10 November 2016

outsmarting all earlier translations

The following may seem just a detail, but it once more shows how all previous translations can still be further improved.

[029/26]
SAHWERSA THÉR SWETHNATA ET SÉMNE KYVA ÀND SANA
If any of our neighbours quarrel and fight...


VR ENZE SÉKA THA VR LÁND

(transliteration Ottema/ Sandbach: vr enga sêka, tha vr lând)

Note that the red and blue marked translations differ significantly from each other:

translation original language English
Ottema 1872 over eenige zaak (anders) dan over land over any matter (other) than land
Sandbach 1876 - about any matter except land
Wirth 1933 über andere Sachen als Land over other matters than land
Overwijn 1951 over een of andere zaak zoals over land over any matter such as land
Jensma 2006 over andere zaken dan over land over other matters than land
De Heer 2008 over enige zaken zoals over land over some matters such as land
Raubenheimer 2011 - over any matter other than land
Lien 2013 over noen (andre) saker enn over land over some (other) matters than land
Menkens 2013 über einzelne Dinge/Sachen wie über Land(besitz) over individual matters such as land(-ownership)


I think THA does not mean 'other than'/ 'except' or 'such as' here, but  'or' (Dutch: of/ dan wel), as it does in the following fragments, also written by Minno:

[030/10] ET WÍRING.GA THA TO AL.MAN.LAND
at Wyringga or at Almanland
[030/30] THÀT.ET FOLK VS LÉT DVATH THA BISTÉLLETH
that the folk does us harm or steals from us

 Thus, the translation would be:

over any cause* or over land 

(* or: case; plural in original; Dutch/ German: zaak/ Sache)

No comments:

Post a Comment