Translation error?

Next exemple of translation:

French version:

- Ben: Et là…patatras !
- Marco: Patatras?

English version: 

- Ben: And then... kaboom ! - Marco : Kaboom ?

Meaning of this word in french-english dictionary: 

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/french-english/patatras

patatras- indique que qqch tombe en faisant beaucoup de bruit

 -crash

Patatras ! Tout s’est effondré !

Crash! It all collapsed!

Unfortunately, the word kaboom could not be found in the same dictionary, but I found it on another website. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=kaboom

"The larger version of boom.  Boom is just a "boom" while KAboom refers to the "WOW" effect verison of boom. Something truly boom, becomes kaboom. Meaning an even larger boom than kaboom. "

The situation is different from the previous one, but we also deal with a translation other than the rule would indicate. If the dictionary  says that the translation of the word "patatras" is "boom" or simply "crash", why the translator decided to give this expression a stronger emotional charge than the original french version? 

What's more, the word "kaboom" does not even exist in the dictionary, as the internet indicates it is a colloquial word, used in speech, probably between young people. Unfortunately, I don't have English language sensitivity, but I think that the word "kaboom" is different for English than the word "patatras" for French, and even "kaboom" simply sounds strange in this person's mouth in this situation.

Translation

Below is one example that I took from the film "Nothing to hide". On its basis, I will analyze his translation.

French version:

– Tu regardes toutes les photos ?

- Ben : Ouais. I’ai même fait un pêle- mêle.

- Marco : Un quoi ? Un pêle- mêle ?

- Ben : ouais.

- Marco : Les gars. Il a dit « pêle- mêle » ? On dit ça encore aujourd’hui ?

English version: 

 – Are you really looking at all the pictures?

- Ben : Yeah, I even made a hodge- podge.

- Marco : A what ? A « hodge- podge ? »

- Ben : Yeah.

- Marco : Did he say « hodge- podge ? » Do people still say that? 

pêle-mêle- Vieux. Mélange confus de choses ou de personnes. Un pêle-mêle d'objets sans nom.

hodge- podge- a confused mixture of different things

As you can see, word: pêle- mêle is no more use in current french. As we can read on the page below, a word "hodge-podge" is still use in current english. So why translator used this form if the context of the speech emphasized this word, which in the original is treated as obsolete? In my opinion, you can talk about a translation error here.

Assuming that I don't speak French, this statement becomes completely vague and meaningless if I receive it only through subtitles in English.

https://culinarylore.com/food-history:origin-of-hodgepodge/

"Nothing to hide"

Today I will present you last movie I watched. This is Netflix production called "Nothing to hide". 3 couples and Ben meet for dinner party. The men have known each other for decades. They were together at school.  After dinner they play a game of sharing texts, calls, e-mails etc. by placing all 7 cell phones on the table. The atmosphere of a pleasant evening changes radically. The comedy turns into a drama. Was this really a good idea? How many divorces would be if the spouses would look at their phones? Does technology facilitate betrayal? Many interesting questions will be answered by this extremely interesting film. The production is originally French, so I encourage you to look at it in the original.

In the next post I will focus on the analysis of the translation of this film into English. As you know both languages, I hope that you will be interested in this topic.

Cruelty od war

The Polish nurse informs that the purpose of the experiment is to check how long a child can survive without food.

When a small Tadeusz is born, the mother's breasts are heavily bandaged, and any attempt to release them is impossible.

A small child weeps for days and nights due to lack of food, until it finally becomes weaker. Cornelia can’t look at her child's slow and cruel death and asks for help a Polish nurse. The woman brings her an injection of morphine that will lead to the death of the child. Cornelia long wonders whether to kill her own child, in the end she decides to shorten the suffering of her son, whose death was inevitable. After the death of her son, she returns to the camp, and there is no sympathy from the prisoners.

In the later chapters of the book, the mechanism that arose in the head of Cornelia as a result of this tragedy is described with details. This tragedy that leaves its mark on her psyche for the rest of her life, and also affects the life of her child born after the war and granddaughter.

