Spotlight - 13.2019

LOST IN TRANSLATION 13/2019 Spotlight 53

LOST IN TRANSLATION

VANESSA CLARK turns her attention to

a particularly interesting word or expression

that could be a challenge to translate.

ADVANCED

Usage
A “gamut” is a “wide range” or a “complete range” of something.
If something “runs the gamut”, it covers or includes the whole
spectrum. In the book review quoted above, the writer is em-
phasizing the variety of books on offer — everything from polit-
ical works to stories for schoolchildren. A movie might “run the
gamut of emotions” if it makes you laugh and cry. A CD could
“run the gamut from classical to popular music”. And to add extra
emphasis, you might say “to run the whole gamut”.
Computer monitors and printers have a “colour gamut” — the
entire range of colours or the whole palette of colours that the
device can reproduce.
Yo u c o u l d t r a n s l a t e t h e w o r d “g a m u t ” i n m a n y d i f f e r e n t w a y s ;
for example, as Skala, Bandbreite, Spektrum, Pa l e t t e or Klaviatur.
Depending on the context and level of formality, “to run the
gamut” could be translated as das gesamte Spektrum abbilden, die
ganze Skala durchlaufen or das volle Programm abspulen. Alternatively,
you might simply say etwas reicht von... bis...

Background

Like the German word Klaviatur, the English word “gamut”

was originally a musical term. It dates back to the 1520s, when

“g a m u t ” w a s t h e l o w e s t n o t e o f t h e musical scale, the note that

is now called “do” in the “do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti” syllables. This

was then extended to cover the entire range of a voice or an in-

strument. Later, the word came to mean “any complete span” of

something. Most English speakers are unaware of the original

musical meaning of “gamut”. Today, it is used almost entirely in

the figurative sense.

Example

“New paperbacks run the gamut

from political non-fiction to a

middle-grade series”

twincities.com, 26 May 2019

This review looks at a wide range of new

books on the market.

figurative: in the ~ sense [(fIgErEtIv]
, im übertragenen Sinn

musical scale

[)mju:zIk&l (skeI&l]

, To n l e i t e r

Answer: B

Exercise A

In which of the following contexts would “ran the

gamut” make sense?

A. “The fans’ emotions all round the

stadium.”

B. “The fans’ emotions from joy to

despair.”

run the gamut

phrase [)rVn DE (gÄmEt]