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German to English translations [Non-PRO] Art/Literary - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / TV series
German term or phrase:Heino tritt auf
More a fun question. In the German TV series "Mord mit Aussicht", a local from the rural Eiffel region explains proudly to the big-city lady cop from Cologne that the regional fair is coming up soon and supposedly as the highlight: "Heino tritt auf", which elicits scoff from the cop. I am taken to translating such things in my head as I watch German TV (Berufskrankheit), and often can't come up with anything that would be understandable to English-speaking audiences. For those of you who do now know, Heino is a Schlagersänger and more or less the epitomy of schmalzy pop music in the German-speaking world (and still going strong at age 77 to the discomfort of many)... His greatest hits include 'Liebe Mutter', and the unforgetable 'Enzian' and 'Schwarzbraun ist die Haselnuss'. The translation would need to be very short to fit in the few seconds alloted to this phrase on-screen.
Explanation: Still three syllables, though admittedly it might fall off the edge off the screen. It's true that an anglo audience won't know the name, but you can't substitute it with a wordy definition. The initial cap shows that it's a name, especially if it's the last rather than the first word in the caption.
Volksmusik is something I've managed to escape - we're a family of musicians, so I don't actually listen to music, I sing. Still, that tops it all, Axel. I'll run when I hear her name again. Give me Dolly Parton, Joni Mitchell, Ursula Dudziak, Bach, I'm not particular to style, but QUALITY please!
You can't argue with success, though. Both Heino and Helene Fischer sold millions of records. If people want to listen to them, who are we to judge.
And Ramey shouldn't get so worked up about it - I will just remind her of the embarassment that is Soulja Boy and the many off-spins. Not to mention Nicki Minaj, who used to sound like she was groping for words with her awful stuttering, like a broken record.
"What we will, knock, though, is some of her choices when it comes to lyrical content. Good Lord, Pink Friday is littered with enough horrible punchlines to make the writers of Two And A Half Men jealous. " http://uproxx.com/smokingsection/barbie-recall-the-10-most-a...
You really oughta read these examples. You know the old adage about "stones" and "glasshouses" :P
'Atemlos durch die Nacht, Bis ein neuer Tag erwacht Atemlos einfach raus Deine Augen ziehen mich aus!' Come on Ramey, Helene Fischer is our Celin Dion (ouch)
No comment about beer before noon? I don't know where you live, Tony, but if you're in Germany, you do learn to live with it. Acquired taste, basically. You can't escape it. Doesn't mean it's part of my CD collection.
The CDs they're labeling Hip Hop nowadays I wouldn't even touch with a ten-foot pole (btw, my better half was so shocked finding out that it's called Black Music in a German store...)
Maybe I didn't make myself clear enough. I'm NOT hating on country music - Shania Twain is one of my all-time favorites (if I may put her into that category).
The criterion was: Music style is enjoyed equally by the old and young in certain regions or among certain groups, but not others.
So, Drum & Base, etc. will most likely not fit. Hip Hop? Maybe in the African American community; not so sure about the rest of the country (should include 80-year-olds!). Perhaps when I grow old, although I'll still be blaming Nicki Minaj for the decline of Hip Hop then, I assume.
And Heino has changed his music style over the past years. It still sounds "trashy" to a lot of music critics, but I cannot say that it's "corny": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJU-ChaoqL0
To paraphrase some critics, he even mutilated "You'll never walk alone."
Again, the issue is that it's one sentence in a conversation. In context(!), it really isn't that important or needs explaining. I don't understand every L&O reference, but I doubt every American does.
... it's about liking it /hating it - otherwise we could use hiphop. It's about corny "easy listening". BTW, comparing Heino to country music is inexcusable - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCkcs2LRJbI
They seem to abound in German! I invariably take them out! Though there have been occasions where I have added one! It all depends on the gleam of delight in the country bumpkin's eye as he utters the name of the legendary HEINO!
Yes, Ramey, I have (can still remember the Faith Hill + Tim McGraw combo). Again, this is not about quality, but impact - some people (young and old) love country music, some hate it. Same with Schlager. It's not about someone in particular.
A name change just doesn't make sense to me. You could get away with it if this was some kind of comparison ("jemand wie Heino"), but this is about something specific and you wouldn't change the name of the town either, just because Americans don't know where in Germany it is. If you had watched this part of the episode, you'd see that he just says that almost in passing. It's really not a big deal in my eyes.
No offense to anyone, I just think we all put too much weight on this one sentence. It doesn't even warrant an exclamation mark (and they're speaking quite fast, so shorter subtitles would be preferable).
Maybe the basic issue is the difference between German and British or American humor. For example, some Germans like British humor, some don't. So either they understand the joke in English because they like this kind of humor, or they won't find it funny, no matter how many explanations and translations follow.
Ramey Rieger (X)
Germany
Heino = Tim McGraw??
11:26 Aug 23, 2016
Have you ever HEARD Tim McGraw? Not possible! I agree with your arguments not to change the name wholeheartedly.
Let's assume for a minute country music = Schlager (considering the similar impact on people).
You have a German TV series set in a German town. In the series, the police officer tells the lead character that they have enough on their hands already, considering that there's a festival in town and Heino's on stage.
