I personally related to what you wrote about looking for the right words in another language. In the 49 years that I've lived in Israel I find myself combining expressions which my adult kids find hilarious and my daughter has made lists and even a list of words that American Israeli friends have created!
An example is: we are shiputzing our house! This means we are remodeling! There are lots more!!
Thanks, Donna! I love that your daughter made lists of your innovative expressions, that is a great character sketch and family portrait in and of itself! Your "shiputzing" sounds close to "putzen," which means cleaning in German.
Thank you for your insights about finding your own voice while translating. And thank you as well for the wonderful boost you are giving me as I try to write family
stories. Your book " How to write compelling stories from family history" has inspired me to finally start on that journey. You have created a guide that walks beside me, encourages me and offers me such practical tips! Your voice is quiet and almost matter-of-fact, yet it reaches into my soul and brings out the best . Thank you !!
Very insightful and relatable to me. I translated my father’s journal into English and found that my English voice was not anything like his voice. My brother had a go at it and it came out better. I realize that he is 12 years older and lived in Germany for 14 years. My conversational German, learned from my parents, did not include many complex vocabulary words relating to his life from 1912-1977.
As someone who has an uncanny inability to learn languages, I am super impressed at your mastery of so many languages. But, what struck me in this piece was your ability to hear your writing voice, and recognize when it was missing. Voice is so important, and the thing that so many of us struggle with, especially as our storytelling changes.
Oh! Thank you so much - it is always lovely to hear that a reader appreciates what I put out there. My gift of languages is, I think, largely due to my good fortune of being brought up bilingually. I do like learning languages, though, and that might not necessarily be a result of my upbringing, but it certainly helped a lot!
Annette, you are amazing and very talented!
I personally related to what you wrote about looking for the right words in another language. In the 49 years that I've lived in Israel I find myself combining expressions which my adult kids find hilarious and my daughter has made lists and even a list of words that American Israeli friends have created!
An example is: we are shiputzing our house! This means we are remodeling! There are lots more!!
Thanks, Donna! I love that your daughter made lists of your innovative expressions, that is a great character sketch and family portrait in and of itself! Your "shiputzing" sounds close to "putzen," which means cleaning in German.
Thank you for your insights about finding your own voice while translating. And thank you as well for the wonderful boost you are giving me as I try to write family
stories. Your book " How to write compelling stories from family history" has inspired me to finally start on that journey. You have created a guide that walks beside me, encourages me and offers me such practical tips! Your voice is quiet and almost matter-of-fact, yet it reaches into my soul and brings out the best . Thank you !!
Thank you so much, Judy! I'm thrilled to hear that my guidebook is cheering you on in writing your family stories. That is its whole purpose!
Very insightful and relatable to me. I translated my father’s journal into English and found that my English voice was not anything like his voice. My brother had a go at it and it came out better. I realize that he is 12 years older and lived in Germany for 14 years. My conversational German, learned from my parents, did not include many complex vocabulary words relating to his life from 1912-1977.
Makes sense! One only really knows the vocabulary one is exposed to.
As someone who has an uncanny inability to learn languages, I am super impressed at your mastery of so many languages. But, what struck me in this piece was your ability to hear your writing voice, and recognize when it was missing. Voice is so important, and the thing that so many of us struggle with, especially as our storytelling changes.
Love this!
Thank you, Lynda!
I envy your gift of languages and love everything you write
Oh! Thank you so much - it is always lovely to hear that a reader appreciates what I put out there. My gift of languages is, I think, largely due to my good fortune of being brought up bilingually. I do like learning languages, though, and that might not necessarily be a result of my upbringing, but it certainly helped a lot!
Fascinating post. You obviously have a gift for languages. What a blessing.
Thank you but it is largely due to the way I was brought up, I would say!