GERMAN Language Help

[Nessie]

"are you crazy?"
if it's a stranger or another adult you hardly know - Sind Sie verrückt?
if it's a friend, someone you know - Bist du verrückt? / Spinnst du? / Hast du sie noch alle? (a bit more informal)


About "Shee Oouf." - Sorry, but I have absolutely no idea. Not even a hunch. Could you say sth about the context when you heard it?

[LilykinsLove]

*prods all that are german-speakers and betas*

I am about to start a fic, and it's primarily based around a girl (or two) from Durmstrang, and they are two of the few German students there. They are going to Hogwarts for the TriWizard Tournement, and while I don't want the whole fic to be in German (As I don't speak it myself) I would like it to be a part of the fic. Is there anyone out there that would like to help me with that? That could help me with ideas and beta-ing, also? I'd rather it be a native German, but I'm willing to take on anyone.

yes, i know this should probably be in the beta thread, but as I specifically need a German-speaking Beta....

And then I'll probably get a brittish beta for the rest of it.

Anyone?
Emma
*bribes with chocolate-hunk brownies*

[eevaa]

*prods all that are german-speakers and betas*

I am about to start a fic, and it's primarily based around a girl (or two) from Durmstrang, and they are two of the few German students there. They are going to Hogwarts for the TriWizard Tournement, and while I don't want the whole fic to be in German (As I don't speak it myself) I would like it to be a part of the fic. Is there anyone out there that would like to help me with that? That could help me with ideas and beta-ing, also? I'd rather it be a native German, but I'm willing to take on anyone.

yes, i know this should probably be in the beta thread, but as I specifically need a German-speaking Beta....

And then I'll probably get a brittish beta for the rest of it.

Anyone?
Emma
*bribes with chocolate-hunk brownies*

I'd love to help you with that! (I'm native German.) I'm also happy to help concerning ideas. I'm not experienced in beta-ing though, but I don't think it makes much of a difference for developing dialogues and such, especially in my mother tongue.

[kehribar]

I'd be very grateful is someone could translate the following senteces for me:

"Ah, Herr Friedell, what a pleasure! It's been so long since you last visited."

"The pleasure is mine, Frau Weber. You look lovely."


I don't know if it matters, but the people are Austrian and the setting in Vienna. I've no idea how much difference there is between the German language of Germany and Austria. Thanks in advance

[luinrina]

Hi everyone,

I'm native German, too, and would also like to offer my help here with anything concerning German.


kehribar: The translation would be the following:

"Ah, Herr Friedell, was für eine Überraschung/Freude! Es ist schon lange her, seit Sie uns das letzte Mal besucht haben."

"Die Freude ist ganz meinerseits, Frau Weber. Sie sehen wunderbar/reizend/großartig aus (heute)."

The word in brackets "heute" (= today) I would add just because it's kind of typical for German; but it's no must if you don't want to have it in your sentence. And concerning Austrian and German German - there is a difference, partly a really big one. But I think with the two sentences above you don't need to worry about either Austrian or German German, it's written the same (although spoken it might sound very different due to dialects and accents).

The word "Überraschung/Freude" can either be used, as it's the same with "wunderbar/reizend/großartig". They mean the same, so just choose one of the words.



BloodRayne: I, too, don't know for sure what "Shee Oouf" means, but I might have an idea. I tried saying it aloud a few times and I think it sound a bit like "Steh auf" (= get up, stand up) with a strong accent/dialect. Now I'll guess: Was somebody sitting/lying somewhere and another person coaxed the lying/sitting one to stand? Than it would be my suggestion. If not, no idea what else it could mean.



LilykinsLove: I have no beta experience either, but I would like to help you out, too, if you'd like.

[kehribar]

That's perfect. Thank you very much, luinrina
..................................

[Tim the Enchanter]

Salutations, German speakers!

First of all, I would just like to say that my knowledge of this language is very limited, otherwise I wouldn't be posting this message, would I?

I just realised I used the word "would" three times in that last sentence...

But I digress. I do not need full sentences translated, just a few words and phrases. I don't trust my (lack of) German knowledge, so I would greatly appreciate it if someone could look over what I have and offer any corrections or advice.

Guten Morgen: I know this is incredibly elementary, but every translation/dictionary site thing I've used capitalised the "Morgen." Is that correct, or should it be lower case?

