"The fat lady sings? German translation please" Topic

Can anyone help with a translation of the following please?

link

Thanks in advance

Youth don't jump in the water and drown?

Some quick Googling seems to indicate it's written in Low German, a different language I believe than the common German spoken now. Using the translator that's here
plattmakers.de
I got

Boy, you [dentst] all (back or again) at [din] girl

Boy, you think all the time about girls.

Naked fat woman crossing.

Its german "Platt".

"Boy, you think all again at your girl."

I (as a german) have problems with the meaning.

Maybe its a demand:
"Think at your girl" (and dont look after bathing woman) ???

As always with translation, context is everything. JustinModelDads, do you have the address for Axis History Forum page in which the photograph appears?

The photograph has been taken in winter. There is no pond or lake visible but, most likely, any nearby body of water would be frozen over (unless it was the sea, see below). Whoever was responsible for the sign put effort into creating it. The lettering has been done with some care (the third word is 'denkst' – the 'k' looks like a 't' at first sight but the difference is clearer when you compare with the 't' at the end of the word).

Decebalus, I like your thought about it being an imperative of some sort though it doesn't have the usual grammatical structure of a command as such (not that this excludes the possibility). Whomever was the intended audience must have been aware of more context before reading the sign.

If the sign was put up during winter in wartime then the intended audience, 'Jung', would most likely have been 'young men' or, possibly, 'new recruits/conscripts', with a sarcastic twist. 'Deern' is an interesting word. I believe the word comes from Frisia, in the north of Germany by the coast. It refers to a young woman (one translation refers to 'lassie' or 'wee lassie', as used in Scotland) but is often used in a pejorative, belittling way. This meaning of 'Deern' fits with the caricature in one respect, the woman with the bathing cap is portrayed in a belittling way. The woman is clearly not, however, a 'wee lassie' in terms of weight or age. This supports Decebalus' interpretation that the writer is trying to convey something important that has to be inferred. The cartoon is really striking and jars with the word 'Deern', as if trying to reinforce the message.

The mention of 'all wedder' (literally 'all weathers') seems very significant in light of the snow in the background. It seems unlikely that there would be women bathing in the nude nearby in such weather, in which case the author may be using dramatic irony to further reinforce the message.

If the sign was on a training ground and was aimed at new recruits or conscripts then perhaps it meant something like:

'Blue-heads*, stay focused'

* – insert slang name here for a group of recruits on exercise, eg 'cornflakes' in Canada.

Then again, maybe no-one could understand it at the time either…

Robert

Wouldn't 'du denkst' be descriptive, 'you think', rather than hortatory 'denkst du', 'think you'?

As for the cartoon girl; that could be hair or something other than a bathing cap, she has a classic feminine body form and isn't necessarily meant to be unattractive. Ask Smokey.

zippyfusenet, I don't disagree with your comment about 'isn't necessarily meant to be unattractive…' My comment was directed more at the possible contrast between 'Deern' and the 'classic feminine form'.

Robert

In the strictest grammatical sense, 'du denkst…' is not typically how you would phrase an imperative. But there is nothing typical about the wording on this sign, as Decebalus alluded to. Aside from the word order, there is the use of the informal 'du' rather than the more formal 'Sie' that is used for imperatives. The careful preparation of the sign suggests that the choice of words and word order was very deliberate too. Deviations from the expected grammar are useful for grabbing attention and, hopefully, reinforcing a point.

Robert

I think it means: Kid, you're thinking about the girls all the time!

A direct translation won't help you as it is vulgar German (Plattdeutsch) which in this case is a mix of German and (archaic) Dutch.

The fact that the text uses the informal "du" instead of the formal and more commun "Sie" suggests that it was meant for someone specific, probably someone expected by the writer of the sign.

Du (instead of Sie) can also be used for an audience not deserving respect (not respected as different from disrespected). This could lend credence to Monk's point about new recruits.

