1) gesaget zu haben, dass es sich weder von einen noch dem andern Theil scheide
- scheide
Also, is "scheiden" the right verb here at all? That's not an idiom I'm familiar with (you previously translated it as "that it should be either one or the other"), but most German idioms I'm not familiar with!
This is a little hard to read, and I've taken my best guess.
2) What is a word, potentially an old-fashioned loanword, that might start with "Tract" and might mean payment?
habe noch keinen Heller Traat: erhalten
I think it's in a Latin script, meaning it's probably French, and it's driving me crazy because I have three examples of him writing this word, and all three look exactly like "Traat:" (including the colon at the end). Thoughts?
3) hir gehet es jetzo XXunt zu
Thoughts on what the missing character or characters could be? It looks something like "bunt" or "lount", neither of which makes great sense to me here. Could be "laut", since I've seen "gunte" for "gute" somewhere in these letters. There's definitely a tall character at the beginning, that's all I can say.
4) ich sage, dass der Herr Fredersdorf haben ihm nur in seinen eigenen Sachen gebraucht, auch wohl in einigen Königlichen worden
Does "worden" make sense there? It's a little hard to read, and I've taken my best guess.
5) nicht zu unsern Vortheil
- unsern
This is one of those where I clearly see "unsern" but think it should be "unserm". His mistake or mine?
1) Maybe "scheide" stands short for either "entscheide" - as in, Fritz should decide whether Anderson is to one of the lower servants or his trusted valet - or "unterscheide", as in, Anderson has now waited for two months and his treatment still doesn't differ from what he got when he arrived, i.e., he's still sitting with the lower servants. I could see either but when making my translation decided for the former.
2) Search me. I mean, the context is clear, he's not been paid the salary he thinks he deserves and other people are, but all French words I can think of are completely different from anything near "traat", and I can't think of an old school German word, either.
3) I vote for "bunt". As in "kunterbunt" . It's old school, but "hier geht es (kunter)bunt zu" = "It's wild/chaotic here".
4) It's bad/terrible grammar, and he's switching mid sentence; what he should have written was "auch ist er wohl in einigen königlichen (Sachen) gebraucht worden", but I think that's what he means, in which case "worden" as the past tense makes sense. (After all, he wants to say that Fredersdorf used to employ Gentze mainly for his own stuff and only rarely on royal business.)
2) Search me. I mean, the context is clear, he's not been paid the salary he thinks he deserves and other people are, but all French words I can think of are completely different from anything near "traat", and I can't think of an old school German word, either.
Darn. ;) I'll do a bit more research, and then I'll hit up my professor as a last resort. I was trying for something that begins with "Tract-", but I couldn't find anything semantically appropriate. I also tried a misspelling of "Tracht", but "uniform" doesn't fit the contexts.
3) 3) I vote for "bunt". As in "kunterbunt" . It's old school, but "hier geht es (kunter)bunt zu" = "It's wild/chaotic here".
Ah, one I didn't know! Sometimes I'm familiar with your suggestions, just in a passive way that means I don't think of them off the top of my head (see: Waffengang), but this one's new to me. Old-school is perfectly appropriate, so suggestion accepted!
4) ) It's bad/terrible grammar, and he's switching mid sentence;
THANK YOU! It was really obvious what he was trying to say, but I could not make the syntax work. Thank you for confirming the second half of the sentence doesn't match the first. One day, I'll have enough confidence to stop checking with you.
2) Search me. I mean, the context is clear, he's not been paid the salary he thinks he deserves and other people are, but all French words I can think of are completely different from anything near "traat", and I can't think of an old school German word, either.
Ha. HA! I got it. I was writing up the problem to ask my former professor for help as a last-ditch resort, and I found it: "Traitement" is the French word for a civil servant's salary. And Anderson's colon did mean it was an abbreviation, as I thought. (His 'i' looks absolutely nothing like an 'i' in any language, but I'm going with it.)
Good, because of the 4 words I was going to ask for help with, that was the one that was clearly written and occurred several times, and the only one I was embarrassed about. I'd like to keep this guy's respect!
Mildred: Maybe I should go through the transcription again, because in addition to at least one minor typographical error, I spotted one mistake that changes the whole meaning! I read "die" for "Sie" in one place (I see why), and the revised reading means Anderson is saying Leining is hoping Fredersdorf dies soon so he can get Fredersdorf's salary! This is pot-stirring that we didn't know about!
Selena: ZOMG! In that case, the three way "But Fredersdorf is MY friend, and everyone else sucks!" is even more intense.
Technically I think Leining and Gentze get along, and Anderson is the odd one out, but I know what you mean. :) It *is* really noticeable that everyone assumes Fredersdorf is on their side.
Staring at that "die/Sie" again, I am like 99% sure it says "Sie." Against: it's not how Anderson writes "Sie" anywhere else in the letter. For: It makes more sense with "dero"; it makes more grammatical sense; it makes sense that when Fredersdorf dies, Leining gets his salary; it is the same 'S' that a lot of other people use for "Sie"; while it superficially resembles his 'd's, it's not a close match, just one that you would see if you didn't stop to linger on it.
Damn, Anderson. Professional pot-stirrer extraordinaire!
