Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Weniger Illusion als Affirmation
English translation:
not so much illusion as affirmation/more affirmation than illusion
Added to glossary by
philgoddard
Apr 28, 2010 21:57
14 yrs ago
German term
Weniger Illusion als Affirmation
German to English
Art/Literary
Cinema, Film, TV, Drama
I'm struggling to unpack the meaningof this sentence about theatre in Africa.
Weniger Illusion als Affirmation sind mithin die Wirkungsweisen eines Theaters, das nicht frei ist von der sich reproduzierenden Moral.
I'm also not sure whether Wirkungsweisen is 'the effect theatre has on the audience' or 'the devices used in theatre to create an effect'.
Many thanks is advance!
Weniger Illusion als Affirmation sind mithin die Wirkungsweisen eines Theaters, das nicht frei ist von der sich reproduzierenden Moral.
I'm also not sure whether Wirkungsweisen is 'the effect theatre has on the audience' or 'the devices used in theatre to create an effect'.
Many thanks is advance!
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
May 12, 2010 04:30: philgoddard Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+4
3 mins
Selected
not so much illusion as affirmation
You haven't given much context, but presumably this means that it is used not so much to deceive as to make statements.
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Note added at 7 mins (2010-04-28 22:05:43 GMT)
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Wirkungsweisen just means the way it works, or achieves its effect. You could translate "sich reproduzierenden Moral" as "prevailing morality".
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Note added at 14 mins (2010-04-28 22:12:33 GMT)
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Or you could turn it round, and make it more concise, by saying "more affirmation than illusion".
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Note added at 7 mins (2010-04-28 22:05:43 GMT)
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Wirkungsweisen just means the way it works, or achieves its effect. You could translate "sich reproduzierenden Moral" as "prevailing morality".
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Note added at 14 mins (2010-04-28 22:12:33 GMT)
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Or you could turn it round, and make it more concise, by saying "more affirmation than illusion".
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Rebecca Rönty
: I agree with Phil. "Wirkungsweisen" here is talking about the way the theatre works - a platform for affirmation rather than for illusion
15 mins
|
Thanks - exactly.
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agree |
Lancashireman
: The stage as a platform? I like it, but I'm somewhat concerned to discover that 'die Moral' may be reproducing.
53 mins
|
Thanks Andrew.
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agree |
Rolf Keiser
8 hrs
|
Thank you.
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agree |
mill2
12 hrs
|
Thanks.
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+1
8 mins
Affirmation rather than illusion is the effective mode....
Another approach..
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Jim Tucker (X)
: Clear and gives the sentence a reason to live.
6 hrs
|
Thanks, Jim:-) Привет!
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23 mins
less make-believe and more middle-of-the road
The original German sounds like they're saying theater really isn't totally free if it has to stay within the current moral climate.
So this is my attempt at a literary translation - which also aims to maintain the prosody (using alliteration in the paired terms in English to sort of echo the assonance in the paired terms in German).
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Note added at 24 mins (2010-04-28 22:21:50 GMT)
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TYPO:
less make-believe and more middle-of-the road
SHOULD BE:
less make-believe and more middle-of-the-road
Sorry!
So this is my attempt at a literary translation - which also aims to maintain the prosody (using alliteration in the paired terms in English to sort of echo the assonance in the paired terms in German).
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Note added at 24 mins (2010-04-28 22:21:50 GMT)
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TYPO:
less make-believe and more middle-of-the road
SHOULD BE:
less make-believe and more middle-of-the-road
Sorry!
32 mins
the theatre's driving force is based/grounded more on affirmation than illusion
a free stab at it :)
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Note added at 36 mins (2010-04-28 22:34:32 GMT)
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or: springs more from etc.
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Note added at 36 mins (2010-04-28 22:34:32 GMT)
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or: springs more from etc.
+2
41 mins
more affirmation than illusion
it's quite hard to get the sentence to flow in english without inserting something, i think "this" makes a good substitute for "mithin".
More affirmation than illusion, this is the the effect of a cinema which is not free from the morality it reproduces.
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Note added at 12 hrs (2010-04-29 10:22:36 GMT)
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Theatre, not cinema...!
More affirmation than illusion, this is the the effect of a cinema which is not free from the morality it reproduces.
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Note added at 12 hrs (2010-04-29 10:22:36 GMT)
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Theatre, not cinema...!
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Helen Shiner
: sounds better to me
1 hr
|
neutral |
philgoddard
: I've already said this.
1 hr
|
agree |
British Diana
: yes, because of "this"
7 hrs
|
neutral |
Lonnie Legg
: "more a than i" is okay--but I don't agree with your sentence translation. "Wirkungsweisen" is not about "effect"--and "which" should be "that".
11 hrs
|
12 hrs
Affirmation prevails over illusion
Affirmation prevails over illusion among the devices (or more literally: modes of influence) wielded by (or simply, if you prefer: of) a theater that is not free from the morality it reproduces.
Example sentence:
The illusion of psychotherapy: "Thus, ... wisdom prevails over scientific caution."
Discussion
What concerns the morality, I am 'überfragt'.
One thing that I noticed is that people were saying the "morality that it reproduces" it standing for theatre - whereas I understood it to mean more a self-perpetuating morality, a morality that reproduces itself, as Johanna says... does that make sense? ;)