52 Ancestors 2023 Week 10: Translation

Translation:   I have not yet had to translate anything (or have it translated) because the vast majority of my most recent ancestors were English speakers.  In fact, the vast majority of all of my immigrant ancestors were English speakers.  The exceptions were the Dutch, who arrived in what became New York in the mid-17th century, and the Alsatians who appear, in the records I've found, in mid-18th century Virginia.  With patience, I could probably translate French if that is what the Alsatians spoke but the odds are reasonably good that they spoke German instead.

On the other hand, my husband's family are much more recent imports.  His mother's family was definitely German:  his mother Edith's grandparents apparently spoke very little English.  I cannot determine if it was her maternal or paternal grandparents who she knew best.  Whoever it was, they left her with a few German words that would surface from time to time.  Near the end of her life, Edith started referring to a particular horseradish sauce as "sharp."  We could not for the life of us figure this out until I read somewhere that the German word sharp meant "spicy."  

My husband's father's family was a bit more mysterious but I finally found in the census data that the Doerflingers came from Alsace and that French was the language they had spoken at home (I apologize for the lack of citation:  I cited it somewhere in Ancestry but it would take a search to find it right now).  I think that may be why the name is not spelled "Dörflinger" as the modern Doerflingers we have met are French speakers from outside Strasbourg.

I guess I should start working harder on the Doerflingers, and at that point maybe I'll find that I need some help with translation after all!