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German to English translations [PRO] Marketing - Poetry & Literature / Letters
German term or phrase:überaus gütiges Geschick
My question here is: are we talking about Geschick in the sense of luck, or skill?
Many thanks for any help/guidance esp. from German native speakers.
Text:
Ihre unermüdliche Arbeit u.Fleiss, sowie ein überaus gütiges Geschick hat Sie durch alle Färnisse der Kapitals Katastrophen hindurch nunmehr in eine hevorragende Stellung gebracht,.....
Explanation: The etymology of 'Geschick' is related to 'Schicksal', fate. In the Germanic, and more specifically, the norse mythology, three women (" Nornen") personfy the fate (Urdir, Verdani, Skuld). Depending on their "inclination", they would bestow the individual person with kind (gütig)or not so kind gifts.
That's why the German language still uses this construction of gütig + Geschick.
I like 'benevolent' because the the giving of kind gift is preserved in the Latin root of this word.
HTH
I wish all Kudos experiences could be like this one.....unfortunately the protestant work ethic now has to kick in and someone has to be given points for their ethics. I love Johanna's answer cos it makes the historical sense abundantly clear and tells a wee story to boot. 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
This is from Wordreference.com:
Geschick
(gehoben) (= Schicksal) fate
(= politische etc Entwicklung, Situation) fortune
ein gtiges Geschick good fortune; providence
ein schlimmes/schweres/trauriges Geschick a sad fate
Gareth, I agree that it could be construed as patronizing but that doesn't negate its meaning. "Geschick" (as in "gtiges Geschick") means "Schicksal". It's an old expression and wouldn't be used nowadays. Today, "Geschick" generally means "skill".
Gareth, "gtig" never means good as in skilful, but always "benevolent", "well-meaning", etc. Take that as a given fact. Also, as Robert said, don't forget the ethos, especially nearly a century ago, when the idea of providence was much more prevalent.
But see it in a protestant work ethos: to reap lasting success from diligent work in this world is a sign that God looks down own you benevolently - if His providence is not on your side, you can try hard as you might without getting anywhere
Anika, how can you be so sure- skill kinda goes with the work and dilligence bit. One has to be careful here, IMO, that to say someone has come through because of hard work and diligence and "luck", might be construed as patronising (i.e. no skill or talent was involved).
Sorry folks- I should (meant to- forgot) to mention this is from a personal letter written in 1916, so it's fairly stiff and "proper" in its general style.
Sorry folks- I should (meant to- forgot) to mention this is from a personal letter written in 1916, so it's fairly stiff and "proper" in its general style.
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Answers
10 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +2
überaus gütiges Geschick
extremely good fortune / providence
Explanation:
Duden/Oxford says: (a kindly) providence for gutes Geschick
But yes - Geschick in the sense of luck/fortune
xxxFrancis Lee Local time: 18:32 Works in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 80
44 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +5
überaus gütiges Geschick
exceedingly good fortune
Explanation: gütig always means favourable, well-meaning, which can only be used in the sense of fate, not skill - this is also implied by the term "good fortune"
I would translate the passage as follows:
Your untiring work and diligence, as well as exceedingly good fortune has brought you [...] to an outstanding position,.....
By the way, Fährnisse with "h".
Reuben Proctor Local time: 18:32 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 8
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +2
