Selm*; "Röstigrabenüberbrücker" Maday

English translation: see below

14:13 May 8, 2000

German to English translations [PRO]

German term or phrase: Selm*; "Röstigrabenüberbrücker" Maday

Swiss German in the sense of a German writing in German about Switzerland to be exact. This is the last sentence in the text I've sent a couple of inquiries on already. In it, the author is summarizing that the best part about Switzerland is its people: "Von den Leuten bei Selm* über die vielen Schauspieler, den "Röstigrabenüberbrücker" Maday und das Büro Pusterla bis zu meinem Freund . . . :sie sind das beste an der Schweiz."

The * takes the place of one letter that I can't make out. Being unfamiliar with what the author might be referring to, I'm having difficulty making an educated guess.

Any help would be appreciated.

Compass Translations

English translation:see below

Explanation:
Röstigraben is the cultural difference between german-speaking and french-speaking swiss. The guys name seems to be Maday

Selected response from:

Uta Moerschell (X)
Local time: 10:48

Grading comment

4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

proper name

Wilhelm Pfiffer (X)

see below

Uta Moerschell (X)

Selm*

Iain Purvis

Selma

Iain Purvis

Rösti are pan-fried riced potatoes;

evercraig

Answers

15 mins

proper name

Explanation:
This cannot be translated making any sense. Example: "Maday" is the "real" name of the person in question, "Röstigrabenüberbrücker" (He-who-bridged-the-"Rösti"ditch) derives from some event that person once was involved in. Often used to differentiate between people with the same name (Maday).

Wilhelm Pfiffer (X)
Local time: 09:48
Native speaker of:

German
PRO pts in pair: 12

19 mins

see below

Explanation:
Röstigraben is the cultural difference between german-speaking and french-speaking swiss. The guys name seems to be Maday

Uta Moerschell (X)
Local time: 10:48
Native speaker of:

German
PRO pts in pair: 37

10 hrs

Selm*

Explanation:
I would suggest that Selm* is the name of a town or village in Switzerland. Not having my Swiss map to hand, I couldn't enlighten you further, but I'll have a look and post another reply later. Iain.

Iain Purvis
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:48
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in pair: 88

10 hrs

Selma

Explanation:
Hi, me again! The town is Selma, which is to the south-east of San Bernardino, near the road A2 to Bellinzona (Italy). HTH, Iain.

Iain Purvis
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:48
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in pair: 88

23 hrs

Rösti are pan-fried riced potatoes;

Explanation:
taken together with Gschnetzelts (veal strips in a cream sauce), they are the national dish of the German Swiss. Such heavy fare is considered to be too much for the delicate palates of the French Swiss and Italian Swiss, however, and thus the Röstigraben (ditch, or, even better, trench) is an allegory for all cultural phenomena which separate the German Swiss majority from their non-German speaking compatriots.

evercraig

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