German translations of 5 origami terms

[Ariel_A]

Hi everyone,
I just sent the German translation off to Nicolas. MANY THANKS for all the help and detailed discussion. From my point of view, there was certainly no need to apologise for the length of e-mails, as I love discussing nuances of language at great length. (Sometimes to my husband's sorrow.)

I ended up using a mixture of the suggestions, including Edwin's "Faltpfropf" (sorry, Chris). I did add a different explanation and the English term (in brackets), but I couldn't resist the imagery, the botanical connotations and the typically German pile-up of consonants.

Now I'm looking forward to seeing the book itself with all of the diagrams I have been writing about for the past days,

Ariel

[origami_8]

Like Edwin said, you should rather have taken the suggestions of the native speakers. I doubt that anyone will be able to imagine something under "Faltpfropf"

[Edwin Corrie]

I didn't mean to cause any trouble. The person who translated Peter Engel's book thought "pfropfen" was okay for "grafting", but then again he also used "Klappe" for "flap". The concept of grafting is a technical one, though sometimes a concept can sound okay in one language but not in another. I once had a marketing text to translate which used the term "Haptik", and although "haptic" does exist as an adjective in English it's quite rare and I doubt that many people would know what it meant, so I used the more general term "feel". In the end it's up to the translator to judge what he or she thinks will make most sense to the reader.

Just out of interest:

Herzklappe = heart valve
Tankklappe = fuel tank flap (or lid)
Frontklappe = bonnet (UK), hood (US)
Heckklappe = boot lid (UK) or trunk lid (US) (if it's a saloon (UK) or sedan (US) (= "Limousine" in German)), or hatchback (UK) or tailgate (US) (if it's a hatchback vehicle (= Schrägheck and other terms in German))

Translation is great fun!

[HankSimon]

And... I thought I could speak English .... I wasn't aware of "saloon" referring to "sedan"....

(Of course in Texas, all ya got is a Ford Truck ! )

-Hank Simon

[origami_8]

All these kinds of "Klappe" refer to some kind of door. A flap is no door.

One of the problems I encountered so far is that German people often use the language otherwise than Austrian people do, just like there is a difference between American English and British English. So what sounds absolutely strange to me would be completely normal to Christian or Max. There is also a huge difference in the usage of articles (der, die, das), in Austria far more things are neuter.

[TheRealChris]

So what sounds absolutely strange to me would be completely normal to Christian or Max.

Ich sage nur Giraffe (Schiraffe) und Chemie (Schemie)

[Ariel_A]

Anna, I am also a native speaker myself (just of two languages). Maybe the "Pfropf" sounds more natural to me because it is more common in Germany or because I am a biologist. Furthermore, I needed a short label to use in the pictures. Maybe the problem is that the English term "pleated graft" does not flow smoothly off my tongue either. Anyway, it's only used in one brief section of the translation and I included the other explanations of the term. But don't worry, I completely avoided "Klappe".

If any of you order the e-book with the German translation and want to comment on whether it does the original justice, I will appreciate your feedback. (My e-mail address will be included in the booklet.) Just keep in mind that I had under a week for a lot of translating and have a full-time job too.
All the best,
Ariel