Dracula — Page 10
They were evidently talking of me, for every now and then they looked at me, and some of the people who were sitting on the bench outside the door--which they call by a name meaning "word-bearer"--came and listened, and then looked at me, most of them pityingly.
Sie sprachen offensichtlich über mich, denn ab und zu blickten sie mich an, und einige der Leute, die auf der Bank vor der Tür saßen – die sie mit einem Namen nennen, der „Wortträger" bedeutet – kamen heran und lauschten, und blickten mich dann an, die meisten von ihnen mitleidig.
I could hear a lot of words often repeated, queer words, for there were many nationalities in the crowd; so I quietly got my polyglot dictionary from my bag and looked them out.
Ich konnte viele Wörter hören, die häufig wiederholt wurden, seltsame Wörter, denn in der Menge gab es viele Nationalitäten; also holte ich ruhig mein mehrsprachiges Wörterbuch aus meiner Tasche und schlug sie nach.
I must say they were not cheering to me, for amongst them were "Ordog"--Satan, "pokol"--hell, "stregoica"--witch, "vrolok" and "vlkoslak"--both of which mean the same thing, one being Slovak and the other Servian for something that is either were-wolf or vampire.
Ich muss sagen, sie waren nicht ermutigend für mich, denn darunter waren „Ordog" – Satan, „pokol" – Hölle, „stregoica" – Hexe, „vrolok" und „vlkoslak" – beide bedeuten dasselbe, wobei das eine das slowakische und das andere das serbische Wort für etwas ist, das entweder Werwolf oder Vampir bedeutet.
(_Mem._, I must ask the Count about these superstitions)
(_Anm._, Ich muss den Grafen nach diesen Aberglauben fragen)
When we started, the crowd round the inn door, which had by this time swelled to a considerable size, all made the sign of the cross and pointed two fingers towards me.
Als wir aufbrachen, bekreuzigten sich alle in der Menge vor der Gasthoftür, die inzwischen auf eine beträchtliche Größe angewachsen war, und zeigten mit zwei Fingern auf mich.
With some difficulty I got a fellow-passenger to tell me what they meant; he would not answer at first, but on learning that I was English, he explained that it was a charm or guard against the evil eye.
Mit einiger Mühe brachte ich einen Mitreisenden dazu, mir zu erklären, was sie meinten; er wollte zunächst nicht antworten, aber als er erfuhr, dass ich Engländer war, erklärte er, es sei ein Zauber oder Schutz gegen den bösen Blick.
This was not very pleasant for me, just starting for an unknown place to meet an unknown man; but every one seemed so kind-hearted, and so sorrowful, and so sympathetic that I could not but be touched.
Das war nicht sehr angenehm für mich, der ich gerade aufbrach, um an einem unbekannten Ort einen unbekannten Mann zu treffen; aber alle schienen so gutherzig, so betrübt und so mitfühlend zu sein, dass ich nicht umhin konnte, gerührt zu sein.
Vocabulary
- Sie
- formal 'you' or third-person plural 'they'
- sprachen
- past tense of sprechen; they spoke
- offensichtlich
- obviously, evidently, clearly apparent
- über
- about, over, across; preposition with multiple uses
- mich
- me; first-person singular accusative pronoun
- denn
- because, for; coordinating conjunction giving reason
- ab
- off, away; separable prefix indicating departure
- zu
- to, too, closed; preposition or infinitive marker
- blickten
- past tense of blicken; they glanced, looked
- sie
- she, they, or formal you depending on context
- an
- at, on, to; common preposition or separable prefix
- einige
- some, a few; indefinite pronoun indicating small number
- Leute
- people; plural noun referring to a group of persons
- auf
- on, onto, upon; common preposition of position
- Bank
- bench or bank; seating furniture or financial institution
- vor
- before, in front of; preposition of position or time
- Tür
- door; entrance or exit of a building or room
- saßen
- past tense of sitzen; they sat, were seated
- mit
- with; preposition indicating accompaniment or instrument
- Namen
- name; word used to identify a person or thing
- nennen
- to name, to call; give something or someone a name
- Wortträger
- word-bearer; one who carries or bears words
- bedeutet
- means, signifies; third-person singular of bedeuten
- kamen
- past tense of kommen; they came, arrived
- heran
- up to, near; directional prefix indicating approach
- lauschten
- past tense of lauschen; they listened, eavesdropped
- dann
- then, afterwards; adverb indicating sequence in time
- meisten
- most; superlative of viel, referring to majority
- von
- of, from, by; preposition indicating origin or possession
- ihnen
- them; third-person plural dative pronoun
- mitleidig
- sympathetically, with pity; showing compassion toward others
- konnte
- past tense of können; could, was able to
- viele
- many; adjective indicating a large number of things
- Wörter
- words; plural of Wort, units of language
- hören
- to hear, to listen; perceive sounds with ears
- häufig
- frequently, often; occurring many times repeatedly
- wiederholt
- repeated; past participle of wiederholen, said again
- wurden
- were; past tense auxiliary for passive constructions
- seltsame
- strange, odd; adjective describing unusual or peculiar things
- Menge
- crowd, quantity, amount; a large number of things
- gab
- past tense of geben; there was, gave
- Nationalitäten
- nationalities; plural of Nationalität, different ethnic origins
- also
- so, therefore, thus; conjunction drawing a conclusion
- holte
- past tense of holen; fetched, retrieved, got out
- ruhig
- calmly, quietly; adjective or adverb meaning peaceful
- mehrsprachiges
- multilingual; adjective describing something in multiple languages
- Wörterbuch
- dictionary; reference book listing words and definitions
