea totally wrong-minded.
Popular cul...I find this idea totally wrong-minded.<br />Popular culture in Germany functions very differently from pop in English-speaking countries. Even sex means something else - Beate Uhse is a perfect example. You efface real, tangible differences, when you simply replace "celebrities" in this fashion. The German celebrities aren't mentioned because of who they are but because of what theyMauvellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13434208690733265822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post-41911971571730806302010-08-06T20:36:56.283+02:002010-08-06T20:36:56.283+02:00I'm also all for footnotes describing who the ...I'm also all for footnotes describing who the people are in the German context. It won't do to just insert British celebrities - the whole history of popular culture in Germany is MASSIVELY different from what it is in English-speaking countries. Even sex works in a totally different way in popular culture... <br />Besides - people should just do an internet search to understand more Mauvellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13434208690733265822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post-37677292576738133992010-08-06T16:15:15.368+02:002010-08-06T16:15:15.368+02:00I'm with the majority here: leave them in the ...I'm with the majority here: leave them in the original, plus a (short!) glossary perhaps. But if you do decide to translate Rudi: it's just possible that a German or even a Brit taxi-driver might have a tattoo of James Last, that icon of German culture well-known to a certain generation of Brits....crumpet0552https://www.blogger.com/profile/16946339375152477149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post-67174251539336834002010-08-06T15:00:21.758+02:002010-08-06T15:00:21.758+02:00Having seen both on television, the person that po...Having seen both on television, the person that popped into my mind for Rudi was David Frost, if you were to go the substitution route. That being said, I agree with X.Trapnel on leaving the original names as is, with a back-of-the-book glossary, which even the Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest had.Harvey Morrellhttp://mehrgedanken.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post-14213992493230008992010-08-06T14:26:40.384+02:002010-08-06T14:26:40.384+02:00Re: Manan's puzzlement--Americans/Canadians/Au...Re: Manan's puzzlement--Americans/Canadians/Aussies/Indians are unlikely to know Ann Summers or other UKish references, and even though, yes, this is a British translation ... shouldn't that factor in at least a little? How likely is it that a second, Americanized, translation is going to be commissioned?<br /><br />Having now read the Wikipedia entries for both Ann Summers and Beate X.Trapnelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16331820913539099727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post-51753864987213433722010-08-06T13:57:46.599+02:002010-08-06T13:57:46.599+02:00Thanks for your comments, here and elsewhere. I...Thanks for your comments, here and elsewhere. I'll talk to the editor about the possibility of a glossary, but I'm not convinced...<br /><br />I can see the problem with Ann Summers.kjdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16236984779717127341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post-34145354525317487732010-08-06T13:37:39.608+02:002010-08-06T13:37:39.608+02:00I would echo X.T above and say please don't re...I would echo X.T above and say please don't replace! The Anglo-community can use wikipedia to get the joke. Or you can do a "funny" glossary pointing out such contextual information. Or even (add) your reference within the sentence. Um, who is Ann Summers?manannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post-68577042589471277452010-08-06T13:34:37.831+02:002010-08-06T13:34:37.831+02:00Leave the names as they are in the original; reade...Leave the names as they are in the original; readers will have to cooperate - German readers do when they read English books, watch English films, etc. Even where an equivalent offers itself, it may be forbidding to actually use it. Joyce's "Ulysses" would never be rendered as "Odyssee/Odysseus" in a sensible German translation! Nor would Bloom become Blum, etc. If your Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post-16458678869616003672010-08-06T13:27:23.320+02:002010-08-06T13:27:23.320+02:00Hrm, really? I'm not sure when if ever I'd...Hrm, really? I'm not sure when if ever I'd have learned of Beate Uhse-Rotermund if not for this post, but now that I read the Wikipedia entry, I'm really glad I did. It does seem to me a bit of a disservice to the readers to make the substitutions, partly because they'll never know what they're missing. (And is it really so impossible to have a back-of-the-book glossary? X.Trapnelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16331820913539099727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305631555616445080.post-39175855278169017472010-08-06T13:15:23.051+02:002010-08-06T13:15:23.051+02:00"Why would a German taxi-driver get a tattoo ..."Why would a German taxi-driver get a tattoo of a British television personality?" <br />Exactly - and why would a German girl compare her sister to people the average German girl has never heard of? I don't think you can replace the names. Plus I think readers deal pretty well with not exactly understanding allusions. They'll feel there is something to it and if they really isabohttp://xrays.antville.org/noreply@blogger.com