The shock-and-awe approach to translating from German into English for the intermediate

to high-level English student

Stephen Krug

The Master of Translation

Masterd_Umschlag.indd 1 18.02.2008 11:38:27 Uhr

iii

1.

7.

11.12.15.16.19.20.21.22.24.27.29.33.34.35.

36.39.41.42.45.48.50.51.52.53.54.56.57.58.59.61.

62.64.65.66.68.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Unit 1 – Shock and AweChapter 1 – Everything about Word Order

• the kernel sentence• prepositional phrases

• exercise: prepositional phrases• inserted clauses (relative clauses)

• exercise: relative clauses• the word order of relative clauses• relative clauses of time, place and reason• using commas with relative clauses

• exercise: using commas with relative clauses• word order review (”Carla drinks coffee...“)• the position of adverbs• the position of adverbs in questions

• exercise: the position of adverbs• the position of adverbs of manner

Chapter 2 – Translating on the basis of word order• identifying the kernel sentence

• exercise: identifying the kernel sentence• our first translation (”Ingrid...“)• our 2nd translation (”Leif Eriksson...“)

• exercise: our 3rd translation (”die spanische ’conquista’...“)• exercise: 6 sentences without relative clauses

• about cosmetic adjustments• info: Chinese proper names• info: ”im kommenden Jahr“• info: ”Innenstadt“• exercise: 7 sentences with relative clauses• info: capitalization of adjectives referring to countries etc.• exercise: capitalization of adjectives referring to countries etc.• info: ”persons, peoples?“

• monster subjects• info: ”in turn“

Chapter 3 – Translating compound sentences• translating compound sentences (”Ich verbrachte den Sonntag...“)

• exercise 1 (”Die Kapuzinerkresse...“)• exercise 2 (”Eine Monarchie aufrechtzuerhalten...“)• exercise: 8 compound sentences• info: ”je“

iv

69.73.74.79.83.84.85.

89.91.

94.95.96.97.

100.102.

104.105.108.110.111.113.114.115.116.118.119.121.

124.129.130.133.134.135.136.138.142.143.144.145.146.

Chapter 4 – Translating monster sentences• a 90-word monster sentence (”Volksdeutsche aus Kasachstan...“)

• exercise: a 95-word monster sentence• incomprehensible monster sentences• monster sentences in contracts

• exercise : monster sentences in contracts• exercise: 10 not-so-monster sentences• exercise: 13 sentences

Unit 2 – Grammar and stuff• introduction

Chapter 1 – Monster adjectives• monster adjectives

• info: ”Arabian“• exercise: monster adjectives• exercise: a monster sentence with 2 monster adjectives

Chapter 2 – What’s in a dictionary?• there’s more in your dictionary than meets the eye

• exercise: translating words that are not in the dictionary

Chapter 3 – Punctuation• punctuation• commas• structuring terms and phrases (discourse markers)• the notorious German comma-sentence

• exercise: 16 comma-sentences• hyphenation of compound adjectives

• exercise: compound adjectives• more on hyphenation• dots and commas in numbers• one billion = eine Milliarde• punctuation in direct speech

• exercise: punctuation

Chapter 4 – reported speech• reported speech• ”to say / to tell“

• exercise: reported speech – 6 sentences• info: ”to lay / to lie / to lie“• exercise: ”to lay / to lie / to lie“• info: ministers and their ministries

• reported speech that goes on and on and on and ...• exercise: ”Verkäuferin mit Kopftuch“• info: ”the city of Cologne“• info: ”economic / economical“• exercise: ”Raucher: Jetzt leuchten sie im Dunkeln“• exercise: ”Kein Ersatz für Petersilien-Ziegen“• exercise: ”Mitsubishi und Daimler bauen in Thüringen“

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147.148.149.150.151.152.153.

156.157.158.159.160.161.162.163.

166.170.171.172.173.

176.179.180.181.182.183.184.185.186.188.189.190.192.193.194.

196.197.198.199.200.201.202.204.205.206.207.

• info: the federal states of Germany• exercise: ”Große Zuversicht“• info: city names used as adjectives• exercise: city names used as adjectives• exercise: ”Teuerste Städte der Welt in Japan“• info: ”according to...“• exercise: ”according to...“ – 10 sentences

Chapter 5 – Miscellaneous grammar & vocabulary I• ”a / one“

• exercise: ”a / one“• ”maximal“• ”insgesamt“

• exercise: ”maximal“ / ”insgesamt“• exercise: translation – ”maximal“ / ”insgesamt“

• animals and their flesh• exercise: ”Immer beliebter...“

Chapter 6 – The passive voice• the passive voice

• exercise: passive voice• exercise: passive voice, without an object

• the passive voice with ”get“• exercise: passive voice – 16 sentences

Chapter 7 – Conditional sentences• conditional sentences• the three basic forms

• exercise: supplementing if-clauses• example of a text using the improbable condition• ”if I were...“

• exercise: supplementing a sentence with an if-clause• exercise: ”Jeder Sechste würde für Geld früher sterben wollen“• info: ”one out of ten“ / ”one in ten“• exercise: if-clauses – 12 sentences• exercise: a monster conditional sentence• exercise: one more monster conditional sentence

• ”if / when“• exercise: ”if / when“ – 12 sentences

• ”if / whether“• exercise: ”New Orleans ist eine Warnung“

Chapter 8 – Miscellaneous grammar & vocabulary II• ”zwar“

•exercise: ”zwar“ – ”Wirtschaft wächst wieder“• info: ”...im Vergleich zum Vorjahreszeitraum...“

• group nouns• exercise: singular nouns / group nouns

• about being consistent...• ”je / desto“ (with exercise)• ”umso“• ”to take / to last“

• exercise: ”to take / to last“• marathon exercise: ”to take / to last“

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208.209.210.211.212.213.214.215.216.217.219.221.222.223.224.225.226.227.228.229.230.232.233.234.

