Day 51 of 97

Day 51: A Love Poem in Officialese

In their office at the city administration in Magdeburg, Rafael (A) reads his colleague Tarik (B) the poem he will perform at a poetry slam that evening.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a German word to see what it means.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native German, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning

  1. A

    Tarik, hast du kurz Zeit? Heute Abend ist der Poetry-Slam, und ich will dir mein Gedicht vortragen, bevor ich mich vor zweihundert Leuten blamiere.

    Tarik, have you got a minute? The poetry slam is tonight, and I want to read you my poem before I make a fool of myself in front of two hundred people.

  2. B

    Na los, aber wehe, es reimt sich wieder Herz auf Schmerz.

    Go on, then, but heaven help you if it rhymes 'heart' with 'apart' again.

  3. A

    „Hiermit beantrage ich fristgerecht dein Herz. Dereinst ward mir dein Lächeln zugestellt, per Einschreiben mit Rückschein, und ich ersuche um unverzügliche Erwiderung.“

    'I hereby apply for your heart, within the time limit. Your smile was once served on me, by registered post with proof of delivery, and I request that it be returned forthwith.'

  4. B

    „Erwiderung“ ist stark, das kann Antwort oder Gegenliebe heißen. Aber „fristgerecht“ klingt mir zu herzlich, schreib lieber „vorbehaltlich der Prüfung durch die zuständige Stelle“.

    'Returned' is clever, it could mean a reply or love in return. But 'within the time limit' sounds too warm-hearted to me, better write 'subject to review by the competent authority'.

  5. A

    Dann ist ihr Herz die zuständige Stelle, gemein, aber gut. Weiter: „Diesbezüglich erging kein Bescheid, und so verzehrte ich mich alsbald, wie nachstehend ausgeführt.“

    So her heart is the competent authority, mean but good. Next: 'No decision was issued in this regard, and so I soon pined away, as set out below.'

  6. B

    Herrlich. Am Ende fehlt nur noch die Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung: „Gegen diese Liebe kann innerhalb eines Monats Widerspruch erhoben werden.“

    Wonderful. All that's missing at the end is the notice of your right to appeal: 'An objection to this love may be lodged within one month.'

  7. A

    Die nehm ich, das ist meine Pointe! Oder versteht das außerhalb der Behörde keiner?

    I'm having that, that's my punchline! Or will nobody outside the office get it?

  8. B

    Doch, jeder, der mal Post von uns bekommen hat. Hör dir an, was heute rausgegangen ist: „Ihr Antrag auf Befreiung von der Antragspflicht konnte mangels Antrags nicht bearbeitet werden.“

    Oh, they will: anyone who's ever had a letter from us. Listen to what went out today: 'Your application for exemption from the obligation to apply could not be processed, as no application was made.'

  9. A

    Das ist ja besser als mein ganzes Gedicht! Aber beim Slam darf man leider nur eigene Texte vortragen.

    That's better than my whole poem! But at a slam you're only allowed to perform your own texts, sadly.

  10. B

    Dann wird's eng, Herr Dichter: Die Hälfte deiner Formulierungen stammt wörtlich aus unseren Textbausteinen.

    Then you're in a tight spot, Mr Poet: half your phrases come word for word from our standard letter templates.

  11. A

    Die Bausteine gehören der Stadt, das Herz gehört mir. Ich trage heute Abend trotzdem vor, im Auftrag meines Herzens, fristgerecht und ungekürzt.

    The templates belong to the city, the heart belongs to me. I'm performing tonight anyway, on behalf of my heart, on time and unabridged.

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