There is a note in the book that says it is an authentic war story, and the author decided to use it in her book. A dry historical fact doesn’t affect us with such strength, but if it is told as the story of one of the heroes, the book becomes more authentic for us and at the same time the identification of such a story with a specific hero makes us feel the seriousness of such a historical fact.

Dark side of history

The thread I wanted to say was the time of war. Especially the tragedy of Jews, which was presented on the example of the story of grandma Marta Landowska- Cornelia. And that's what I'm going to focus on.

The book describes the authentic case of a Jewish woman who went to Auschwitz during pregnancy. In the book, it was Marta Landwoska's grandmother. The story is about life in the camp hospital and conditions prevailing there. It is a story full of cruelty because it talks about how camp doctors treated prisoners.

During the division of works, Cornelia admits that she is pregnant and that she can’t do heavy work. The woman goes to the hospital, where she hopes to improve the living conditions, because as you know, those in the camp were inhumane. She is wrong, at the beginning of her arrival, she gets a new and clean bed, but she does not get anything to eat.

She is lucky because a Polish woman who works in the hospital, sometimes brings her something to eat. But what is the purpose of the doctors? 

About it I will say you in the next post.

My own review

Unfortunately, this book received more criticism than first book. Personally, I think that this part perfectly complements the previous one,  but in fact, reading was no longer so fascinating. Generally, I’m satisfied with the purchase and I will definitely come back to it, because it is an inseparable part of the history of the von Beck family. But at the same time, I agree with the opinion that at some moments the action seemed forced, and the language was, in short, too colloquial for a book dealing with such subjects. However, there was a group of Joanna Jax fans who defended the author in their reviews. In principle, we can say that "Piętno" has more fans than critics. 

I will quote one sentence here, which is very memorable and perfectly refers to the action taking place in the book. "The truth is sometimes surprising and different than we would like to hear, sometimes it's better not to know certain things". 

In the next post I will touch the subject, which is very clearly presented in this book. It wasn’t a main theme, but it was really "strong" that it was impossible not to mention it.

"Piętno"

Today I will present you the second and last pat of this amazing story. As you can guess, this is a  sequel book of  "Dziedzictwo von Beckow". The book is called "Piętno".

As in the previous post, I will get the knowledge from a popular website that presents reviews of well-known books.

Julia Kunis, great-granddaughter of Werner von Beck, decides to trace the history of the von Beck's family. During her wanderings, she meets the historian Marta Landowska, the heir of Jewish jewelers - Dawid Halpern and the cynical seeker of the precious relics of the Third Reich - Tom Anders. By discovering the story of her family and people associated with her, Julia enters a dangerous path that can end tragically for her. Hurted by the last partner, she doesn’t want to enter into new relationships, but the voice of her heart doesn’t let her forget about the strength of her feelings. During the sentimental journey to the land of ancestors, on her way there are love and passion, which once again win with common sense. However, the growing obstacles and fear of another relationship seem insurmountable ...

Positive review

Today I will present one of the reviews I found on the internet. As I promised in the previous post, this time it will be a positive picture of the book. What's more, this opinion presents a more detailed description of the action, but at the same time does not reveal its ending.  Of course, the review was translated by me from the Polish language.

“ I must say with all conviction - congratulations for our young compatriot for creating such an interesting family saga. This is a moral novel with a background story, beginning in 1934 and ending in modern times. We recognize Maria and Werner, who share everything, nationality, class affiliation, wealth, origin, but combines something that can’t be bought or inherited – love. She was unselfish, boundless, full of passion, unconditional devotion and tenderness. This feeling required sacrifices, breaking rules, lies, difficult choices and hesitations between love and hatred. It wasn’t easy considering historical events and family connections. The family of von Beck is aristocracy, the type of family whose interior was filled with hypocrisy and lies, and impeccably perfect outside. All deviations from morality were concealed and quickly cut off.
War has always made life complicated. What was simple and obvious in a peaceful world, during the war became impossible. It would seem that the end of the war will close the chapter in history, but the memories of that period touched later life, destroying their dream life. After the German occupation, the Soviets started not much different from the first: fanaticism, lust for power, hypocrisy, cruelty, fear, accusation and destruction of innocent people. 

