Apr 3, 2011 10:01
13 yrs ago
German term

Schauobjekt

German to English Other Journalism
I am translating an article about the German minority in Poland, the word comes from a quote from a German-speaking Polish woman:

„Als Deutsch sprechendes Kind war ich schon so ein bisschen ein Schauobjekt“
Change log

Apr 3, 2011 15:00: casper (X) changed "Level" from "Non-PRO" to "PRO"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

PRO (3): Steffen Walter, Kim Metzger, casper (X)

When entering new questions, KudoZ askers are given an opportunity* to classify the difficulty of their questions as 'easy' or 'pro'. If you feel a question marked 'easy' should actually be marked 'pro', and if you have earned more than 20 KudoZ points, you can click the "Vote PRO" button to recommend that change.

How to tell the difference between "easy" and "pro" questions:

An easy question is one that any bilingual person would be able to answer correctly. (Or in the case of monolingual questions, an easy question is one that any native speaker of the language would be able to answer correctly.)

A pro question is anything else... in other words, any question that requires knowledge or skills that are specialized (even slightly).

Another way to think of the difficulty levels is this: an easy question is one that deals with everyday conversation. A pro question is anything else.

When deciding between easy and pro, err on the side of pro. Most questions will be pro.

* Note: non-member askers are not given the option of entering 'pro' questions; the only way for their questions to be classified as 'pro' is for a ProZ.com member or members to re-classify it.

Proposed translations

+2
1 hr
Selected

oddity

Might fit here.
Peer comment(s):

agree Ingeborg Gowans (X) : I was thinking in the same direction
5 hrs
Thank you, Ingeborg.
agree British Diana
7 hrs
Thank you, Diana.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "This is the option I used in my translation. I felt it fit in best with the overall context of the text. Thanks!"
9 mins

exhibition object

Something went wrong...
5 hrs

cynosure of all eyes

so ein bisschen ein Schauobjekt
a bit of a cynosure of all eyes
Something went wrong...
+3
5 hrs

on display

as in "I would always feel a bit on display"
Peer comment(s):

agree Ingeborg Gowans (X) : as in "a white elephant" maybe' an oddity might fit, too
45 mins
agree Thayenga : Would have been my first choice.
16 hrs
agree seehand
16 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
8 hrs

novelty

I think novelty would be the most common and natural-sounding way of expressing this in English. A novelty is always the centre of attention, attracting looks and stares from others, whether they be curious, jealous, admiring etc. Novelty implies the uniqueness of a person without the negative connotations of he/she being an oddity.
Peer comment(s):

agree Kevin Fulton
9 hrs
Thank you Kevin
Something went wrong...
13 hrs

show piece

I have a hunch there is a suggestion of country fair exhibit.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 13 hrs (2011-04-03 23:59:50 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Somehow the cursor ended on the "low" button...
Something went wrong...
+1
1 day 1 min

(something of) a curiosity

One definition of curiosity is "a unique or extraordinary object that arouses interest", which I think captures quite well the sense of inquisitiveness implied by the German "schauen"
Peer comment(s):

agree Lonnie Legg : --lacking the negative connotation of "oddity", which the source term doesn't necessarily have..
1 day 20 mins
Something went wrong...
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search