Jun 23, 2004 09:39
19 yrs ago
1 viewer *
German term

Eheberater (in diesem Satz)

German to English Other Linguistics Word Play
Eheberater sind solche, die einen beraten und ¨¹berzeugen, wie gl¨¹cklich man gewesen war, ehe man geheiratet hat.

I am wondering how to translated this sentence with the word "Eheberater" properly rendered to preserve the flavor of the German original. I would appreciate any help from any one, even just a guess.

Discussion

Non-ProZ.com Jun 23, 2004:
Wow! Thank you. We've got some interesting suggestions so far.
There must be some other good ideas. Wenn ich das in meinem Club erz�hlen w�rde...
Jeff Steffin Jun 23, 2004:
Thanks Wenjer, I appreciate the feedback.
Non-ProZ.com Jun 23, 2004:
Jeff, your proposal is not bad at all. We've got a bit of the original flavor, somehow.
Jeff Steffin Jun 23, 2004:
This is a tough one... Viel Glueck!

Proposed translations

+3
41 mins
Selected

Marriage Guidance Counsellor

Person who advises you to tarry before you marry!

You could try getting the humour across with a little rhyme. According to the Collins dictionary, an Eheberater is a marriage guidance counsellor - someone that tends to be consulted before you tie the knot. So something like the above could work.

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Note added at 1 hr 23 mins (2004-06-23 11:02:13 GMT)
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Antje has a point. Perhaps you could also say \"Someone who tells you why you should have tarried before you married!\"
Peer comment(s):

neutral Antje Harder : An "Eheberater" offers counselling for married couples - a "prenuptial advisor" would be what you think about.
32 mins
Well, "marriage guidance counsellor" is what I found in the Collins dictionary, but I will admit that Wenjer's context is referring to someone counselling people already married.
agree Jeremy Amos : This is ok, a marriage guidance counsellor is precisely an Eheberator (in BE), i.e. post nuptial, and I like the rhyming of tarry and marry.
1 hr
Thanks Jeremy.
agree Michele Johnson : Fine approach Rowan- compensate for the lost pun. A homonym approach like marry/merry might also be appropriate.
2 hrs
That's another thought - thanks Michele.
agree Cilian O'Tuama : the shortest sentence in English is "I am", and the longest is "I do" :-)
3 hrs
ROTFL! Thanks Cilian.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "There have been quite a lot good ideas about how to render the original flavor into English. And it has been hard for me to grade this one. Tarry/marry or merry/marry and prenuptial advisor/marriage (guidance) counsellor are all very interesting. However, I decide to take Rowans "marriage guidance counsellor" and "should have tarried before married." Many thanks to all of you, dear colleagues, for I've learned a lot from you!"
+2
4 mins

marriage counsellor

I on't see why it wouldn't fit
Peer comment(s):

agree writeaway : I had the same answer ready but double-checked before I sent it.
1 min
agree Ellen Zittinger : counselor, or advisor
6 hrs
Something went wrong...
+5
4 mins

Marriage counsellor

I think it will be impossible; the "pun" sense has to come from the reamining wording. For example: "a marriage counsellor is someone who counsels you to remember how happy you were before marriage".

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Note added at 6 mins (2004-06-23 09:45:32 GMT)
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Drat these falming pismrints; that should of course read \"remaining\" wording....
Peer comment(s):

agree writeaway : yes-can't see any pun either with Eheberater/Marriage Counsellor (Counselor across the pond)
2 mins
agree Orla Ryan
4 mins
agree Monika Leit
7 mins
agree Rowan Morrell : Sounds like something that could be in Wiley's Dictionary (cf. the "BC" comic).
13 mins
agree Ken Cox : the pun is untranslatable. you could also say 'a marriage counsellor is someone who gives you advice and makes you think you were a lot happier before you got married'
1 hr
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9 mins

Divorce Preventer

A divorce preventer is someone who helps to prevent divorce by advising agains marriage in the first place :-)
Something went wrong...
2 hrs

marriage counsellor (plus...)

One way to preserve the irony of the original (but not the pun) would be:

A marriage counsellor is someone who convinces you that getting married was a bad idea.
Peer comment(s):

neutral Gareth McMillan : I certainly didn't need a third party to convince me of that!
25 mins
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+1
18 mins

Prenuptial advisor

Well, can't we at least *attempt* to maintain some of the "Ehe-/ehe" pun? Something along the lines of:

A prenuptial advisor is someone who reminds you how happy you were pre-nuptial. (Or: before you got married).

I think this works well because there really are prenuptial advisors, I guess for the Donald Trumps of the world. Afraid simply "marriage counsellor" will not bring the humor across?

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Note added at 3 hrs 19 mins (2004-06-23 12:58:54 GMT)
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Rowan has inspired me, so let me just post this here. Would something involving marry/merry work? A marriage counselor is someone who reminds you how merry you were before you married? Might sound too dorky though.
Peer comment(s):

agree roneill : This appeals to my quirky sense of humor!
6 hrs
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