AMD1 - "Disney songs in German" Elizabeth Shutty

I have always been interested in translation and how it is often impossible to neatly translate something that is artistic. Rhymes pose a huge problem because most of the time translated songs or poems won't rhyme in another language. So I looked up youtube videos of Disney songs (which I know the words to, having grown up listening to the songs in English) to see how the songs were translated. Below are the ones I watched and my reactions.

-Ariel’s “Part of Your World.” The first comment was: "Ich bin 20 Jahre alt und LIEBE die alten Disne-Filme immer noch :)" I was able to understand this! I recognized in the song when Ariel said “Wie heißt…?” when she was asking what things were called. The German title for this song is “ein Mensch zu sein.”

-I guess they redid the translation in 1998 and the new version of the song is “In deiner Welt” which seems like a closer translation. The rest of the words seem mostly the same. This time I caught Ariel talking about her “fragen” and getting “antworten.”

-I watched “Küss sie doch” (Kiss the Girl). I notice that Sebastian refers to Eric as “Sie”

-“Farbenspiel des Winds” is from Pocahontas. This video had the lyrics in German at the bottom which was really helpful, I was able to catch a lot more.

-“Was das nächste Ufer bringt” is also from Pocahontas. It was so fast, but still pretty. I caught “mein Traum.”

-“Die Schöne und das Biest”- I see that this translated easily. It’s interesting that “Biest” is neuter- “das”- which emphasizes how inhuman the beast was meant to seem.

-“Ich will keinen Mann” from Hercules, in English the song is “I Won’t Say I’m in Love” but here it is “I Don’t Want a Man.” It’s “keinen” instead of “kein” because “Mann” is in the accusative.

-“Es war einmal im Dezember” is a really pretty song from Anastasia. This title is a pretty smooth translation from “Once Upon a December.” This one also had the lyrics, which made it easier to follow along.

-“Wer ich wirklich bin” is from Mulan. In addition to watching the videos it’s interesting to skim through the comments, which are all in German too.

-“Flieg mit mir davon” is from Thumbelina, which is “Däumeline” in German. I caught a couple phrases in German that I know are what the characters say in English- “wir dansen” and “ich liebe sie.”

This was very interesting, I want to watch a movie that I know very well in German next!

Also, all of the songs I mention are available on youtube, I just couldn't attach them all!

Kapitel 1, Elizabeth Shutty

I didn't know German was "the most widely spoken language in the European Union" (30). It seems strange that the classes weren't bigger in high school, it seems like it would have been more popular.
Reading the intro to "How German is American?" I see that this decrease in interest can be traced back to WWI. It's a shame that some German-Americans are no longer as vocal about their heritage as they used to be.
It says that in 2000, 7.2% of Americans labeled their heritage as "American American." I wonder if this number will increase as time goes on, and as people forget and stop caring about where their ancestors came from? This would fit with the idea of a "melting pot," although nowadays people like to picture America as a "tossed salad" (I'm not making that up) because they hope that people can retain their unique cultural heritage while still being part of America. As much as I like that image, fondue sounds a lot better than a salad, at least to me. No wonder I will never be "schlank."
I had never thought of the similarity between German food and the food people eat at baseball games. Beer, hot dogs and pretzels are commonly eaten while watching the American pastime of baseball.
Thomas Nast is so cool! I added one of his cartoons I found online. I can't believe how many common American ideas, like the elephant and donkey for political parties and the picture of Santa, came directly from him. He has had such a huge influence.