Thank you, HistoryPhD. You put it more clearly than I did.

Robert

Du (instead of Sie) can also be used for an audience not deserving respect (not respected as different from disrespected). This could lend credence to Monk's point about new recruits.

The "non respectful" 2nd person would always be used when speaking to a lad – "Jung" – or an EM by an older or higher ranking figure.

What I get is "Lad, you always be thinkin' of your girl!"

Not even sure if it's a military sign or just some amateur artist's bid for a wider audience.

It is all about context…

Robert

Hi chaps, thanks for the feedback and informed debate.

The photo derives from a thread about German military signage with chaps posting images. Other than that I have no other context I'm afraid.

I thought is was something about watching the ice.

@monk2002uk
I think we mostly agree about the way one can interpret the sentence.

"The mention of 'all wedder' (literally 'all weathers') seems very significant in light of the snow in the background."

Here i dont agree. Yes, "wedder" could be "platt" for "Wetter", but in this sentence it is obviously "wieder", what means "again". (i am not even sure, that there is snow. Could be the lighting of the photograph.)

Deer Crossing!

Thanks Decebalus. A really helpful correction, much appreciated. FWIIW, I don't think the photograph is over-exposed, causing the background to look like snow. From experience, over-exposure would have impacted on the sign, the lettering and the post as well. Could the background be sand? To your point though, if there is snow in the background then this is not directly relevant to the message on the sign.

'Again' still retains that sense of someone not being focused (and therefore at risk in some way).

The use of Plattdeutsch is highly significant, as it narrows down the regions where the audience would understand it (parts of the Netherlands, northern Germany, southern Denmark, and parts of Poland). As JustinModelDads noted (thank you), the photo appears in a long thread about German military signage. Most of the photos in this thread are screenshots from ebay, so the contextual details are missing. Some photos are clearly grouped, so that neighbouring photos in the thread offer the geographic context at least. It is not the case with this photo though.

In the absence of other information, it is hard to see that the sign was directed at a non-military audience. The message seems too vague to be a military warning to a local population. If it is a sign intended for a military audience then the assumption would be that all readers were fluent in Low German. I know that in WW1 German soldiers trained together on a local basis, like the Pals that are familiar to British readers. I don't know if this assumption can be made for WW2 but it is the basis for the suggestion that I made earlier.

When scanning through the large number of road signs, the use of cartoons is relatively uncommon but does feature. Here is another example where the cartoon adds to the text:

link

The sign marks an 'Important Supply Route. Please treat it with the same respect and care as your new [wartime] bride'. Any passing front line soldier would have understood the meaning as 'Logistics personnel have too much time on their hands' ;-)

One of the contributors to the Axis History Forum provided a translation for the sign under current consideration. The information was part of a series of translations for other signs in the thread. It makes for interesting reading, showing how most of the signs of this type were designed to convey a warning of some kind:

'"Boy, you're thinking about your girl again"
"Camp closed because of scarlatina from 20.5.-25.5.. Entrance forbidden".
"Caution! Steep downhill grade. Drivers, think about that (pointing to wreck with deaths head)"
"If right, if left, if straight ahead, its a hole, so try to endure it."
"Kamenka. In view of the enemy and Artillery fire ca. 5km ahead". Underneath: "Covered road to Kamenka". Underneath: "Enroute Dolgenskaja".
"Attention! Do not use road during Partisan action". Underneath: "Bad road surface!"
"Attention! Every driver has to dump water if there is danger of freezing".
Small sign underneath: "No through drive" in the sense of "Forbidden entrance".'

The literal translation of this sign stands out in sharp contrast to the rest of the signs. This does not exclude an amateur artist bidding for attention but, FWIIW, I think this is unlikely. The true meaning, as Decebalus hinted, more likely lies with the context that we can only guess at – the location, the intended audience, and any other information that the audience would have had that made the sign work as a warning or other type of information.

Robert

Nudist Crossing?

Or it could mean:

link