“Dayoff“
Hi ihr lieben,
day 16 of our epic Advent Calendar already… wow, time is flying… and today it’s time for
Dayoff
Dayoff is a Russian-German philosopher from the last century and his views, while EXTREMELY controversial and subversive, are tremendously helpful if applied to language lear… nah, who am I kidding.
Of course, I meant “day off“, I just wrote it as one word to make it interesting :).
So… In all the calendars of the last years, there came a day, usually in week three, when all my prepared material had run out and I was so busy with work and other stuff that I was forced to skip a day.
My original plan was to just do the same this year, as a sort of tradition :). And also because it might be kind of nice to have a break before we go into the final stretch.
So I actually intentionally left one day open and my plan was to really just write something like “Habt einen schönen Tag.”
And because I am a man who says it as it is, and who does what he says, I will do just that.
Promise made, promise kept!!
Habt einen schönen Tag und wir sehen uns morgen :)
Oh by the way… if you need something to watch an Netflix, I highly recommend “The Queen’s Gambit.”
It’s nothing special in terms of story but it really has atmosphere. A feel good series, perfect for a snuggle day or two.
And also, most of it was shot in Berlin. Three of the locations are within 10 minutes from where I live.
(disclaimer: I really did do this because I found it a fun tradition. I am not overworked with the calendar this year, please don’t worry.)
Day off. Freier Tag? Feierabend. Brückentag. Urlaub. Ferien.
Meiner Meinung nach, arbeite ich NUR, um Feierabend machen ui können, mir einen Brückentag nehmen zu können, ab in den Urlaub zu fahren und Ferien zu machen.
Leider, muss ich zwischendurch ein bisschen arbeiten. Na ja.
Brückentage sind die besten. Was heißt das denn in Englisch? Oder gibt’s das Konzept in der protestantischen “Work Ethic” nicht :D?
Gibt‘s nicht.
In SE: klämdag = Quetschtag (squeeze day)
Dir auch :) The Queen’s Gambit was great!!! Her outfits were stunning.
Prima! Enstatt des täglichen Übungen, habe ich mich am Flügel gesessen, und einige (damals) berühmtigen Holländer/Dietrich Lieder gesungen und gespielt, besonders “Jonny, wenn du Geburtstag hast” …
“habe ich mich an den Flügel gesetzt” :).
Oder
“habe ich am Flügel gesessen. (ohne “mich”)”.
Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei.
Weise worte
Ganz genau!
Ich sehe, dass sie das Brettspiel aus Queen’s Gambit herausgebracht haben.
Hallo Emanuel
Does this inspire you to make a recording for us ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHk3my06TJQ&t=3s
Not really ;) I hate reading poetry
From the land of Goethe … surely you have a deep understanding of how to say things poetically? If it is outside your comfort zone I understand, but your audience awaits and the curtain is ready to rise to thunderous applause as soon as your fame as a Shakespearean actor and interpreter of German poetry extends from here to the wider world.
Try not to be so shy :-)
Actually yes, it’s kind of outside my comfort zone :). That’s a very good description. Not ready to go there at the moment :)
I like Queen’s Gambit. Not too far in yet, but it reminds me a little of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Peaky Blinders.
I’ve not seen that.
I was a little reminded of Mad Men… probably because it’s roughly the same time period. But it’s more of a feel good series, overall. And it known when to end, unlike many other series these days :)
Here is how I spent my Day Off … and there is a quiz … how many pronunciation mistakes can you find … It would be great to hear Emanuel record the same speech by Hamlet !!
The scene :- A castle balcony during a dark mid-winter night in Northern Europe … a cold blast of rain and snow sweep in from the stormy ocean as Hamlet stares towards the dark horizon … and asks the immortal question “Sein oder nichtsein?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKSFPyC3FW0
I think if you click on the heading “Sein oder nichtsein” you get the right video … I have already counted so many mistakes … I missed an “ä” sound and probably so many other mistakes !! I really want to hear about the ones I got wrong … feedback about mistakes is the way forward … “Per Ardua Ad Astra” !!!
I found myself pulling up the translation and trying to read it out loud myself. Not easy! I’m not brave enough to record myself.
It’s interesting to read translated poetry because I usually end up looking at it in a different light. In the original, “must give us pause” always seemed almost understated to me. “Das zwingt uns stillzustehen” feels different. Unvarnished and piercingly direct, but still on point.
I agree … “must give us pause” … has a lingering sense, while “forces us to stand still” … is a sudden halt? Who are we to know what Shakespeare intended? Perhaps both senses are fine. Translation is an art rather than a science?
