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Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

Schellen

English translation:

chirp

Added to glossary by Gavin O'Leary
Feb 15 18:59
3 mos ago
47 viewers *
German term

Schellen

German to English Art/Literary Music
Hi all,

Help required here especially with the part "Schellen der Grashüpfer" (see below for context):

"Zur fröhlichen Fidel rasseln die Schellen der Grashüpfer, und das Crescendo der Zikaden elektrisiert die Luft und öffnet die Knospen zu nächtlicher Pracht."

Thanks,

Gavin
Proposed translations (English)
3 +2 chirp
4 +1 percussion
4 bell tympany chorus
4 tambourines
4 stridulate/stridulating
1 jingles

Discussion

seehand Feb 16:
Schellen (Karnevalskostüm?) are tiny bells which are sewn to the carnival costume ...
Arne Krueger Feb 15:
But do you know what I think? The person that wrote it probably just used words that come closest to its meaning. Or that can be closely associated with it. Yes, Schelle doesn't sound like a grashopper, but Silke and I (and Björn probably as well) understood what he/she meant... I believe you can do the same in English.
Arne Krueger Feb 15:
Here is a sample of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPdsZ22Dv8o
But I guess people in Germany at that time had no clue what on earth that is. ^^ Or it wasn't even invented... But it makes this sound, yes.
Arne Krueger Feb 15:
I would guess someting like a Guiro would come pretty close for it...
Björn Vrooman Feb 15:
@Phil I know, I know, it's a cricket, but here's a very short excerpt from Mary Oliver's "The Leaf and the Cloud":
"...Notice
something you have never noticed before,

like the tambourine sound of the snow-cricket
whose pale green body is no longer than your thumb."
https://goingtowalden.com/2022/04/24/consider-the-orderlines...

As for your latest addition, fine with anything that makes some noise, but do these instruments and a fiddle go together?

Fittingly (though again, a cricket--but pretty cool): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHbwC-AIyTE

To all of you, enjoy your evening
philgoddard Feb 15:
I think it may be advertising copy, since it was originally classified as Cosmetics and rightly changed to Music.

We have a rough idea of what the writer was trying to convey, the 'Schellen' apparently being instruments in an orchestra, but Gavin is presumably looking for a translation.
Arne Krueger Feb 15:
"It seems a strange choice of instrument, since it means either small bells or the miniature cymbals on a tambourine, neither of which makes a chirping noise." Yes, that is true. But we hopefully all understood what the writer wanted to convey. That is key. The word that he used may have been appropriate at that time. I have no clue when it was written...
Arne Krueger Feb 15:
No, Phil, it's poetry. It's probably just a line from something bigger. Am I right, Gavin? You cannot translate it literally. As for the translation itself: It is up to Gavin what he thinks fits best here. We gave him the understanding about it, the context. Anything else is his creation.
Björn Vrooman Feb 15:
I... ...have to ask you all three then: Are we talking about this
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schelle_(Klangkörper)

or

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schellenring

Thought a tambourine might be a better fit and there's even something called a rattle grasshoper, but I'm a bit lost. Maybe the following clip helps:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV290f9Amok
philgoddard Feb 15:
But how would you translate it? It seems a strange choice of instrument, since it means either small bells or the miniature cymbals on a tambourine, neither of which makes a chirping noise.
Arne Krueger Feb 15:
Ahaha, true!! But I am not Silke... ahaha
Björn Vrooman Feb 15:
And, yes,... ...agree with Silke. This is my second post in two days to show up at exactly the same time as someone else's. This is getting creepy!
Arne Krueger Feb 15:
Silke, you should make the entry for the points...
Arne Krueger Feb 15:
I agree with Silke. I thought the same. The entire thing is a metaphor for an orchestra. A natural one.
Silke Walter Feb 15:
Sound It means "zirpen" – chirp, which they do with their legs, like with a musical instrument (Schellen).
Björn Vrooman Feb 15:
@Gavin Cosmetics? Did the grasshoper take a wrong turn at the flower shop and end up in the beauty parlor?

This is a Schelle: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schelle_(Klangkörper)

It's a musical instrument, like the fiddle.

Best

PS
Could also be this:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schellenring

Proposed translations

+2
1 hr
Selected

chirp

According to discussion entry / colleagues:
"It means "zirpen" – chirp, which they do with their legs, like with a musical instrument (Schellen)."
Note from asker:
Thanks Silke
Peer comment(s):
agree Arne Krueger : Depends on what the asker wants to translate, but this is the meaning of the source (in connection with rasseln).
1 hr
neutral philgoddard : It seems a shame to ignore the orchestra theme.
1 hr
agree writeaway
1 hr
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks everyone for your suggestions. In the end I incorporated "chirp/chirping" into the final translation: "The grasshoppers’ chirping complements the tunes of the merry fiddle...""
+1
1 hr

percussion

See the discussion entries.