A) Name change Subtitles replace "Heino" with Tim McGraw. I betcha Americans are going to be confused about why a US country singer would come to a rural German town, unless every reference to rural Germany is also replaced - with, let's say, a little town in Kansas (Greetings from Oz!). I can guarantee you, though, that everyone will be so confused by then that they will hardly be able to follow the episode at all.
The subtitles may already contain so many round brackets that it'll just become a mess, not to mention that the sentence will get much longer. I've never seen it used in that way, and I doubt it's helpful in a comedy series to put a lengthy explanation after each utterance.
Just the opposite, the locals love him, but the big-city lady cop despises him, the implication being that the woman sees the locals as hicks, and not urbane sophisticates, such as herself. The purpose of my question (see first line) is to underscore the problems inherent in translating seemingly innocuous concepts, which in reality are quite difficult to capture and transmit to foreign audiences.
It's not quite clear to me what your actual goal is. A couple of points:
1) Popularity That's a tricky one. They claim on some pages that 97-99% of the German population know Heino. But what does that mean? That someone had mentioned his name once? I'm sure there are enough people in this world who don't know much about Taylor Swift or 2Pac - does this mean you change references there too?
Axel's example is a case in point: I had heard of RuPaul before someone mentioned Olivia Jones...
2) Taste Another tricky one. Apparently, people in the Eifel region are not very enamored with Heino. See the exchange here [just click around the statement in bold face in the list]: http://www.tvforen.de/read.php?1,1286347,1287533#msg-1287533
As much as it may infuriate Axel, I don't have such an issue with Hasselhoff - there are way worse people out there. This is all very subjective.
“He could be described as a robotic German version of Johnny Cash. The equivalent in Britain might be Tom Jones, although it is hard to imagine Heino ever having been showered with women's panties on stage.“ http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/german-crooner...
Ramey Rieger (X)
Germany
Or the GREAT Heino
07:38 Aug 23, 2016
is coming, something to identify, but not really translate. I agree, franglish
David Hasselhof would work, he is annoying enough, and of course has a huge following. Same as Heino. Maybe Bary Manilow... I was watching a US show (Gilmore Girls) and 'Ru Paul' (in the original version) was 'Olivia Jones' (in the German version)...at least in the subtitles.
Sorry, should have made that clear. BTW I think the series is shown only in Germany, Austria and Italy, where I'm sure it is dubbed. I find it to be a very clever and well-done series, particularly given the run of the mill German Krimis that are shown endlessly here. There are 3 full seasons on netflix.de. Would be fun to do the subtitles for an English version.
... the star of all stars: Hasselhoff. And I'm not sure we'd use the word "appearing" in casual conversation. Maybe "There's a Hasselhoff show" or "Hasselhof'll be singing".
One morning in June some twenty years ago I was born a rich man's son I had everything that money could buy, but freedom I had none
"to fit in the few seconds alloted to this phrase on-screen" Are you concerned about caption length or lip synchronisation? If you change the name to an anglo pop star, you're going to end up with yet another AH bunker parody.
plus a British or American similar Schlagersänger will help understanding the scoff by the big-city cop (Sophie, great character). Btw, I love "Mord mit Aussicht" and hope the English version will be availabe on Netflix. Any more help needed - just let is know
Ramey Rieger (X)
Germany
The speaker (s)
18:11 Aug 22, 2016
will infuse the sentence with more meaning than the words themselves. You could just as well say Daxid Cassidy is coming....
I certainly wouldn't describe Heino as 'crooner' (Schnulzensänger). Unfortunately I have no idea what might be an appropriate term, but there is a difference between 'Schlager' and 'Schnulze'.
German Hit Songs and Golden Oldies - German Language - About.com german.about.com › ... › Culture › German Music and Songs German Golden Oldies for Beginners ... Alexander, Heintje, Peggy March, Udo Jürgens, Reinhard Mey, Nana Mouskouri, Rex Gildo, Heino, and Katja Ebstein. http://german.about.com/od/music/a/deutschlager.htm
'local crooner'? Am often dissappointed in the quality of subtitles, but also understand how difficult it is to capture certain concepts that are indeed very hard to translate, without adding an entire explanatory paragraph. My point is that any mention of Heino elicits all sorts of reactions in the German-speaking world, so my question is whether or not the "idea" of Heino can be translated briefly into another language to express what his name denotes in German?
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
12 mins confidence:
Heino's appearing
Explanation: Or performing.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 17 mins (2016-08-22 15:48:27 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Sorry, I've only just realised why you've asked this question. I would put "local crooner" in square brackets. Or, if the context permits, anglicise it to an English-speaking singer whose appearance might arouse mixed feelings. Justin Timberlake?
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 18 mins (2016-08-22 15:49:41 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Explanation: Still three syllables, though admittedly it might fall off the edge off the screen. It's true that an anglo audience won't know the name, but you can't substitute it with a wordy definition. The initial cap shows that it's a name, especially if it's the last rather than the first word in the caption.
Lancashireman United Kingdom Local time: 19:59 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 143
Grading comment
Thanks
Notes to answerer
Asker: Good idea, though his name would most likely not be recognized, the fact that the speaker seems so enthused about his Auftritt would at least indicate that his presence was not appreciated by all.
Reference information: "He could be described as a robotic German version of Johnny Cash. The equivalent in Britain might be Tom Jones, although it is hard to imagine Heino ever having been showered with women's panties on stage." http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/german-crooner...
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