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Kreis Kalininskij
Jul 24, 2019 19:06
5 yrs ago
4 viewers *
German term

Blümchenblase

German to English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
excerpt from an informal, personal message by a man who is describing his own past reprehensible behavior; he describes an intense self hatred and desire to find himself, whereby "ich (...) habe blümchenblasen beim sprechen"
Proposed translations (English)
2 +1 rose-tinted bubble / cosy/snug/comfortable bubble
References
pride bubble
Change log

Jul 24, 2019 19:36: philgoddard changed "Field (write-in)" from "conversation and slang" to "(none)"

Discussion

D. I. Verrelli Aug 9, 2019:
"etwas durch die Blume sagen" Not necessarily relevant, but — just in case — for the record:
"etwas durch die Blume sagen" = "etwas nur andeutungsweise / indirekt / verhüllt sagen; eine Kritik nur andeuten / umschreiben; jemandem die Wahrheit schonend beibringen; eine Aussage beschönigend verpacken"
https://www.redensarten-index.de/suche.php?suchbegriff=blume...[]=rart_ou

It is possible for someone to intentionally or unintentionally mix "Blume" with "Blase" (albeit in an unexpected sense!):
"[...] Obwohl es mir ja schon irgendwie schwer fiel, mir vorzustellen dass sich meine Seele bzw. mein Unterbewusstsein gerade meine Blase ausgesucht hat um mit mir Kontakt aufzunehmen. Hatte sie zu viele Comics gelesen und das Wort Sprechblase falsch verstanden? [...] Also was genau wollte mir mein Unterbewusstsein nun durch die Blume äh durch die Blase sagen? [...] Die Blase ist das Sammelbecken von Urin [...]."
http://ohne-angst-leben.de/content/405/59/wie-finde-ich-die-...
Machiel van Veen (X) Aug 8, 2019:
Rose-tinted Rose is, beside the color and perceptual meaning, a flower.
Machiel van Veen (X) Aug 8, 2019:
Rose-tinted bubble D.I. Verrelli has right. Rose-tinted has also in Dutch as second or third meaning comfortabel. "He looks to the world trough rose-tinted glasses" means "everything alright". So rose-tinted could very well be right in your context. http://it-forensic.org/wp/het-leven-door-een-roze-bril/
"Iedereen heeft al eens een tegenslag in zijn leven. Het is een kunst om in alles het positieve te zien en het leven door een roze bril te bekijken. Het helpt je om blij te zijn met jezelf en met wat je hebt. Positieve denkers leven langer en gezonder en ze bereiken hun doelen makkelijk."
D. I. Verrelli Aug 3, 2019:
"flowery language" Regina Freitag stated, "he might refer to a mental filter while speaking".
I accept that this is a possibility. (One of several possibilities.)

That was explained: "it could mean that he doesn't say what he really means but tries to make it sound better, maybe by leaving out the worst parts or phrasing it in a way that conceals the darker parts and sounds more harmless, like a filter. Maybe "flowery language"."

In my view, "flowery language" would not be a suitable expression to convey the situation described above.
Consider the following example to illustrate this.

Unfiltered thought: "I'd like to get into your pants."
Filtered statement: "I'd like to get to know you better."
Flowery statement: "The humble personage before you should like nothing better than to despoil your fertile plains."

The filtered statement conceals the true meaning.
The flowery statement does not conceal the true meaning, but expresses it in overblown language.
D. I. Verrelli Aug 3, 2019:
Sprechblase v Denkblase Lancashireman's pithy posting about "Sprechblase v Denkblase" may be relevant, even though I didn't find any matching results online. It could be that the writer considered that a 'thought bubble' (as in a comic strip) resembles the shape of a (little) flower.
I'm not entirely sure how that fits the source text, but perhaps something like "I get lost in my own thoughts".
D. I. Verrelli Aug 3, 2019:
Rose-tinted bubble That also fits here:
"Typisch Staatsfernsehen Nr.I, sorgfältig gefiltert für Meinungsmache. Wer noch das glaubt was im ARD, ZDF und Co. gesendet wird... der kommt wohl nie mehr aus seiner Blümchenblase heraus."
https://www.facebook.com/DasErste/posts/10157303055578232?co...{%22tn%22%3A%22R%22}

And also here:
"Lange wirst du nichtmehr in deiner Rosaroten-Blümchenblase vor dich hin vegetieren können und dann wirst auch du erkennen wie unglaublich dumm du mal warst. Aber klar solange es so ist, kann man Fakten noch ignorieren und System-, Politik- und Medienkritiker als Spinner, Verschwörungstheoretiker und Rechtsextreme bezeichnen (ist ja quasi alles das gleiche für den Gutmenschen-Pöbel der du offensichtlich bist). Viel Spaß beim Erwachen in ein paar Jahren, wenn es bereits zu spät ist."
https://ch-me.org/videos/wahre-fakten-mit-florentin-ulfkotte...

