Entenhausen

My course on German translation has led me into new territory: Entenhausen. German fans of Donald Duck, "Donaldisten," know that the first translator of the Disney comics into German was Erika Fuchs, whose invention of such expressive words as "seufz!" permanently changed the German language. How did people manage for so long without these "Erikative"? My favorite of all her work is her rendering of a passage from Coleridge. In a quiz show, Donald is asked to cite the last two lines of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Here is Coleridge's original: " 'Why lookst thou so?' -With my crossbow/  I shot the Albatross."

Erika Fuchs comes up with her own brilliant version: "Weh mir Frevler, daß ich schoß den Schicksalsvogel Albatros. Dreimal wehe, daß ich traf! Dafür trifft mich des Schicksals Straf."

Very impressive!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

albatros.pdf76 KB
See also: Erika Fuchs