Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Würde für den Menschen
English translation:
Dignity For All
Added to glossary by
Gordon Matthews
Dec 17, 2019 12:12
4 yrs ago
2 viewers *
German term
Würde für den Menschen
German to English
Social Sciences
Advertising / Public Relations
Charity fundraising
This is on the front of a brochure in large print (i.e. not just a caption) on the bottom of a photograph (across the photo, not below it) of a woman, probably South Asian, with other (also probably South Asian) women behind her. The client finds my translation, "Dignity for every human being", too long.
Shorter, snappier suggestions would be most welcome!
Shorter, snappier suggestions would be most welcome!
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
4 hrs
Selected
Dignity For All
One way of expressing it.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Short and snappy and conveys the essential message. Thank you!"
+1
58 mins
A call for human dignity
I don't think you can take the human out of dignity. That makes it sound too vague.
The German title clearly functions as an appeal..
The German title clearly functions as an appeal..
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Steffen Walter
: ... although I tend to disagree with your statement regarding "human" because the photo makes it abundantly clear what type of dignity is meant here.
46 mins
|
Of course but nobody needs help drawing that distinction. I prefer "human dignity" because it gives the phrase more heft; importance and implied political meaning
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neutral |
philgoddard
: This is almost as long - and is there any other kind of dignity? Animal? :-)
1 hr
|
It's not about drawing that distinction. You can call for more dignity, say, on a discussion forum, but if the context is more "political", I would probably put the "human" in there.
|
2 hrs
Dignity for all mankind
una proposta.
Note from asker:
Thanks for your answer, Tiziana. The brochure is from 2019, so "mankind" is not appropriate, since it excludes half of humankind. That's why charities and anyone who is concerned about the rights of women uses the term "humankind" these days. |
+2
1 hr
A Right to Dignity
A World of Dignity
A Woman's Dignity
A Life in Dignity
To name a few
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Note added at 2 hrs (2019-12-17 14:20:49 GMT)
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DIGNITY! and leave it at that
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Note added at 3 hrs (2019-12-17 15:14:54 GMT)
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Okay, skip the exclamation point. DIGNITY, in caps
A Woman's Dignity
A Life in Dignity
To name a few
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Note added at 2 hrs (2019-12-17 14:20:49 GMT)
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DIGNITY! and leave it at that
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Note added at 3 hrs (2019-12-17 15:14:54 GMT)
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Okay, skip the exclamation point. DIGNITY, in caps
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Björn Vrooman
: See also d-box (third suggestion).
24 mins
|
Hi Björn! No plagarism intended! In the end, I would go with simply DIGNITY!
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neutral |
Steffen Walter
: I wouldn't put an exclamation mark in this context - let the word(s) speak for itself/themselves. (English uses exclamation marks more sparingly anyway.)
1 hr
|
Normally, yes, Steffen. But this is for an English-speaking audience and they need the urgency an exclamation point provides.
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agree |
philgoddard
: Ironically, I think an exclamation mark would lack dignity. But I like your first suggestion.
1 hr
|
Yes, does. Scratch it. Thanks, Phil, have a good one.
|
3 hrs
Dignity for everyone
As this is for the cover of a brochure, and is spread across the bottom of a photo, and your client wants something shorter and snappier than "Dignity for every human being" , perhaps this simple phrase is what you're looking for. Or even simpler, "Dignity for all".
+1
21 hrs
Embracing dignity
I'm assuming that this is what the company is already doing.
1 day 3 hrs
Dignity for mankind
Dignity for mankind
Note from asker:
Thanks for your answer, Jeanie. The brochure is from 2019, so "mankind" is not appropriate, since it excludes half of humankind. That's why charities and anyone who is concerned about the rights of women uses the term "humankind" thes days. |
Discussion
It never ceases to amaze me when people take actions that will clearly result in enemies for absolutely no reason. Mind-boggling.
@Ramey: If one person is rude to another, and the person who is rude points that out, and a third party then says the person to whom the rude comments were directed is taking things too personally, what is that? If you don't think his comments were meant to be personal, you didn't read the thread very carefully.
It is entirely possible (and much more effective) to remain civil while insisting on clarity of speech.
Instead, I simply chose not to answer to avoid exactly this kind of situation, which doesn't help the asker one bit.
