May 22, 2006 08:08
18 yrs ago
1 viewer *
German term
United Kingdom
For the Love of Language
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English
trostlos
German to English
Art/Literary
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Kafka
This is one of Kafka's aphorisms. There are so many options for "trostlos" that I'm spoiled for choice! Does anybody know of an established translation?
"Das gute ist in gewissem Sinne trostlos."
"Das gute ist in gewissem Sinne trostlos."
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
May 22, 2006 14:00: Marcus Malabad changed "Term asked" from "trostlos (here)" to "trostlos"
Proposed translations
+1
3 hrs
German term (edited):
trostlos (here)
Selected
In a way, all things Good are dreary/dull/ humdrumm/monotonous
reading the work would make it much clearer. perhaps the French translator did ?
Kafka
En un certain sens, le Bien est monotone. (Das Gute ist in gewissem Sinne trostlos.)
Kafka (Franz), Préparatifs de noce à la campagne (Hochzeitsvorbereitungen auf dem Lande)
http://perso.numericable.fr/~parcom/pijoke/citations.html
Kafka
En un certain sens, le Bien est monotone. (Das Gute ist in gewissem Sinne trostlos.)
Kafka (Franz), Préparatifs de noce à la campagne (Hochzeitsvorbereitungen auf dem Lande)
http://perso.numericable.fr/~parcom/pijoke/citations.html
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Ken Cox
: I looked the work, which is just a list of aphorisms. IMO you have to put yourself inside Kafka's head before you can translate it (but 'dreary' is the direction I would lean).
17 mins
|
| agree |
Marcus Malabad
: how about "...the good has no solace"?
2 hrs
|
3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I'm torn between dreary and hopeless... but I'll go with this. Thanks, everyone."
1 hr
Ulrike Kraemer
Germany
Germany
Native in German
Germany
Combining technical expertise and style
Native in: German 
Works in: English to German, German to English
Related KudoZ points
:
8
German term (edited):
trostlos (here)
comfortless
***In a certain sense the Good is comfortless. ***
See this link (several Kafka quotes):
http://www.poemhunter.com/quotations/famous.asp?people=Franz...
Googling for *Kafka +"the good is" +comfortless* = 7 results
See this link (several Kafka quotes):
http://www.poemhunter.com/quotations/famous.asp?people=Franz...
Googling for *Kafka +"the good is" +comfortless* = 7 results
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Stephen Roche
: The link you've taken this from is full of lousy translation
30 mins
|
|
Rachel was looking for an "established" translation. The one quoted above has several Google results.
|
|
| neutral |
Ken Cox
: With Stephen -- exactly the one translation that doesn't appear in any of my dicos, and IMO a questionable translation. // No argument; 'established' is not a well-defined term.
2 hrs
|
|
I just quoted the (seemingly) "established" translation Rachel is looking for. That doesn't mean I like it any more than you (or Stephen) do.
|
|
| neutral |
archtrans
: Is comfortless actually a word?
1 day 4 mins
|
|
Well, 250,000 Google hits seem to indicate that it is, indeed, a word. // See, for example, http://www.answers.com/topic/comfortless
|
1 hr
German term (edited):
trostlos (here)
two options
In a sense, the good are always dejected
In a sense, the cause of good is a hopeless one
In a sense, the cause of good is a hopeless one
+2
19 mins
German term (edited):
trostlos (here)
hopeless/sad
"The good is, in some respect, quite hopeless/sad."
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2006-05-22 10:41:47 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Sorry for the typo: It should read, of course, "In some respects, ...".
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2006-05-22 10:41:47 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Sorry for the typo: It should read, of course, "In some respects, ...".
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Ingeborg Gowans (X)
: or: has no future
6 hrs
|
|
Thank you, Ingeborg!
|
|
| agree |
Nicole Y. Adams, M.A.
10 hrs
|
|
Thank you, Nicole!
|
|
| neutral |
archtrans
: "in certain respect(s)" (plural usually for respect here)
1 day 7 hrs
|
|
Thank you, Francesca! Yes, I've already corrected my typo, thanks anyway.
|
3 hrs
Maureen Millington-Brodie
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Works in field
United Kingdom
33 years of experience
Native in: English
Works in: Arabic to English, German to English
Related KudoZ points
:
36
German term (edited):
trostlos (here)
without comfort
just maybe ... if you are thinking of wine, women song etc. :o)
1 day 1 hr
inconsolable
see http://www2.dict.cc/?s=inconsolable
I think the whole sentence evokes a kind of forlorn quality of the effort of trying to be good or even being good, as Stephen writes above. Inconsolable is really the best translation of trostlos in my opinion. Another would be disconsolate.
Not able to be comforted. (without comfort sounds like a hard chair, another sense of comfort)
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day7 hrs (2006-05-23 15:50:49 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
For what it's worth - the google hit you cite, LittleBalu, has also "Forlorn; desolate; cheerless; inconsolable; disconsolate; wretched; miserable" for comfortless. I find comfortless pretty awkward; google notwithstanding, it is not used often.
I think the whole sentence evokes a kind of forlorn quality of the effort of trying to be good or even being good, as Stephen writes above. Inconsolable is really the best translation of trostlos in my opinion. Another would be disconsolate.
Not able to be comforted. (without comfort sounds like a hard chair, another sense of comfort)
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day7 hrs (2006-05-23 15:50:49 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
For what it's worth - the google hit you cite, LittleBalu, has also "Forlorn; desolate; cheerless; inconsolable; disconsolate; wretched; miserable" for comfortless. I find comfortless pretty awkward; google notwithstanding, it is not used often.
Reference:
Discussion