Very expressive, complex and diverse psychological portraits of heroes, location of action in many cities in Europe, dramaturgy of events, dilemmas and choices of heroes make the book even more interesting. The life of all heroes has changed dramatically. How important in life is the family, which we can underestimate on a daily basis, until the moment, event and tragedy come to us and realize its value. The family that should always be a support can save or ruin life. The great injustice is the responsibility of future generations for sins and the fault of the ancestors. Some chapters ended with a sentence about the future of the characters, to get to know her, you had to delve into the next chapter, which I did with pleasure." 

I’d like to add that I agree with the presented opinion and for sure this book will stay in my head for a long time, but also in my heart.

I sincerely apologize for any mistakes in the translation, but I hope that my level of English is enough to understand the meaning of the content that I’m presenting.

Difficult to read

As the short description in the previous post tells, history is shrouded in a great mystery. This is certainly a book that will interest mainly all fans of the war period, because the story of love of the characters takes place at that time.

Below I will present all the disadvantages of the book that were important to me. This is not the author's criticism, but my personal feeling, which may be shared by more readers.

1.       The plot is very complex, it should be very focused to follow all the heroes introduced by the author. A moment of deconcentration caused that I had to go back a few pages and read them again because I didn’t understand what was going on.

2.        Also the first chapter of the book was totally meaningless for me, torn out of context, only after reading the whole saga I returned to it anew, because it didn’t give me peace of mind that for some purpose this chapter was placed.

These are the only remarks that haven’t escaped my attention. In the next posts I will try to focus on the positive aspects of the saga that I present.

"Dziedzictwo von Becków"

The book I mentioned last time  is a novel written by Joanna Jax,  titled “Dziedzictwo von Becków.” The name of Saga is “Saga von Becków”. Second part of this saga is titled “Piętno”. Unfortunately, these books havn’t been translated into English, that's why I leave their original names.

Let me translate the short description of the book from the well-known Polish page, describing books.

http://lubimyczytac.pl/ksiazka/224022/dziedzictwo-von-beckow

(I’ve changed some words and phrases).

A story of two people who thanks to fate met each other just before the war. The book is about the intricate lives of a Polish teacher and a German SS officer and their descendants. The story takes place over almost eighty years, transferring the reader from the pre-war Free City of Gdańsk and the Prussian aristocratic estate in Schleswig-Holstein to  Krakow and Olkusz, post-war East Berlin and Warsaw, then to the Provencal village and Paris of the sixties, and finally to Poland after 1989. Coloring the characters and skillfully dosing the secrets, the author created a touching story about forgiveness, love, difficult choices and moral dilemmas, hatred, greed for revenge, greed and complicated family relationships.

About holidays

Holidays are to do things for which we don't have time during the academic year.

In this holiday I decided to work abroad in Switzerland. As you probably guessed, I worked a lot, but there was time for pleasure. Outside of work, I could only focus on myself.

Because my suitcase was not too big, I decided to take only two books. It was these books that made me sleep for two weeks in the morning, and at work I was always tired.

I never thought that the Polish author could make such an impression on me. I'm not saying that Poland doesn't have good literature but I think nothing has interested me like this saga before. I « swallowed » this books in few nights ! After that, at work, I was all the time deconcentrated because of this book. The action was so interesting  that for a few days after reading,  I still felt like I her hero, as if it was my life, and what's more, I couldn’t stop thinking about the end of this story!

What book am  I  talking about? I will present you this wonderful story in the next post.

Surfing on the Internet...

Recently, surfing on the Internet, I found an interesting website. This is a BBC website dealing with healthy eating. We can find there interesting recipes for vegan, vegetarian and meat eaters. In addition to lunch suggestions, there are also recipes for cocktails and desserts. I've tried one of them. Now we have a season for strawberries, so I think that you may like this offer. A perfect idea for a Sunday dessert with your family. Healthy and light!

