Translating a Poem - On the right Trakl?
The Digital German Translators' Workshop at the Goethe-Institut London was established for translators of German into English. On every first Thursday of the month, participants discuss passages or queries from a translation they are working on or they simply come to listen and offer feedback.
In a workshop session, the group created an English translation of the poem "Vorstadt im Föhn" by the expressionist poet Georg Trakl – and the differences between their translation and the one generated through the neural machine translation website DeepL range from striking to funny!
See for yourself!
| Vorstadt im Föhn (Original) |
Outskirts in a Dry Wind (Translation by Prue Chamberlayne and the Translators' Workshop) |
Suburb in the foehn (Translation by the machine translation website DeepL) |
| Am Abend liegt die Stätte öd und braun, Die Luft von gräulichem Gestank durchzogen. Das Donnern eines Zugs vom Brückenbogen — Und Spatzen flattern über Busch und Zaun. |
Dusk in that place lies brown and dense, the air invaded with a greyish stink. The thunder of a train rolls from a bridge — and sparrows flitter over hedge and fence. |
In the evening the place is desolate and brown, The air is filled with a grayish stench. The thunder of a train from the arch of the bridge - And sparrows flutter over bushes and fences. |
| Geduckte Hütten, Pfade wirr verstreut, In Gärten Durcheinander und Bewegung, Bisweilen schwillt Geheul aus dumpfer Regung, In einer Kinderschar fliegt rot ein Kleid. |
Squat huts and paths lie scattered randomly, Allotments in a livid tangled mess, from crowd of kids the flash of a red dress, at times the muffled sound bursts in a shriek. |
Crouching huts, paths confusedly scattered, In gardens confusion and movement, Occasionally, howls swell from dull impulse, In a group of children a red dress flies. |
| Am Kehricht pfeift verliebt ein Rattenchor. In Körben tragen Frauen Eingeweide, Ein ekelhafter Zug voll Schmutz und Räude, Kommen sie aus der Dämmerung hervor. |
Rats chorus their endearments at the dump. Women carry entrails in their baskets, a trail of dirt and mange that brings disgust, approaches closer from the coming dusk. |
A rat choir whistles in love at the Kehricht. Women carry entrails in baskets, A disgusting train full of dirt and mange, Come out of the twilight. |
| Und ein Kanal speit plötzlich feistes Blut Vom Schlachthaus in den stillen Fluß hinunter. Die Föhne färben karge Stauden bunter Und langsam kriecht die Röte durch die Flut. |
A waste outflow spews sudden fatty blood out of the abattoir into the quiet river. Warm wind stirs bushes to a brighter colour, and red twines slowly through the streaming flood. |
And a canal suddenly spews thick blood From the slaughterhouse down into the quiet river. The hairdryers color sparse perennials more colorful And slowly the redness creeps through the flood. |
| Ein Flüstern, das in trübem Schlaf ertrinkt. Gebilde gaukeln auf aus Wassergräben, Vielleicht Erinnerung an ein früheres Leben, Die mit den warmen Winden steigt und sinkt. |
Whisperings — in turbid sleep then sink. Figures flutter up from watery graves, perhaps as memories of former lives, that rise and then die back in the southern wind. |
A whisper that drowns in a gloomy sleep. Structures are gurgling up from moats, Maybe memories of a former life, The one with the warm winds rises and falls. |
| Aus Wolken tauchen schimmernde Alleen, Erfüllt von schönen Wägen, kühnen Reitern. Dann sieht man auch ein Schiff auf Klippen scheitern Und manchmal rosenfarbene Moscheen. |
Shimmering avenues pour out of clouds full of smart carriages and dashing riders. Then sight of a shipwrecked up against some cliffs, and sometimes delicately rose-hued mosques. |
Shimmering avenues emerge from clouds, Filled with beautiful carriages, bold riders. Then you also see a ship failing on cliffs And sometimes rose-colored mosques. |