Even more reassuringly, the latter text even precedes the sought expression with "Rosaroten-"!
D. I. Verrelli Aug 3, 2019:
Rose-tinted glasses and cotton wool (2) There is an expression in English, "(looking at the world though) rose-tinted glasses" — also "rose-colo(u)red glasses" — referring to seeing everything in a more positive way (or 'light') than it is in reality.

In English the word "bubble" can refer to "The emotional and/or physical atmosphere in which the subject is immersed; circumstances, ambience.". For example: "He’s wrapped up snugly in a cosy bubble of self-regard, talking for his own sake more than anyone else’s."
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bubble#Noun
Or the "political bubble" (perceived isolation of politicians from the public's reality)
https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781742614076/

At least in the sentence "Außerdem - wer zwanzig Jahre lebt, kommt nicht erst dann aus seiner Blümchenblase raus." it seems to mean something like "rose-tinted bubble".
Although that's not idiomatic in English.
And I am not sure that it can apply to the source text of the Asker here.
D. I. Verrelli Aug 3, 2019:
Rose-tinted glasses and cotton wool (1) "Und ja - es gibt diese Leute, die behütet aufwachsen, sich aber mit 13 schon einbilden, alles gesehen zu haben. Aber ist wirklich jeder so oberflächlich? Und selbst wenn - was hättest du in dem Alter gesagt, wenn dich niemand mit deinen Sorgen und deinem Weltschmerz ernst genommen hätte? Grundsätzliche Pädagogik. Außerdem - wer zwanzig Jahre lebt, kommt nicht erst dann aus seiner Blümchenblase raus. Bis dahin kann man alles mögliche erlebt und durchgemacht haben - Familienumbrüche, Verlust geliebter Menschen, ganz neues Lebensumfeld nach einem Umzug, zerbrochene Beziehungen, schwere Krankheit, die erste eigene Wohnung, Behördengänge, gute Bücher, politische Meinungsbildung...die Liste geht weiter."
https://www.gutefrage.net/frage/wieso-glauben-kinder-dass-si...

In the above post the author seems to be arguing that although there are some children who are 'wrapped in cotton wool' by their parents, generally speaking teenagers do not suddenly enter the 'real world' when they turn twenty: rather, teenagers and children do often have sad — and sometimes even traumatic — experiences.
D. I. Verrelli Aug 3, 2019:
Sexual connotation Machiel van Veen has stated: "The only things I could find for the word are sexually tinted and I think he means something different."
Indeed, I agree that the meaning of the word in the source text is probably not sexual at all.

Just for the record, as far as I can tell, the sexual usage of "Blümchenblasen" is a noun meaning something like "gentle fellatio".
It appears to be analogous to "Blümchensex": "besonders zärtliche und romantische sexuelle Betätigung [ohne Koitus]" ("umgangssprachlich, oft scherzhaft oder abwertend")
https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Bluemchensex
And using "blasen" as a noun.
https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/blasen
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substantivierung#Substantivier...

That sexual meaning makes no sense to me in the given context of the source text.
D. I. Verrelli Aug 3, 2019:
"pride" The link from "Blümchen" to "Blume" to "Flower" [in a literal sense] may be already open to discussion, but following
https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/flower/2
to link "Flower" in a very conceptual sense to either
* "Cream" (in the the sense of "the best")
or
* "Elite(s)" (in the the sense of "high-class persons")
and thence on to "Pride" is quite dubious in my view.

