Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Italian term or phrase:
ne restano solo 50
English translation:
Only 50 left
Italian term
United Kingdom
Creative experienced journalist/editor
Native in: English (Variants: British, US) 
Works in: Italian to English, Spanish to English
Ne restano solo 50
I'm doing some pro bono work for an Italian bear conversation charity's website which involves improving on their existing English version.
I'm having a block when it comes to finding the best translation of the short sentence 'Ne restano solo 50.' which appears as text superimposed on an image of a bear. I've attached the Italian and existing English versions to show what I mean.
The full relevant Italian text is:
Ne restano solo 50.
Sulle montagne dell'Appennino centrale sopravvivono gli ultimi esemplari di orso marsicano, una specie unica al mondo.
My best translation so far is:
Just 50 remain alive.
The only surviving members of the unique Marsican brown bear species live in the central Apennine mountains.
Maybe I have got too close to it, but I just don't like 'Just 50 remain alive'. Help please!
Oct 14, 2020 12:31: Rachel Fell changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"
Oct 15, 2020 15:26: Lisa Jane Created KOG entry
Non-PRO (3): Tom in London, Barbara Carrara, Rachel Fell
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Proposed translations
Only 50 left
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Note added at 24 mins (2020-10-14 12:34:35 GMT)
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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20072020/polar-bears-sea-...
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Note added at 26 mins (2020-10-14 12:36:51 GMT)
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https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mam...
Grizzly bears are federally listed as threatened. They were excessively overhunted by humans, and now there are less than 1,500 grizzlies left in the United States south of Canada;
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Note added at 6 hrs (2020-10-14 19:00:34 GMT)
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Both are possible, with or without the verb. However, often in this sort of 'headline' it is normal to leave the verb out to make it more striking/eye-catching or dramatic and this is typical particularly common in captions. it's up to you!
| Thanks Lisa Jane and everybody else. What do you think of 'Only 50 are left', as writeaway suggested? I like it better than 'Only 50 left' because the shorter phrase sounds a bit too much like something you would see in a shopping context ('Only 50 left, get yours before they run out!') and I think that was what was bothering me about the existing translation. 'Only 50 are left' also feels to the original Italian phrase because it includes a verb. |
| Doh, I missed out 'closer' in my last sentence - 'feels closer to the original'. |
Austria
Cristina Bufi Poecksteiner, M.A.
BDÜ Law Marketing Med Techn - since 1990
Native in: Italian
Works in: German to Italian, English to Italian, French to Italian, and 11 more.
only 50 are still alive
Italy
Just what the doctor ordered
Native in: English (Variant: UK)
Works in: Italian to English
Only 50 remain in the wild
http://www.saveourwaterwaysnow.com.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=...
"In Bhutan alone, the last tiger surveys revealed a tiger population of 103 individuals. Overall, at least (but only) 3,900 tigers remain in the wild, and much more work is needed to protect this species that’s still vulnerable to extinction."
https://www.endangeredspeciesinternational.org/news_nov16.ht...
Italy
le plaisir de trouver le mot juste
Native in: French
Works in: Italian to French, English to French, French to Italian
Only 50 left alive
Egypt
Italian- Arabic- English Translator
Native in: Arabic 
Works in: Italian to Arabic, English to Arabic, Arabic to Italian, and 3 more.
only 50 are sill alive
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Note added at 19 mins (2020-10-14 12:29:18 GMT)
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sorry, still not sill.
| neutral |
Cristina Bufi Poecksteiner, M.A.
: only 50 are sill alive > only 50 are still alive ( still with "t" )
4 mins
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Thanks
|
United States
Accuracy and reliability
Native in: English (Variant: US)
Works in: Italian to English, English to Italian
Only 50 are left of them
"Delle 2 mele ne mangiai una".... "I ate one of the two apples"
| agree |
Barbara Cochran, MFA
: Only 50 of them are left.
55 mins
|
| neutral |
philgoddard
: "Of them" is redundant.
2 hrs
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It may sound redundant, but "ne" is the keyword and it means "of them". In Italian, "ne" is a pronominal particle and is used with quantities to mean "about it, of them", etc. Also see Collins Dictionary, Italian Encounter Press, ThoughtCo.com
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