'Bottom, thou art translated.'

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Originally Posted by davem

Or to get back to Tolkien

Great idea!

- is 'boss' a good translation of 'master'? Or would 'Meister' be better?

Neither - in the first German translation, it is "Herr Frodo". "Herr" can be used in several ways; the most common is as a generic term for male persons, comparable to the English "Mister". It can also mean "lord" or "master". At any rate, it is a formal way of addressing a superior, something that might seem stranger to modern Americans than to traditional Brits and Europeans, who still differentiate between friends and acquaintances and who are still aware of class differences.

Dear me, I can vividly remember the days when one did not dream of addressing an older person by her/his first name unless specifically invited to do so! And this tradition still holds here in Germany, at least partially, especially so in a formal setting such as business and education.