Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2017 January 2

= January 2 =

Translations from German
Hello! I am looking for some nice and as classic as possible translations for these German sentences: Finally, I would like to ask whether my introductory sentence is grammatically resp. idiomatically correct English – or do I have to place "as classic as possible" after "translations"?
 * 1) Das ist keine inhaltliche Begründung (e. g. after somebody answered the question why he did something particular by saying: "because I can!")
 * 2) Kaum bin ich ein paar Tage weg [und] schon geht die Welt unter [or: ... schon geht alles den Bach runter].

Since this kind of questions is somewhat difficult to settle with a dictionary – and all dictionaries I consulted did not provide satisfying solutions –, I would be very grateful for your advice,--Hubon (talk) 23:51, 2 January 2017 (UTC)


 * For #1, I would say "that is not a good reason", which is not literally what the German says, but idiomatic in English. For #2, I would say "I've barely been gone a few days and the world is falling apart". As for your introduction, it sounds very German, since German likes to use a whole string of words as an adjective, so you actually need to re-work the whole sentence to make it sound idiomatic in English - "For these German sentences, I am looking for some nice translations that are as classic as possible". However, "classic" doesn't sound correct there in English. I'm not sure what you mean by "classic" so I can't offer a better word. Adam Bishop (talk) 00:48, 3 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Thank you very much so far! By "classic" I mean [Is this idiomatic either?] neither slangy nor over-sophisticated, but timeless or standard instead; in this sence it was intended. Another brain teaser that has been on my mind for quite a while by now is:
 * Der Professor setzt von seinen Studierenden viel voraus (meaning: he assumes that his students have quite a lot of background knowledge) – Would you maybe like to [idiomatic?] also help me with that one?
 * Sorry for asking so much, but, as you see, I'm not a native speaker... (For the underlined phrases or any other part you may comment right in my post if you like!) Best--Hubon (talk) 01:45, 3 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Since you asked,"this" (in your initial post) is singular, but you've paired it with "kind of questions", which is plural. It's a very common mistake among English learners. Where you've used 'classic' above to describe the style of translation, I might use 'formal', but since formal translation has a technical meaning, perhaps 'proper' would be better. The sentence "Would you maybe like to also help me with that one?" is idiomatic, but slightly verbose and, well, formal sounding, but perfectly acceptable, especially when requesting assistance (when English speakers are asking for a favour, they often beat around the bush (second sense) instead of approaching it directly. Matt Deres (talk) 03:39, 3 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Surely "kind of questions" is singular, since "kind" is the main noun here - though it should be "kind of question", since "kind of" takes the singular. MChesterMC (talk) 10:01, 3 January 2017 (UTC)
 * You are, of course, correct. Thank you. That's what I get for editing while sleepy. Matt Deres (talk) 14:37, 3 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Also: "The professor expects a lot from his students" (which translates the German, but not the clarification). --Stephan Schulz (talk) 09:15, 3 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Stephan Schulz, that's perfect – thank you! are you sure? What about "these kind of people" – would I have to use "kinds of" instead?
 * Yes. Either "this kind of person" or "these kinds of people".  You might also conceivably, but rarely, see "this kind of people" and "these kinds of peoples", where "people" is a singular noun meaning nation, rather than the plural of the singular "person".  See Winston Churchill's A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, for ex.  --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  10:49, 4 January 2017 (UTC)


 * And here we go, another one [I guess this is colloquial now?] that's been giving me a hard time: So leicht kommst du mir aber nicht davon!--Hubon (talk) 03:09, 4 January 2017 (UTC)
 * "You don't get off that easy". --Stephan Schulz (talk) 06:43, 4 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Okay, I'll try to remember this translation, too – thanks a lot! But, honestly, isn't "this kind of people" a much more common expression? And in case the participants aren't tired of me yet, I could need some help with this expression I had to think of today: Mir wird schon etwas einfallen. Best--Hubon (talk) 16:21, 4 January 2017 (UTC)
 * "This kind of people" may be a mishearing of "These kind of people". That is, a mishearing of a solecism. "These kind" is wrong, no matter what follows it, but I agree that people all-too-commonly say it. They say "Me and him done it" too.-- Jack of Oz  [pleasantries]  20:05, 4 January 2017 (UTC)


 * For Mir wird schon etwas einfallen, something like 'I've got an idea already'? AlexTiefling (talk) 14:57, 5 January 2017 (UTC)
 * More like an assertive "I'll come up with something". The word "schon" doesn't mean "already" here. It's usually hard to translate. See the fourth item at wikt:schon. ---Sluzzelin talk  15:17, 5 January 2017 (UTC)
 * , would "he and I did it" be the correct equivalent for "Me and him done it"? Sluzzelin, that's a very good translation, I think!--Hubon (talk) 16:51, 5 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Yes, he and I did it. --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  20:49, 6 January 2017 (UTC)


 * PS: May I give you another one? I really tried to, but I couldn't find a proper translation in any of the German-English dictionaries I know, for the statement: Dort findet man... und alles, was man sonst noch so für ein kulinarisches Genusserlebnis braucht (referring to a very diverse market).--Hubon (talk) 02:47, 6 January 2017 (UTC)
 * PPS: Does anybody have a good tip for me (Do you say it that way?) how to get rid of always asking oneself how sth would be expressed in a foreign language...? I've been really "lost in translation" for quite a while by now – though I'm not a professional –, but it still keeps beeing on my mind all the time. Always thankful for good advice--Hubon (talk) 02:47, 6 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Alright, dear Hubon ... "there you will find... and anything else you might need for a pleasurable culinary experience". I haven't tested yet, but Google Translate may be your friend, after all . See, for example The Great A.I. Awakening. ---Sluzzelin talk  02:07, 7 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Sluzzelin, thank you for your translation – I've already thought of something with "anything or everything else" (I guess both versions are possible?), too, but now I can be sure about it – as well as for your kind recommendation. Though I must say that I'm not utterly convinced of the current state of translation machines and the quality of their results yet... Best--Hubon (talk) 23:31, 7 January 2017 (UTC)