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#Post#: 24790--------------------------------------------------
Story title translation into English
By: No Way Out Date: May 28, 2022, 3:00 am
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Sorry that I haven’t been around very much lately, and that I
didn’t read and comment on other author’s stories that much.
I’ve been busy with stuff, and now that I had some free time, I
started writing a new story. It'll take me a month or two to
finish it, but I'm glad that I thought of a title for it.
Unfortunately it only works for the German version. A literal
translation isn’t possible in this case, so I’m racking my brain
to come up with a title for the English version.
This is quite a challenge (you’ll understand what I mean if you
read on), but since we have some very fine wordsmiths, creative
minds and people with lots of life experience here, maybe you
can help me with some ideas.
I’ve been writing a series called Black Sheep, and all the story
titles have something to do with sheep. For example Locking
Horns for the story about two brothers fighting, Summer Grazing
for a story about summer vacations, Flocking Together about a
trip with the extended family. I even used some silly wordplay
when I called one A Chip Off the Old Buck.
I don’t want to reveal too much about what is happening in the
new story, in case anyone would like to read it, but the
protagonist has to make an important decision. The German title
will be Hammelsprung, which literally means wether’s leap or
mutton skip. It has nothing to do with farming, though, but with
politics. It is a form of voting that is done by the members of
a parliament entering the room by choosing one of several doors.
So by choosing a door they make a decision, and everyone can see
where they stand. The British among you probably know about this
practice. Here is an English Wikipedia article describing it for
the British parliament:
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_of_the_assembly
I obviously can’t just call the story Wether’s Leap, because it
has no meaning, so I’m looking for some title that conveys that
a decision is made, or that initiative is taken, or that a
secret is revealed. At the same time it should have some
connection with sheep.
Here is what I came up with so far, which isn’t much…:
Taking the bull by its horns. Of course a bull is not a sheep. I
could change it to Taking the ram by its horns. I guess this
would work, but I still hope I can find something better.
I could try a variant on the book and movie title The Silence of
the Lambs, maybe The Silence of the Lamb describing the
protagonist before he makes a decision to reveal his secret, or
change it to The Bleating of the Lamb. Yeah, not that great
either.
I also found some idioms that are about animals, but not sheep I
could twist around like
Giving the game away – Terrible idea, because "game" doesn't
refer to animals in this context, and also sheep are not game
but livestock
Letting the cat out of the bag - I could change that to Letting
the lamb out of the bag, which is also a pretty lame idea.
What are your thoughts on this? (You are welcome to tell me that
it was a terrible idea to challenge me to use titles referrring
to sheep in the first place, and that my story titles are silly.
I promise not to be offended since I know that good titles
aren't my strong suit).
Can any of you think of something better? I’m grateful for any
ideas.
#Post#: 24791--------------------------------------------------
Re: Story title translation into English
By: Zyngaru Date: May 28, 2022, 7:18 am
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Which Sheep's Pen
Which Way The Flock Go
Sheep's/Lamb's Gate
Sheep's/Lamb's Pen
Sheep's/Lamb's Way
Ram's Lead
Let's Get The Flock Out Of Here
Shephard's/Lamb's/Sheep's Path
Sheep's/Lamb's Direction
Personally, I like Sheep's or Lamb's Gate the best. One reason
it denotes choosing a door. Another reason in politics'
scandals are sometimes called Gates. Etc. Watergate, Clinton
gate, Russia Gate and etc.
For future stories, possibly something along the line of
shearing or being sheared.
Just some silly ideas that you probably already thought of and
discarded.
#Post#: 24792--------------------------------------------------
Re: Story title translation into English
By: No Way Out Date: May 28, 2022, 8:25 am
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Thank you very much for all the ideas, Zyngaru!
I haven't thought of these titles yet, and I'll think about
them. At first glance I like the Sheep's/Lamb's Gate best,
because it implies a scandal, which would fit really well with
the content of the story.
If anyone else has ideas, please feel free to add them.
