Stadtpark Fürth, May 17, 6 p.m.

Ron Coe’s Universal Pentecost Translator (via Isabella).

bq. Ron Coe Church Supplies proudly presents the Universal Pentecost Translator. This amazing device automatically translates sermons and homilies into the preferred language of the person in the pew. If there are responses the listener will hear the responses by those around them also in their desired language!

Article by Jeff Miller, a former atheist and current Roman Catholic. I wonder whether he believes Acts 2:1-4?

bq. Disclaimer: The Universal Pentecost Translator can not render unintelligible or poorly written homilies into intelligible and intelligent ones, but will simply translate the meaning into the desired language. Likewise heterodox teaching will not be translated into orthodox language. If you experience these difficulties please do not call us without first replacing the priest/minister unit.

I hope my entry of May 13 wasn’t misleading. I wasn’t cooking any Indians, or even turkeys, but something much more appropriate to Whitsun.

Incidentally, the logo of the SDI (Sprachen und Dolmetscherinstitut, no hyphens) in Munich represents two tongues. Not many people know that!

And I didn’t realize the German name for borage was Ochsenzunge (albeit not geräuchert).

The Interpretation Act 1978 (originally 1889) defines various terms for most Acts in force in England and Wales, and to some extent Northern Ireland and Scotland too. I’ve put a copy (accuracy not guaranteed) online – it should be useful to legal translators both into and out of English with regard to Britain.

Download file

For example,

6. In any Act, unless the contrary intention appears,
a) words importing the masculine gender include the feminine;
b) words importing the feminine gender include the masculine;
c) words in the singular include the plural and words in the plural include the singular.

Schedule 1 contains a list of words and phrases.

Oath” and “affidavit” include affirmation and declaration, and “swear” includes affirm and declare.

I understand that affirm (swearing without a Bible or other religious book) is the equivalent of swearing. But what about declare? That refers, apparently, to a statutory declaration in lieu of an oath and other kinds of formal declarations required by some statutes. Some are required to be made before a particular person, for example a magistrate, and the person has to satisfy himself that the person before him is the declarant named in the declaration.

“Person” includes a body of persons corporate or unincorporate. [1889]

I learnt recently that Person in the German Civil Code also includes not only natural and legal persons, but also associations of individuals that are not legal persons. I don’t know where that is defined in German, though, and I don’t know whether this means it is always safe to translate Person as person.

Writing” includes typing, printing, lithography, photography and other modes of representing or reproducing words in a visible form, and expressions referring to writing are construed accordingly.

bq. Von dem am Spieß gebratenen, kalt gewordenen Indian wird das weiße Fleisch abgelöst und ganz fein geschnitten. Ferner werden 5/10 Liter weiße Sauce mit 5/10 Liter gutem, süßen Rahm und der aus den Abgängen gezogenen, rein entfetteten Essenz zu einer dickfließenden Sauce eingekocht, welche mit dem fein geschnittenen Fleisch gut heiß verrührt, gehörig gesalzen, erhaben angerichtet, mit poschirten Eiern bekränzt und heiß zu Tisch gegeben wird.

This seems to be a turkey recipe (Hachis de dinde aux oeufs).

(From Rottenhöfers Kochbuch, Projekt Gutenberg (German))

Google reveals that Rottenhöfer was a chef at the Bavarian court and his Illustrirtes Kochbuch first appeared in 1858.

Luxus linguae blogs an interview in Spiegel Online (English version) with Peter Torry, the British ambassador to Germany. It’s partly about the German stereotypes of the British.

I’m sorry to be so petty, but I couldn’t help seeing the first line quoted:

bq. SPIEGEL ONLINE: Your German colleague in Great Britain, Ambassador Matussek, put it very differently over the weekend.

‘Your German colleague in Great Britain’ indeed! When will they get native speakers to go over this kind of thing?

The best message for me is probably not to mourn the death of the English language, but to take an interest in it as a curiosity.

English version
Deutsche Version