On the German standard of living (ca. 1960)

As a graduate student, my mother had to take some German and her textbook was Deutsch für Amerikaner by C.R. Goedsche and Meno Spann, published in 1960. I’ve been leafing through it off and on. This week’s fiction in The New Yorker is all about people trying to express themselves in an intermediate German class,… Continue reading On the German standard of living (ca. 1960)

Conservative dystopian futures

Some time ago on Twitter, another translator shared her dislike of conservative dystopian future fiction. I’d never thought to divide that particular genre into liberal and conservative subcategories, but it’s an interesting exercise. I suppose the former is driven by fear of oppression and/or a backlash against progress (see The Handmaid’s Tale) and the latter… Continue reading Conservative dystopian futures

Medieval love poetry: sexier than you might think

Richard Wagner mined most of his opera plots from medieval sources. Here’s an intro to Tannhäuser: Legend has it that back in 1207 or so, Landgrave Hermann of Thuringia invited the most accomplished minstrels in the land to battle it out at the Wartburg castle in Eisenach. In German they call this the Sängerkrieg auf der… Continue reading Medieval love poetry: sexier than you might think

I am certified!

In September I went to Madison, Wisconsin to take the ATA (American Translators Association) certification exam. There were about 20 of us taking it at one of the university facilities. Many language pairs were represented. Spanish and French were the most common. I may have been the only person there doing German-English. Until recently, ATA… Continue reading I am certified!

Monks + cheese

An update on the curious case of mendicant friars and the moral dangers of collecting cheese (see this previous post): here is a story that appears in Geschichte der öffentlichen Sittlichkeit in Deutschland (History of public morality in Germany): http://</a Basically, a friar goes round the farms begging for cheese and eggs, and at one house… Continue reading Monks + cheese

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Reformation Flame War

In honor of the 500th anniversary of Luther’s 95 Theses, here is my heavily redacted version of a Reformation-era dialogue by Hans Sachs, namely A dialogue on the hypocrisy of the religious and their vows, through which, despising the blood of Christ, they presume to become holy. in which Hans the cobbler and Peter the… Continue reading Reformation Flame War

Heine heads for the hills

Here is my translation of the poem that opens Heinrich Heine’s delightful travel narrative Die Harzreise (1826). This poem is all about how it feels to leave the city of Göttingen — famous, he tells us, for its sausages and its university — to walk in nature among simple mountain folk. Schwarze Röcke, seidne Strümpfe, Weiße, höfliche… Continue reading Heine heads for the hills

If this translation is wrong, I don’t want to be right

Recently, while slumming it at the Extremely Cheap Translation Service, I ran across two texts that were strange in the same way. The first was a German text: “Hallo meine hübsche Dame, wie machst du diesen schönen Morgen?”, which was already translated as “Good morning my pretty lady, how are you doing this fine morning?”… Continue reading If this translation is wrong, I don’t want to be right

Marion Dönhoff and Bismarck’s daughter-in-law at the end of the world

In January 1945, East Prussian Countess Marion Dönhoff jumped on her horse and headed west, away from the Russian army. Seven weeks later she and the horse arrived safely in Hamburg, where she settled and built a long career in journalism. She recounted the journey in her book Namen, die keiner mehr nennt. Ostpreußen –… Continue reading Marion Dönhoff and Bismarck’s daughter-in-law at the end of the world

Emma vs. Effi

Last month I read Madame Bovary for the first time. Afterwards I decided to re-read Effi Briest, having read it about 20 years ago at St. Andrews. I used to think of Effi Briest as “the German Madame Bovary” just because it was a realist novel about an adulterous wife, but really they’re quite different. One could write… Continue reading Emma vs. Effi