Tower Of Babel

In all great cities we are living like in the tower of Babel: many languages can be heard – and I like it! Once I collected translations for an art project in my hometown Wuppertal. The German words, describing the term LOVE were translated into 24 languages …

“TOWER OF BABEL” (1563) by PIETER BREUGEL the elder 1526-1569, click on the picture to read more at wikipedia

• 1) ENGLISH (translated by frizztext):
  1-love 2-come together 3-to seduce 4-to pine 5-to fall in love 6-sympathy 7-to dance 8-kissing hands 9-admirer 10-exuberant 11-goose bumps 12-passion 13-attractive 14-to flourish 15-to allow
• 2) GERMAN – the original words, painted on the stairway by professor Horst Gläsker, view his own website at www.horst-glaesker.de
  1-LIEBE 2-ZUSAMMENKOMMEN 3-VERFÜHREN 4-SCHMACHTEN 5-VERLIEBEN 6-ZUNEIGUNG 7-TANZEN 8-HANDKUSS 9-VEREHRER 10-ÜBERSCHWÄNGLICH 11-KRIBBELN 12-LEIDENSCHAFT 13-ANZIEHEND 14-AUFBLÜHEN 15-ERLAUBEN
• 3) TAIWAN translation by yenthen
  1 愛 2 物以類聚 3 誘惑 4 渴望 5 相戀 6 同理心 7 舞 8 吻手禮 (華人無此習俗) 9 愛慕者 10 繁茂/豐富 11 悸動 12 激情/熱誠 13 嫵媚/動人 14 興旺 15 容許
• 4) JAPAN: translation by Jon www.flickr.com/people/ashura666/
  1-愛 2-集まる 3-誘惑 4-切望 5-恋 6-共感 7-踊る 8-手にキス 9-賛美者 10-熱狂 11-うずき 12-情熱 13-魅力的 14-栄える 15-許す
• 5) GREECE: translation by Andreas Zervas / www.flickr.com/people/andzer/
  1-έρωτας 2-συνεύρεση 3-αποπλάνηση 4-λαχταρώ 5-ερωτεύομαι 6-συμπάθεια 7-χορεύω 8-χειροφίλημα 9-θαυμαστής 10-γαλαντόμος 11-καρδιοχτύπι 12-πάθος 13-ελκυστικός 14-ανθίζω 15-επιτρέπω
• 6) RUSSIA: translation by Kseniya / fantoccio www.flickr.com/people/fantoccini/
  1- любовь 2- встретиться / сойтись 3- соблазнить 4- томиться 5- влюбиться 6- симпатия 7- танцевать 8- целовать руки 9- обожатель 10- изобильный 11- нервничать 12- страсть 13- привлекательный 14- цвести 15- позволять
• 7) ISRAEL: translation by Yoel Herzberg www.flickr.com/people/yoelherzberg/
  1-אהבה 2-לגמור ביחד 3-לפתות 4-לערוג 5-להתאהב 6-חיבה 7-לרקוד 8-נישוק ידים 9-מעריץ 10-חיוני 11-להצטמרר 12-תשוקה 13-מושך 14-לפרוח 15-להרשות
• 8] NETHERLANDS: translation by Ineke Kamps www.flickr.com/people/kattenmeisje/
  1-Liefde 2-Samenkomen 3-Verleiden 4-Smachten 5-Verliefd worden 6-Symphatie 7-Dansen 8-Handkus 9-Aanbidder 10-Overvloedig 11-De kriebels krijgen 12-Passie 13-Aantrekkelijk 14-Opbloeien 15-Toestaan
• 9) FRANCE: translation by Christine Lebrasseur www.flickr.com/people/_lc/
  1-L’amour 2-s’accorde à 3-séduire 4-se languir 5-tomber amoureux 6-sympathie 7-danser 8-baisemain 9-admirateur 10-exubérant 11-frisson 12-passion 13-attirante 14-fleurir 15-permettre
• 10) NORWAY: translation by Caroline / evje calling: www.flickr.com/people/71371682@N00/
  1-kjærlighet 2-sammenkomme/stemne 3-friste 4-lengte etter 5-forelske seg 6-omhug 7-danse 8-håndkyss 9-tilbeder 10-løssloppen 11-kile 12-pasjon 13-tiltrekkende 14-blomstre opp 15-tillate
• 11) HUNGARY: translation by Beatrice Jourdan www.flickr.com/people/lilion/
  1- szerelem, szeretet 2- összejövetel 3- elcsábít 4- sóvárog, belehal 5- szerelmessé válik 6- együttérzés 7- táncolni 8- kézcsók, kezet csókol 9- imádó, rajongó 10- túláradó 11- görcsbe rándul, megbizseregtet 12- szenvedélyes 13- bájos, vonzó 14- kivirul 15- megengedni
• 12) ARGENTINA / SPAIN: translation by Felicitas Molina www.flickr.com/people/felumolina/
  1-Amor 2-Unirse 3-Seducir 4-Languidecer 5-Enamorarse 6-Empatía 7-Bailar 8-Besar la mano 9-Admirador 10-Exuberante 11-Hormigueo 12-Pasión 13-Atractivo 14-Florecer 15-Permitir
• 13) ITALY: translation by giancarlo rado and others www.flickr.com/people/23868213@N03/
  1- amare 2- andare insieme 3- sedurre 4- anelare / desiderare ardentemente 5- innamorarsi 6- simpatia 7- ballare / danzare 8- baciare le mani 9- ammiratore 10- esuberante 11- arrossire 12- passione 13- attrattiva / attraente 14- svolazzare / fiorire 15- permettere
• 14) DENMARK: translation by Flemming Gade www.flickr.com/people/streetphoto/
  1-kærlighed 2-komme sammen 3-at forføre 4-at længes 5-forelske 6-sympati 7-danse 8-håndkysse 9-beundre 10-overstrømmende 11-krible 12-lidenskab 13-attraktiv 14-at blomstre 15-at tillade
• 15) FINLAND: translation by Olli Kekäläinen www.flickr.com/people/ok6/
  1- rakkaus 2- kokoontua 3- vietellä 4- ikävöidä 5- rakastua 6- myötätunto 7- tanssia 8- kädelle suuteleminen 9- ihailija 10- eloisa 11- kihelmöidä 12- intohimo 13- viehättävä 14- kukoistaa 15- sallia
• 16) SWEDEN: translation by Richie / goraiapick www.flickr.com/people/goraiapick/
  1- Kärlek 2- samlas tillsammans 3- att förföra 4- att sörja 5- att förälskar sig 6- medkänsla 7- att dansa 8- kyssande händer 9- beundrare 10- överdådig, ymnig 11- att få kittla 12- passion, lust, lidelse, kärlek, glöd, hänförelse 13- attraktiv, tilldragande, lockande, tilltalande 14- att blomstra, frodas 15- att godkänna, att erkänna, att medge
• 17) PORTUGAL: translation by Gon www.flickr.com/people/gbentenza/
  1-amor 2-ir junto 3-seduzir 4-saudade 5-enamorarse 6-empatia 7-dançar 8-beija mao 9-admiraçao 10-exuberancia 11-sentir formigueiro 12-paixao 13-atracçao 14-florescer 15-permitir
• 18) CZECH REPUBLIC: translation by Dalibor www.flickr.com/people/mr_gonzales/
  1- láska 2- sejít se 3- svést 4- chřadnout 5- zamilovat se 6- soucit 7- tančit 8- líbat ruce 9- obdivovatel 10- bujarý 11- mrazit v zádech 12- vášeň 13- přitažlivý 14- vzkvétat 15- dovolit
• 19) SLOVENIA: translation by Goran Petrasevic www.flickr.com/people/peshovski/

