'Bottom, thou art translated.'

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Originally Posted by davem

Is there a difference in the German translation of Mister Frodo & Master Frodo, or is the same word used for both?

And for those in search of some light relief http://www.kombu.de/twain-3.htm

Davem, I'm not familiar enough with the German translations to answer that question. Maybe Guinevere or Macalaure or others who have read the German version can give more information. As I read the original first, I could never bear to read more than a page or two of the translations!

Thanks for that wonderful Twain link - I'm familiar with his essay on the "awful German language" and have chuckled over it many times, but a number of these quotes are from other works and new to me. One in particular is quite appropriate for the Downs:

...it ought to be gently and reverently set aside among the dead languages, for only the dead have time to learn it.

Lalaith, normally "ihr" is an informal plural pronoun; in the old-fashioned usage, it can substitute for "Sie", which is the formal pronoun and can be either plural or singular. Good reference to the (obsolete) usage of "thee" by Éowyn/Tolkien! Nowadays, the fact that it is used only in a religious context clouds its original intimate meaning.