The Guardian reports on this year’s winners for excruciatingly written scenes of intimacy in fiction. This is run by the Literary Review.

bq. The purpose of the prize, as originally set out, is ‘to draw attention to the crude, tasteless, often perfunctory use of redundant passages of sexual description in the modern novel, and to discourage it. The prize is not intended to cover pornographic or expressly erotic literature, and is limited to the literary novel.’

Here is the longlist.

Here is an EU website where you can read and listen to the 20 EU languages.

Auf dieser Site kann man die 20 EU-Sprachen lesen und hören.

(Via Handakte WebLAWg)

I see Yahoo have a list of languages and linguistics blogs (some dead). They seem to think my blog has English and German versions, but I suppose they are entitled to their opinion.

They also have me listed as a merchant und product search. As always, it’s hard to see how to get removed. Apparently you can only remove it if you submitted it yourself.

Sworn and/or certified translators in Germany are governed by the law of the individual Länder. In Bavaria, according to the Dolmetschergesetz, the form of words we place under a translation is prescribed.

bq. Als in Bayern öffentlich bestellter (bestellte) und allgemein beeidigter (beeidigte) Dolmetscher (Übersetzer, Dolmetscherin, Übersetzerin) für die … Sprache bestätige ich: Vorstehende Übersetzung der mir im … (Original, beglaubigter Abschrift, Fotokopie, usw.) vorgelegten, in … Sprache abgefassten Urkunde ist richtig und vollständig.

The wording has changed slightly over the years.

Apparently (I heard in Munich) the BDÜ was promoting a particular English translation of this wording a few years ago. It presumed a translation was headed (Auszugsweise) Beglaubigte Übersetzung (although many reject the term beglaubigen for a mere humble translator, as discussed ad nauseam elsewhere). Here it is:

bq. Certified Translation (in Excerpts)
In my capacity of a translator and interpreter for the English language duly registered and commissioned by and sworn to the State of Bavaria I hereby certify that the foregoing translation is a true and complete translation of …. whereof the original/a copy/a fax copy has been submitted to me.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunder set my hand and seal at …

I wonder if anyone uses this wording?

Altalk Blog, the ALTA Literary Translation Blog, looks good. Although unfortunately it doesn’t look any better than it did six days ago.

Thanks to Gail.

The new Dietl-Lorenz German – English CD-ROM is now out. It’s still under the Acolada interface. (Creifelds has its own interface and is really clunky).

Unfortunately, I can’t find a way to change the red colour that Beck Verlag seems to have taken as its trademark.

I emailed Acolada (the link is given with the CD), and they sent me a small file to reduce the colour in part.