The language dilemma

I once saw two different productions within a fortnight of the same Molière play. One was a close translation of the original text, and  it's staging contained many of the elements of the time when it was written. The second one was brought right up into the 21st century, with a modern setting and modern jokes. Quite quirkily it was delivered mainly in rhyming couplets. I slightly preferred the latter though also appreciated the former. I remember this as I try to make my decision now.

I'm currently working on the third book in the Schellberg cycle. This one is almost completely fictional and set in  Nazi Germany. I'm allowing my characters to speak in quite modern English. I do agree that this would sound strange if the story were set in 1940s Britain. However we're one step away here as the characters are all speaking another language some of the words and phrases might be useful. In any case, just as in the second version of the Moliere play, bringing our characters into the 21st century might make them more accessible.

A couple of examples:

1. older brother Kurt refers to younger Eberhard as "Bro". This could anyway be a translation of "Bruderchen" or "Mein Bruder" both of which may have been used in the 1940s.

2. A school girl struggling with fractions complains that the work is "doing my head in". This phrase does not exist literally in German. However there was no doubt something equally colloquial then in German as there is probably as well now. The modern German would not be appropriate but the modern English may be acceptable as an equivalent.

So, there seems to be a suggestion that this might work.

However, in the first novel, The House  on Schellberg Street , I do use a  1940s' English. This is partly because it is set in that place and time and partly because the letters I transcribed as part of my research produced a certain pleasingly old-fashioned tone.

So. It remains a dilemma for the moment. It could be that by the time you read this a decision has been made.

Language in Historical Fiction

I shared a very early part of the novel with a crit group last night. I received some very helpful comments and the question about language came up again. We talked about my first chapter which introduces us to one of the main characters. It also contains a letter written by her to some of the other significant players. The narrative is fairly neutral though I think I may change the voice a little later. It feels a little young if this book is to be for key Stage 3. The letter, though, is in a 1940s’ tone and even retains some of the German feel about it. I know this is going to happen even more so with the later letters. However in the ordinary narrative I have more modern English. I normally believe it should be one or the other – either go completely modern or try and replicate the language of the time. I remember seeing two adaptations of the same Molière play within two weeks. One was a fairly literal translation, the second sought to provide the same level of entrainment to a 21st century audience as Molière’s original audience would have enjoyed. I slightly preferred the latter. Both used a very different tone, but at least the tone was consistent throughout each one. Somehow, though, in my novel I feel that the mix is working. I still feel that Caroline Lawrence has got it just right in the Roman mysteries and my text is not too different from hers. Time will tell, I guess. In the meantime, I guess I just need to get the novel down. I reckon I’m just about half way

The Power of Names

As I continue with my “Hani” strand, more and more German words are creeping in. Today I’ve used Vati, Mutti, Frau Gödde, Herr Gödde, Spätzle (gosh that’s not just German – it’s Swabian) Frau Lehrs, Doctor Kühn and Hausfrau, as well as, of course, a host of first names. Some of the words, like Hausfrau and Spätzle don’t quite translate. I hope I’ve shown the meaning by the way I’ve included them in the text. I may have to provide a glossary, or that could be put on the web site. I’ll probably revisit the work of Caroline Lawrence to get some ideas about this. I love the way she has done that for the Roman Mysteries. I think in the 1940s, and certainly in Germany, there was greater formality about how you addressed people. Hani would never have addressed Frau Lehrs as Clara, though in the scene I’ve written today, now that Hani is sixteen and already working as a housekeeper, she thinks of her as Clara Lehrs. She thinks about her parents mainly as Mutti and Vati but occasionally as her father or her mother. I’m also using Frau and Herr Gödde. I was discussing a similar example with a colleague yesterday, where a point of view character thinking of her parents as Mr and Mrs X would have been wrong. Here, though, it seems to work. It’s possibly because the text is a little exotic and these two expressions remind the reader that the people involved are German. This may all change in the editing, of course.