236.238.239.240.241.

243.

245.

248.250.

254.259.263.264.265.

• ”while / during“• exercise: while / during

• ”traffic / trafficker“• ”as well as“• ”of which / whom“

• exercise: ”of which / whom“• ”whom“• ”erst“

• exercise: ”erst“• ”because, as, since, for“• ”sollen“ – ”is to“ (with exercise)

• info: ”Leiche“• ”sollen“ – ”is said to“

• exercise: ”sollen“ – ”Hewlett-Packard schluckt Compaq“• info: ”Branche“• info: ”subsidiary“

• stressing borrowed words• ”like / as“

•exercise: ”like / as“• info: ”in China proper“• info: About Indians and Eskimos and political correctness

• multiple adjectives• possessive forms

• exercise: ”Kabeljau“

Chapter 9 – There’s more to adverbs than you think• all about adverbs

• exercise: adverbs that modify adjectives and other adverbs• comparative adverbs

• exercise: comparative adverbs – 6 sentences• evercise: ”Bitzel aus zweiter Hand“

Unit 3 – Translating without a bilingual dictionary

• translating without a dictionary...?

Chapter 1 – Translating individual words without a bilingual dictionary

• translating without a bilingual dictionary• exercise: translating individual words

Chapter 2 – The art of rephrasing• the art of rephrasing• rephrasing – at the possible expense of quality or style

• exercise: rephrasing – 6 sentences• exercise: ”Magere Martinsgänse“• exercise: ”Impeachment“

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267.269.270.272.272.273.274.275.276.278.279.280.281.282.282.283.284.284.286.287.288.

291.293.

294.295.296.297.298.299.300.301.302.303.304.305.306.307.308.309.310.311.312.313.314.315.316.

Unit 4 – Dos and don‘ts1.) use your dictionary!2.) use plural forms3.) don’t capitalize currencies4.) placing currency symbols correctly5.) don’t use contractions6.) no initial capital after a colon7.) ”in Cuba“ or ”on Cuba“?8.) using articles before proper names9.) ”a university“ or ”an university“10.) capitalization of titles11.) don’t offer alternatives!12.) how to write numbers13.) the use of ”e.g.“ and ”i.e.“14.) ”someone has left his or her umbrella“15.) ”the United States are...“?16.) ”the U.S.“ or ”the U.S.A.“?17.) ”man“ = ”one“, or ”you“ – or what?18.) ”...so ein Firmensprecher.“19.) work experiences...20.) ”the Industrie- und Handelskammer“?

Unit 5 – Translation marathon• a final word before we close...

practice texts1.) ”Um Schloss Windsor weht bald ein Hauch von Dallas“2.) ”Bombardier“3.) ”Entzweite Welten“4.) ”Ulan-Bator“5.) ”Die Fledermausmenschen von Manila“6.) ”Die Allianz-Arena in München“7.) ”Geiselnahme auf Shell-Bohrinseln in Nigeria“8.) ”Die Insel Neufundland“9.) ”Guantánamo Bay“10.) ”Neuer Streit um alte Tinte“11.) ”Freudenberg schließt Gerberei“12.) ”Traumziel: Griechische Inseln“13.) ”Neues von der Feta-Front“14.) ”Streitobjekt ‚Marrakesch’“15.) ”Schuldenfalle Handy“16.) ”Die Fremdenlegion“17.) ”Knast für Geschlechtsbestimmung“18.) ”Hurrikan ‚Rita’, Ölpreis und die G 7“19.) ”Frauencrew fliegt über Pakistan“20.) ”E-Mails als Stressfaktor?“21.) ”Forum junge Wissenschaft“22.) ”Csontleves“23.) ”Wo die Liebe hinfällt“

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317.318.319.320.321.322.323.

324.

340.

24.) ”Trost durch Freunde“25.) ”Zeit zum Schweigen“26.) ”Das Tote Meer stirbt“27.) ”Der Master-Plan“28.) ”Die Ausgewanderten“29.) ”Der Indusdelfin“30.) ”Dresdner Bank: Kreditgeber der SS“

• comments on our Translation Marathon texts

• Literaturangaben

ISBN: 3-939352-15-2 ISBN: 978-3-939352-15-0

Stephen Krug, born in Germany and raised and educated in Canada, is a professional translator, but meanwhile earns his living mainly with teaching. Besides teaching Translation and Canadian Studies at the University of Mannheim, Grammar and Conversation / Discussion at the University’s Studium Generale, and Business English at the SRH Fachhochschule in Heidelberg, he prepares foreign-language-secretary trainees for their IHK-exams (translation and business correspondence) and gives job-specifi c English lessons to Berufsakademie interns and other employees at a number of major companies in the region, among them Freudenberg in Weinheim and SAP in Walldorf. Beyond that, he is actively involved in a number of exam committees at the IHK Pfalz and the IHK Rhein-Neckar.

In the course of his many years of teaching Translation at the university and to his foreign-lan-guage-secretary trainees, Stephen has developed and refi ned a systematic, step-by-step approach to translating that never fails to amaze his students on account of its clear structure and relative simplicity – provided the student contributes a certain degree of interest in the subject and a rather good command of the English language to start with. His perenniel success with this systematic approach eventually led him to put together the textbook ”The Master of Translation“ and to get it published by the Mannheim University Press so that those students, trainees and business employees beyond his direct reach might also benefi t from it.

Masterd_Umschlag.indd 1 18.02.2008 11:38:27 Uhr