test please delete

[DS23]

has to be tea with scrambled eggs and bread and mushrooms and stuff.

[FiveTimes]

A mug of tea, like I do with a fried egg butty?

Or fruit juice as one of the 5-a-day?

Do mushrooms go towards your 5-a-day ?

[BrowneIssue]

Today, 15:27 #199750

Only 250 to go...

[FiveTimes]

I don't like eggs

[DS23]

yes. they must.

[BrowneIssue]

I am delighted to see that The Good Soldier Švejk has been quoted here in a long string of posts a couple of years ago. I couldn't help but notice that he was being quoted as saying "humbly report". That is perhaps the correct rendition into the British military jargon (I presume), but is very misleading. Let me quote a reader of the new translation:


I just finished the first book and only wish I had more. I found your translation better in many ways, whether because the use of language is more modern or because it’s more true to the original, I can’t say. I notice such little things as this:

in the Cecil Parrott translation, Svejk’s trademark phrase is “humbly report, sir, that ... “

in your translation, it’s rendered as “dutifully report, sir, that ... “

At first I didn’t like the change, not because of its meaning but because of how it plays on the tongue, humbly report being easier and I believe more commonly used in English (aside from Svejk). The phrase “dutifully report” is a bit harder on the tongue and almost never used in English (outside of your translation). As I continued reading, however, the meaning of the phrase began to resonate: dutifully means that the speaker did or is reporting whatever, not so much of his own volition, but because as a soldier, everything he does is subject to his being ordered. The difference in meaning is huge, though since I neither speak Czech nor have a copy of the book in Czech, I can’t say which is truer to the original. From what I know of the Czechs I have met, I believe yours fits the passive-aggressive posture of Svejk and as I’m told – by Czechs -- but haven’t witnessed, of many Czechs.

Of course, there are many other differences that I find reflect better on your translation. I do speak and understand German, so the use of the terms “putzfleck” works MUCH better than Parrott’s use of “batman,” which no longer retains much of its original meaning in English thanks to the comic book hero of the same name. Putzfleck is so “typisch deutsch” that it makes me laugh each time I see it.

I would disagree about the use of the word 'batman'.

[FiveTimes]

we are off to disney on ice tomorrow - kids dont know

[DS23]

Only 250 to go...

less now.

[NickFitz]

This post comes from Internet Explorer 8 on XP SP3 running in a VM

Ooh, look - the smilies are displayed inline in the editor

(Though not if you just type in the :code: like I did with freaky there.)

[DS23]

I would disagree about the use of the word 'batman'.

whs