To be clear, even if that series of connections were apt, the meaning of "Pride" and "Flower" adopted would be "the best" or "high-class". As in "She was the pride of Liverpool" — i.e. people in Liverpool were proud of her.
That doesn't match the usage in "pride bubble", which is more related to (excess) self-confidence or self-assurance or self-satisfaction.
Regina Freitag Jul 24, 2019:
Thank you, Machiel! Yes, that might be, and your explanation also makes a lot of sense, because he would have created his own bubble to protect himself from consequences. I think the link of lancashireman is very helpful too.
Lancashireman Jul 24, 2019:
Sprechblase v Denkblase https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprechblase
Machiel van Veen (X) Jul 24, 2019:
I agree with Regina. Thinking it over and having in mind the sexual connotations, I begin to think it's about a sexual offender. In that case it's natural he / she wants to hide wat's really in his/her mind.
Regina Freitag Jul 24, 2019:
he might refer to a mental filter while speaking Hi Tegan, in my view it could mean that he doesn't say what he really means but tries to make it sound better, maybe by leaving out the worst parts or phrasing it in a way that conceals the darker parts and sounds more harmless, like a filter. Maybe "flowery language" would work, or moving further away from the text. Maybe he feels ashamed of himself and feels that people hate him if he tells them the truth, so he tries to make it more acceptable. Also, if he has trouble finding his identity, the bubbles could describe phrases that he thinks other people want to hear from him, in the sense of "templates" or "text modules", not his own words. I'm speculating a bit, but it might make sense with the context.
Tegan Raleigh (asker) Jul 24, 2019:
Coming out of his bubble seems right to me, given the few google hits I've found for "Blümchenblase," and the context:
"ich kann mich nicht finden und habe blümchenblasen beim sprechen" followed by statements about not liking himself
Machiel van Veen (X) Jul 24, 2019:
bubble "coming out of his bubble" could be fitting. "I have difficulties with coming out of my bubble when talking." ???
Machiel van Veen (X) Jul 24, 2019:
Blümchenblase Hello Tegan, can I have some more information? Especially the text between the brackets. And maybe some text around it. The only things I could find for the word are sexually tinted and I think he means something different.

Proposed translations

+1
9 days
Selected

rose-tinted bubble / cosy/snug/comfortable bubble

See posts in "Discussion" section, above.

In slang usage "Blümchenblasen" can have a sexual meaning, which doesn't look relevant here.
The other meaning evinced through online searches is something like "rose-tinted bubble" or "cosy/snug/comfortable bubble".

I can't say I've personally heard anyone use the expression "rose-tinted bubble" or "rose-colo(u)red bubble", but there are some instances online
https://www.bing.com/search?q=+"rose-tinted bubble"
https://www.bing.com/search?q=+"rose-coloured bubble"
https://www.bing.com/search?q=+"rose-colored bubble"

If so, the suggestion of Machiel van Veen to translate with an expression like "coming out of his bubble" may also be OK — omitting an explicit translation of "Blümchen".

There is, however, a grammatical inconsistency. The meaning "rose-tinted bubble" goes along with a preceding preposition:
"Jemand kommt (nicht) aus seiner Blümchenblase raus"
"Der kommt (nie mehr) aus seiner Blümchenblase heraus"
"Du wirst (nichtmehr) in deiner Rosaroten-Blümchenblase vor dich hin vegetieren können"

In contrast, the source text has:
"ich kann mich nicht finden und habe blümchenblasen beim sprechen"

It may be that that writer used their own personal imagery, rather than any idiomatic expression.
Alternatively, the writer might not have been using careful grammar. (Especially if the text is something like a personal diary entry, or an online chatroom posting.) If nothing else, the writer is at least unconcerned with capitalisation.
The Asker will be in a better position to judge this, based on their source text as a whole.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 days (2019-08-03 07:02:58 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Upon further (albeit brief) reflection, I suggest that the translation should arguably — depending on the purpose and intended audience — reflect the usage of either personal imagery or imperfect grammar in the source text, and therefore a translation like:
"I have rose-tinted bubbles [...]" could be justified.
Peer comment(s):
agree Machiel van Veen (X)
1 day 10 hrs
Thanks :-)
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "thank you very much for your detailed reply"

Reference comments

17 hrs
Reference:

pride bubble

On the synonyme web page below the word flower is twice named as pride.
So you can consider the combination "pride bubble".

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 uren (2019-07-25 13:28:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I have troubles coming out of my pride bubble when talking.
Reference:

https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/flower/2

Peer comments on this reference comment:
disagree D. I. Verrelli : I am not especially keen on this. First, I am concerned a spurious link may have been made: "pride" in your link has a different connotation. Second, I'm not convinced it's what the source text means. Thirdly, "pride bubble" is not idiomatic.
8 days
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