Questions for my German friends

Old Apr 3rd, 2014, 10:11 AM
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Questions for my German friends

I foolishly agreed to translate a German piece into English, without realizing that the piece would be 13 pages long, with a many unfamiliar geo-political terms, as well as many Russian names. The piece is a history of Volgadeutsch settlement. in a place called "Jagodnaja Poljana."

There are many descendants of the Volgadeutsch in the U.S., and the man who asked me to do this translation is one of them. I've run into a couple of terms for which I can find no meaning in my dictionaries. One of them is "Werst," which seems to be a term of measurement--"Sie war 52 Werst in nordóstlicher Richtung von Saratow entfernt."

Any idea what "Werst" means?

Also, there's an abbreviation whose meaning I should know but have forgotten. "bzw."

Can anyone fill me in on these?

I undoubtedly will have more questions as I proceed. I thank you in advance for your help.
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Old Apr 3rd, 2014, 10:21 AM
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Yes, it's a measurement (or was.)

1 Werst = 1066,78 m

It was used until the revolution 1917 in Russia, I think.

bzw. = beziehungsweise = respectively

Bring them on
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Old Apr 4th, 2014, 10:36 AM
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Generally spelled "verst" in English.
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Old Apr 4th, 2014, 12:46 PM
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"Sie war 52 Werst in nordóstlicher Richtung von Saratow entfernt."
She was 35 miles in northeastern direction away from Saratov.

Anything else to translate?

We will be happy to assist you.
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Old Apr 9th, 2014, 01:24 PM
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Thanks for your answers thus far.

1. I have another."Neugeworbenen." In the context, it seems to mean something like "recruits."

"Der Anführer verlangte dass die Kolonisten die Aufständischen mit Proviant versorgten and ihre Reihen mit Neugeworbenen verstärkten."

Then it says that three Jagondnopoljaner (the name of the colony) decided to join Pugatschow's army.

2. A second question deals with Kirgischen "Kajsaken." It looks a bit like "Cossacks."
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Old Apr 9th, 2014, 03:37 PM
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1. "Recruits", "newly recruited soldiers", should fit. The colonists had to supply new soldiers to join the troops of these revolters - I wonder if they were recruited out of their own will or forced to become soldiers.

2. I cannot find the word "Kajsaken" anywhere. They probably mean Kosaken, I'd guess. This might be a word in their dialect. But then I'm no expert on central Asian military...
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Old Apr 9th, 2014, 04:07 PM
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Thanks, Quokka.
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Old Apr 10th, 2014, 08:30 AM
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Here's a reference to "the Kirghiz Kaysaks, or the Kazakhs nowadays"--apparently not the same as the Cossacks, who were fighting against them:

http://voiceofrussia.com/2007/05/23/136588/
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Old Apr 16th, 2014, 03:15 PM
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I should have recognized "Kazakhs," as in Kazakhstan. Dumb.

Anyway, another question. The term is "Desjatinen,"and it seems to be a measure of land, possibly of forested land.

Anyone know anything about this term?

I've been busy, so I hadn't been working on my translation lately, but I'm busy on it today. It's easier now that it's not discussing geopolitcal terms.
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Old Apr 16th, 2014, 09:11 PM
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I think the rule of thumb for these Russian terms is that they're easier to find if you change the transliteration from German spelling to English:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dessiatin
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Old Apr 16th, 2014, 11:42 PM
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This might be of help: Dear old Wikipedia lists and explains all those old Russian measurements in the German version here: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alte_Ma...chte_(Russland)
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Old Apr 17th, 2014, 08:42 AM
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Thanks once again, folks.
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Old Apr 17th, 2014, 10:33 AM
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Good Gawd! I wish I'd never said I'd do this translation. I have to look up about every third word so that I can get it right, since I'm doing it for someone else. Then there are those darned separable prefixes that end the sentence. Quelle horreur! (Sorry, I don't speak French. Maybe not German either.)

Left to my own devices, I think I could figure out most of it, but doing it for someone else is a PITA.

I guess I'll go change my bedsheets, just for a fun relaxing break.
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Old Apr 17th, 2014, 03:05 PM
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proz.com is a WONDERFUL website for language difficulties when translating.
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Old Apr 18th, 2014, 02:18 PM
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Thanks, Lincasanova.

I just have a simple question. Ölmühle. Oil mill (among the Volgadeutsch.) It looks like it has to mean "oil press," right? Since this is not in an olive-growing area.
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Old Apr 18th, 2014, 02:38 PM
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It probably is a mill where seeds are ground to extract oil - remember there are all sorts of oils (mustard seed oil, poppy seed oil, linseed), not just olive.

Lavandula
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Old Apr 18th, 2014, 06:26 PM
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Yeah, that's what I was thinking.
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