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Catherine Coy
I agree with Ulla...it's interesting to read her "telegram" talks and follow her conversational sentences that can be rendered even more understandable with elipses and dashes. Wilhelm, did you ever have the opportunity to hear her speak in person? And, yes, my thanks, too, for providing these translations. I forgot my manners and didn't thank you properly.
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----- Original Message -----
From: crystalpyramid@... To: FlaxSeedOil2@... Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2004 11:55 AM Subject: [FlaxSeedOil2] Re: German writing style Wilhelm, first of all thanks for taking the time to provide these translations!!! You have beautifully summed up some of the major problems arising in German-to-English translations.Yes, literal translation in an attempt to catch all the nuances (good German often introduces lots of nuances and qualifiers) is one of the major pitfalls... And yes, well-formulated long sentences are a badge of elegance and intelligence in German, in fact the longer (as long as you keep the logic and syntax intact) the more elegant and pleasurable to read! One of the most excellent "convoluted" sentence writers is famous author Thomas Mann, I think his sentences often span half the book page or more!!! It is truly a sign of mastering the language particularly well, and together with other rules, I had to learn "the hard way" that in English it's simply not considered good style to write long sentences (what a pity ;-)... Ulla At 10:48 15.08.04 -0700, you wrote: >Catherine, >blame it on my translation. In an attempt to translate as literally as >possible, I sometimes allow myself to get caught up in her often >convoluted way of writing. Anyone who knows German well (e.g. Ulla) knows >what I am talking about. That is not meant in a derogatory way, it is >proper German. Dr.Johanna Budwig was far more proficient in German and of >course in the subject matter than I am or ever will be. This kind of >writing is quite common in Germany, especially among academic writers. One >sentence can be as long as 4 or 5 lines. Dr.Budwig often takes it to the >extreme spiked with many medical terms, the combination of which is for me >sometimes very hard to translate. > >I should translate these more complicated passages more loosely and not >try to capture all the nuances exactly the way they are given. That way >the passage would have come out like this. > >"The substances that are contained in the SH-group have often been used >with varied success. This important sulfhydryl group is found in Detoxin, >in Insulin, in Pancreatic Secretions and especially in Methionine which is >converted to Cysteine in the body. The often reported good success with >essential fatty acids and the significance of the often discussed >"lipotropic effects" of these essential amino acids brought me to the >realization that the full potential of these substances can only be >reached when they are combined so that they can interact." > >Does it sound any better? > >Wilhelm Note: The contents of the posts on FlaxSeedOil2 are purely educational and are not intended to diagnose or treat any illness. Always consult your doctor about the diagnosis and treatment of health problems. Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: FlaxSeedOil2-unsubscribe@... c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. |