I’m biased because I was a literature major, but I think a lot of things related to language are an art. That’s what I love about it. It’s fun to see different interpretations, just like music.
Yeah, I once did a translation of prose (some 20 pages) and that was WAY more work than expected. You really have to think and interpret and often I had to contact the author to give a couple of options, each of which would mean losing part of the original. Like… listen, you’ll miss one aspect on the translation, but which one?
Incredible work and quite poorly payed, for the most part.
20 pages is a lot! And yeah, I was kind of surprised when I found out how little translation can pay.
Pretty good actually.
You do have some of the usual features of English accent like a too soft “z” and a morphing “o”/”u”. But your “a” is pretty perfect and also the “-er” endings.
It does sound a bit like an accent of a person from “Schlesien” (no idea what that is in English). And a bit Yiddish.
You tend to pronounce “u” as “ü”… that’s something worth fixing! (example: Druck)
Also, -or has too much of an English “r” in it the way you say it.
Vielen Dank … I try to work on my “o” and “r “and “u” and “z” sounds.
I know you are an experienced actor … so it would be great to hear your version of “Sein und nichtsein” … I suspect that you
have Hamlet deeply in your soul !!
Correction : I will try … where there’s a “will” there’s a way.
(Wo ein Wille ist, ist auch ein Weg?)
How do you make a game of chess seem exciting, not just once but over and over episode after episode? I don’t know, but they managed to do it brilliantly in Queen’s Gambit.
If I’m not mistaken, Dayoff was also a chess champion, known for his signature “Queen’s Gambit to Stay in Bed instead of Writing an Article” move…
Yeah, I was kind of on the edge of my seat a couple of times. Like, with this specific “cold sweat” and heightened heart beat that you get when watching something suspenseful.
I am really struggling to find shows that I find interesting and this came out of nowhere and fit the bill.
Dayoff, the Russian-German philosopher, eh? I instantly thought of Picov Andropov, the Russian chauffeur to Ray and Tom Magliozzi, (former) hosts of the Car Talk radio show. Tom is deceased but on our day off search for “Click and Clack staff credits.” Be prepared for thousands of them. Samples below.
Russian Gas Station Attendant Phillip Antopitov
Russian Vacation Specialist Ivana Veekoff
Safari Planner Sarah Anne Getty
Safety Officers Mort & Fay Tality
Sales Director Aziz Nowarranty
Sales Motivation Coach Norman Vincent Pealeout
Satellite Radio Critic Candace B. Sirius
Scout Leader Lawson D. Woods
I am very confused :)
Es tut mir leid, I did not mean to confuse. I almost did not post this as I thought that english puns might be very confusing. Listening in english, make an association to the sound of the words to other words or phrases.
Hence, Picov Andropov becomes “Pickup and drop-off”, a very fitting name for a chauffeur. Your Herr Dayoff might be related to Ivana Veekoff, “I want a week off.” Some on the list can be difficult for native english speakers to decipher.
Tom and Ray were famous for including many of these puns in the credits of their call-in radio program about car repair. They were equally famous for their boisterous laughter and for imitating their callers making the sounds that their broken cars make, as well as for advice on relationships (related to people and their cars).
I got a smile out of it, for what it’s worth. Car Talk was a hoot even though I know absolutely nothing about cars.
Did you get it immediately?!?! I was thinking it’s some cultural references. Not puns. Which is weird because mine was a pun to begin with.
Some of them I had to think about for a while. There are definitely a fair number of cultural references in there. On top of what berlingrabers mentioned: Norman Vincent Peale was a famous American preacher. He was on TV and radio and was known for his books on positive thinking.
I think there’s a good amount of American pronunciation in there too. Phill-up, “Ivana” with the “I” like “eye” (pretty strong tendency for natives), and Aziz makes no sense if you pronounce it like Aziz Ansari.
Ohhhhhh… Great puns actually but man… they wooshed by way above my head really :).
It’s probably worth posting the Wikipedia page just to give some context: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_Talk
Really great show, one of the beloved fixtures of National Public Radio in the US for years and years. But yeah, at the end of every show, the hosts would read off fake “credits” that were all goofy puns:
Ohhhhhh, okay now I get the full reference :).
I actually know Car Talk from NPR Berlin, but I always turned off. I liked Fresh Air and Diane Rehm Show (before it was 1A).
I love a day off any time of the year. Win gutes nues jhar!!! Not sure if I have the spelling correct. But may Evey body have a very Merry Christmas and a healthy Happy blessed Happy New Year!!!!
Meh, almost correct :)
– Ein gutes neues Jahr.
