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Nominal
überdacht
Nov 9, 2008 19:12
15 yrs ago
German term

inflationär

German to English Art/Literary Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting
Picasso blieb Zeit seines Lebens ein einfacher Mann“, erinnert sich Sassi. „Besitz war ihm unwichtig, Äußerlichkeiten waren ihm egal.“ Aber er hatte Freude an Dingen, für die sich nicht jedermann begeistern konnte und die es nicht inflationär oft gab. So fand im Schlafzimmer von La Galloise ein voll funktionsfähiger alter Drehorgelschrank seinen Platz, den Picasso in Vallauris entdeckt und sofort gekauft hatte.
Proposed translations (English)
3 +4 run-of-the-mill
3 +2 ... which were not available to the point of oversaturation
4 +1 abundant
3 +1 rewrite
4 just ignore "inflationär"
3 ...which weren't exactly to be found in inflationary abundance

Discussion

njbeckett (asker) Nov 10, 2008:
Hi everyone. Some interesting answers. No, Stephen, the text is far from being anecdotal à la Bill Bryson.

Proposed translations

+4
5 hrs
Selected

run-of-the-mill

Gegenstände, die es “inflationär oft” gibt= Allerweltsdinge,- gegenstände etc.

"He was fond of/ had a liking for/ was keen on things that were not run-of-the-mill/same old, same old/ to everyone’s taste and that could not be found at every street corner"
Peer comment(s):
agree Stephen Reader : Ja, insb. zum letzten Satzteil wegen der Betonung
39 mins
Hi Stephen! Thanks!
neutral Lonnie Legg : Too free IMO: "Allerweltsdinge" are, of course, meant, but "run-of-the-mill" lacks the idea of overproliferation in the original.
8 hrs
agree Damian Harrison (X)
9 hrs
agree interpr8er
10 hrs
agree hazmatgerman (X) : Authors draws the line between P. and indiscriminating consumers - won't be found at any Tom, Dick or Harry's house. Inflationär here = ordinary, bland things.
13 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I will go with the majority, although most of the suggestions seem possible."
+1
21 mins

rewrite

that was quite rare, was a one-off, a rarity etc.
Peer comment(s):
agree Harald Moelzer (medical-translator)
10 hrs
Something went wrong...
1 hr

just ignore "inflationär"

There is no translation for the word "inflationär" here because it is totally out of place. The author wanted to emphasize Picasso's eccentric tastes and simply chose the wrong word!

You can just ignore "inflationär" without changing the meaning of the sentence.

By the way, I'm not saying that the expression "nicht inflationär oft" doesn't exist in German. It just doesn't work in this context.

Here is an example of how it could correctly be used:
"Würde man nicht inflationär oft Smileys benutzen…"

Inflationary usage is one thing...

;-)


Peer comment(s):
neutral Lonnie Legg : Though author's use of "nicht inflationär oft gab" is not well-phrased & improperly uses "inflationär", you can't just omit the clause in the translation.
27 mins
Not the entire clause - just the word "inflationär". The German "Dinge ... die es nicht oft gab" says it all. "Inflationär" is the wrong word. It's bad German.
Something went wrong...
+2
1 hr

... which were not available to the point of oversaturation

This would preserve the negative slant of "inflationär".

Or also, more neutral:
...which were not available on a large scale.
Peer comment(s):
agree Lonnie Legg : I like "...which were not available on a large scale."
13 mins
Thanks, Lonnie!
agree Harald Moelzer (medical-translator)
9 hrs
Thanks, Harald!
Something went wrong...
6 hrs

...which weren't exactly to be found in inflationary abundance

I sense a tongue-in-cheek tone in the German and the author possibly & consciously not being too purist about the term either (& not bothered about being concise) - does the passage or the whole essay have an anecdotal approach? (in the wake of Bill Bryson et al.?) - i.e., giving benefit of the doubt for the author.
Something went wrong...
+1
49 mins

abundant

abundant ("existing or available in large quantities" Amer. Oxford Dict.) describes the quality that apparently appealed to Picasso.

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Note added at 1 hr (2008-11-09 20:56:57 GMT)
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Sorry (in my comment I left out the negative in the original), should, of course, read: the quality whose ABSENCE apparently appealed to Picasso.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-11-09 21:07:49 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

i.e.: "...which were not abundantly available."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 14 hrs (2008-11-10 09:16:07 GMT)
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or: "...which didn't exist in proliferation." (similar to the original in its stiltedness...)
Peer comment(s):
neutral Paul Cohen : The text doesn't say that he appreciated things that were abundant. It's the other way around. // Ah, yes, the missing negation. The "disagree" was too harsh, sorry.
42 mins
Why so harsh? I forgot the negation in my comment, but the requested term is "inflationär", so "abundant" is still correct.
agree David Williams : I read it as meaning "which were not terribly abundant".
14 hrs
Thanks, d.
Something went wrong...
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