German to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Religion / sayings, calender
German term or phrase:Landschaften haben Gesichter, und Gesichter haben Schicksale
This is the saying for February (from Peter Bann) on a religious calendar. Each month has a large picture and the "Spruch" is printed in both languages below it. Thus I am aiming for a translation which is at about the same length (for visual reasons) and which at a casual glance can be seen to include all the elements of the original (for those who know English).
One of my problems is that the word "Landschaft" reappears in Juli ("Eine Landschaft kann von Gott singen"), although there is no necessity to use the same term again. The other difficulty for me is "Schicksale". These two are somehow deceptively easy words !
I have the February photo in front of me, but I think it is confidential so will just describe it for you: The title is "Mandalay, Myanmar" and it shows an expanse of water and a flat "Landschaft" with a man standing up in a little boat in the foreground. It looks a bit like rice fields or something like that - in any case the general impression is of beauty and serenity.
Well ,colleagues, I hope I have given you plenty of context. I am looking forward to hearing (reading) your poetic suggestions.
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I'd steer away from 'fate' for 'Schicksal' here.
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Thanks Derek, that's a valid point. „Sie hatte ein trauriges Schicksal“ would certainly be looking back at a person's life so far rather than into the future, I quite agree, so I'd be happy to pick up on that and change my suggestion to "Every landscape has a face, and every face tells a story", in spite of the flattering agreement received so far.
Many thanks! I, as a technical translator, am very flattered to receive so much agreement for my translation of a poetic saying. It makes a nice change from engineering speak!
Thanks a lot, David, and you thoroughly deserve your four points. I would like to give Derek a "Trostpreis" for providing a convincing second half and the brill reference, but KudoZ does not have this option! Cheers Diana 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
Dear colleagues,
I think we almost have the answer now, thanks to all your great imput, but I will wait a few more hours (the 24 hour rule) before closing the question.
The philosophical discussion on "Schicksal" was really thought-provoking. Having googled the author of the quotation Peter Bamm (1897-1975, real name Curt Emmrich) a bit, I was surprised to see that he is not really known for any deep insights but more for the almost flippant type of humorous maxim.
Couldn't resist quoting two of his efforts to brighten up your Saturday morning: "Angeln - die einzige Philosophie, von der man satt wird."and "Aus den Träumen des Frühlings wird im Herbst Marmelade gemacht."
a landscape's "face" needs to include human faces or even resemble a face by having anthropomorphic features. Many things can "have many faces" metaphorically.
I think people can also agree or disagree with reference entries. Plus, I am not sure my suggestion is good enough. I think that merely amending David's suggestion might suffice, which is obviously just my opinion (others may have a different understanding of "destiny"). :)
Please post your suggestion to the "answers" section (not only to the reference section) in order to give people the opportunity to agree or disagree with you. Thanks!
...but I don't think it is important to see the actual face of the person. It seems to me that the mere inclusion of a person in the picture would add to the anthropomorphism of the statement. I would perhaps (I can't see the picture) make a connection between the lines in the landscape--especially lines resulting from human influence, such as those in rice paddies--and the lines in a person's face, even if I can't see the person's face.
By the way, thank you for including as much context as you have; that makes pondering the possibilities much more fun! :)
Thanks for the great support so far. Just two new bits of info:
There are no human faces to be seen on the picture. The man in the boat is looking the other way and is very small, anyway.
My source was a bit smudged and I must rectify the man's name : Peter Bamm ,apparently a doctor with philosophical leanings - just in case this is of import.
Landschaften haben Gesichte, und Gesichter haben S
10:38 Nov 6
Your're very welcome, David!
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Answers
9 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +10
Every landscape has a face, and every face has a destiny
Explanation: Do you like the sound of that?
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 10 mins (2009-11-06 09:10:04 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
I'd steer away from 'fate' for 'Schicksal' here.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 hr (2009-11-06 10:48:30 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Thanks Derek, that's a valid point. „Sie hatte ein trauriges Schicksal“ would certainly be looking back at a person's life so far rather than into the future, I quite agree, so I'd be happy to pick up on that and change my suggestion to "Every landscape has a face, and every face tells a story", in spite of the flattering agreement received so far.
Many thanks! I, as a technical translator, am very flattered to receive so much agreement for my translation of a poetic saying. It makes a nice change from engineering speak!
David Williams Germany Local time: 23:01 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thanks a lot, David, and you thoroughly deserve your four points. I would like to give Derek a "Trostpreis" for providing a convincing second half and the brill reference, but KudoZ does not have this option! Cheers Diana
peer agreement (net): +10