My ‘feel-good’
guide to translating Wohlfühl-
The prefix Wohlfühl- is, not surprisingly, much used in marketing
texts to convey an object or an experience which will somehow enhance our
existence, warm our cockles, make us feel good, happy, generally well. Occasionally
‘feel-good’ works as a translation,
as with (of course) Wohlfühl-Faktor, Wohlfühl-Botenstoffe
(those ‘happy-making’ neurotransmitter thingies activated by sniffing lavender,
scoffing chocolate etc.) and, if you like that sort of thing, Wohlfühl-Songs - presumably anything by Chris
de Burgh! Actually, these days you are just as likely to come across the
English version in a German sentence as its native counterpart. For countless
examples of ‘Feelgood’ products - everything from surfboards, and hair mousse to
(weirdly) drinks beakers - take a look at this site: http://www.shopwahl.de/a/produktliste/idx/0/mot/Feelgood/produktliste.htm
So it seems that
adding Wohlfühl- to any random product
will convince us that we are investing in something out of the ordinary, something
bound to get those serotonin levels climbing. I spent a fun ten minutes surfing
the web for items promising to bring me a level of comfort and
joy I’d hitherto not experienced! The first page revealed a Wohlfühl-Decke for the bed (presumably not
prison-grade wool but something altogether more soft and snuggly!), and any
number of now heavily discounted Wohlfühl-Sets
(yes, we know it’s just bath crème, and body lotion done up in a fancy box…
but it’s the pamper factor we’re being sold, right?). I even came across the
delightful Wohlfühl-Schwitzen in a
sauna advert. Presumably a translator faced with this would have to ditch any
reference to sweat in favour of something rather more understated (something with
‘gently cleansing effect…’ maybe?)
So, how should we
to translate the ubiquitous Wohlfühl- when
we come across it in tourism texts? And it is everywhere, featuring in pretty
much every hotel website I’ve ever translated, with a particularly lavish
peppering on the Wellness page!! The
answer of course is to have a healthy stash of ‘feel-good’ words up your
sleeve: comfort, home from home, ambience, relaxation, happiness, well-being,
pleasure, treat, pampering... the list goes on! Here are some examples taken from
recent translations and how I dealt with them:
·
in unserem Hotelbereich legen wir größten Wert
darauf, dass Sie sich wohlfühlen = We at the**** Hotel attach great importance to your comfort and well-being Or
maybe: We want our guests to really enjoy
their stay here at the *** Hotel….
·
wir sorgen für einen schönen "Wohlfühl"-
Aufenthalt in Bad **** = We
work hard to make your "wellness"
break in Bad Salzuflen a pleasant and memorable experience.
·
dass sich unsere Gäste wohlfühlen, liegt uns am
Herzen = We aim/work hard
to provide everything our guests could need during their stay
·
eine angenehme
Atmosphäre zum Wohlfühlen = a pleasant, relaxing
ambience
·
Wohlfühl-Ambiente = a comfortable home from home
·
Wohlfühl-Komfort = superior comfort
·
eine komfortable
2-Zimmer Wohlfühl-Ferienwohnung = a pleasant 2-room apartment with all home comforts
·
Wohlfühl-Lounge = attractive, comfortable
lounge (where presumably you can sit sipping your Wohlfühl-Drinks (yes, they exist! See: http://www.harrys.co.at/artikel_detail.php?artid=18 )
·
Wohlfühl-Wochenenden
= relaxing/indulgent weekend
breaks
·
Wohlfühl-Paket = pamper package
·
Wohlfühl-und Quellnessleistungen = (full range of) beauty, health and spa treatments
·
Wohlfühl-Oase = oasis of well-being (I know,
it’s awful, but it’s what they wanted!!)
Anyway that’s
enough for today. I’m off back to my Wohlfühlarbeitsplatz
– you know the kind of thing… scatter cushions, low lighting. I jest, of
course. I’d never get anything done that way! If you want to create one for
yourself however, there’s help out there: http://www.srf.ch/sendungen/ratgeber/so-gestalten-sie-den-wohlfuehl-arbeitsplatz
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