Für Das Größere Gute: This is what I think "For the Greater Good" is in German. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Zauberische Verteidigungsmannschaft des Kanzlers: Wizarding Defence Crew of the Chancellor? Is that correct?

Mitternachtsmannschaft: This is the common name of the above nasty organisation, and hopefully what I have means "Midnight Crew" or something along those lines.

Verärgerte Nacht: This is going to be a chapter title, and I'm pretty sure it means "Angry Night." If not, please let me know.

Sturmgruppenführer: Assault Group Leader? Storm Group Leader?

Also, what exactly does the word "Knacker" mean? Cracker? Breaker? Something like that? That being the case, how would you say "Polebreaker" (as in people from Poland, not long narrow support things)? Poleknacker?

That's all I have for the moment, so please assess the accuracy of the German things I came up with. Thanks!

Tim the Enchanter

[luinrina]

Salutations Tim the Enchanter!

Well, let's see how I can help you.

Guten Morgen: It is correct with a capitalised "M". Morgen is a noun, and nouns are written upper case in Germany - mostly. In this case it is. So you have it down correctly.

Für Das Größere Gute: I have the German copy of DH open next to me, so "for the Greater Good" is translated "Für das Größere Wohl".

Verärgerte Nacht: *ponders* Hmm... doesn't really sound like something I would say, but - basically - it is correct. I'd translate "angry night" as "böse Nacht" or "düstere Nacht" though.

Zauberische Verteidigungsmannschaft des Kanzlers, Mitternachtsmannschaft, Sturmgruppenführer:

Did you come up with them on your own? Because I can't remember any of them being used in the German books.

But let's go each after the other.

1) "Wizarding Defence Crew of the Chancellor" I'd translate with "Magisches Verteidigungsteam des Kanzlers" or "Magisches Kanler-Verteidigungsteam", although the first one is sounding better.

2) "Midnight Crew": yes, Mitternachtsmannschaft is working, but I'd rather say "Mitternachtscrew" or "Mitternachtsteam". We Germans have quite a lot of English sounding words in our language. It depends, however, in which time frame your story is set. Which year is it? Some decades back, when there still was the GDR, English wasn't this common in our language. I can help you more with that in detail if you like.

3) "Assault Team" is translated as "Sturmtruppe". That's a part of the army. So, if you want the translation for "Assault Group Leader" it would be "Sturmtruppenführer". "Storm" I wouldn't translate as "Sturm" in connection with "Sturmtruppe" because it's rather meant in weather for tempest, at least as far as I see it.

And now Knacker:

1) a sausage - it's a bit like the bockwurst (or large Frankfurter), but tastes more spicy. In this relation it's called a "Knackwurst" in German. The English translations is "knackwurst", "knockwurst" or "banger" - although the latter isn't quite as spicy. But we would know what is meant with that.

2) to break a car = ein Auto aufbrechen/knacken, a breaker = a Knacker; "etw. knacken" is literally meaning to break something open, like a jackpot for example. So a "Knacker" is the person who breaks it open.

3) a cracker

4) a slang term for "old man" = alter Knacker. The Americans know this as "geezer"

About Polebreaker: I don't really know what you mean with this. Your explanation is kind of cryptic. Can you give me a context maybe?

Okay, I hope to have been of some help so far. Feel free to contact me anytime. I'd be glad to help you out.

~Bine

[Tim the Enchanter]

Thank you for the German help, luinrina!

To clarify why I requested this German help, I am writing a Grindelwald-era fic, but the twist being that the story is from the perspective of the bad guys. To answer your question, the story takes place in the 1930s-40s, so that might shed some light on the translation of a few things.

The things like Mitternachtsmannschaft and such are not from the Potter books, and are my own creation. Here's some more in-depth information on what I came up with...

Zauberische Verteidigungsmannschaft des Kanzlers (Z.V.K.): This is Grindelwald's equivalent of the British Aurors. However, instead of fighting dark wizards, their job is to "take care of" dissenters. They barge into your home at midnight and drag you off to Nurmengard (or worse), thus earning them the rather menacing and cool sounding nickname, the Mitternachtsmannschaft.

Is the name for the Z.V.K. at least grammatically correct? I've gotten attached to the "Z" in the acronym, and I think it sounds harsher/more menacing than an "M" if I change the first part to "Magisches." So my question is, can I keep it as "Zauberische?"

