Römische Fabeln auf Mühlviardlarisch

Abstract

The Mühlviertel is an Austrian region belonging to the state of Upper Austria: it is one of four quarters of Upper Austria, the others being Hausruckviertel, Traunviertel, and Innviertel. It is named for the two rivers Große Mühl and Kleine Mühl. Here are Phaedrus' fables in this dialect, though the author challenges our normal understanding of the difference between language and dialect; this dialect is for him an independent language (6-7). This book with its illustration has helped me to understand Phaedrus V 9 for the first time (195): the bull went through this opening a long time ago, when he was smaller. He does not need the younger animal's advice about what he has already done many times over. The black-and-white illustrations are good, if simple. They are all sideways -- because landscape -- in a book that is in the traditional portrait frame. Among the best illustrations are those of the fox and owl and their young (57); the eagle, cat, and pig (74); the grasshopper and the owl (114); the fox and the goat (146). The cover's colored rendition of FG seems much livelier than the black-and-white (132). Does the fact that the vocabulary after each fable comes in a standardized table betray the computer-generated character of this book?