Strawberry & white chocolate choux buns

• 50g butter
  
  

  
  

  
  

  
• 75g plain flour
• 2 large eggs
  
  

  
  

  
  

  
• 1 tbsp flaked almonds (optional)

For the filling

• 2 tbsp custard powder
• 300ml milk
  
  

  
  

  
  

  
• ½ tsp sugar free vanilla extract
• 150ml Greek yogurt
• 15g coarsely grated white chocolate
  
  

  
  

  
  

  
• 125g small strawberries, halved
• dusting of icing sugar (optional)

Method you can find on the webside. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/strawberry-white-chocolate-choux-buns. 

By the way, I encourage you to discover and try recipes! 

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/category/vegetarian

How do your work out correctly?

There are many ways how to do exercises, but I think that it depends on your health and your body's possibilities. I have it easier because my boyfriend is a personal trainer. I can say- a treasure at home. In the summer I prefer outdoor training, but in winter Kuba devotes me a lot of time to exercising at the gym. THANKS TO HIM I have mastered the correct technique of doing exercises, which is very important in my case. In the past I had more than a dozen operations on the knee, shoulder joint and spine. That’s why I have to be very careful about my health. Of course, at the very beginning I practiced alone, which unfortunately ended with pain for many days. Since I have been practicing with Kuba, I have learned a technique, I don't complain about health problems. Therefore, according to me, it is very important for everyone to be under such protection, at least at the very beginning. Many of you will say that it is expensive and that you can find exercises on the internet, but it is true that we don't control our body in 100% and often we don't realize that the exercise is done wrong. It is worth investing in your health because bad exercises can expose you to lose your health.

One day diet.

I'm excited about reading newspapers about health. Last discovery: Women's Health. Except for curiosities, I found interesting recipes for healthy food, ways to lose weight and how to do exercises correctly. Many of us play sports, but you don't know that you can do it wrong. But about it, maybe next time. Now, I will present you my diet plan for today. Have fun!

I don’t practice it if there are any contraindications for the doctor. Everything I present is done in consultation with my doctor.
Expected Results: You can expect to lose 1-2 pounds in a single day using this diet.

The 1 Day Diet

Breakfast: 1 Egg, boiled (hard or soft)
1/2 Grapefruit (no sweetener)
1 cup black coffee (no sugar, no cream, artificial sweetener is OK)


Mid-Morning Snack: 2 Triscuit Crackers each with 1/4 slice of american cheese on them. 
1 cup black coffee (no sugar, no cream, artificial sweetener is OK)


Lunch: 1 Can of Tuna Fish
3 half-stalks of celery (no salt)
1 cup black coffee (no sugar, no cream, artificial sweetener is OK)


Dinner: 3 ounces of skinless chicken or fish
6 broccoli or cauliflower florettes
1 cup black coffee (no sugar, no cream, artificial sweetener is OK)

EXAMS AND SEE

With the start of June, exams are approaching. Both me and Kuba devote all our free time to learning. 

However, the last few days we decided to relax. Four days on the beach gave a definite dose of energy before a hard month. Apart from lying on the beach, we made together a cycling trip from Wladyslawowo to Hel (35km). The next day we were in Leba to watch moving dunes. Lighthouse in Rewa wasn't missed by us,too. Kuba knows that I love see everything in each place where we are.

And what about Kuba's bike training ?? So Kuba traveled to Leba by bicycle (over 70 km). Of course, I'm not capable of such an effort so I took our car. I'm really surprised that I didn't die the day before when I was biking 35 km to Hel. In addition, Kuba could not abandon his hobby and did similar training every day.

My diet? She died at the end of my free time. probably this month will reign burger and pizza, and for breakfast bread. I can do nothing, I will lose it during holidays, it is a waste of time to cook, an English exam is much closer than I think.

