AMD 2: The Awful German Language

For this post, I decided to read one of the recommended readings. I have always found Mark Twain's pieces to be quite interesting and rather humorous, so it really wasn't a hard decision to read "The Awful German Language." It holds true that Mr. Twain did not fail to impress!

Not only did he deliver the speech in excellent German, but he had it completely entirely memorized. I appreciated Twain's boldness in his jokes about the German language. Most people are aware of the social stigmas that are associated with the German language, so it was pretty entertaining to see some of Twain's thoughts spelled out on paper.

Though all of this is grand and true, the most interesting part about "The Awful German Language" is seeing how literal translations can morph ideas. This, in turn, can lead to complete misinterpretation, especially because of the gender roles that come into play with the German language.

For instance, an exert from Twain's speech reads, "Und nie habe icy das Verlangen gehabt, der edlen Sprache zu schaden, I'm Gegenteil, nor gewünscht, sie zu verbessern; icy wollte sie bloß reformiren. Es its der Traum meines Lebens gewesen.

His translation reads, "And never have I the desire had the noble language to hurt; to the contrary, only wished she to improve- I would her only reform. It is the dream of my life been." You can see how things can get lost in translation pretty easily!

I showed my roommate, who is a German native, and she also thought that it was quite entertaining. She said she could somewhat relate to the satirical situation, since she had to learn English from scratch when she moved here in fifth grade. Though literal translations between German and English do not always mean what one intends, I would think that this happens between most languages today. That doesn't make it less funny, though.

If you haven't read the piece, I would definitely recommend it. It's very funny and the orientation of the piece was actually quite helpful as I tried to piece ideas together. I plan on reading it again closer to the end of the term, as well. Knowing more German may make for an even better read!