  1- ljubezen 2- zbližati se 3- zapeljati 4- hrepeneti 5- zaljubiti se 6- simpatija 7- plesati 8- (po)ljubiti roke 9- oboževalec, občudovalec 10- plodovit, bujen 11- dobiti kurjo polt 12- strast, sla, poželenje, hrepenenje 13- privlačen, zapeljiv, očarljiv 14- cveteti 15- dovoliti, dopustiti, odobriti

• 20) ICELAND by Agnes Geirdal www.flickr.com/people/ageirdal/
  1 ást, elska 2 sameinast, koma saman 3 að tæla 4 harmur, þrá 5 verða ástfangin(n) 6 samkennd, 7 dansa 8 kyssa á hendur 9 aðdándi 10 upprifinn 11 gæsahúð 12 ástríða 13 aðlaðandi 14 að blómstra 15 að leyfa
• 21) SWITZERLAND – e-mail by Wok; Alemannisch (do Baseldytsch) www.flickr.com/people/wok_design/
  1.Liebi 2.Zämmekoh 3.aabaggere 4.giggere 5.verliebe 6.Zuenaigig 7.danze 8.Doopeschmutz 9.Baggeri 10.ibermässig 11.gribbele 12.Lydeschaft 13.aamächelig 14.uffblieje 15.zuegstoh
• 22) VIETNAM sent by Trọc lóc / Vic Vũ / Vũ Quốc Việt: www.flickr.com/people/qviet81/

  1- Tình yêu 2- đến với nhau 3- để quyến rũ 4- để héo hon 5- để yêu nhau 6- sự cảm thông 7- để nhảy múa 8- hôn những bàn tay 9- người say mê 10- cởi mở 11-??? 12- sự say mê 13- quyến rũ 14- để khoa trương 15- để cho phép.

