Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2021 February 9

= February 9 =

German dialogue
I would like some help on what is being said in this video at 02:17 to 02:20. It doesn't sound like German to me (sounds more like a fake-Latin way to say "disappear"), and frankly since this is a collection of voice files extracted from a videogame, it could just be made up. But I was able to understand mostly everything else the character says with bare minimum context of the game itself. --72.234.12.37 (talk) 23:39, 9 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I hear Köter des Imperiums ("dog of the empire"). I assume this is meant as an insult, although I don’t know the context. Cheers ⌘  hugarheimur 09:39, 10 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Without further context it could also be plural: ein Köter, zwei Köter, drei Köter, viele Köter. --Lambiam 13:19, 10 February 2021 (UTC)


 * The context in the clip is that of one character being addressed, so I'd stick to the singular (though admittedly, if this is just a jumble of voice files, then maybe the preceding bit is not context). Btw, 72.234, do make sure you click on Torana's link to wiktionary. "Köter" is practically always meant pejoratively. If you refer to a dog owner's pet as "Köter", you're either annoyed by the dog, or offending the dog owner, or both. ---Sluzzelin talk  11:52, 13 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Is it cognate with English "cur"? --Trovatore (talk) 21:55, 14 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Somewhere between unnclear and unlikely, at first glance. Perhaps a false cognate though. Compare etymonline's English etymology with that of German Wiktionary (subsection "Herkunft"}. I'm too sleepy to give a complete translation of the German text (and I've gathered that you're not unfamiliar with German, Trovatore), but the origins look different. ---Sluzzelin talk  22:05, 14 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Cur is apparently onomatopoeic. DWDS/Pfeifer seems to disagree with German wiktionary (which essentially reflects the Grimms’ DWB), also proposing a (probable) onomatopoeic root for Köter (a different, but similar one, methinks, so the two words are perhaps not direct cognates, but possibly related?). Cheers ⌘  hugarheimur 00:42, 15 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Ah, that makes perfect sense! I think because of how stressed the delivery of that line sounded, for some reason I kept hearing "Krater" instead of "Köter", and that in turn prevented me from interpreting "des Imperiums" afterwards. I guess compounding the matter is I wasn't aware that there were synonyms for "Hund" in German (but then again I don't really use the words "mutt", "cur", "pooch", etc in English). The context I know of is the character is supposed to represent the ideal of "freedom in anarchy" and his counterpart is another dude who represents "protection in authoritarian order", so yeah, "dog/cur of the Empire" fits here. Thanks, and I'm sorry I couldn't respond back sooner. --72.234.12.37 (talk) 22:21, 14 February 2021 (UTC)
 * You’re welcome. ⌘  hugarheimur 00:42, 15 February 2021 (UTC)