Actually, you know what? My French sucks, but when I read "que le P.R. avoit fait ..... à la Wreech .... Cela luy fait plaisir, espérant qu'il en feroit autant à la Bevern," my first interpretation was "hoping that he (Fritz) would do the same to Bevern," i.e. impregnate her. And Blanning's interpretation is "hoped that Frederick's fiancée would be equally impressed."
I might ask my native speaker friend, but I'm not entirely sure you can get Blanning's interpretation out of that.
*some time later*
Okay, native speaker friend says you *can* get Blanning's interpretation out of the syntax, and that was his first interpretation without context, but when I provided the context, he said his first interpretation would be my first interpretation. FW isn't hoping EC will be happy that Wreech is pregnant by her future husband, he's hoping Fritz will knock up EC too.
My friend also had these comments to add:
It's a somewhat callous way of phrasing things, but then to your point the 18th century was more open than the 19th 😀
I love the strategic use of ellipsis. I can't help but think that all the redaction made it "worse" in terms of calling attention, but that's part of the hilarity.
Okay, I can see now how you could get Blanning's interpretation, but my first interpretation was the same as yours :)
I feel like you should ask Native Speaker friend All the Questions now :) Wasn't there a question we had where none of us were really sure about how to parse the French? (I found a couple of examples where we all eventually agreed on what the French said, but I feel like there was at least one where we never quite figured it out.)
Believe me, I've been sorely tempted, but Native Speaker Friend works Fritzian work weeks at Facebook on Fritzian amounts of coffee, so I try to be selective about what I bother him with. He was the one I asked about tête and trompette, and so far this is only the second question I've asked him. [ETA: I asked him whether they rhyme today, not about their history of rhyming in the 18th century; that part was all my historical linguistics background speaking.]
(Fortunately, he's neither a Fritzian micromanager nor scapegoater, and is in fact the best boss I've ever had. Still sad he's not mine anymore.)
Oh, we had this entertaining exchange during that conversation:
Me: BTW, when I say "all-time favorite historical figure," I mean "most interesting to study," not "role model of the ages." Him: r e l i e f
:D
It's also funny in that, when we worked at the same company, I gave him English lessons for years, and so I made a joke about the linguistic tables being turned.
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Re: Random things
I might ask my native speaker friend, but I'm not entirely sure you can get Blanning's interpretation out of that.
*some time later*
Okay, native speaker friend says you *can* get Blanning's interpretation out of the syntax, and that was his first interpretation without context, but when I provided the context, he said his first interpretation would be my first interpretation. FW isn't hoping EC will be happy that Wreech is pregnant by her future husband, he's hoping Fritz will knock up EC too.
My friend also had these comments to add:
It's a somewhat callous way of phrasing things, but then to your point the 18th century was more open than the 19th 😀
I love the strategic use of ellipsis. I can't help but think that all the redaction made it "worse" in terms of calling attention, but that's part of the hilarity.
Quoted for truth!
Re: Random things
Okay, I can see now how you could get Blanning's interpretation, but my first interpretation was the same as yours :)
I feel like you should ask Native Speaker friend All the Questions now :) Wasn't there a question we had where none of us were really sure about how to parse the French? (I found a couple of examples where we all eventually agreed on what the French said, but I feel like there was at least one where we never quite figured it out.)
Re: Random things
(Fortunately, he's neither a Fritzian micromanager nor scapegoater, and is in fact the best boss I've ever had. Still sad he's not mine anymore.)
Oh, we had this entertaining exchange during that conversation:
Me: BTW, when I say "all-time favorite historical figure," I mean "most interesting to study," not "role model of the ages."
Him: r e l i e f
:D
It's also funny in that, when we worked at the same company, I gave him English lessons for years, and so I made a joke about the linguistic tables being turned.