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99 Luft Balloons
so i was listening to this song, and im confused.
In German, red is rot. But what does Luft mean. The song is 99 Luft balloons, which is supposed to be translated to 99 red balloons.
Yeah, that's true. I think "luft" has something to do with air, or something, as in the "luftwaffe".
It means that they're "air" balloons. The English translation is not literal; they were trying to preserve the meter of the original so that had to insert a small word to replace "luft".
German "Luft" originated from P.Gmc. *luftuz which means "air, sky"
(cf. O.H.G. luft, Goth. luftus "air", Du. lucht).
is the English word 'lift' has something to do with the German word 'Luft'? I understand the drift in meaning from another thread. Is this the case for this word?
According to Answers.com, this is the etymology:
Middle English liften, from Old Norse lypta Similar words would be lofty and aloft, all of which also have to do with being in the air, so your theory sounds plausible, especially since the English word is of Germanic origin, and Danish (according to the same site) has løfte, løften, and løft.
"...from Old Norse lypta..."
According to etymonline.com, the Old Norse word is actually "lopt" which is related to Old English "loft" (also "lyft") and German "Luft". I just wonder why there is a [p] when there is in all the other versions an [f] in this particular word, although I know that <pt> in the Norse word "lypta" was pronounced as <ft> - just as in German "Luft".
why didn't she just translate it to 99 air balloons instead of red balloons. Both are 3 letter words. this is why no one can ever learn german.
I think the translation of "red" was both due to the fact that there is no such thing as an "air" balloon in English and perhaps more so that "red" has long symbolized communism.
And I doubt this song was translated and remade a number of times in English to be a learning tool for those studying the German language.
Yes, that is plausible. The song is a fictional story about the Cold War. But who said there is no such thing as "air balloons" in English? Ever heard of "hot-air balloons"?
I thought about that before I posted, but I still stand by my comment that there is no such thing as an "air" ballon. A "hot air" balloon is a different thing, and not chosen for the song as that is not what they meant as far as I can tell.
i understand your reasonings, but i actually learn alot of vocab by listening to german music. it helps me to memorize alot of words.
this song is a bad example for helping me do this. the song would be just as catchy to say 99 air balloons, but i see the red = communism symbolism.
99 air balloons wouldn't make sense in English. They're just called balloons. Hot air balloons are a whole different subject, and they always require the word "hot" in front.
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