Another question: what is the translation of "mannschaft?" Is that a more old-fashioned way of saying crew (or a group of some sort) than "team" or "crew?" Again, I find Mitternachsmannschaft more "evil" sounding than Mitternachtscrew.

On to the "Polebreaker" thing. First of all, what is the German word for a Pole (as in a Polish person), and what is the word for a pole (like a wooden staff)? The reason being is that I was imagining a character who was in the Z.V.K., nicknamed the "Polebreaker" - the pun being that he fought ruthlessly against the Poles while using an oversized, staff-like wand (like a pole). However, that pun probably won't work in German, but oh well.

Anyway, the translation of "Knacker" that I was looking for was the "breaker," as in breaking something open. If my assumption is correct, the German word for Pole and pole are not the same, so if that is (probably) the case, I would like "Polebreaker?" to refer to Polish people, rather than a wooden staff.

But enough of that. Here are some more things that I would like checked/translated, if you would be so kind...

Das Zweite Zauberereich: I believe this is "The Second Wizarding Reich." Anyway, this is the official name of Grindelwald's Germany. The first Wizarding Reich was when wizards (supposedly) had dominance over the Muggles, but the 1st Reich ended when witches and wizards went into hiding several hundred years ago with the Statute of Secrecy. Since Grindelwald's plan is to reassert Magical authority over Muggles once more, he named his nation the Second Zauberereich.

Schnell! vs. Schneller!: I don't really know the difference between these two versions of "faster!" - I'm pretty sure that's what it means.

Raus! vs. Heraus!: Again, I don't understand the difference.

Also, what is "Muggle" in German, in singular and plural?

That's all I have for now. Thanks for your help!

Tim the Enchanter

[luinrina]

Thanks for clearing up the time frame your story is set in, Tim the Enchanter. It makes several things easier, because back at that time the German language was more, well... German - without all the English terms we have today.

1) Z.V.K. - Yes, grammatically "Zauberische" is correct. It sounds weird when you take the entire name, but I agree with you that Z.V.K. rings more menacingly than M.V.K. So you can keep your Z.V.K.

2) "Mannschaft" is a team or a crew, and that's what Germans used in the 1940s to say, so "Mitternachtsmannschaft" is correct, too.

3) Polebreaker
- Poland = Polen, Polish = polnisch, Pole = der Pole/die Polin, Poles = die Polen
- pole (wooden staff) = der Stab, der Pfahl; "Stab" is smaller and thinner, used e.g. for wand (= Zauberstab) whereas a "Pfahl" is big, like e.g. streetlamp (= Laternenpfahl)

So, I'd therefore translate a "Polebreaker" as "Polenknacker" - which, if you allow me, sounds horribly wrong. A slightly better sound has "Polenbrecher", so I suggest using this one, although I'm still not happy with that term. I try to think of something better, but in the meantime you can go with "Polenbrecher".

EDIT: Tim the Enchanter, as promised I thought about the term "Polebreaker", and I came up with a far better solution than "Polenknacker" or "Polenbrecher". The word I strongly suggest you use is "Polenschläger". "Schlagen" is to beat, and "zerschlagen" (where I originated "Polenschläger" from) is to break, too. You can understand this as in to break windows or furniture, or even bones or spines, when the Polebreakers storm into Polish houses and such. It's quite a violent term, too, so it would fit into your story very well. And it sounds a lot better than the two words I gave above as translations.

4) "Das Zweite Zauberereich" is all fine.

5) Schnell! vs. Schneller! - "schnell" is fast, and "schneller" is faster. "Schneller" is the comparison to "schnell".
Example: Bine runs fast around the house. Tim the Enchanter though runs faster.
Translation: Bine läuft schnell ums Haus. Tim the Enchanter jedoch läuft schneller.

6) Raus! vs. Heraus! - it's the same. "Heraus" is the actual word, whereas "raus" is a shortened term of "heraus" that has found its own place in our language, more in the slang though. For your time frame, however, I suggest using "heraus".

7) a Muggle = ein Muggel, several Muggles = mehrere Muggel
Singular and plural forms are the same in this case.

Furthermore, if you'd like me to advance read your story to check out the German terms, feel free to PM me anytime. I'd be happy to help you out.

~Bine