that you translated it as "offended" rather than "sinned"
*nods* The word "sin" either as verb or noun does not show up, and we have it - "sündigen". "Offended against honor" was the most literal translation - less literally, I could have translated it as "we did not act dishonorably". But I'd never translate it as "we haven't sinned", because the religious implication is utterly missing in the original. Also, I would say that especially in a military context and with this particular character as the one having the inner monologue, the original to me implies he's not denying Katte having been his lover, he's denying they did anything he regards as dishonorable.
I've read that FW's "Did you [verb] Katte or did he [verb] you?" to Fritz is ambiguous as to whether he meant "seduce [sexually]" or "corrupt [morally, into desertion]" in German.
Is the verb "verführen"? In which case, yes, it can mean either. As we're talking linguistics: would FW have necessarily be thinking in German - his version of German has a lot of French-derived words in it and some excentric grammar, so it might be worth considering how the sentence would have been phrased in French.
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Re: Crackfic
Date: 2019-11-17 07:55 pm (UTC)*nods* The word "sin" either as verb or noun does not show up, and we have it - "sündigen". "Offended against honor" was the most literal translation - less literally, I could have translated it as "we did not act dishonorably". But I'd never translate it as "we haven't sinned", because the religious implication is utterly missing in the original. Also, I would say that especially in a military context and with this particular character as the one having the inner monologue, the original to me implies he's not denying Katte having been his lover, he's denying they did anything he regards as dishonorable.
I've read that FW's "Did you [verb] Katte or did he [verb] you?" to Fritz is ambiguous as to whether he meant "seduce [sexually]" or "corrupt [morally, into desertion]" in German.
Is the verb "verführen"? In which case, yes, it can mean either. As we're talking linguistics: would FW have necessarily be thinking in German - his version of German has a lot of French-derived words in it and some excentric grammar, so it might be worth considering how the sentence would have been phrased in French.