• 23) INDIA (Hindi) sent by www.flickr.com/people/rita_banerji/Rita Banerji, Calcutta
  1– pyar 2– ek saath 3- fuslana 4– lut jana 5– pyar hona 6– taras 7– nachna 8– haath chumna 9– anuragi 10– khush 11-? 12– josh 13– sunder 14– falna 15- manna
• 24) BOSNIAN
  love = ljubav / come together = zajedno / to seduce = zavoditi / to pine = ? dont have it / to fall in love = zaljubiti se / sympathy = zabrinut / to dance = plesati / kissing hands = ljubim ruke / admirer = obozavaoc / exuberant = prejako / to get the tinglies = struja kroz vene / passion = zar / attractive = zgodan / to flourish = procvasti / to allow = dozvoliti
• 25) BULGARIAN by Lady DIDI http://didised.wordpress.com/
  1-love=любов; 2-come together=идваме заедно; 3-to seduce=съблазнявам; 4-to pine=копнея; 5-to fall in love=влюбвам се; 6-sympathy=съчувствие; 7-to dance=танцувам; 8-kissing hands=целувам ръце; 9-admirer=обожател 10-exuberant=изобилен; 11-goose bumps=настръхвам; 12-passion=страст; 13-attractive=атрактивен; 14-to flourish=разцъфтявам; 15-to allow=позволявам

I recieved a friendly e-mail from Foikinas, Greece:
Hello, frizztext!

I am Foinikas -not my real name- from Greece and I own a blog http://www.3otiko.blogspot.com.
I am in flickr too http://www.flickr.com/photos/74950817@N07/
I ‘ve seen your photos on flickr about “Holsteiner Treppe” in Wuppertal and the translation project. I tried to find greek and found only the translation for the 4th stairway. So, here is the other 8 stairs and it’s all yours if you want it.

1rst
1-συγχωρώ 2-τύψεις 3-προστατεύω 4-αγάλλομαι 5-τιμή 6-οικογένεια 7-τρομοκρατώ 8-φόβος 9-αθωότητα 10-πατρίδα 11-αγκαλιάζω 12-ζεσταίνω 13-μητέρα 14-χτυπώ 15-τύχη

2nd
1-επιθετικός 2-προκαλώ 3-γαλήνιος 4-χαρά 5-απαλύνω 6-απαγόρευση 7-οπλίζω 8-αντιστέκομαι 9-οργή 10-ενθουσιασμός 11-αδελφός 12-εγγύτητα 13-τιμιότητα 14-γελώ 15-μιλάω

3rd
1-προσοχή 2-περίσκεψη 3-ψεύδομαι 4-προειδοποιώ 5-συγκεχυμένος 6-τραύμα 7-συντετριμμένος 8-προσβεβλημένος 9-αυτοέλεγχος 10-παράπονα 11-φθόνος 12-μανία 13-καταχρώμαι 14-απειλή 15-κακός

5th
1-φεύγω 2-απογοήτευση 3-απελπισμένος 4-κλαίω 5-μισώ 6-βραχυκύκλωμα 7-αμφιβάλλω 8-πανικός 9-αρρωστημένη αγάπη 10-αδίκημα 11-ζήλια

6th
1-αξιοπρέπεια 2-σταθερός 3-πιστότητα 4-βάθος 5-θεϊκό 6-ποιότητα 7-αποσαφηνίζω 8-ξεπερνώ 9-βοηθώ 10-αντοχή

7th
1-ενοχή 2-κλάματα 3-εκδίκηση 4-υποφέρω 5-παρεξήγηση 6-σιωπή 7-κατάχρηση 8-δίωξη 9-φόβος 10-τρόμος

8th
1-ειρήνη 2-ελπίδα 3-εκτιμώ 4-εμπιστοσύνη 5-ωρίμανσης 6-ανάμνηση 7-κατανόηση 8-επιθεώρηση 9-έλεος 10-ντρέπομαι

9th
1-θάρρος 2-εύρος 3-νόημα 4-σεβασμός 5-τιμώ 6-σιωπή 7-ελευθερία 8-πίστη 9-ευγνωμοσύνη 10-σεβασμός 10-θαυμάζω

Friendly, Foikinas
———

Aweather:
http://aweathersenglishclub.wordpress.com/2012/07/25/%E5%BD%A9%E8%99%B9%E9%9A%8E%E6%A2%AF/
+
http://twistedsifter.com/2012/07/rainbow-colored-stairs-of-wuppertal-horst-glaesker/
+
Hi Frizztext,

I’m from Taiwan and have translated the words into Traditional Chinese. Some of the Chinese translation above provided by other people was not accurate. For example, they translated sympathy into empathy. I have included the word class of each word as well.

