that certain glow
November 2, 2008 1:44 PM Subscribe
German translation, as direct as possible, of the phrase "singing the glow"?
"Singing the glow" is somewhat non-idiomatic even in English, but I mean it just like "reading the book" or "drinking the water" -- a phrase that means "the act of [transitive verb]ing the [noun]."
So I'm looking for a German equivalent that would be understood in just the same way.
For example, it seems like "das Glühen singen" isn't the answer because it would be read as "to sing the glow."
(There will be no other verbal context for this; in both English and German the phrase will just be used as the title of a piece of art.)
"Singing the glow" is somewhat non-idiomatic even in English, but I mean it just like "reading the book" or "drinking the water" -- a phrase that means "the act of [transitive verb]ing the [noun]."
So I'm looking for a German equivalent that would be understood in just the same way.
For example, it seems like "das Glühen singen" isn't the answer because it would be read as "to sing the glow."
(There will be no other verbal context for this; in both English and German the phrase will just be used as the title of a piece of art.)
It's been a couple years since my several years of German in college (and I'm a hobbyist linguist at best), but I'm not sure there's actually a parallel distinction between "singing the glow" and "to sing the glow" in German — either seems like the gerund form to me.
It needs a reality check from someone fluent, but "Das Glühen singen" could be correct, inasmuch as it means anything.
posted by silentbicycle at 2:02 PM on November 2, 2008
It needs a reality check from someone fluent, but "Das Glühen singen" could be correct, inasmuch as it means anything.
posted by silentbicycle at 2:02 PM on November 2, 2008
As far as I know it, Singen = to sing, while Singend = singing.
posted by dunkadunc at 2:08 PM on November 2, 2008
posted by dunkadunc at 2:08 PM on November 2, 2008
singen des glühens or glühender gesang could be 2 indirect possibilities of translating it?
posted by freddymetz at 2:12 PM on November 2, 2008
posted by freddymetz at 2:12 PM on November 2, 2008
freddymetz is more on track- my translation was too literal.
posted by dunkadunc at 2:14 PM on November 2, 2008
posted by dunkadunc at 2:14 PM on November 2, 2008
"Das Glühen singen" seems correct (and awful, my mental image is a Wagner opera blaring from the stereo of a dentist's Audi TT driving down the Splügen pass at sunset). I'm german.
posted by dhoe at 2:18 PM on November 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by dhoe at 2:18 PM on November 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks. Literal is exactly what I'm going for -- as literal as possible while remaining understandable. It might be that "das Glühen singen" is closest. Most important is to keep that verb-noun relationship clear (singing is verb, glow is noun).
posted by kalapierson at 6:06 PM on November 2, 2008
posted by kalapierson at 6:06 PM on November 2, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by dunkadunc at 2:00 PM on November 2, 2008