- aus
- out of, from; preposition indicating origin or emergence
- Tasche
- pocket, bag; container for carrying personal belongings
- schlug
- past tense of schlagen; struck, or looked up in book
- nach
- after, to, according to; versatile German preposition
- muss
- must, have to; first-person singular of müssen
- sagen
- to say, to tell; express something in words
- waren
- were; past tense of sein, plural or formal form
- ermutigend
- encouraging; adjective describing something that gives hope
- für
- for; preposition indicating purpose or intended recipient
- darunter
- among them, beneath it; adverb indicating inclusion below
- Ordog
- Hungarian word for devil or evil spirit
- pokol
- Hungarian word meaning hell or underworld
- Hölle
- hell; the underworld or place of punishment after death
- stregoica
- Romanian or Slavic word meaning witch or sorceress
- Hexe
- witch; a woman believed to practice magic or sorcery
- vrolok
- Slavic term meaning werewolf or vampire creature
- vlkoslak
- Slavic word for werewolf, shape-shifting creature
- beide
- both; pronoun or adjective referring to two things
- bedeuten
- to mean, to signify; infinitive form of bedeuten
- dasselbe
- the same; demonstrative pronoun indicating identity of things
- wobei
- whereby, in which; relative adverb introducing a clause
- slowakische
- Slovak; adjective relating to Slovakia or its language
- andere
- other, another; adjective referring to a different one
- serbische
- Serbian; adjective relating to Serbia or its language
- Wort
- word; a single unit of language with meaning
- etwas
- something, somewhat; indefinite pronoun or adverb
- entweder
- either; used in entweder…oder (either…or) constructions
- Werwolf
- werewolf; mythical human who transforms into a wolf
- Vampir
- vampire; undead creature said to drink blood
- _Anm._
- abbreviation for Anmerkung; note or annotation
- Grafen
- the Count; accusative form of Graf, a noble title
- diesen
- this, these; accusative masculine demonstrative pronoun
- Aberglauben
- superstition; irrational belief in supernatural causes
- fragen
- to ask, to question; seek information from someone
- Als
- when, as; subordinating conjunction for past time clauses
- aufbrachen
- past tense of aufbrechen; set off, departed, left
- bekreuzigten
- past tense of sich bekreuzigen; made the sign of cross
- sich
- themselves, himself, herself; reflexive pronoun
- alle
- all, everyone; indefinite pronoun referring to totality
- Gasthoftür
- inn door; door of a guest house or tavern
- inzwischen
- meanwhile, in the meantime; adverb of time
- beträchtliche
- considerable, substantial; adjective for notably large size
- Größe
- size, greatness; noun indicating magnitude or stature
- angewachsen
- past participle of anwachsen; grown, increased in size
- war
- was; past tense singular of sein, to be
- zeigten
- past tense of zeigen; they showed, pointed, indicated
- Fingern
- fingers; dative plural of Finger, digits of the hand
- Mit
- with; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- einiger
- some, with some; genitive or dative form of einige
- Mühe
- effort, trouble; noun indicating difficulty or hard work
- brachte
- past tense of bringen; brought, caused, managed to
- Mitreisenden
- fellow traveler; someone traveling together with another
- dazu
- to do so, for it; adverb indicating purpose or addition
- mir
- me, to me; first-person singular dative pronoun
- erklären
- to explain, to declare; make something clear to someone
- meinten
- past tense of meinen; they meant, intended, thought
- wollte
- past tense of wollen; wanted, intended to do something
- zunächst
- at first, initially; adverb indicating something done first
- antworten
- to answer, to reply; respond to a question or statement
- aber
- but, however; coordinating conjunction showing contrast
- als
- when, as, than; conjunction for comparisons or time clauses
- erfuhr
- past tense of erfahren; found out, learned, discovered
- dass
- that; subordinating conjunction introducing a subordinate clause
- Engländer
- Englishman; a male person from England
- erklärte
- past tense of erklären; explained, declared, stated clearly
- sei
- subjunctive of sein; be; used in reported speech
- Zauber
- spell, magic; enchantment or magical charm
- Schutz
- protection, shelter; defense against harm or danger
- gegen
- against, versus; preposition indicating opposition or defense
- bösen
- evil, bad; adjective in inflected form meaning wicked
- Blick
- glance, gaze, look; a directed look at something
- sehr
- very, much; adverb intensifying adjectives or adverbs
- angenehm
- pleasant, agreeable; adjective for something comfortable or nice
- gerade
- just, straight, right now; adverb of time or direction
- aufbrach
- past tense singular of aufbrechen; set off, departed
- um
- around, at, in order to; preposition or conjunction
- unbekannten
- unknown; adjective in inflected form, not familiar
- Ort
- place, location, town; a specific spot or area
- Mann
- man, husband; an adult male person
- treffen
- to meet, to hit; encounter or make contact with someone
- schienen
- past tense of scheinen; they seemed, appeared to be
- so
- so, thus, such; adverb indicating manner or degree
- gutherzig
- good-hearted, kind; adjective describing a generous person
- betrübt
- saddened, grieved; adjective meaning sorrowful or distressed
- mitfühlend
- compassionate, empathetic; showing understanding of others' suffering
- sein
- to be; infinitive of the verb to be
- umhin
- used in 'nicht umhin können'; unable to avoid doing
- gerührt
- moved, touched; past participle of rühren, emotionally affected
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