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The second day of the Tolkien seminar was just as interesting, with lectures on strategies of translation (including lots of dreadful examples from the second German translation (like Elvish Colloquialism and Hobbitish Uncolloquialism: the translator bragged to have transcripted the English differences in style to German, which the first translator, Margaret Carroux, admittedly hasn't done expressively, but every now and then, a Hobbit suddenly speaks very old-fashioned, "high" German for no reason while some elf says something terribly informal); and the second translator apparently didn't get the point of "thou", translating it formally all the time), the music in the LOTR movies ("Many people don't like the song Éowyn sings at Theodred's funeral, but when I heard it the first time, I jumped up and shouted 'Beowulf!' - good thing I was watching the DVD on my own" - and who would have known that Adûnaic, in grammar and word-stems, is related to Ancient Egyptian?) and on the construction of race and reproach of racism in the Lord of the Rings ("I beg to differ.") and some more good discussion. Considering this was the first scientific seminar on Tolkien since 1992, and quite a succesful one, I can hope only the best for next year's International Seminar in Birmingham. This one worked out great. And if ever I feel like making a Dr. in Cultural Anthropology, I already have a topic...
The best funny quotes are hard to translate to English, because my grasp of colloquialism and slang isn't exactly the best, so I'll leave it at that and skip to Stummel's (our loveably stupid epileptic cat) adventure. Since he was very restless all afternoon, we decided to show him the garden (he gets lost even in the flat, so he can't go out there on his own). He seemed to be absolutely fascinated - he doesn't go out often, and I doubt he remembers. At first, he was snuffing the air, surprised probably by the wind and the unfamiliar smells, and was looking around, trying to find the source of the noises (there's a playground right behind our garden). Suddenly, he raised his head, higher and higher, as though he missed the ceiling. He almost fell over trying to take in the sky. He also walked very carefully, wide-eyed, always turning to check whether I was still there, the only kinds of ground he knows being wood, tiles or carpet, so the stone, earth and grass ground must have been terribly strange for him. Then he found a cypress tree and fell in love with it. He smelled at it excessively, with an expression of "Bliss! This is what I searched for all my life!" on his face. I think he loves the garden.
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( Hobbitscher Unkolloquialismus, Eru als Nullnummer und ein Katzenabenteuer )
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The best funny quotes are hard to translate to English, because my grasp of colloquialism and slang isn't exactly the best, so I'll leave it at that and skip to Stummel's (our loveably stupid epileptic cat) adventure. Since he was very restless all afternoon, we decided to show him the garden (he gets lost even in the flat, so he can't go out there on his own). He seemed to be absolutely fascinated - he doesn't go out often, and I doubt he remembers. At first, he was snuffing the air, surprised probably by the wind and the unfamiliar smells, and was looking around, trying to find the source of the noises (there's a playground right behind our garden). Suddenly, he raised his head, higher and higher, as though he missed the ceiling. He almost fell over trying to take in the sky. He also walked very carefully, wide-eyed, always turning to check whether I was still there, the only kinds of ground he knows being wood, tiles or carpet, so the stone, earth and grass ground must have been terribly strange for him. Then he found a cypress tree and fell in love with it. He smelled at it excessively, with an expression of "Bliss! This is what I searched for all my life!" on his face. I think he loves the garden.
- - -
( Hobbitscher Unkolloquialismus, Eru als Nullnummer und ein Katzenabenteuer )
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