German language help.

[Dannyalcatraz]

More norse fun:

One of the key factors in sub warfare is its inherent trickery and subterfuge, so naming a sub something like "Loki" could be a nod to a particularly skillful captain and crew.

If you want to give your captain a name with punch, give him some kind of arcane Nordic name that might make even other Germans look at him askance.

Example 1:

Wulfgang von Ægirhalle = Wolfgang from Ægir's Hall, named for Ægir, the jotun king of the sea who hosted parties for the Æsir gods (Odin, Thor, etc.).

Example 2:

Make him egotistical and one-eyed and give him a nickname like "Odin"

 

[RefinedBean]

Both Unterzeit and Todzeit are not correct German, sorry.

In all fairness, I haven't used my German extensively in two years, and it's a time-traveling Nazi U-Boot...I think the rules of German grammar can bend for the fatherland this once.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

D'oh! I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier:

A lot of Nazi mysticism concentrated on the power they could obtain by tracking down and acquiring artifacts of power. One of the most important ones to their mindset was the spear that was used to pierce the side of Christ at the Crucifixion.

This spear has been called the Spear of Destiny, the Spear of Longinus, or the Holy Lance.

In German, that would be something like: Die Stange von Longinus (Die Longinusstange?), Die Stange des Schicksals (Die Schicksalsstange?), or Der Heiligen Lanze.

 

[Thanee]

I need to name a time traveling Nazi U-Boat something that sounds cool. I speak no German except for what I know from my Magic cards, like kugelblitz and zwergenkrieger. Apparently the Nazis didn't give actual names to their boats, just designations like U-48 or something. But I need a menacing sounding ship.

The obvious choice... Blitzkrieg.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Our famous Archchancellor hasn´t already found the thread?

Err... emm.. I was busy.

Well, i´ll try to replace his wisdom as good as i can.

You did fine.

Der Heiligen Lanze.

_Die_ _h_eilige Lanze.

---

Why not use a technical term?

Remember, the terror-inducing weapons of not-quite-mass-destruction were called V-1 and V-2. (And the V was just standing for "Versuch" ("Experiment"). Even Konrad Zuse called his first computing machines V1 to V4.
The urban myth goes that he saved his V4 machine thanks to its title - he said he had to move his V4 into a safe location. Soldiers assisted him (not knowing what he was really working on) believing they were securing a super-advanced prototype of the V missile series (and since the Germans only ever got the V2 to productive use, V4 sounded something insanely important and possibly crucial to win the war.)
Today, the computers are called (in his honor, I don't know if he himself renamed them or not) Z1-Z4.

So, I suppose you could also call the submarine V1, or VZ 1.
It is typical for German military (even today) to either use contractions and acronyms that can be spoken as a single word (like in the 3rd Reich "GröFaZ" => Größter Feldherr aller Zeiten => Greatest commander of all time) or to describe them with Noun and adjectives separated by commas.
Panzerfahrzeug, schwer (Tank, heavy) or even
Fahrzeug, gepanzert, schwer (Vehicle, armored, heavy)
or jokingly: Falle, Nagetier, klein, grau (Trap, rodent, small, gray = mousetrap)
Unterseefahrzeug, experimentell, zeitreisend = (submarine, experimental, time-travelling)

Versuchsfahrzeug, unterwassertauglich, zeitreisend (experimental vehicle, under-water-proof/capable, time-traveling)

Unterwassertaugliches, zeitreisendes (Versuchs)fahrzeug => UnZeitVerZeug, UnZeitVerFahr, UnZeitFahrzeug, UnZeitFahr, UnZeitZeug. I like the last one best, but I am not sure it would be "realistic". UnZeitZeug reminds me a little of "Ungeheur" (Monster).

So, yeah, if you want menacing, UnZeitZeug sounds fine.
1: "Was ist das?"
2: "Das UnZeitZeug, die neueste Entwicklung der überlegenen arischen Wissenschaft!"
1: "Ich weiss nicht, was es bedeutet, aber es klingt unheimlich."

If I hear "UnZeitZeug" in the context of a submarine, I think when it breaks the water surface or travels time, it must make a horribly, nearly screaming sound. It's probably mostly black, and you see a lot of strange (but vaguely menacing) installations mounted everywhere on the boat...
The time-travelling sound effect would be probably start with something similar to the Doctors TARDIS/phone box sound, but with a more... sinister touch. Maybe it should really sound like a screaming beast, mixed with something metallic screeching. Maybe a whale or elephant in pain (as depicted in movies) and metallic cratching...

And be sure to let someone say something like Nazi Science sneers at causality!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

_Die_ _h_eilige Lanze.

You know what slays me about this?

I actually had the proper translation of that in front of me, and I mis-copied it!

[shakes fist]Damn you, mental fatigue![/shakes fist]

(Note: I'm laughing my butt off at this moment because it took me 4 minutes to type "fatigue" without making at least 2 typos- the one that really kicked off the giggles was "fagtique." Try inserting THAT into the sentence above! O Sigmund, where art thou?)

 

[Halivar]

Well, since it's just a fun group thing, pick anything that sounds cool and German-y. If you're publishing, the best way to avoid a "Libris Mortis" situation is not not even try. Pick a mythological monster (as suggested before), and Deutsch-ify it; you know, change the c's to k's and all that jazz (Cerberus becomes Kerberos). Or, pick an old Greek or Norse name, like Neptun or Fafnir (remember that Nazi's often co-opted powerful imagery from other cultures, especially Norse and Greek!).

EDIT: And never, never trust an on-line dictionary!

 

[Thanee]

I would give it both a "technical identification" and a "name".

like EZU-3 “Enter Fancy Name Here”

(Experimentelles Zeitreise Unterseeboot)
(experimental time-travel(ing) submarine)

Bye
Thanee

 

[Engilbrand]

Actually, the best online dictionary to trust is LEO Deutsch-Englisches Wörterbuch I'm a German teacher in America. It's the dictionary that I go to when I need something accurate immediately.

I would recommend keeping the name short so that it's easily done in a couple of letters or a syllable or two.
das Unterseeboot - das U-boot
der Epochefresser- der EF Epoch Devourer

"Sir! The Nazis are about to send the Ep...epocke... the EF back in time!"

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Actually, the best online dictionary to trust is LEO Deutsch-Englisches Wörterbuch I'm a German teacher in America. It's the dictionary that I go to when I need something accurate immediately.

I would recommend keeping the name short so that it's easily done in a couple of letters or a syllable or two.
das Unterseeboot - das U-boot
der Epochefresser- der EF Epoch Devourer

"Sir! The Nazis are about to send the Ep...epocke... the EF back in time!"

Epochenfresser would be the more likely spelling. Interesting name, but doesn't sound "right" to me. Why is he devouring epochs?
Epochenbezwingermight be better, it's more about control then destruction of time, right?
Or Zeitbezwinger?

Oh, and I second the vote for LEO. I use it all the time - of course for the other direction (German to English) . It has a very large set of words and you can find even unusual words - and if they aren't in the dictionary itself, they are often discussed in the forums and you will find something workable there.