Could someone help validate this Babelfish English to German translation?

[universe.zip]

Algernon, I second raygirvan´s and Nils´ ideas, I´ll be glad to revise the new version as well.
To satisfy your curiosity - I´m trilingual, German, English and Finnish, so I consider them all my native languages. Of course, having (mostly) grown up and lived in a German-speaking environment (i.e. Austria), my colloquial English isn´t as good as German, and it sometimes isn´t quite idiomatic, but most people don´t notice I now study Spanish, too.
I started studying translation/interpreting exactly because of that - I love languages, I love moving back and forth between them, and I love making communication between other people possible. Plus, there´s nothing quite as exciting and adrenaline-intense as simultaneous interpreting (except for a few very dangerous extreme sports, possibly ) - I´m actually an interpreter (well, finishing my studies next autumn, but I already work once in a while), but translation jobs are easier to come by, and we learn to do both, although they require quite different thinking.
And I really don´t mind correcting translations, heck, it´s my job… especially if it´s for a good cause, such as this.

But this thread isn´t about me, it´s about your letter, so off we go back to the topic!

On preview I just saw MummyCave´s corrections, didn´t notice those things, thanks. (Didn´t read it through thoroughly, I guess they´re uncorrected mistakes from the original.)
And yes, I think in Germany it´s more common to say “Oberarzt”, “Primarius” might be an Austrian regionalism.

[Nils]

*Originally posted by universe.zip *
**And yes, I think in Germany it´s more common to say “Oberarzt”, “Primarius” might be an Austrian regionalism. **

True. I actually didn’t know the word Primarius. Oberarzt is much more familiar with me. I also second raygirvan’s comments.

And yes again, Hannover is the Capital of Lower Saxony. I actually live in the Region of Hannover ca. 20 km to the north of Hannover.

[Algernon]

OK. I’ve made all the suggested changes and corrections.

TTT, Universe, Nils, MummyCave here is the revised version (in both German and English).

I hope you come back to check on this. If you could be so kind as to look it over one last time, I would be grateful. Well, actually, I’m already grateful, so I guess I’d be more grateful. (warm smile)

Lieber Großonkel Horst:

Mit Hilfe eines Computerprogramms und etwas anderer Unterstützung ist mein Brief vom Englischen ins Deutsche übersetzt worden. Ich hoffe er ist verständlich.

Du erinnerst Dich wahrscheinlich nicht mehr an mich, aber ich traf Dich einmal, als Du und Hilda vor vielen Jahren nach Amerika kamt. Ich bin der zweite Sohn von Gertrude Bakker (Radtke) und Enkel von Frieda Radtke (Burst), Deiner Stiefschwester.

Ich schreibe Dir aus drei Gründen…

1. um Dir mitzuteilen, daß Gertrude verstorben ist,
2. um Dich zu fragen, ob Du Information über unsere Familiengeschichte hast,
   Und (Ich hoffe ich trete Dir mit folgendem Anliegen nicht zu nahe)…
3. um Dich zu fragen, ob Du irgendwelche Photos aus der Zeit hast, als Du im Afrika-Korps gedient hast.

1. Deine Nichte Gertrude ist am 4. Februar 2003 verstorben. Es ist eine lange Geschichte, aber ich versuche, es zusammenzufassen.

Meine Mutter wurde letzten November 81. Vor einigen Jahren wurde bei ihr eine MAI-Infektion diagnostiziert. MAI ist ein dem Tuberkulose-Erreger ähnliches Mycobakterium. Es wächst langsam, kann aber kaum besiegt werden.

Anfang Januar wurde Mutter ins Krankenhaus eingewiesen, weil sie nicht mehr essen konnte. Während dieser Woche besuchte ich sie und war von ihrem Aussehen schockiert. Sie hatte ungefähr 25 Prozent ihres Körpergewichts verloren und wog weniger als 35 kg. Sie bestand buchstäblich aus Haut und Knochen.

Es gab gute Tage und schlechte Tage. Es war emotional sehr verwirrend. Der Oberarzt brachte uns, die Familie, mit Vertretern von Sozialeinrichtungen zusammen, um über Pflegemöglichkeiten nach dem Krankenhausaufenthalt zu sprechen. Es war klar, daß sie in ihren Zustand nicht nach Hause zurückkehren könnte. Eine Frau von einer örtlichen Pflegeeinrichtung kam und sprach mit uns. Das Hospiz war sehr schön. Es ist ein schöne Einrichtung mit 18 Räumen mitten im Grünen, gerade mal 10 Minuten von meinem Elternhaus entfernt. Wir beschlossen gemeinsam, daß dies das bestmögliche Szenario sei.

Uns wurde erklärt, sie könne aufgenommen werden. Dann sagt man uns, es ginge doch nicht. Dann wieder hieß es möglicherweise. Einige Tage später wurde sie zu unserer großen Erleichterung in das Hospiz gebracht. Sie war dort ungefähr eine Woche, und sie wurde zusehends schwächer. Bei ihrer Aufnahme hatte ihr der Arzt des Hospizes eine Woche bis 10 Tage zu leben gegeben. Am Samstag bevor sie starb, war sie wach genug, um uns zu erkennen und meine Hand zu drücken. Meine Frau und ich brachten sie sogar einige Male zum Lächeln. Am Montag war sie allerdings bainahe unansprechbar. Sie starb am nächsten Tag, 15 Minuten nachdem mein Vater an ihrem Bett eingetroffen war.

Ich lerne damit zu leben. Ich erhielt eine Gelegenheit, Auf Wiedersehen zu sagen. Trotz der Trauer und der Schmerzen bin ich dankbar dafür, denn nicht jeder bekommt diese Gelegenheit.

