den Geburtstag seiner Frau "herauslas"

English translation: read his wife's birthday in his horoscope

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:den Geburtstag seiner Frau "herauslas"
English translation:read his wife's birthday in his horoscope
Entered by: Helen Shiner

18:48 Oct 14, 2009
German to English translations [PRO]
Esoteric practices
German term or phrase: den Geburtstag seiner Frau "herauslas"
This was translated as "seeing" (with the quotes around it) by a non-ProZ translator, as in ' “seeing” his wife’s birthday' (see context below).

Would there be a clearer way to explain the context below in English? "'seeing' his wife's birthday" is unclear to me, mostly because there's no indication in that translation that P.F. wasn't already married at the time. The narrator of this sentence saw what P.F. as-yet-unmet future wife's birthday would be BEFORE he had met her, I think. Maybe "seeing" is ok in this astrological-chart context, but I want to add something about the timing here. Thank you very much in advance. Here's the context:

"Da Sie P.F. schon erwähnt haben, darf ich Ihnen mitteilen, dass dieser seine im [name of book] noch sehr negative Einstellung zur Astrologie mittlerweile etwas abgemildert hat, ohne deswegen gleich zum Freund der Sterndeutung zu werden. Ich schmeichle mir, dazu beigetragen zu haben, indem ich ihm einmal aus seinem eigenen Geburtshoroskop den Geburtstag seiner Frau >>herauslas
BrettMN
Local time: 13:00
read his [future] wife's birthday in his horoscope
Explanation:
Well you could say it this way

or saw it in his horoscope
was able to read it from his horoscope

All of these things are said in such an informal context. For me the confusion lies only in the lack of 'future' in the sentence. Does its addition make things clearer, do you think, or am I missing the point?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 mins (2009-10-14 19:04:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

That should obviously be 'in/from his own horoscope', which gives a greater stress

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-10-14 19:58:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

herauslesen means 'to read something out of' or 'to read something from' in better EN.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-10-14 19:59:21 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

And that should be 'birthchart' really and not 'horoscope'

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day4 hrs (2009-10-15 23:03:16 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Thank you for the points, BrettMN
Selected response from:

Helen Shiner
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:00
Grading comment
Thank you!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +4read his [future] wife's birthday in his horoscope
Helen Shiner
4deduced his wife's birthday (from his birth chart)
Lonnie Legg
3 -2celebration
Elsje Apostel


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


44 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -2
celebration


Explanation:
herauslassen = celebrate (= only 1 option)

so, herauslas would be celebration I think

Elsje Apostel
Belgium
Local time: 20:00
Native speaker of: Dutch

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Annett Kottek (X): Sorry, no. The verb is past tense of 'herauslesen', and ‘etwas aus etw. herauslesen’ means to ‘read something into sth.’
22 mins

disagree  Kim Metzger: Back to school?
5 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

17 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
deduced his wife's birthday (from his birth chart)


Explanation:
I assume the astrologer is saying that, in analyzing the man's birth chart, he recognized a planetary position (possibly, a constellation) indicating the man's spouse's own birth sun position (sign and degree) -- thus her birthday.


Lonnie Legg
Germany
Local time: 20:00
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in GermanGerman
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

14 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +4
read his [future] wife's birthday in his horoscope


Explanation:
Well you could say it this way

or saw it in his horoscope
was able to read it from his horoscope

All of these things are said in such an informal context. For me the confusion lies only in the lack of 'future' in the sentence. Does its addition make things clearer, do you think, or am I missing the point?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 mins (2009-10-14 19:04:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

That should obviously be 'in/from his own horoscope', which gives a greater stress

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-10-14 19:58:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

herauslesen means 'to read something out of' or 'to read something from' in better EN.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-10-14 19:59:21 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

And that should be 'birthchart' really and not 'horoscope'

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day4 hrs (2009-10-15 23:03:16 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Thank you for the points, BrettMN

Helen Shiner
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:00
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 32
Grading comment
Thank you!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Annett Kottek (X): Yes, the speaker read the birthday of P.F.'s wife in P.F.'s horoscope. ‘Future wife’ should be clear enough if one wants to emphasize that the speaker could have had no prior knowledge of it.
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Annett, but I guess I would prefer 'birth chart' since this is the chart based on the moment of birth rather than current transits.

agree  Barbara Wiebking
1 hr
  -> Thanks, kriddl

agree  Bianca Marsden-Day: 'Read' is preferable to 'see', I would say.
12 hrs
  -> Thanks, Bianca - I agree

agree  Lonnie Legg: Without pertinent information, I advise against "FUTURE wife". If my interpretation is correct, it's irrelevant whether the wife is current or future--or even unborn or deceased. /Not necessary--and possibly wrong. (Re your conclusion, see discussion.)
16 hrs
  -> Thanks, Lonnie - I agree not strictly necessary, though apparently the case from the context.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search