Alison MacG May 22, 2017:

@AllegroTrans I think you are correct and you indeed said much the same thing at the top of the discussion. Although people have made suggestions here (whatever their reasons), I would hope that this is not a reflection of what they would do in a real-life situation. We have no idea what is involved here. The asker says title of a book and then later says a piece about. Is it a book about this one man or is the book a collection of articles on a theme (trekking and other activities? diabetes and other conditions?) If a client of mine were to ask me to provide a translation of a title without giving me the book to read, never mind while providing next to no information about its overall nature, focus, tone and target market, I know what I would be saying to that client. The best solution here is very likely to be the creation of a suitable new title for the English version of the book - and that title may well be quite different from the German one.

AllegroTrans May 21, 2017:

Personally I would abandon all idea of using the theme of "sick/ill" in the title unless the client has really insisted on it, and try to fit the title to the theme or some dignificant aspect of it. However, we have so little context here to work on. This is not translating, anyway, but much more like advertising copywriting.

BirgitBerlin May 20, 2017:

@ Björn Vrooman:
I don't mind helping if someone is stuck. But providing maketing slogans or book titles is something else.

Björn Vrooman May 20, 2017:

@Lancashireman
Interesting point. I am a bit confused about the asker's preference, I have to admit. The selected option would not only have a double, but triple meaning, at least in AmE (even asked my better half, who is American):
1) being ill
2) being a risk-taker
3) being perverted

If someone doesn't believe me: Look for "sick to do" in the comments section here http://mobile.wnd.com/2017/02/child-sex-abuse-ringleader-tra...

Or to quote Kim Basinger:
"There were times I was ready to quit, when I wondered if he weren't a sick human being, if we weren't all sick to do this, but in the end I faced my own fear and came through it."
http://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/09/movies/how-9-1-2-weeks-pus...

No, she was not talking about being physically ill...

I don't think this makes for a good book title.

Björn Vrooman May 20, 2017:

@Brigitte
It was indeed a memorable event, considering that I think no one was even sure what would become of Hong Kong - would it remain kind of independent or be integrated into the communist system of the PRC?

Thank you too for sharing your story. I think it's like in NZ and AUS or, to a certain extent, in India. The base variant is British English plus some locally adapted words.

@Birgit
KudoZ askers basically all provide free work samples; people have to decide for themselves whether being here is beneficial to them or not. I am more the "d-box guy," but that doesn't mean I don't get something out of all of that. I may spent considerable effort on researching a question, which doesn't mean I have an unlimited amount of time or nothing to do. Sometimes, it's just during work breaks; sometimes to provide some focus if things in RL are chaotic, and sometimes it's when I need to think about something else because I'm contemplating about a sentence and can't find a solution (not an uncommon strategy).

Besides: Unless we're talking about self-publishing, I highly doubt any publishing house is going to adopt someone's recommendation verbatim...

Lancashireman May 20, 2017:

Choosing a book title... Asker hasn't said if he/she is translating the book itself. It could be that the title is being referenced in another context. Too late to post this as an answer, as the voting has reached a critical mass and the question will close on Monday:
Ill - but in the nicest possible way
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q="but in the nicest possibl...

BirgitBerlin May 20, 2017:

Amazing... ... how many people are willing to provide free work. Choosing a book title is probably *the* most important marketing step and should be rewarded appropriately.

BrigitteHilgner May 20, 2017:

@ Björn Vrooman Thank you so much for your enlightening comment.
Actually: I did know about 1997 - friends of mine were in Hong Kong for this event and sent me a postcard which I still keep as a kind of souvenir of a monumental event.
I have also done translations for an agency based in Hong Kong - that's how I know that the English used in Hong Kong differs both from British English and US-American. I've even translated a book written by an author from Hong Kong - but she is probably not typical, having studied in the USA.

Björn Vrooman May 19, 2017:

@Brigitte
Hong Kong used to be a British colony and was "handed over" to China in 1997. One year later, negotiations started for giving back Macao (Portuguese territory) to the PRC.

@deutschenglisch
You seem to have a penchant for these types of questions (I still remember the one about numbers). I just hope this doesn't have anything to do with this link here:
http://www.ganz-schoen-krank.org/galerie.html

@Julia
I doubt "peaky" is going to be understood overseas:
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/peaky

However, it is not unusual to have a British and American name for a book, movie, etc.

For a(n incomplete) list, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_works_with_different_t...

Julia Burgess May 19, 2017:

@Brigitte - re. US/UK English (etc.!) I agree with your note about my comment on sick/ill & the confusing disparities between US and UK English (and the multitude of other variants of English spoken throughout the world). Ultimately, I think it's only really possible for a native (& resident) speaker of a specific target language to judge which term is appropriate (or inappropriate) for them. As a Brit, I certainly can't always know what is right for a US audience, let alone for an Indian/Hong Kong/Canadian/Singaporean speaker of English. That's why is so important for an agency/client to tell the translator what is required and to hire the right person. I often check on https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/ (or in my hard copy) to see whether a word/term is listed as "North American" or "British and World"(but it's not foolproof!). I'm sure this subject has been discussed many times before, I'm just on my high horse about it today!

Lancashireman May 19, 2017:

Readership Presumably, the author wants this work to have universal appeal. Ill/sick presents a similar (non)dilemma to autumn/fall. Why use a variant that is only correctly understood on one side of the Atlantic? Ever been sick in the fall?

BrigitteHilgner May 19, 2017:

US-American vs British English What does Hong Kong opt for??
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ill

Lancashireman May 19, 2017:

sick or ill? 'Sick' may be the preferred term in US English (see comment from ElliCom below), but in British English, it has a far more restrictive meaning, i.e. vomit.

polyglot45 May 19, 2017:

you could bend it a bit and say Sic(k) transit gloria

AllegroTrans May 19, 2017:

I think the subject matter gives you scope to make up a descriptive title without being tied to a literal translation

sdvplatt (asker) May 19, 2017:

OK yes here some context- a piece about a Type 1 diabetic who from his illness rediscovered his love of trekking

BrigitteHilgner May 19, 2017:

I fully agree with Julia Burgess We need to know the context to make sensible/useful suggestions.
My spontaneous idea: this makes me puke!
This suggestion might be utterly inappropriate.

Julia Burgess May 19, 2017:

More context, please What is the book about? Is it an autobiography? Is it about an illness? Is this a quote? Are you looking for UK, US or world English? Any extra info will help to generate appropriate ideas.