2. Ich versuche, mehr Informationen betreffend den Stammbaum der Familien Burst und Radtke zu finden. Ich habe Dir die Informationen beigefügt, die ich bereits habe. Wenn Du irgendwelche Geburts- oder Sterbedaten, Ehen, Hochzeitsdaten, zweite Vornamen, etc. der Vorfahren oder ihrer Nachkommen kennst, wäre ich Dir sehr dankbar. Ich werde Dir dann eine aktualisierte Version mit den von Dir beigesteuerten Informationen schicken.

3. Mein älterer Bruder Norman hat mir erzählt, daß Du im 2. Weltkrieg im Afrika-Korps gedient hast. Dies fasziniert uns beide, aber vor allem Norman. Das Afrika-Korps ist eines seiner Interessensgebiete. Er hat viele Bücher und Photographien darüber. Hast Du irgendwelche Photographien von Dir in einer Afrika-Korps-Uniform? Wir würden uns geehrt fühlen und sehr freuen, wenn Du uns einen Abzug schicken könntest. Wir würden gerne auch die Kosten dafür übernehmen.

Du kannst mich per Post unter folgender Adrese erreichen…

Dear Great-uncle Horst:

With the help of a computer program and some other assistance, my letter in English has been translated into German. I hope this is readable.

I’m sure you don’t remember me, but I met you once when you and Hilda came to America many years ago. I am the second son of Gertrude Bakker (Radtke), and grandson of Frieda Radtke (Burst), your step-sister.

I’m writing to you for three reasons…

1. to inform you that Gertrude has passed away,
2. to ask if you have any information to include in our family tree,
   And (I hope I don’t offend you with the following request)…
3. to ask if you have any pictures of yourself from when you served in the Afrika Corps.

1. Your niece Gertrude passed away on February 4, 2003. It’s a long story, but I’ll try to give you the short version.

My mother turned 81 this past November. A couple of years ago she was diagnosed with an MAI infection. MAI is a bacteria closely related to tuberculosis. It’s slow growing, but difficult to eradicate.

In early January, mom was admitted to the hospital because she couldn’t eat. During this week, I visited her and was shocked at her appearance. She’d lost about 25 percent of her body weight and was down to 75 pounds. Literally, skin and bones.

There were good days and bad days. It was a roller coaster ride. The primary physician called the family together with social services to talk about options after the hospital. It was clear she couldn’t go home in her condition. A woman from the local Hospice came and talked to us. The Hospice sounded terrific. It’s a beautiful 18 room facility out in the country just 10 minutes from my parents house. We collectively decided it was the best of all possible scenarios.

We were told she qualified. Then we were told she didn’t. Then it was a maybe. After a few days of that, with great relief, she was transferred to the Hospice. She’d been there about a week, and she steadily continued to fade. When she was admitted, the Hospice doctor gave her a week to 10 days to live. On the Saturday before she died, she was alert enough to recognize us and squeeze my hand. My wife and I even got her to smile a couple of times. On Monday though she was pretty much unresponsive. She died the next day, 15 minutes after my dad arrived at her bedside.

I’m at peace. I got a chance to say good-bye. In spite of the emotional pain, I’m grateful for that, because not everyone has that opportunity.

2. I’m trying to fill in more information regarding the Burst and Radtke ancestry. I’ve attached the information that I already have. If you have any knowledge of birth dates, death dates, marriages, marriage dates, middle names, etc. for either ancestors or descendents, I would greatly appreciate it. I will send you a revised copy with any new information you supply.

3. My older brother Norman tells me that you served in the Afrika Corps in World War II. This is fascinating to both of us, but especially to Norman. The Afrika Corps is one of his specialized interests. He has many books and photographs. Do you have any photographs of you in an Afrika Corps uniform? We’d be honored and happy to have a copy. We would gladly pay to have copies made.

You can contact me by mail at the following address…

[Algernon]

And Universe, thank you for the information about how and why you became a translator/interpreter. Trilingual. The skill you possess is beyond my imagination.

And I must again express my amazement at the English proficiency of the SDMB European posters. You are wonderful.

As a generalization, Americans do not place much value on being fluent in a second language. I wish I’d have been pushed harder to learn a second language. The minimum requirements are insufficient. I’ve had 4 years of German language instruction (a long time ago), and I can only recognize one out of ten words in the German version of this letter. Sad.

[Nils]

Looks fine to me now.

[Algernon]

Nils, Vielen Dank. (written with a victorious grin)

[universe.zip]

Looks fine to me now, except for two spelling mistakes - paragraph 8, substitute “nainahe” through “beinahe”, and in the last line, “Adresse” has two s. But this is nitpicking

I´ll gladly translate his answer when it comes, if you want.

(I didn´t want to impress you with the trilingual thing, btw - you know, it´s really more my parents´ merit than mine, as a small kid you can learn just about everything. But I´m glad they did it…)

[Algernon]

universe, I’d communicate my thanks in Finnish (I’ve already done it in English and German), but alas, I don’t have a clue.

I’ll make those last corrections and send it off to Hannover.

Thank you for your offer to translate what I receive in return. I may ask an Admin to forward an email message to you (since you may miss it if I just post it). Are you OK with that approach?

(It’s times like these that I really miss the vB private messaging feature that has been disabled on the SDMB.)

[universe.zip]

forwarding - can they actually do that if my address isn´t in the profile? You live and learn… yep, go ahead, that´s fine with me.

(it´s “kiitos” in Finnish,btw… but don´t you worry - I enjoyed it)

[Algernon]

Kiitos.

Regarding forwarding of an email, you had to supply a valid email address when you registered, so the Admins do know how to reach you. If one has a good enough reason, sometimes an Admin will forward an email message as a courtesy when they have time. TubaDiva has done this for me in the past. (I think it might have helped that I sent her chocolates. ~grin~)