NationStates Jolt Archive

Does anyone here speak good German? I was watching some Monty Python and there's a sketch about a joke so funny it kills anyone who hears it. In the sketch it is being used against the Germans in WW2 so it is in German and I wondered if anyone here could translate it as my German isn't up to much.

I've tried several online translators but none of them seem to work, I suspect they just made up some German sounding words but I'd like to know for sure.

'Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermezer? Ja!... Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput.'

Thanks. :)

"Meines Hundes keine Nase erhalten worden"

"Wie riecht sie?"

"Schrecklich"

A. Hitler - 1938

"Meines Hundes keine Nase erhalten worden"

"Wie riecht sie?"

"Schrecklich"

A. Hitler - 1938

ROFL!

Ok, even I can translate that.

"Meines Hundes keine Nase erhalten worden"

"Wie riecht sie?"

"Schrecklich"

A. Hitler - 1938
:D

Didn't one of his rising star government officials get fired for that one?

:D

Didn't one of his rising star government officials get fired for that one?

It never really matched Britain's great pre-war joke: joke (http://www.therockalltimes.co.uk/2002/10/14/neville-chamberlain.jpg)
:D

Are you sure you should be asking this question? Aren't you afraid the answer might kill you???

Are you sure you should be asking this question? Aren't you afraid the answer might kill you???

If I die at least I'll take most of the forum with me! :p

From what I can tell most of it seems made up.

If I die at least I'll take most of the forum with me! :p

No, no. It'll just be you. *nods*

"Meines Hundes keine Nase erhalten worden"
"Wie riecht sie?"
"Schrecklich"
Are you sure anyone said that? Cuz that doesn't make any sense.
"My dog was no Nose received"
"How does she smell?"
"Terrible"

'Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermezer? Ja!... Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput.'
Yes, just made up words. I wonder why English-speaking people always do that...

Are you sure anyone said that? Cuz that doesn't make any sense.
"My dog was no Nose received"
"How does she smell?"
"Terrible"


Yes, just made up words. I wonder why English-speaking people always do that...
It's easier and cheaper than doing the logical thing and getting a German speaker's help.

I know very little German, though I am learning, I know some short sentences due to the German Music I listen to , such as the band Rammstein.

Weiter, weiter ins Verderben.

Dalai Lama: Rammstein

It's easier and cheaper than doing the logical thing and getting a German speaker's help.
I just wish they would at least use words that even remotely sound German. But instead they use this weird, brutal kind of language that is so heavily inspired by a certain Austrian fella....

Ghost Stalker']...such as the band Rammstein.
Listen to the track "Los". It is a great illustration of how versatile language can be.

Nein.

isn't english a germanic language?

Nein.

Curse you. I was going to do that, but had to leave.

Ghost Stalker']isn't english a germanic language?

Yes.

English has a heavy Anglo-Saxon German base mixed in with alittle french as I recall. Someone correct me if I am wrong on which language was mixed in with A-SG.

Yes.
A bit of Latin, a bit of Celtic stuff. Then a lot of Anglo-Saxon (and Jute) tribes from Northern Germany and today's Denmark. Those had Germanic languages. Then the Danes came and brought some Danish.
Then came the Normans, and they had a lot of French influences.

English is a very hmmm... bastardised ( :D ) language.

I just wish they would at least use words that even remotely sound German. But instead they use this weird, brutal kind of language that is so heavily inspired by a certain Austrian fella....

Believe me, I agree, and I'm not even a native speaker (Though I've an ardent love for the language).

Leonstein, Bitte entschuldigen du mein schlectes Deutsch
(4 the English native speakers here that was, please excuse my poor German)

however my interpretation of the joke is:

"Meines Hundes keine Nase erhalten worden"
"Wie riecht sie?"
"Schrecklich"


"My dog doesn't have a nose"
"How does she smell?"
"Terrible"

which is really corney but it does make sense,

as for:

"Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermezer? Ja!... Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput"

well that does baffel me, i think that theres a few bad spelling mistakes in this

the words that i can understand are

If is the Nunstück [maybe prudent, v v bad spelling] git and Slotermezer [theres nothing that i can think of that is related to this, also my Deutsch/Englisch dictionary doesnt have anything in it]?

Yes! ... beiher[not a word]-dog this Or the Flipper[i think they must mean the Englisch meaning of Flipper] waldt [wald[no 't'] means woods...] gersput [definatly not a word]

I recon that an english native speaker translated this direct from English to German just by sound, they may know a little German...direct translations sounds shit (believe me i know)

Leonstein, Verstechen du dis Witz, eingeschlossene Fehler?
[Bitte entschuldigen du mein schlectes Deutsch ]

Lori

und ja Englisch ist eine Germanic Language,

as you can see any 1/2 wit Aussie can understand the simplest German, well in theory, Leonstein whats your oppinion on that ;)

oh, one last thing, if they just tried to translate the joke by sound their may be some dialect in it, which will totally twist the spelling of the words, and make it damn near incomprehensible.

Lori

Ghost Stalker']isn't english a germanic language?

Jawohl, mein herr. Es ist sehr Duetscheischte.

