Quote:
Originally Posted by hansl
And also titles like "Master". "Herr Frodo" is an uncommon usage in German. If you talk to your master, you just call him "Herr" without a first name. But this is more like "Sir". A "Meister" is a craftsperson title in German, "Master" is an academic degree (in Worldish). So leave "Master" and add it to the glossary, making clear that it does not have an academic meaning here.
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Note 1: I support the translation of Streicher as derived from Landstreicher.
As for Master/Herr/Meister, allow some clarifications:
I'm wandering slightly away from my domain here, because I'm an examined translator of German, but into Polish and not English.
Master has a double meaning as far as I understand:
one fitting the Latin "dominus" the other a "master-of-arts" (would it be "artifex"?) which would explain the use of it as an academic title too; this is what hansl correctly refers to with "Meister" : a craftsman (as e.g. head of a guild)
(junger) Herr without a name might be uncommon now, but it's nevertheless the historically most appropriate translation for "master"/dominus as Sam would use adressing Frodo: adressing a noble or superior person.
The meaning Herr=Mister is modern.
Historically "Herr" is a nobleman.
A lower class male was a "kerl" (now "kerl" is simply meaning bloke)
The female equivalent "Frau" coming from "frouwe", a noble lost it's meaning too: Frau in a contemporary meaning is just "woman" or used in adressing a married woman. (Mrs.)
Translating "frouwe" in contemporary German results in "Herrin" (mistress)
A married lower class woman was a "wip" (Weib, contemporary rather respectless, "broad" in English?)
The same happened to the German equivalent of Miss.:
Frouwelin (literally "little mistress") modern Fräulein meant an unmarried noble girl .
A common unmarried female, simply a girl was a "Dirn(e)" (now Dirne is just a prostitute)
Examples:
In Goethes "Faust" „Hör, du mußt mir die Dirne schaffen!" (V. 2619)
In northern German dialect still known as "Deern" for a young girl.
I hope the history trip including digressions 'll be forgiven