Also, yes, I did say this is "pure speculation," which it is, in my view, so I disagree. You responded by quoting something Gordon did not, I repeat not, ask, telling me that is what Germans think of when hearing this phrase.
Thus, I was, again, stumped what I'm supposed to reply to this.
None of this is "clearly personal"--aside from the fact that I'm trying to figure out how to best respond to such inquiries, which itself is not rude.
You're trying to create a problem where non exists. I'm sure this conversation would go differently in person. That's why I said "have a good evening"--not to be rude but to say let's just agree to disagree and I hope you enjoy your evening.
The comments were clearly personal -- go back and look. I think my favorite was "I think you need to create a different tagline".
I have a thick skin. I will also tell people if they are being unnecessarily rude.
I find it odd that you are confronting *me* on this altercation.
BTW, the answer to your last question there: Civilly, perhaps? Honestly, perhaps? There is clear evidence that you are addressing me and none that you are addressing anyone else.
And if you disagree, you can just say "I disagree". No necessity to make it personal. But when you do make it personal, don't act like that's not what you have done.
Also note that the comment about human and dignity appeared in the last line of my post, preceded by "in any case." Michael: "I don't think you can take the human out of dignity." I don't agree with this(!).
Instead of asking what this has to do with your post (did you notice I didn't address you directly?), you're making assumptions that are akin to playing the victim card (this guy is rude!). How am I making this personal?
And you can't say that "misrepresenting" was a reference to that sentence because nowhere in the post in question did you mention this.
As last time, we will just have to agree to disagree. You said, and now I'll quote you: "My contention was that, since the reference is to Grundgesetz language, Grundgesetz language should be used." I don't agree. In this case, it's a matter of preposition. The reference you assume is there? Maybe others do, but I don't see it.
I posted the devp.org link, as it is a Christian org, AFAIK. Any reference to the GG is purely coincidental; the org doesn't say anything about it.
That's it. Have a good evening
My contention was that, since the reference is to Grundgesetz language, Grundgesetz language should be used.
And you're right, of course. Absolutely not other way of expressing your point of view without rudeness. Entirely justified.
DIGNITY!
As for unnecessarily rude, that's in the eye of the beholder. Gordon asked for "Würde für den Menschen"; Steffen and I responded accordingly. When I disagreed with your view, you started moving the goalposts by turning "für den" into "des" and, yes, this is something I can get aggravated about, probably because I read too much about US politics (where this kind of strategy is the norm).
Also, as we had already discussed, the photo makes clear that this is about "human" dignity; Gordon didn't say there were five women and three turtles in the picture and PETA wants to sue because the turtles aren't represented in large enough numbers.
In addition, Gordon chose the Marketing category. Human dignity--which, again, is not used exclusively by Germans, so even if it were a reference, it's irrelevant, IMO--means you're going to be drowned in links that have nothing to do with the campaign or the organization. You should make some slight alterations, so people associate your org with it.
I'll just leave it at that.
I said that the *reference* would be missed if the language of the Grundgesetz is not used, not that it will be impossible to understand "dignity".
Of course the ideas predate the contexts for which they are best known. That in no way shows that usage is not an implicit reference to those contexts.
This is the second time after the Stückelung Q that I'm getting the distinct feeling we are talking past each other or something. I gave up responding in that d-box because you claimed you weren't "talking about five smaller shipments," even though "divided up into five 100-g shipments" was part of your answer. How am I supposed to reply to this?
Amnesty International has already had a Human Dignity campaign:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/ACT35/003/2007/en/
And there used to be an A.I. campaign named Demand Dignity to stop violence against women: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnesty_International_Australi...
I think you need to create a different tagline. In any case, the assertion that dignity isn't going to be understood without human is rather odd.
Just like a reference to "the pursuit of happiness" would be an allusion to the Declaration of Independence in the U.S., no matter what the context or what the person speaking/writing otherwise generally references.
And "Human dignity" is quite a bit shorter than "Dignity for every human being".
Besides, that's not going to shorten it.
[PS] My personal favorite: Everyone deserves a little dignity. But that's really too long in this context.
A life in dignity
A chance for dignity
Deserving of dignity
Dignity and compassion (the latter to address donors)
Give them dignity (and hope)
HTH