"My dog doesn't have a nose"
"How does she smell?"
"Terrible"
Oh! True, that makes sense. :headbang:
Although it would be
"Mein Hund hat keine Nase" or "Mein Hund hat keine Nase erhalten"

"Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermezer? Ja!... Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput"
All right, I'll try again.
"Wenn ist das" - That makes sense, but the meaning of it would depend on whatever follows. It's most likely to be used in a question, in which I would say "When is it".
"Nunstück" - "Stück" means "Piece", but "Nun" is not a word. The English Nun maybe, but that would be "Nonne". Which word for "prudent" were you thinking of?
"git" - maybe a spelling mistake. "Gibt" would work, probably meaning being/existing in this particular case.
"und" - "and"
"Slotermezer" - A Bavarian name maybe? Not a word anyways.
"Ja!" - Yes.
"Beiherhund" - "Hund" means "Dog", but a Beiher? No idea.
"das" - that
"Oder" - could mean "or", also a River in East Germany.
"Die Flipperwaldt" - The Flipperforest? "Wald" means forest, so it may be a spelling mistake.
"Gersput" - That is not a word, and it doesn't sound like a name either. Closest thing might be "gesputet" which would be a past tense form of a slang word meaning "to hurry".

[Bitte entschuldigen du mein schlectes Deutsch ]
Lori
So, you see, your German isn't that bad at all. Although it would be
"Bitte entschuldigen Sie mein schlechtes Deutsch" - Unless we're really good friends, in which case it would be
"Bitte entschuldige mein schlechtes Deutsch"

So the joke probably is gibberish, ah well.

Thanks to everyone who tried to translate it. :)

Ye gods... I'm all for Monty Python, as a rule, but they didn't half stretch a gag, did they? Sorry - have just read the script for this sketch, having never seen this one.

But to provide the answer that plenty of other people have already provided as though for some reason I think mine's going to be any more authoritative than anyone else... :D

The joke's gibberish. It's not actually German.

As to the poster complaining they didn't even use words that sound like German, well, I'd say the answer to that one is quite simple and comes in two parts:

Firstly, the audience had to be able to suspend their disbelief sufficiently to imagine that this was, indeed, the funniest joke in the history of the world. That meant that there must be no possibility that German-speakers amongst the audience should be able to understand the 'joke'. After all, no joke-writer could ACTUALLY write a lethally-funny joke, could they? Besides, if they'd used real German words, or words that sounded too real, you'd get people wasting hours of their lives trying to translate the joke because they thought it sounded like real German. Um... ;)

Secondly, and most importantly: Why in the name of all that's holy are you trying to find sense in this? It's a Monty Python sketch, for gods' sakes!

Eine sprechen ze kliene duetsch.

Forgive my horrible grammar.

Forgive my horrible grammar.
and spelling.... :D

I think Monty Python (and other filmmakers in the course of history), rather than using the real thing have decided to make up words, simply because they sound even more like the real thing.
Have you ever seen "The Dictator", the Charly Chaplin movie? He's giving some speeches in fake-German that never fail to make me laugh my a*** off... it could never be half as funny if it was real German

... it could never be half as funny if it was real German
That is because you'd understand though. For an English person it shouldn't make a difference, should it?

I always have a nagging feeling, especially when it comes to the war or Hitler, that they try to make German sound as foreign as possible, just in case English-speakers could pick up a few words. Makes it easier to almost "dehumanise" the other side.
And while I love Monty Python and Charlie Chaplin the feeling doesn't go away.

and spelling.... :D


Heh, yah that too...

If a German speaking person speaks to me as If I were a retard, I can normally understand them, but my vocabulary and sense of German grammar is horrible.
I may someday be fluent in German, but I'll probably never be able to read and write it very well.
I tend to go for the phonetically spelled words, when lamely attempting to write German.

That is because you'd understand though. For an English person it shouldn't make a difference, should it?

I always have a nagging feeling, especially when it comes to the war or Hitler, that they try to make German sound as foreign as possible, just in case English-speakers could pick up a few words. Makes it easier to almost "dehumanise" the other side.
And while I love Monty Python and Charlie Chaplin the feeling doesn't go away.

Actually, no, not really. When you listen to the speeches Charly Chaplin delivers in "The Dictator", you'll find that they are understandable to the English audience, sounding like some stupid "germanification" of English rather than a complete invention.
Generally, in most movies, the idea seems to be to create a German that sounds German enough to be recognised by absolutely everybody, a German that is even more German than the original...

Actually, no, not really....
Well, you got me. I never saw "The Great Dictator" - but I should.

I'm mainly going by the Looney Toons of the War. Have you seen any of those? They still show them here sometimes. Daffy Duck bashing a little Eagle named "Schulz"....

I know a little German...

He's sitting right over there. *points*


(cookie for where that came from)

Well, you got me. I never saw "The Great Dictator" - but I should.

I'm mainly going by the Looney Toons of the War. Have you seen any of those? They still show them here sometimes. Daffy Duck bashing a little Eagle named "Schulz"....

No, I haven't seen that... sounds funny, though.

I know a little German...

He's sitting right over there. *points*


(cookie for where that came from)

ROFL!

Out of interest, has anyone else seen the lumberjack song in German (with English subtitles), I have and it was hilarious.