#Post#: 24793--------------------------------------------------
Re: Story title translation into English
By: Adric Date: May 28, 2022, 8:31 am
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Z can always be counted on for original ideas. ;) His
suggestion of Sheep's Gate caught my eye for the same reason -
its association with American politics. It has the gate, which
suggests the idea of choosing a gate and going through it. (And
then I thought of a really off-the-wall and useless association
- if spoken carelessly, Sheep's Gate sounds like Cheapskate.)
(The first thing that came to mind, unfortunately having nothing
to do with sheep, was "Alea iacta est.")
In English, failure to decide or take a stand is referred to as
being "on the fence". Maybe something like "Getting off the
fence", or "Breaking from the herd"?
#Post#: 24794--------------------------------------------------
Re: Story title translation into English
By: No Way Out Date: May 28, 2022, 8:40 am
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[quote author=Adric link=topic=2640.msg24793#msg24793
date=1653744693]
Maybe something like "Getting off the fence", or "Breaking from
the herd"?
[/quote]
I like those, too. Thank you very much!
#Post#: 24796--------------------------------------------------
Re: Story title translation into English
By: Plagosus Date: May 28, 2022, 12:45 pm
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If the story involves votes being counted: Counting Sheep
#Post#: 24799--------------------------------------------------
Re: Story title translation into English
By: Kat Date: May 28, 2022, 2:33 pm
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How about "Separating the Sheep from the Goats"?
Or "Lamb Stew"?
Or a phrase from the English nursery rhyme:
Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
Have you any wool?
Yes, sir, Yes, sir, three bags full.
In keeping with the sheep theme, there is "A Woolly Situation";
"Sheared"; or "Fleeced".
Kat
#Post#: 24800--------------------------------------------------
Re: Story title translation into English
By: No Way Out Date: May 28, 2022, 2:41 pm
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[quote author=Plagosus link=topic=2640.msg24796#msg24796
date=1653759906]
If the story involves votes being counted: Counting Sheep
[/quote]
The story isn't about counting votes but about the protagonist
having to make a decision. He has to decide which door to go
through, so to speak. Therefore your suggestion doesn't really
fit. Thank you, though, I appreciate your help. And maybe I can
use that title for a future story.
#Post#: 24801--------------------------------------------------
Re: Story title translation into English
By: No Way Out Date: May 28, 2022, 2:53 pm
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[quote author=Kat link=topic=2640.msg24799#msg24799
date=1653766419]
How about "Separating the Sheep from the Goats"?[/quote]
I thought about that one, and it would be a good title. What
made me decide against it is that it implies that one option is
clearly the good one and the other one the bad one, and that
isn't the case. (Sorry I can't be more specific, but as I said I
don't want to say too much about the content)
[quote]Or "Lamb Stew"?[/quote]
Wow, that is a bit too dark for my liking.
[quote]In keeping with the sheep theme, there is "A Woolly
Situation"; "Sheared"; or "Fleeced".[/quote]
One of my stories is called A White and Woolly Winter Chill, so
the Wolly Situation might be a bit repetetive. I like Fleeced
for a future story, but maybe not for this one.
Thank you for your suggestions, too, Kat! Oh, and to complete
the list, you also suggeested the following titles in the chat
today:
"Ram-rodded", (which I had to look up in the dictionary),
"Ram-ifications" and "Horns of a Dilemma" The last one I was
also unfamiliar with, and now that I looked it up seems like a
great fit for the story.
It's awesome how much ideas can be gathered if several people
are brainstorming. And then, of course there are a lot of words
or idioms I'm not as familiar with as you native speakers, so
it's a great help to get input from all of you.
#Post#: 24802--------------------------------------------------
Re: Story title translation into English
By: Kat Date: May 28, 2022, 3:02 pm
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NWO, I think "Lamb Stew" may seem dark because the double
entendre isn't readily apparent. Perhaps "Lamb in a Bit of a
Stew" would make it seem less like a lamb is being served for
dinner.
Kat
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