donjohannes
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Austria - Santiago (1998)
Liechtenstein - Jerusalem (via Russia, Armenia etc) - and back (2013-2014)
Dear friends - Help? Native Speakers? 15 Minutes of your time?
I'm a catholic priest. Two years back I visited more than 200 shrines in the alps on a 2700 mile pilgrimage aptly titled "Via Alpina Sacra". Last year I published the book in German.
You don't like mountains? You don't care for pilgrimages? You couldn't give a flying "d"uck about catholic priests and their potential preachyness? Then I say thank you for clicking the thread and I wish you all the best on your journey.
If on the other hand, you do not mind either of the above too much, please read on:
Recently I had to translate a few chapters of my book for a presentation with the European Alpine Clubs coming up in December. That had me wondering whether I should translate more of it, especially after I found a cheap way to get that process started. It would still be an investment of time and probably I would just pay someone to "english-ify" it to an acceptable level. But it all depends on the base translation.
So I wanted to ask your opinion on the first few pages. This is no time to be charitable but honest - or restated: honesty is as ever the way of true charity. So I'm not looking for kind words but your brutal assessment of the translated text:
1) readabilty
2) flow
3) linguistic soundness
4) content: captivating/boring
5) how likely you personally would be to read beyond the pages translated (in case you did not give up sooner). I added a few pages of the published work in German for some actual pics of mountains (since it is all about the Alps) that are lacking in the beginning. Note: the formating is a bit off in places because I tampered with the pdf and the metric conversions are still lacking).
Please, if you find the time, judge the listed points on a scale from 1-10 and a one sentence verdict if the text deserves a passing grade. It is no masterpiece for sure, but as a non-native speaker I cannot judge if it is "good", "ok" or "mediocre" with my time better spent elsewhere. However the verdict, it will get the people asking for a translation off my back - either by the translation happening oder by it definitely not happening.
Here is the link to the PDF text: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CYBZ5Hx9mrABt0SMA7xf-bFgQY8qdZFw/view?usp=sharing
Feel free to share this link (and this explanation) with your friends who get a kick out of "the pilgrimage thing".
You can send post your assessment here or use the message function.
And as a questionable "re-payment" of your trouble, I can send you a coupon to watch the 93 minute documentary of my journey (recently translated into English) for free, should you so desire. Though again, I should note, we are not talking about an Oscar candidate here, but the recordings of one priest (with a scrappy evolving beard).
Thanks y'all,
Fr. Johannes
I'm a catholic priest. Two years back I visited more than 200 shrines in the alps on a 2700 mile pilgrimage aptly titled "Via Alpina Sacra". Last year I published the book in German.
You don't like mountains? You don't care for pilgrimages? You couldn't give a flying "d"uck about catholic priests and their potential preachyness? Then I say thank you for clicking the thread and I wish you all the best on your journey.
If on the other hand, you do not mind either of the above too much, please read on:
Recently I had to translate a few chapters of my book for a presentation with the European Alpine Clubs coming up in December. That had me wondering whether I should translate more of it, especially after I found a cheap way to get that process started. It would still be an investment of time and probably I would just pay someone to "english-ify" it to an acceptable level. But it all depends on the base translation.
So I wanted to ask your opinion on the first few pages. This is no time to be charitable but honest - or restated: honesty is as ever the way of true charity. So I'm not looking for kind words but your brutal assessment of the translated text:
1) readabilty
2) flow
3) linguistic soundness
4) content: captivating/boring
5) how likely you personally would be to read beyond the pages translated (in case you did not give up sooner). I added a few pages of the published work in German for some actual pics of mountains (since it is all about the Alps) that are lacking in the beginning. Note: the formating is a bit off in places because I tampered with the pdf and the metric conversions are still lacking).
Please, if you find the time, judge the listed points on a scale from 1-10 and a one sentence verdict if the text deserves a passing grade. It is no masterpiece for sure, but as a non-native speaker I cannot judge if it is "good", "ok" or "mediocre" with my time better spent elsewhere. However the verdict, it will get the people asking for a translation off my back - either by the translation happening oder by it definitely not happening.
Here is the link to the PDF text: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CYBZ5Hx9mrABt0SMA7xf-bFgQY8qdZFw/view?usp=sharing
Feel free to share this link (and this explanation) with your friends who get a kick out of "the pilgrimage thing".
You can send post your assessment here or use the message function.
And as a questionable "re-payment" of your trouble, I can send you a coupon to watch the 93 minute documentary of my journey (recently translated into English) for free, should you so desire. Though again, I should note, we are not talking about an Oscar candidate here, but the recordings of one priest (with a scrappy evolving beard).
Thanks y'all,
Fr. Johannes
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