I think this is a good approximation - it's described as 'rasseln', like little bells or a tambourine.
Peer comment(s):
agree Arne Krueger
0 min
neutral Lancashireman : A valid translation for 'das Rasseln' (gerund), but it's being used here as an intransitive verb with 'Schellen' (plural noun and search term) as subject.
26 mins
I'm suggesting something like 'the grasshopper's rattling percussion'.
Something went wrong...
1 hr

bell tympany chorus

To start the ball rolling with a bell tympany simile, since 'Gavin is presumably looking for a translation.' I'll leave others to formulate a 'chirping (chorus etc.)' answer.

My suggested rendering: 'the grasshoppers' chorus of clicks rings out like a bell tympany to the merry fiddle, the crickets' crescendo chipping in to electrify the air and harbinger budding night-time splendo(u)r'.

Google Translate's useful lead: 'The grasshoppers' bells rattle to the cheerful fiddle'.

The only time I read or hear about Schellen is in conjunction with a suspect or suspects getting arrested and handcuffed: 'von der Polizei gefasst.... es klicken dann die Handschellen'.


Example sentence:

As in the classic fable, the grasshopper plays his fiddle and lives for the moment, while the industrious ants squirrel away massive amounts of food.

Crepitation is the sound produced by grasshoppers making a clicking or snapping noise with their wings when in flight, during courtship, territorial encounters or being disturbed.

Reference:

http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-definition/bell+tympany

Something went wrong...
3 hrs

jingles

My German dict. mentions tambourines (Schellentrommel), as have others here. But tambourines do not have what I would call 'bells' exactly. More like 'rattles', but we have rasseln for that. Wikipedia tells us that "The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills", the latter in turn defined as "Zills or zils (from Turkish zil 'cymbals'), also called finger cymbals, are small metallic cymbals used in belly dancing and similar performances. They are called sāgāt (‏صاجات‎) in Egypt.[2][3] They are similar to Tibetan tingsha bells. In Western music, several pairs can be set in a frame to make a tambourine".

Better, "In percussion, a jingle is one of a cluster of small bells, shaken or tapped on the palm of the player's hand. The small metal discs arranged around the frame of a tambourine are also called "jingles"."

"Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me, In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you."

I'd be tempted to say "rattle the jingles of the grasshopper" (not dissimilar to a sheep rattling its dags) ;-)

"A tambourine without a head – known as a ching ring or jingle ring (schellenreif) – is often used in pop and Latin-American music. […]The tambourine can be struck with the flat palm, with a closed fist, or the knuckles. It can be rested on the knee or a soft-topped table and played with fingertips. It can also be shaken to rattle the jingles and create a tremolo effect. A thumb roll can be produced by rubbing the head with a moistened thumb tip to make the head shudder and the jingles vibrate."
https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia_of_music/T/tambou...

Tambourine This tiny drum has only one skin and has many metal jingles in the rim or hoop. It is struck by the knuckles or elbow or shaken to rattle the jingles.
https://musicalteam.wordpress.com/

With a gimbri / guimbri / sintir too one can "simultaneously produce the tone of the string, a drum sound on the skin, and rattle the jingles on the end of the neck"
https://www.asza.com/Instruments/igimbri.shtml



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Note added at 3 hrs (2024-02-15 22:33:09 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

See also https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schellenring -(aka Schellenreif oder Schellenkranz) and its English counterpart https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headless_tambourine (which also explains the term 'jingle ring') where it is said a headless tambourine consists of "a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles".

I didn't know 'jingle' was a technical term in music, but maybe the intended audience will.
Something went wrong...
8 hrs

tambourines

The comparison of a grasshopper’s or a cricket’s chirping to a tambourine’s rattle is not all that unusual, and neither is the combination of a fiddle and a tambourine. (See references and example sentences.) I might suggest something like: “The grasshoppers’ tambourines rattle along to the merry fiddle, while the cicadas’ crescendo electrifies the air and bursts the first resplendent buds of night.”

More sources:
https://www.google.com/books/edition/First_Steps_in_General_...
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Works_of_Charles_Di...
Example sentence:

“In the next chapter we are told of the sounds of the insects and of the trees; of the grasshopper’s tambourine, of the crickets’ bow . . .”

“For social dancing, the fiddle would often play solo, but sometimes two or even three fiddle players would play together . . .. Another popular combination was fiddle and tambourine.”

Reference:

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Science_Progress_in_the_Twentieth_Centur/wME_AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22grasshopper%22+%22tambourine%2

https://www.google.com/books/edition/English_Fiddle/fbMEDSH7JAQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=tambourine

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21 hrs

stridulate/stridulating

If you want to go with the scientific term...

Googled what sound grasshoppers make and this came up
Example sentence:

Both crickets and grasshoppers are known for the signature chirping sounds they make. This singing or chirping is called stridulating. Although both crickets and grasshoppers stridulate, each insect actually has its own method of producing the chirps. Gr

Grasshoppers stridulate by rubbing their wings together in the same manner as crickets. Additionally, males and sometimes females make loud snapping or crackling sounds with their wings as they fly, especially during courtship flights.

Reference:

https://www.bobvila.com/articles/cricket-vs-grasshopper/#:~:text=This%20singing%20or%20chirping%20is,wings%20together%20to%20produce%20chirp

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