Branchenverzeichnis

English translation: the Who's Who of (in this context)

13:30 Oct 21, 2008
German to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Media / Multimedia
German term or phrase: Branchenverzeichnis
KONTEXT: Die Liste der Kunden, die Robin Preston bisher mit Illustrationen und spektakulären Fotomontagen versorgt hat, liest sich wie ein Branchenverzeichnis der Automobilindustrie: Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin und Bentley - um nur einen Auszug daraus zu nennen. Allen Werken ist es gemein, das Automobil gekonnt in Szene zu setzen - und nicht selten in Szenen, in denen sich das Fahrzeug ursprünglich nie befunden hat.

Robin Preston is a digital artist. My text relates to a testimonial about him. In the above context, could I use the translation "who's who" for "Branchenverzeichnis"? E.g. "(The list of customers...) reads like a who's who of the automobile industry."
macrettoc
Local time: 12:44
English translation:the Who's Who of (in this context)
Explanation:
just as an example: http://www.whoswhoamongstudents.com/


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Note added at 6 mins (2008-10-21 13:37:09 GMT)
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http://whoswholeaders.com/kzoo/kalamazoo.html

sounds more important than just directory

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Note added at 10 mins (2008-10-21 13:41:23 GMT)
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Sorry - hit the "5" by mistake - was supposed to be confidence level "3"
Selected response from:

Friderike Butler
United States
Local time: 08:44
Grading comment
Many thanks, Friderike. Went with this in the end. Thanks to everyone. I really liked Paul's suggestion too, very clever, and accurate, I think, though the "Die Liste der Kunden...liest" bit meant I couldn't really use it. Had to deliver the text yesterday anyway so was too late, one way or another. Danke, all the same - much appreciated! :-)
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +5the Who's Who of (in this context)
Friderike Butler
3 +3yellow pages
Paul Merriam
3 +2trade directory
Judith den Otter
4the Fortune 500 (of the automobile industry)
Nicole Schnell
4list of the key players / big names in the industry
Paul Cohen
3honor roll [US]
Lonnie Legg


  

Answers


6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
yellow pages


Explanation:
I don't recommend "who's who" because that would be specific people. But the yellow pages (lower case, because upper case is a trademark) lists the companies. Or perhaps you'd prefer "directory".

Paul Merriam
Local time: 08:44
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Friderike Butler: agree on the person vs. company aspect
3 mins

agree  Rosa Foyle: directory or trade directory which was suggested by Judith are the most appropriate terms for this context
25 mins

agree  franglish: I'd go for 'directory of the automobile industry'
35 mins

neutral  Edith Kelly: be careful, yellow pages is not used in all countries, in Ireland, you say "Golden Pages" // I do not think this is right in the above context.
40 mins
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3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +5
the Who's Who of (in this context)


Explanation:
just as an example: http://www.whoswhoamongstudents.com/


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 mins (2008-10-21 13:37:09 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://whoswholeaders.com/kzoo/kalamazoo.html

sounds more important than just directory

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 mins (2008-10-21 13:41:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Sorry - hit the "5" by mistake - was supposed to be confidence level "3"

Friderike Butler
United States
Local time: 08:44
Native speaker of: German
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Many thanks, Friderike. Went with this in the end. Thanks to everyone. I really liked Paul's suggestion too, very clever, and accurate, I think, though the "Die Liste der Kunden...liest" bit meant I couldn't really use it. Had to deliver the text yesterday anyway so was too late, one way or another. Danke, all the same - much appreciated! :-)

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Edith Kelly: In this context, this is it.
44 mins
  -> Thanks, Edith

agree  Rebecca Garber: In this context, this is more than a directory or yellow pages, because the firms listed are the elite firms and they are distinctly not alphabetized.
46 mins
  -> Thanks, Rebecca

neutral  Lonnie Legg: Agree w. Rebecca up to one significant point: In a Who's who each entry is accompanied with a description--so doesn't really fit here..
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Lonnie

agree  StefanieGreen: i agree with who is who, my first thought was yellow pages, too, but in this context the who is who is better fitting!
7 hrs
  -> Thanks, Stefanie

agree  Emily Lemon
17 hrs
  -> Thanks, Emily

agree  Harald Moelzer (medical-translator)
21 hrs
  -> Thanks, Harald
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19 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
trade directory


Explanation:
another suggestion...

Judith den Otter
Germany
Local time: 13:44
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  hazmatgerman (X): Agree, as does apparently franglish above.
19 hrs

agree  Harald Moelzer (medical-translator)
21 hrs
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58 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
the Fortune 500 (of the automobile industry)


Explanation:
I don't like Yellow Pages in this context - that's for small and local businesses. You are writing a marketing text. You are not supposed to water it down.

Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 05:44
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Lonnie Legg: Not bad--though the large pool implied by the number 500 bothers me a bit (and it "upstages" the original...)
50 mins
  -> The numbers are fine - not sure about Aston Martin (formerly Ford), though, which was purchased by Kuwait investors last year.
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
honor roll [US]


Explanation:
(= Ehrenliste, Liste der besten) is a bit more hype-speak than the German--but trade directory is a bit dull for this context...

Lonnie Legg
Germany
Local time: 13:44
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 34
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
list of the key players / big names in the industry


Explanation:
"The names of the clients that Robin Preston has supplied with illustrations and spectacular composite photographs read like a list of the key players in the automobile industry: Audi, BMW, Mercedes..."

I'm surprised that no one has suggested this.

Most of the big names cited (Audi, BMW, Mercedes) would fit that description. However, you might want to replace "key players" with "big names" here because Aston Martin and Bentley certainly don't control a significant share of the market!


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Note added at 8 hrs (2008-10-21 22:05:08 GMT)
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On second thought, I guess "names" and "list" are problematic words for your particular context, macrettoc, because you'll probably start off the sentence with "The list of clients/customers..."

Paul Cohen
Greenland
Local time: 10:44
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 28
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