Same to you, but we have a few calendar days left, so don’t leave just yet (unless you’re done for the year, of course :)
Meh, almost correct :)
– Ein gutes neues Jahr.
Same to you, but we have a few calendar days left, so don’t leave just yet :)
Zu Hilfe! Nothing to do with days off, but this problem has been gnawing at me for ages and I cannot solve it. In the basement of Voßstraße 33 there was an emergency Durchschlupft that led to U-Bahnhof Kaiserhof (Thälmann, Mohrenstraße,George-Floyd, Glinka, usw.) On the wall of the basement there is an old official sign giving directions for what must have been a hair-raising trip along the tunnel to the U-Bahnhof. Part of the sign (about three words at the beginning) is worn off and illegible, but the remaining portion reads ” … des Durchschlupfs geradeaus und rechts zwischen den Gleisen nach den U-Bahnhof Kaiserhof gehen”. Yes, it says “nach den U-Bhanhof”, which confuses me: shouldn’t it be “nach dem”? And is there a preposition taking the genitive before “des Durchschlupfs”? The word before “des Durchschlupfs” may be “lassen” but it’s not clear. There is a photograph of the sign on the website vossstrassedotcom, on page 16b.
I’m sure the answer is obvious, when you know it.
Das ist extrem lustig!
Ganz gutes Rätsel!,
Foto war schwer zu finden!!
Vielleicht anderes geschrieben oder eigentlich gemeint :
Bei dem Verlassen des Durchschulpfs geradeaus und rechts zwischen den Gleisen
den U Bahnhof Kaiserhof NACHGEHEN (weitergehen) oder hinausgehen
??
Unser Nichts-tuer kennt sicher die Antwort
vossstrasse.com/2018/07/
16(b) going shopping: the wertheim department store.
then scroll down to the sixth image.
Leider laut es: “nach den U-Bahnhof Kaiserhof gehen”. Aber Ihr Vorschlag für den Anfang ist überzeugend.
Hallo Nicho,
zuerst habe ich nach Seite 16b gesucht aber alles ist unpagniert .( without numbered pages)
Das Foto ist eigentlich im Teil 2 Kapitel 16b zu finden
Meiner Meinung nach ist es einfach falsch oder etwas verkehrt geschrieben.
Wahrscheinlich sehr schnell und ohne große Sorgfalt gepinselt
Ein Typo sozusagen.
Es gibt einen sehr interessanten Bildband über Berliner Geisterbahnhöfe.
Perfect, thanks for the link!
So I am pretty sure that the washed out part is “Beim Verlassen”… but the end is definitely “nach den …”
It should be “dem” by today’s standards, but actually, you wouldn’t even use “nach” for that anymore.
The case a preposition wants does change to, over the centuries. This is a great examples.
We can now observe it with “wegen”… I am pretty sure this Genitive prescription will be dropped eventually.
Nein, kennt er nicht. Er muss selber erstmal gucken :).
Deine Theorie macht Sinn, aber “nachgehen” in so einem Kontext klingt definitiv merkwürdig für mich.
Genießen Sie einen guten Ruhetag! Ihnen ist wert es.
I always like to hear the word PAUSE from my German teacher!
Hahahaha, yeah, a sentiment all students seem to share.
Was für ein Zufall… Heute habe ich den Tag frei (von der Arbeit in jedem Fall) und erst gestern habe ich The Queen’s Gambit entdeckt. Ich wusste nicht, dass es in Berlin gefilmt war, aber es ist keine Überraschung… Die Gebäude sehen zu alt und klassisch aus für Kentucky. Aber sehr schön.
Einen schönen Tag dir!
Hier ein Artikel über eine der Locations… ein Second Hand-Kaufhaus.
https://bastelbazooka.blogspot.com/2015/03/thrifting-in-berlin-humana-frankfurter.html
Erkennst du es :)?
Danke fuer die faszinierenden Deutschkenntnisse und frohe Weihnachten, mein Guter!
Danke… aber nicht so schnell :). Wir haben noch ein paar Tage Kalender.
Dayoff’s theory of leisure is an important milestone in western culture.
I agree 1000%
:D
Dear Enmanuel,
I love EXTREMELY controversial and subversive Russian-German philosophers, what a shame that they took the “day off..”
By the way, I liked “The Queen’s Gambit”.
Regards,
Stille Nacht … Heilige Nacht !!!
Just before Covid 19 !!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BS9ohD1R5g
Perfect for now. Thank you.
Ebenfalls :)
Hah auch einen schönen Tag .
Bis Morgen