The Wordy Birdy Speech Trainer takes the effort out of teaching your – or someone else’s – parrot interesting words.

This device allows you to record what you would like your bird to say and repeat it over a time period from 1 minute to 80 minutes.

(Via Gizmodo)

The German American Law Journal Blog mentions (in German) a recent U.S. Court of Appeals Second Circuit case between Dr. Leo Kirch and Liberty Media in which the translation of the German man as the English you was queried.

The subject of the litigation was the role of an interview, held in German and translated into and published in English, in undermining public confidence in KirchGroup.

bq. [GALJ] Kern der Berufungsentscheidung ist die strittige Übersetzung des im Englischen unbekannten deutschen Wortes man, das Breuer gegenüber dem Journalisten benutzte, aaO 30. Die Nuancen der Sprache spielen eine so bedeutende Rolle, dass ein deutsches Gericht eher zu seiner Würdigung berufen sein könnte, deutet das Berufungsgericht an.

bq. [Case report] The parties dispute the proper translation of Breuer’s words. In his brief, Kirch asserts that Breuer’s “use of the term ‘you’ [in the phrase “all that you can hear and read about”] rather than ‘I’ is somewhat dissembling in being more general than just Breuer.” Kirch Br. at 32. The defendants respond by pointing out that the German pronoun “man” is a third person impersonal pronoun more analogous to “anyone” than to “you.” Deutsch Bank Br. at 22-24. According to the Deutsche Bank defendants, this makes even clearer the fact that Breuer was basing his comments on public knowledge. Without more than we have, though, it is hard for us to make a sound judgment as to which is the proper nuance of the German phrase.

Here’s the relevant interview (MM bold):

bq. Q. It is more a question of whether someone will help him to carry on.
A. I believe this is relatively questionable. All that you can hear and read about this is that the financial sector is not willing to provide further
debt or equity under current conditions. Hence, only third parties could be interested in a -– as you phrased it -– support action.
Q. Thank you very much, Rolf Breuer.

I haven’t read this in full or investigated it further, and I can’t even say how important it was in the case. At first glance, it looks like a reasonable translation, but it is an interesting example of the potential legal implications of translating such a word.

to execute a will = ausfertigen

Dietl has this right a lot of the time, but it does have

Testamentsvollstreckung: execution of a will

Dangerous! Romain knows better: executorship (but probably one can manage without the abstract noun). Take that, you people who sneer at Romain! (and thanks to Donna)

Execution has three meanings in English:

To quote the Oxford Dictionary of Law, now in its 6th edition (2006)

bq. Execution 1) The process of carrying out a sentence of death imposed by a court …
2) The enforcement of the rights of a judgment creditor …
3) The completion of the formalities necessary for a written document to become legally valid. In the case of a deed, for example, this comprises the signing and delivery of the document. [sealing is no longer required for a deed]

bq. Execution of a will: Under section 9 of the Wills Act 1837, the will must be signed at the end by the testator or by someone authorized by him, and the signature must be made or acknowledged by the testator in the present of at least two witnesses, present at the same time, who must themselves sign the will or acknowledge their signatures in the testator’s presence.

It’s confusing because the executor is the Testamentsvollstrecker (such an entity is essential in the common law, but just the icing on the cake in German law), not to be confused with the executioner (Henker, Scharfrichter).

Potatoes mit Zaziki. Nordostbad, Nuremberg, 15 July.

RollOnFriday is having a competition for the most ridiculous question put to an applicant in person or on an application form.

Apparently, Withers (a London law firm – bizarre website warning) asked the following question on a form:

bq. To which fictional character do you most relate, and why?

Someone on RollOnFriday’s discussion board suggested ‘the fatty who gets done from behind in Deliverance’.

Actually, it’s a tricky question. Presumably the novel you refer to may not be too highbrow nor too lowbrow. I remember applying for articles at a firm in Lincoln’s Inn Fields and being asked at the interview (at least Withers gives you time to think) what I’d read recently, and I mentioned ‘A Dance to the Music of Time’. I thought it was socially appropriate, but the interviewer had never heard of it.

While browsing the RollOnFriday discussion board, I discovered what ‘getting a desmond’ means. At first I thought: but Desmond Tutu went to my college, and surely he didn’t do that badly? I mean, I assume he did some work. And I thought ‘getting a Vorderman’ was the term for a third. But then I discovered from the Urban Dictionary it is a kind of rhyming slang:

First – Geoff (Geoff Hurst, footballer)
2:1 – Billy (Billy Gunn, wrestler)
2:2 – Desmond (Desmond Tutu, bishop)
Third – Thora (Thora Hird, actress)

To quote the discussion board:

bq. I know someone with a desmond and a tenancy

bq. He probably has other things going for him. Plus he’ll be at an absolutely cack set of chambers and will end up earning less per hour than a McWorker

Of course in Germany you may need the equivalent of an LL.D. (Dr. iur.).

LATER NOTE: Actually, you can find the Withers application form online at their recruitment site.