German term
Wege entstehen dadurch, dass man sie geht
"Wege entstehen dadurch, dass man sie geht"
Anyone know an "official" English translation. Can't seem to find a satisfactory one anywhere.
Oct 8, 2008 10:45: Steffen Walter changed "Field" from "Other" to "Art/Literary"
Proposed translations
Paths are made by walking.
| agree |
Helen Shiner
: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Franz_Kafka - under unsourced quotes. And this version does have a slightly different meaning or emphasis from others proposed.
30 mins
|
| agree |
Ulrike Kraemer
45 mins
|
| agree |
Joachim Krick
50 mins
|
| agree |
Nicole Y. Adams, M.A.
51 mins
|
| neutral |
Ken Cox
: Good for the literal meaning, but IMO the figurative meaning is not as evident in the English as in the German.
1 hr
|
| agree |
interpr8er
: yes, or paths take shape through walking/treading them
4 hrs
|
| neutral |
Lancashireman
: Sorry, I can't take this one seriously (a 'one-hit-wonder'): http://www.lyricsondemand.com/onehitwonders/thesebootsaremad...
12 hrs
|
Austria
Lesley Robertson MA, Dip Trans IoLET
Creative and conscientious
Native in: English 
Works in: German to English
Dedicated, Accurate and Reliable
Native in: German , English
Works in: German to English, Afrikaans to English
Paths are created by following/walking them
| neutral |
sylvie malich (X)
: hmmm, if you are following or walking a path, then it has already been created...
19 mins
|
United Kingdom
Patents and related material specialist
Native in: English (Variants: British, Scottish, UK) 
Works in: German to English, French to English, Swedish to English, and 4 more.
Paths are created by treading them
http://www.caminada.ch/index.php?cat=links
However, the "paths are made by walking" version does seem to be the one found most often in English.
Paths arise where people go.
If the alleged quotation is listed as 'unsourced' on the Wikipedia site, it can probably only be attributed to Kafka, and the attribution of German quotations is notoriously unreliable.
| agree |
Susan Zimmer
54 mins
|
| agree |
Rebecca Garber
1 hr
|
| agree |
Stephen Reader
: beautiful. Agree with your context proviso. It might be an exhortation to 'venture forth' etc. , which might require something more emphatic - though it could do to just imagine the "go" stressed a little in speech!
3 hrs
|
France
Arts/Academic translator - Art historian
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English
We carve out our paths by walking them
| agree |
Ken Cox
: Now tht the asker has let the other penny drop, this would be more appropriate to the occasion
1 hr
|
|
Thanks, Ken - yes, it does change things a little
|
|
| agree |
Lancashireman
: Sounds like someone didn't remove their ice-skates...
5 hrs
|
|
Images of rocky landscapes and hewn pathways ... thanks, Andrew!
|
United States
Design, Construction, Real Estate
Native in: English (Variants: US, UK)
Works in: German to English
Paths are established, because they're taken.
Kafka or not, the intent here is a paradox. a chicken and egg puzzle. A zen meditation.
The answer has to address the time and causality connection contained in the original. If those elements are lost, it's just words found in a dictionary.
| neutral |
Lancashireman
: "Sorry, sir. This path is taken." // Ah, I see where you're coming from. Extraordinarily sensitive use of the comma, by the way. Regards. AJS
5 hrs
|
|
Ach weel, gangin' it wis owr sweer onyroad. E'll jist tak anither.
|
Extensive cross-cultural experinces
Native in: German , Turkish
Works in: German to Turkish, Turkish to German, German to English, and 3 more.
a path comes about only if actually taken
United States
Translator, transcriber, proofreader
Native in: German
Works in: English to German, German to English
Paths open up, when treading them
United States
Translator, transcriber, proofreader
Native in: German
Works in: English to German, German to English
Discussion