Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

nervig

English translation:

high-spirited, intense, vivacious, vibrant

Added to glossary by Helen Shiner
Feb 10, 2012 10:17
12 yrs ago
German term

nervig

German to English Art/Literary Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting Book on Klimt
This is a quotation from Berta Zuckerkandl on the way Klimt paints women.

Can "nervig" really mean "annoying" here, or is it used more in the wine-related sense: http://www.proz.com/kudoz/german_to_english/wine_oenology_vi... ?

„Klimt malt die Frau seiner Zeit. Die Struktur ihres Gerüstes, die Kontur ihrer Formen, die Modellierung ihres Fleisches, die Maschinerie ihrer Bewegungen hat er bis in die geheimsten Wesensfasern verfolgt und seinem Gedächtnis für immer eingeprägt. Auf diesem sicheren, festen Boden stehend, variiert er das Thema des Weibes in all seinen Beziehungen zur Schöpfung, zur Natur. Bald grausam wollüstig, bald heiter sinnlich, malt er Frauen voll rätselhaftem Reiz. Der schillernde Fleischton ihres schlanken Körpers, der phosphoreszierende Glanz der Haut, der quadratische Schnitt des breitgewölbten Schädels und die sündhaft rötliche Mähne geben ein Ganzes
von tiefster psychologischer und malerischer Wirkung. Im Portrait schafft er **nervige,** rassige, lebensdurstige
oder lebensverträumte Frauengestalten, die alle trotz ihrer charakteristischen Verschiedenheiten von Klimts
Gnaden sind. Als Idealfigur aber löst er den Frauenkörper in herrliche, dekorative Linien auf. Alles Zufällige,
alles Individuell-Charakteristische fällt ab, nur das rein Typische, der sublimierte Extrakt des modernen Frauentypus, wie der Künstler ihn ausgelöst hat, bleibt in vollster Stilreinheit zurück.“

Thank you!
Change log

Feb 11, 2012 16:43: Helen Shiner Created KOG entry

Discussion

Helen Shiner Feb 11, 2012:
Thanks Thanks, orla, just the same!
oa_xxx (X) Feb 11, 2012:
Ah, meant to agree with Helen Shiner's suggestions too - but somehow forgot - glad you chose it! (agreeing after its been accepted seems a bit silly)
Werner Hehn Feb 11, 2012:
@Nicole
You may be perfectly correct. I admit that this time I did not research as intensively as I usually do. This answer obviously depends on who wrore the quoted description AND WHEN. My knowledge of art is very skimpy. By the way, nervig has long since ceased to be only teenager speak!
Nicole Schnell Feb 10, 2012:
@ Werner Hehn Berta Zuckerkandl lived from 1864 to 1945. I am curious why anyone should translate her beautiful texts according to teenager-speak. ;-)
Werner Hehn Feb 10, 2012:
"irritating" is the word. Shows how important it is to keep up with current German usage.
thefastshow Feb 10, 2012:
Now that's what I call a great discourse .. thank you .
most suitable phrase would be den Eindruck angespannter Kraft vermittelnd imho
Stephen Reader Feb 10, 2012:
'Bingo!' W/ Orla, Nicole, Brigitte, Duden and horses...
BrigitteHilgner Feb 10, 2012:
full of nervous energy That's how I interpret this.
Parrot Feb 10, 2012:
with Nicole it goes with "rassig" -- but his women are on the lean side, if it helps.
oa_xxx (X) Feb 10, 2012:
from Duden den Eindruck angespannter Kraft vermittelnd
oa_xxx (X) Feb 10, 2012:
Nervig Bedeutungen:

[1] veraltet: von Nerven durchzogen, sehnig, kräftig, nervgesteuert, sensibel, aufgeweckt, kernig

([2] umgangssprachlich: entnervend, lästig, störend )
Nicole Schnell Feb 10, 2012:
nervig / Nervigkeit Is a term that is usually used to describe the elegance and the refinement of an Arabian horse or a thoroughbred. Example: "The skin is exceptionally fine, meaning that the veins, bones and tendons are easily visible, giving a sculptural appearance, often referred to as 'dryness'".
http://books.google.com/books?id=SlUpv_e0JIsC&pg=PA22&lpg=PA...
thefastshow Feb 10, 2012:
Seemes like I've been too fast :))) or forgetful since I was doing other things as well ... Yes Ms you didn't mention a specific painting... nevertheless it's good to have a time frame for reference to the Zeitgeist:.. Freud,hysteria, mikrocosm etc... could well be that Bertha thought some of the women portrayed were annoying or disturbing in those times but I would opt for the nerve related vocabulary to add a facet to the lebensdurstig ... meaning the psychology behind the red shoe phenomenon. all the best
Rachel Ward (asker) Feb 10, 2012:
@thefastshow If the quote is describing a particular portrait, it isn't mentioned in the text as I have it. It comes from the book "Zeitkunst Wien 1904-1907" if that's of any help.

Proposed translations

4 hrs
Selected

high-spirited, intense, vivacious, vibrant

Just some more suggestions....

Even 'nervy', like the race horses suggested elsewhere.

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Note added at 12 hrs (2012-02-10 22:52:04 GMT)
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I don't believe that this is a physical description as sinewy would suggest, but rather a description of an emotional state or constitutional way of being.

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Note added at 1 day6 hrs (2012-02-11 16:45:22 GMT) Post-grading
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That's probably the safest option. Thanks, Rachel.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: ""high-spirited" works for me - keeping with the race horse theme."
+1
25 mins

sinewy

would fit.
Peer comment(s):

agree Stephen Reader : They often are, aren't they. But is nervig used that way (sth. tells me it can be...)? Regional differences? Obviously 'irritating' isn't what's meant.
1 hr
If they didn't look so haunted, sth like the roaring 20s flapper type. (Or Gothics? They struck me as vaguely vampy)
disagree Werner Hehn : Nothing to do with sinews. Irritating is the best general translation here.
6 hrs
agree Nicole Schnell : I need to neutralize the previous, nonsensical comment.
6 hrs
neutral Helen Shiner : I'm not sure that a physical description is what is required here. More a state of mind or emotional state.
12 hrs
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1 hr

Please choose from selection below

difficult to say ... I've never come across the wine thing that's for sure... but to get back to your question it depends on the style of your own translation I'd say..
It would be helpful if you could give us an example.
From reading your source text phrases like nervous, high strung, provocative, alluring , challenging if not even anxious spring into mind .. you could also say annoying but I'd say it sort of sounds not quite appropriate maybe brash or intrusive would be more apt .. in connection with Klimts paintings one can also find the word "feinnervig" in a lot of German texts which tries to poetically express an aura based on the anatomy (fine weak nerves). The latter could be translated as sensitive, delicate,thin skinned, subtle maybe even ephemeral... ... please take your pick .. how bout that? :))

PS: Oh if you're describing a specific painting then it would have been good if you had mentioned the title since in art it's all about perceiving emotions and interpretation
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1 hr

quick (sth between scintillating and alert, lively)

Hunch via possibly faux-amis in some connotations of French 'nerveux' - if it isn't just plain 'nervous' (*Austrian usages of nervig=?*)
In fact, w/ thefastshow terms 1-3; and then alternatively with 'feinnervig'.
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