1. 1st Steps
to forgive (v.) 原諒
remorse (n.) 懊悔
to protect (v.) 保護
to jubilate (v.) 歡欣
honor (n.) 榮譽
family (n.) 家
to frighten (v.) 驚擾
fear (n.) 恐懼
innocence (n.) 純真
homeland (n.) 家園
to cuddle (v.) 摟抱
to heat (v.) 熱
mother (n.) 母親
to stroke (v.) 撫摸
luck (n.) 幸運
+
2. 2nd Staircase
aggressive (adj.) 侵略
cause (n.) 原因
peaceful (adj.) 平和
joy (n.) 喜悅
to soothe (v.) 緩和
prohibition (n.) 禁止
to arm (v.) 武裝
to offer resistance (v. phr.) 抵禦
rage (n.) 憤怒
enthusiasm (n.) 熱忱
brother (n.) 兄弟
proximity (n.) 親近
honesty (n.) 誠實
to laugh (v.) 笑
to speak (v.) 說
+
3. 3rd Staircase
attention (n.) 關注
circumspection (n.) 謹慎
to lie (v.) 說謊
to warn (v.) 警告
confused (adj.) 困惑
trauma (n.) 創傷
distressed (adj.) 苦惱
offended (adj.) 受到冒犯
self-control (n.) 自我控制
complaints (n.) 抱怨
envy (n.) 嫉妒；羨慕
fury (n.) 狂怒
to abuse (v.) 濫用；虐待
threat (n.) 威脅
wicked (adj.) 邪惡
+
4. 4th Staircase
love (n.) 愛
come together (v. phr.) 聚
to seduce (v.) 誘惑
to pine (v.) 憔悴
to fall in love (v. phr.) 墜入愛河
sympathy (n.) 同情
to dance (v.) 跳舞
kissing hands (n.) 親吻手背的儀式
admirer (n.) 愛慕者
exuberant (adj.) 生氣蓬勃
to get the tinglies/goose bumps/goose flesh (v. phr.) 起雞皮疙瘩
passion (n.) 熱情
attractive (adj.) 吸引人的
to flourish (v.) 繁茂
to allow (v.) 允許
+
5. 5th Staircase
to leave (v.) 離開
disappointment (n.) 失望
desperate (adj.) 鋌而走險
to weep (v.) 哭泣
hate (n.) 厭惡
short circuit (n. phr.) 短路
doubt (n.) 懷疑
panic (n.) 恐慌
love-sick (adj.) 害相思病的
offence (n.) 冒犯
jealousy (n.) 嫉妒
+
6. 6th Staircase
dignity (n.) 尊嚴
steadfast (adj.) 不變
fidelity (n.) 忠實
depth (n.) 深度
divine (adj.) 神聖
quality (n.) 品質
to clarify (v.) 澄清
to overcome (v.) 克服
to assist (v.) 協助
endurance (n.) 堅忍
+
7. 7th Staircase
guilt (n.) 罪
tears (n.) 淚水
revenge (n.) 復仇
to suffer (v.) 受苦
mis-conception (n.) 誤解
silence (n.) 沉默
abuse (n.) 濫用；虐待
prosecution (n.) 告發
dread (n.) 懼怕
terror (n.) 恐怖
+
8. 8th Staircase
peace (n.) 和平
hope (n.) 希望
to esteem highly (v. phr.) 高度尊重
confidence (n.) 信心
curing (adj.) 療癒
recollection (n.) 回憶
understanding (n.) 了解
inspection (n.) 檢視
mercy (n.) 慈悲
to make ashamed (v. phr.) 使羞愧
+
9. 9th Staircase
courage (n.) 勇氣
breadth (n.) 廣度
meaning (n.) 意義
respect (n.) 尊重
to honor (v.) 榮耀；實踐（諾言）
silence (n.) 沉默
freedom (n.) 自由
belief (n.) 信念
gratitude (n.) 感激
regard (n.) 致意
to admire (v.) 欽佩
+

Best,
Aweather

About Didi van Frits

writer, photographer, guitarist, painter

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