|
 |
Another German Translation | ||
Share with:
| ||
 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| datsunking1 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5584 days ago 1014 posts - 1533 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Russian, Dutch, French | Message 1 of 9 18 February 2010 at 4:18am | IP Logged | ||
|
I was watching an interview today with a popular hip hop artist in Germany, and he kept saying "eite" or "eiter" I can't tell the difference and I have NO idea what it means. It reminds me of "like" in English. You know, how people always say "like" WAY too many times. (He was like, I was like...like like like etc.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otPhIWKbRkY The part I'm confused about is in the first 10 seconds or so, so just watch that. WARNING: IT ISN'T VERY CLEAN, if offended please don't listen. This is the only example I could find aside from my friends saying it too. but I can't record them lol Thank you! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Pyx Diglot Senior Member China Joined 5734 days ago 670 posts - 892 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Mandarin | Message 2 of 9 18 February 2010 at 4:39am | IP Logged | ||
|
If you mean that stuff at the end of the sentence, he says "Alta", meaning "Alter", meaning "old guy", meaning "dude". It's very slangy.
If that makes you feel better, I have no idea either what he said the first few seconds either, and would have to watch it a couple of times, to get it ;) I'm not into Hip Hop, but there is one German hip hop band I like, that's "Die Firma". They're not only having intelligent texts, they're also speaking quite clearly ;) Check out "Zeitgeist" by them. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Sprachjunge Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 7164 days ago 368 posts - 548 votes Speaks: English*, GermanC2 Studies: Spanish, Russian | Message 3 of 9 18 February 2010 at 5:36am | IP Logged | ||
|
And if I may, just so that as many implications are as clear as possible, in this context you would probably translate "Alter/Alta" as "yo." :)("Hey, Alta, was geht (ab)?" = "Yo, man wsup?").
I'm actually very excited for you, as "Alter" is one of those words that crop up very often, but you ignore if you don't know them. I remember that when I first learned it, I suddenly realized that it was everywhere! Viel Spaß damit! 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Pyx Diglot Senior Member China Joined 5734 days ago 670 posts - 892 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Mandarin | Message 4 of 9 18 February 2010 at 5:54am | IP Logged | ||
Wouldn't it be 'man' from the sentence you've given (and from what I've translate it as)? :) Where do you hear "Alta" beside in Hip Hop videos and on the streets? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Sprachjunge Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 7164 days ago 368 posts - 548 votes Speaks: English*, GermanC2 Studies: Spanish, Russian | Message 5 of 9 18 February 2010 at 6:20am | IP Logged | ||
|
Ah, Pyx! As you know, translation is rarely one-to-one. What I was attempting to do was show Datsunking1 an equivalent phrase that, to the best of my German abilities, communicates the undertones of that phrase in American slang. So, of course the literal translation would be: "Hey, old man/guy, what goes off?" But that doesn't tell Datsunking anything about what that word--again, from what I know of German--connotes. Also, to spell out what I was implying in my first post, yes, it can mean "man" or "dude" as you correctly noted in yours. However, in this context (a hip hop one), it more closely approximates (and connotes) what "yo" does in American English. Does that make sense? You could also translate "Hey, Alter, was geht (ab)?" as "Hey, yo, wsup?" to make it more one to one, since "yo" can both be used to get someone's attention ("hey") or as a form of address ("dude," "yo").
Actually, "Alter/Alta" is said pretty frequently if you keep your ears open for it. I've just finished watching two episodes of "Stromberg" (I LOVE that show) and Ulf, a main character, said it once on the phone and once to Ernie. Ulf is hardly a part of any hip hop scene or from the streets, but he does use speech patterns typical for many teenagers/young adults (20s). Edit: Although note: In Ulf's case I would translate "Alter" as "dude" or "man," NOT "yo." There is a cultural difference of register at work here. :) Edited by Sprachjunge on 18 February 2010 at 9:31am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Pyx Diglot Senior Member China Joined 5734 days ago 670 posts - 892 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Mandarin | Message 6 of 9 18 February 2010 at 6:27am | IP Logged | ||
|
Point taken, Ulf does say that :) However, I dare say that Ulf is that kind of guy who would listen to Hip Hop ;)
What you say does make sense, but I'd still say that "Hey" is "Yo", and "Alta" is "man". Then again, I'm sure you know more about Hip Hop, German, American, or otherwise, than me :) 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Katenanto Triglot Newbie Austria Joined 5536 days ago 3 posts - 5 votes Speaks: German*, English, Dutch | Message 7 of 9 18 February 2010 at 12:14pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Saying "Alter" in various versions of pronounciation is really common in most regions and not really slang - when used among pals, among men. In this case it means something like "dude".
But in the Berlin-hip-hop-style talk of the given example it really looses that meaning and degenerates to something like yo. You can often hear it used to address women as well, or a group of people, which doesn't fit with the original meaning and sounds strange to my Southern ears. (The version in Austrian slang would be "hearst?" - hörst Du?, literally "Do you hear" or something, but really used without much reference to that to express things like: "You bet!" and lots of others). 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| datsunking1 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5584 days ago 1014 posts - 1533 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Russian, Dutch, French | Message 8 of 9 18 February 2010 at 5:26pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Thanks guys! :D
Katenanto- I've noticed a lot of German speakers using English with German together. I'm not sure why, but It allows me to understand it all better. like hearst, I've heard "Das Dreamteam" or "the cops" (with no article, just the cops) I use German hip hop to learn, I know it's probably not approved by members here because of the slang/explicitives, but it allows me to relate to what I'm doing because I LOVE rap. Although there is a lot of slang, I can learn how many people speak because 1951 German without toil is a little outdated... hahaha I learned a large majority of my Spanish through music also. Music is a huge part of learning languages for me. -Jordan 1 person has voted this message useful |
|  | 
Printable version
|
| Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization. |
