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The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2013-12-12 18:54:11 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)
German to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Journalism
German term or phrase:Leitmotiv-Leidmotiv
Dear colleagues, Did anyone have to translate the german pun Leitmotiv-Leidmotiv into English?
Explanation: Interesting problem. "Key note" is a fairly usual translation and many things can "end on a painful note", but I see no reason why it couldn't be used in this context too.
We still don't have nearly enough context, because it's not clear why the "Leid" happens. Does it mean he's suffered because he finds alternative solutions? It would be useful to have the sentences before and after this one - or is it a heading? We say "profile", not "portrait", by the way.
by taking a similar word such as credo, tenet, axiom, dogma, doctrine, maxim and finding another similar sounding word, i.e. your own play on words. Nothing comes to my mind for the moment but maybe, with time, it will filter through!
What you could do, if you want to keep the pun and the intended readership for your article is educated, you could say, "motif of suffering (Leidmotif in German)" or as a footnote: the author makes a play on words by counterposing Leitmotif with Leidmotif, an invented word, to emphasise the theme of suffering" or something similar.
Thanks, but what do you mean by "the text is a portrait"? That it describes a portrait, e.g. a painting of someone? If so, I would go with what I have already suggested. Leitmotiv and motif of suffering. Another alternative would be to use 'theme' instead of 'motif' but that loses the repetition. Depending on the type of text, which you still don't say, you could briefly explain 'Leidmotiv' in brackets or a footnote.
Welcome to Kudoz! It would be very helpful if you could provide the context for this, including the sort of text in which it is being used and how. Surrounding sentences give an idea of what is intended by it and the tone of the piece. On the face of it, the pun cannot be rendered into EN in my view. Leitmotiv is Leitmotiv in EN (i.e. we use the GER) and Leidmotiv is a motif of suffering or similar. But if we know the context, maybe we can come up with something else entirely. Thanks.
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Answers
19 hrs confidence: peer agreement (net): -1
key note - painful note
Explanation: Interesting problem. "Key note" is a fairly usual translation and many things can "end on a painful note", but I see no reason why it couldn't be used in this context too.
HilaryS Germany Local time: 15:16 Native speaker of: English
1 day 5 hrs confidence:
guiding theme - theme of suffering; Leitmotif - motif of suffering
Explanation: With explanation in brackets, if deemed appropriate to the nature of the text.
A leitmotif /ˌlaɪtmoʊˈtiːf/ is a "short, constantly recurring musical phrase"[1] associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of idée fixe or motto-theme.[2] The term itself is an anglicization of the German Leitmotiv, literally meaning "leading motif", or perhaps more accurately, "guiding motif". A musical motif has been defined as a "short musical idea ... melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic, or all three",[3] a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition: "the smallest structural unit possessing thematic identity."[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitmotif
leitmotif, German Leitmotiv (“leading motive”), a recurring musical theme appearing usually in operas but also in symphonic poems. It is used to reinforce the dramatic action, to provide psychological insight into the characters, and to recall or suggest to the listener extramusical ideas relevant to the dramatic event. In a purely musical sense the repetition or transformation of the theme also gives cohesion to large-scale works.
The term was first used by writers analyzing the music dramas of Richard Wagner, with whom the leitmotif technique is particularly associated. They applied it to the “representative themes” that characterize his works. The close thematic musical structure of his dramas, from Der Ring des Nibelungen onward, including Tristan und Isolde and Die Meistersinger, demands skillful contrivance and keen intelligence in order to make the themes work satisfyingly in a symphonic way and at the same time enrich the dramatic events.
The leitmotif has two distinct dramatic functions, which may operate separately or together: one is allusion (to dramatic events), the other transformation, or continual modification of the theme. Both were used long before Wagner. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s four-measure phrase “Così fan tutte” (“Thus do they all”), in his opera of the same name, is allusive, but it appears as a recurrent motto rather than as a true leitmotif. Another early example of such allusive use is in Carl Maria von Weber’s opera Der Freischütz (The Freeshooter, or, more colloquially, The Magic Marksman), when Max hesitates to descend into the wolves’ glen and the orchestra echoes the mocking chorus that had teased him in the first act. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/335529/leitmotif
Helen Shiner United Kingdom Local time: 14:16 Works in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 12
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peer agreement (net): -1