How to translate this German sentence?

[flabbergasted]

I need help with this one as the ultimate meaning escapes me. I would really appreciate it.

"Dass gleichfalls möge bedacht werden, wie eine solche Gesellschaft zu erwecken und einzurichten, in der man auf gute Art Klartext rede und schreibe, indem Reden und Schreiben gleich Tun seien, und wie dieses Reden und Schreiben gleich Tun auch außerhalb dieser, nämlich in der ihr vorgängigen und sie umfassenden Gesellschaft vorzunehmen sei, die sich, obgleich die größere, nicht nur nach der kleineren zu richten habe, die kleinere sei vielmehr die Gesellschaft schlechthin."

My failed attempt:

"Likewise, it may be considered how to awaken and establish such a society in which one speaks and writes in clear language, while speech and writing are the same also outside this society, namely ..." and then I lost it!

[AlOlaf]

I'm stumped, too. I'd be interested to hear a native speaker's analysis. I can't seem to find the finite verb to go with "...wie eine solche Gesellschaft zu erwecken und einzurichten...". In any case, "nämlich" is misspelled, so I'm pretty sure Goethe didn't write this.

Edit: No, wait. The finite verb must be "sei"! I still don't know what it all means, though.

[flabbergasted]

The misspelling of "nämlich" is my typo. Now corrected.

[patrickwilken]

Is this from Schattenfroh: Ein Requiem by Michael Lentz?

If so I think you've missed part of a sentence, which makes it harder to translate:

Dass gleichfalls möge bedacht werden, wie eine solche Gesellschaft zu erwecken und einzurichten, in der man auf gute Art Klartext rede und schreibe, indem Reden und Schreiben gleich Tun seien, und wie dieses Reden und Schreiben gleich Tun auch außerhalb dieser, nämlich in der ihr vorgängigen und sie umfassenden Gesellschaft vorzunehmen sei, die sich, obgleich die größere, nicht nur nach der kleineren zu richten habe, die kleinere sei vielmehr die Gesellschaft schlechthin."

Here's my poor translation (context would probably help a lot):

Likewise, it may be considered, how such a society can be awoken and established, where one in an appropriate fashion speaks and writes plainly, where speaking and writing achieve the same ends, and how this Speaking and Writing can achieve the same aims more broadly, namely in the antecedent and broader society to be made, which, although the larger, should not judge the smaller, the smaller being more the society par excellence.

[flabbergasted]

Thanks a lot! I must have left it out when I was typing. Now I corrected it to the full version. One thing is not clear: "in the antecedent and broader society to be made". If the society is antecedent, i. e. coming BEFORE, why is it "to be made", i. e. coming in the future?

[patrickwilken]

One thing is not clear: "in the antecedent and broader society to be made". If the society is antecedent, i. e. coming BEFORE, why is it "to be made", i. e. coming in the future?

No idea. I wouldn't trust my translation, it's just what I could work out. I suspect "antecedent" isn't quite right.

Have you been reading the full book? I think if you had the broader context it would make much more sense.

My German is not so strong. It would be good to get a native speaker's input here.

[flabbergasted]

I have read it up to this point. The subject is the foundation of a new type of society for which there won't be any distinction between written and spoken speech.

[flabbergasted]

120 views and not a single German native speaker. Really?

[Jaleel10]

120 views and not a single German native speaker. Really?

If you are familiar with Reddit, you might have better luck in /r/German.

[aquarius]

flabbergasted hat geschrieben:
120 views and not a single German native speaker. Really?

I'm a native speaker of Geman.

I've started by looking for the text, from which the sentence is taken, and by reading this sentence in its context. Indeed, the book is "Schattenfroh: Ein Requiem" by Michael Lentz. I've read one page before the sentence, and one page after.

Even for me, as a native speaker, it's difficult to understand this type of language, it seems to me both complex and a bit archaic.

I think the problem is that in German, like in English, the word 'society' can have two meanings. It can be 'society' in general, as in the sentence

In my opinion, it today's society, there are unneeded pressures on everyone' (https://www.theodysseyonline.com/societ ... yone-faces)

but it can also mean a club or an association, as we say in English

Royal Geographical Society

Apparently, the writer plays a bit with the 2 meanings of the word 'society'.

It seems to me that the writer of this text, which is a letter or a declaration of several pages, according to the plot of the book, proposes to establish a club or an association, dedicated to the correct and authentic use of language

Dass gleichfalls möge bedacht werden, wie eine solche Gesellschaft zu erwecken und einzurichten, in der man auf gute Art Klartext rede und schreibe, indem Reden und Schreiben gleich Tun seien,

and then he's expressing the hope that this club, although it is much smaller than the surrounding society ("sie umfassenden Gesellschaft" ), and although this surrounding society was there yet long before the foundation of the club ("nämlich in der ihr vorgängigen"), the new club will be able to perform a strong influence on the surrounding society.

The surrounding society should conform to the exemplary behaviour of the members of the club (and not the other way round), the club being the example how society should be.

'Sich nach jemandem richten' means 'to conform to someone'.

'die kleinere sei vielmehr die Gesellschaft schlechthin' approximately means 'essentially, the club can be considered as society itself'.