"Ich und du Müllers Kuh..."
Eric
reference to the rhyme here in a.u.g posted 21.9.2002 by Kai, but no
translation:
Ich und du
Müllers Kuh
Müllers Esel
das bist du!
My attempt at translating leads me to believe the meaning is
intentionally somewhat "silly" but still, I'm sure I still don't quite
"get it."
You and me
[the] Miller's cow
[the] Miller's donkey
that [is] you!
Or more "loosely"...?
"I'm the Miller's cow whereas you are the Miller's donkey...!" :-)
Spoken in jest, Jein? And isn't "Müller" sometimes used connotatively
in Germany like "John Doe" is here in the USA as a vague reference to
"just anyone" -- a general person. Or in the case of "Müllers", a
general family. Like here in the USA, we say "We are keeping up with
the Joneses." So I wonder about that in the rhyme too.
-eric
Stephen Hust
> I heard this popular or well-known children's rhyme today. I
> found a reference to the rhyme here in a.u.g posted 21.9.2002 by
> Kai, but no translation:
>
> Ich und du
> Müllers Kuh
> Müllers Esel
> das bist du!
>
> My attempt at translating leads me to believe the meaning is
> intentionally somewhat "silly" but still, I'm sure I still don't
> quite "get it."
You realize that it's a "counting rhyme," like "eeny meeny miney
moe", no?
--
Steve
My e-mail address works as is.
Gerd Thieme
> Ich und du
> Müllers Kuh
> Müllers Esel
> das bist du!
I remember »Bäckers Esel« in this counting-out rhyme.
> My attempt at translating leads me to believe the meaning is
> intentionally somewhat "silly"
There is not much sense in the wording. It rhymes and it calls the
counted-out one a mule. You start this by pointing at yourself.
> You and me
The other way (me and you) corresponding to the person pointed at.
> [the] Miller's cow
> [the] Miller's donkey
You might want to replace the cow by any beast which rhymes better with
the first and the last line. And I guess that in English a mule would
fit better than a donkey.
> "I'm the Miller's cow whereas you are the Miller's donkey...!" :-)
There's no "bin" in the rhyme, so there should be no "am" in a
translation.
Gerd
--
Diebe! Räuber!! Politiker!!! (Dagobert Duck)
Eric
Suddenly after reading your post I do... :-/
-eric
Eric
> On 18 May 2006 23:33:27 -0700, Eric wrote:
>
> > Ich und du
> > Müllers Kuh
> > Müllers Esel
> > das bist du!
>
> I remember »Bäckers Esel« in this counting-out rhyme.
I've seen "Baekkers Esel" more in writing but on the language tape they
say clearly "Muellers Esel" and I've seen that in writing as well on a
few occasions.
> > My attempt at translating leads me to believe the meaning is
> > intentionally somewhat "silly"
>
> There is not much sense in the wording. It rhymes and it calls the
> counted-out one a mule. You start this by pointing at yourself.
> > "I'm the Miller's cow whereas you are the Miller's donkey...!" :-)
>
> There's no "bin" in the rhyme, so there should be no "am" in a
> translation.
Indeed. Obviously I made too much of it. My thinking in adding the
"bin" implicitly was lead by this reasoning. Perhaps as an aside that
could be addressed:
- "Was ist, Eric?" --> "What's wrong, Eric?" There is no word "wrong"
in the German sentence. That's just the way you say it in German
apparently.
- I asked someone once about how to tell our bird I don't want him on
me. (He likes to fly and perch on our family member's shoulders.)
"Ich wolle nicht am mir." is what I was told. There is no "you" or
"don't want" in the German sentence.
Those are two somewhat weak examples, but it leads me to believe that
Germans "fill in the blank" when speaking at times whereas we perhaps
use words in our sentences that in German would be considered
superfluous. I'm sure there are counter-examples (that I can't think
of right now.)
Anyway, weak examples to describe why I thought *perhaps* an "am" would
be implied. It's frustratingly easy to suppose so many things when
learning another language, that's for sure...! This forum is
absolutely great for setting things straight.
Danke!
-eric
Andy
<new...@cox.net> wrote
[
>Those are two somewhat weak examples, but it leads me to believe that
>Germans "fill in the blank" when speaking at times whereas we perhaps
>use words in our sentences that in German would be considered
>superfluous.
My favourite street-sign in Vienna is, in its entirety, "Wird
Angeschleppt"; I'm unsure how to express that succinctly in British
English. ("Tow-away Zone" is not B.E.)
[
> It's frustratingly easy to suppose so many things when
>learning another language, that's for sure...!
Yup :(
--
Andy Taylor [Editor, Austrian Philatelic Society]
For Austrian philately http://www.kitzbuhel.demon.co.uk/austamps
Stephen Hust
> My favourite street-sign in Vienna is, in its entirety, "Wird
> Angeschleppt";
Not "abgeschleppt"?
> I'm unsure how to express that succinctly in
> British English. ("Tow-away Zone" is not B.E.)
Maybe it's becoming B.E. Google finds a few matches, such as:
<http://www.iankitching.me.uk/history/cam/old/tow-away.html>
<http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm198889/cmhansrd/1989-
06-14/Writtens-1.html>
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/features/2002/09/goose_fair_travel
.shtml>
<http://open.bbc.co.uk/catalogue/infax/programme/LDHA016L>
<http://www.admin.ex.ac.uk/academic/tls/shandbook/Car%
20Parking.htm>
How about "Tow away in operation" (see the sign a little way from
the top). But this page also uses "tow-away zone".
<http://www.scotland.gov.uk/cru/kd01/blue/carclub-08.asp>
Andy
<shNO...@a1.net> wrote
>Andy <an...@kitzbuhel.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> My favourite street-sign in Vienna is, in its entirety, "Wird
>> Angeschleppt";
>
>Not "abgeschleppt"?
Oops - fat finger syndrome!
>
>> I'm unsure how to express that succinctly in
>> British English. ("Tow-away Zone" is not B.E.)
>
>Maybe it's becoming B.E.
Gresham's Law in action :)
--
Andy
For Austria & its philately, Lupus, & much else visit
<URL:http://www.kitzbuhel.demon.co.uk/>
Ekkehard Dengler
Andy schrieb:
> My favourite street-sign in Vienna is, in its entirety, "Wird
> Angeschleppt"; I'm unsure how to express that succinctly in British
> English. ("Tow-away Zone" is not B.E.)
"Cars will be towed"? Admittedly less usual than, say, "Illegally parked
cars will be towed away" or "Unauthorised vehicles will be removed", but
then you seemed to have something quadrisyllabic in mind.
Regards,
Ekkehard