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Anderson to Fredersdorf, pages 2-4, Teuton-picking
Date: 2025-01-26 04:33 pm (UTC)1) gesaget zu haben, dass es sich weder von einen noch dem andern Theil scheide
- scheide
Also, is "scheiden" the right verb here at all? That's not an idiom I'm familiar with (you previously translated it as "that it should be either one or the other"), but most German idioms I'm not familiar with!
This is a little hard to read, and I've taken my best guess.
2) What is a word, potentially an old-fashioned loanword, that might start with "Tract" and might mean payment?
habe noch keinen Heller Traat: erhalten
I think it's in a Latin script, meaning it's probably French, and it's driving me crazy because I have three examples of him writing this word, and all three look exactly like "Traat:" (including the colon at the end). Thoughts?
3) hir gehet es jetzo XXunt zu
Thoughts on what the missing character or characters could be? It looks something like "bunt" or "lount", neither of which makes great sense to me here. Could be "laut", since I've seen "gunte" for "gute" somewhere in these letters. There's definitely a tall character at the beginning, that's all I can say.
4) ich sage, dass der Herr Fredersdorf haben ihm nur in seinen eigenen Sachen gebraucht, auch wohl in einigen Königlichen worden
Does "worden" make sense there? It's a little hard to read, and I've taken my best guess.
5) nicht zu unsern Vortheil
- unsern
This is one of those where I clearly see "unsern" but think it should be "unserm". His mistake or mine?
Re: Anderson to Fredersdorf, pages 2-4, Teuton-picking
Date: 2025-02-02 10:46 am (UTC)2) Search me. I mean, the context is clear, he's not been paid the salary he thinks he deserves and other people are, but all French words I can think of are completely different from anything near "traat", and I can't think of an old school German word, either.
3) I vote for "bunt". As in "kunterbunt" . It's old school, but "hier geht es (kunter)bunt zu" = "It's wild/chaotic here".
4) It's bad/terrible grammar, and he's switching mid sentence; what he should have written was "auch ist er wohl in einigen königlichen (Sachen) gebraucht worden", but I think that's what he means, in which case "worden" as the past tense makes sense. (After all, he wants to say that Fredersdorf used to employ Gentze mainly for his own stuff and only rarely on royal business.)
5) His mistake, it should be "unserm".
Re: Anderson to Fredersdorf, pages 2-4, Teuton-picking
Date: 2025-02-02 05:51 pm (UTC)Darn. ;) I'll do a bit more research, and then I'll hit up my professor as a last resort. I was trying for something that begins with "Tract-", but I couldn't find anything semantically appropriate. I also tried a misspelling of "Tracht", but "uniform" doesn't fit the contexts.
3) 3) I vote for "bunt". As in "kunterbunt" . It's old school, but "hier geht es (kunter)bunt zu" = "It's wild/chaotic here".
Ah, one I didn't know! Sometimes I'm familiar with your suggestions, just in a passive way that means I don't think of them off the top of my head (see: Waffengang), but this one's new to me. Old-school is perfectly appropriate, so suggestion accepted!
4) ) It's bad/terrible grammar, and he's switching mid sentence;
THANK YOU! It was really obvious what he was trying to say, but I could not make the syntax work. Thank you for confirming the second half of the sentence doesn't match the first. One day, I'll have enough confidence to stop checking with you.
Re: Anderson to Fredersdorf, pages 2-4, Teuton-picking
Date: 2025-03-02 05:28 pm (UTC)Ha. HA! I got it. I was writing up the problem to ask my former professor for help as a last-ditch resort, and I found it: "Traitement" is the French word for a civil servant's salary. And Anderson's colon did mean it was an abbreviation, as I thought. (His 'i' looks absolutely nothing like an 'i' in any language, but I'm going with it.)
Good, because of the 4 words I was going to ask for help with, that was the one that was clearly written and occurred several times, and the only one I was embarrassed about. I'd like to keep this guy's respect!
Re: Anderson to Fredersdorf, pages 2-4, Teuton-picking
Date: 2025-03-02 05:38 pm (UTC)Mildred: Maybe I should go through the transcription again, because in addition to at least one minor typographical error, I spotted one mistake that changes the whole meaning! I read "die" for "Sie" in one place (I see why), and the revised reading means Anderson is saying Leining is hoping Fredersdorf dies soon so he can get Fredersdorf's salary! This is pot-stirring that we didn't know about!
Selena: ZOMG! In that case, the three way "But Fredersdorf is MY friend, and everyone else sucks!" is even more intense.
Technically I think Leining and Gentze get along, and Anderson is the odd one out, but I know what you mean. :) It *is* really noticeable that everyone assumes Fredersdorf is on their side.
Staring at that "die/Sie" again, I am like 99% sure it says "Sie." Against: it's not how Anderson writes "Sie" anywhere else in the letter. For: It makes more sense with "dero"; it makes more grammatical sense; it makes sense that when Fredersdorf dies, Leining gets his salary; it is the same 'S' that a lot of other people use for "Sie"; while it superficially resembles his 'd's, it's not a close match, just one that you would see if you didn't stop to linger on it.
Damn, Anderson. Professional pot-stirrer extraordinaire!