Friday, August 17, 2007

Lost In Translation

News from the Pynchon Project (TM) first.

I have, after consulting two people I live with, both of them German majors in college for four years, tried to get a couple passages from Gravity's Rainbow translated.

This has been met with mixed results. Here's what I've got so far.

Page 101:

Bringt doch der Wanderer auch vom Hange des Bergrands nicht eine Hand voll
Erde ins Tal, die alle upsagliche, sondern ein erworbens Wort, reines, den
gelben und blaun Enzian.

Bring froth the wanderer from [some place] not with a handful of dirt [...] blue
and gold Enzian.

Page 129:

In dulci jubilo
Nun singet und seid froh!
Unsers Herzens Wonne
Leit in praesipio,
Leuchtet vor die Sonne
Matris in gremio.
Alpha es et O.


With Sweet Rejoycing
sing and be happy!
Our hearts [something]
[something] manger [I think...]
[something] in the sun.
[something] mother's lap
Alpha and Omega.


Latin I can handle, but the German is completely beyond me, and A___ and P___, while helpful have this shit only partially done. The french I got, C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre... etc. Middle Dutch, on the other hand... (honestly, Middle Dutch?)

So, any help from you, my loyal reader(s?), would be greatly appreciated.