First time in a good shape

Returning to my cyclist. The last races were not satisfying. Despite the great preparation, we aren’t  always able to predict everything.Today the fate changed. Kuba took 8th place out of 660 participants in the race. In addition, he stood on the podium in his age category. After the race, he told me that he is feeling that his shape gets back again. Undoubtedly, it is satisfying when the months of everyday sacrifices and trainings begin to bring the expected results.

 Congratulations and we are waiting for more! A 3 days race in the Polish mountains. (Imagine riding a bike in the mountains for 6 hours without a break. How do you feel? I will tell you in the next post about his impression.)

VEGE BROWNIE

Every day I spend a lot of time looking for new recipes. Although I don't eat sweets, I try to replace them sometimes with alternative things. Today I'm giving you a recipe for vege brownie, which is very popular in my family. I do it very often, usually once a week (my boyfriend loves healthy sweets).

Ingrediens:
millet 1 cup
soy milk (or other vegetable) 1 cup
dark chocolate (70% cocoa) 1 bar (100 g)
cocoa 4 tbsp
banana 1 piece
sugar or xylitol 1/3 cup
coconut oil 3 tbsp
potato flour 2 tbsp

Preparation: Millet rinse well with water and cook in 2.5 glasses of water for about 15-20 minutes (until it is soft). At the end of cooking, I add crushed chocolate.I add a sliced ​​banana, sugar / xylitol, cocoa, milk, coconut oil, potato flour and all together blend to a smooth mass.I put the mass into the greased baking mold (for me, 22 x 22 cm). I bake about 30 minutes at 180. degrees. After that I put it to the fridge for a min. 2 hours. 

Bon Appetit!

Something about me

Today I will change the main topic of my blog and I will say something about me. When I was a child, I loved all kinds of cakes and sweets. It has not changed. Unfortunately, as a child having a lot of sport, I didn’t notice the effects of excessive amounts of sweets. Before high school finals , the sedentary lifestyle and unchanging amount of sweets caused that I gained over 8 kg in 6 months. But after that, watching some photos from high school I was surprised, I wanted change something. But getting rid of unnecessary kilos is not so easy. I tried many ways, including returning to sport and apparent "limitation" of food. I’m not the type of person who can completely reject the majority of loved products and regularly visit the gym, that's why all this was not effective.
I lived in conviction that I have to accept how I look, even though I did not feel well with it. (I'm not saying that I was a hippopotamus, but 8kg difference  was visible to me and my relatives). A month ago, from day to day, I began to limit food portions and, of course, their calorific value. Already after two weeks, I began to feel much smaller hunger, and the weight dropped. Now, thanks to the beautiful weather, I do what I like, so I walk a lot and yesterday Kuba taught me how to skate! It still have to lose 4 kg to return to the "old" weight, but I know I can do it.

Lack of regeneration

Another busy week is behind us. Kuba profited the beautiful weather in the last few days, decided to ride a bicycle to work. Not a small challenge - every day over 100 km. All this to be ready for the first race of the Kaczmarek Electric series today. The competition took place in Rydzyna, near Leszno.  Last year, Kuba only rode short distances of around 25 km, this year he decided to triple this number, riding over 70 km on the Giga distance. (Nearly 4 hours) . Despite the fact that the result is quite satisfying, Kuba is not accustomed to return home without a cup or a medal in his pocket. However, the season has just begun. In my opinion, the fall of form is caused by too intense mode of functioning. I am waiting for the day when he understands that the daily training over 100 km and lack of sleep and proper regeneration are not good ways to achieve a succes.

First competition in 2018

On April 7, we're starting the MTB season. First competition: the direction of Sudety! It will be a very demanding race. Why do we start? Because for Kuba and for me it is a time full of work. From now on, we change the menu, and my person for the next few months gains another obligation which is the role of the manager. Hotel reservation, payment for the competition, finding the right transport. These are a few of many very important functions to make the season successful.  During Easter, I created a calendar until the end of June, from which it appears that only one weekend is free of competition. Such amount of trips and my studies at the same time won’t  be easy, so keep your fingers crossed!