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English translation: Rock salmon without the salmon/Crab sticks without the crab
07:40 Oct 8, 2015
German to English translations [PRO] Cooking / Culinary / Newspaper Headline
German term or phrase:Seelachssalat ohne Lachs
Headline of a food-related newspaper article. Here is the part of the article that has inspired the headline:
"Was der Bauer nicht kennt, frisst er nicht, sagt der Redensart. Der große Teil der Bevölkerung hingegen, der seine Lebensmittel im Supermarkt kauft, nimmt ahnungslos eine Menge Unerwünschtes zu sich: Kalbsleberwurst etwa darf bis zu einem Anteil von vierundvierzig Prozent aus Schweinefleisch bestehen, ***Seelachssalat kommt sogar ohne Lachs aus und wird aus Pollack hergestellt***, einer günstigen Dorschart, die eingefärbt wird, um den Verbraucher im Glauben zu lassen, besten Fisch auf dem Teller zu haben."
The word "Seelachs" means, well, pollack, while "Lachs" is simply salmon. Pollack and salmon don't sound anything alike. It's impossible to make the kind of pun with them that is being made in the German. I have absolutely no clue what to do with this. TIA for any inspiration you can provide.
The German word Seelachs, literally sea salmon, is an attempt by the fishing industry to make pollack sound more fancy. It's not translatable (at least not without a lot of explanation), so if the article is for publication I would suggest replacing it with something that does work in English.
In the UK, fish and chip shops sell "rock salmon", which is not salmon but a euphemism for various species of small shark. I think this would be a good equivalent - you'd obviously have to specify "in the UK" if you're writing for an international readership.
Alternatively, you could refer to crab sticks, which are imitation crabmeat made from pulverised white fish.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 45 mins (2015-10-08 08:26:38 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Another alternative is to forget the reference to "salat", which just complicates things, and say "In Germany Seelachs, which means sea salmon, is not salmon but the rather less glamorous pollack".
In the end, I opted for "crab sticks without the crab" and completely rewrote the sentence that contained the "Seelachs/Lachs" references. That appears to have been accepted by the client - or at least, I haven't heard any complaints about it. Although the "rock salmon" reference might have been closer to the original text, I decided that it was maybe too specifically British, and that "crab sticks" was the safer and more international option, as Lonnie said. So many thanks for your help with translating this very "fishy" piece of writing! Much appreciated. 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
Lachsersatz ist ein kalt geräuchertes Fischprodukt aus Köhler (Handelsname „Seelachs“) oder Pazifischem Pollack (Handelsname „Alaska-Seelachs“), das durch Färbung ein an Lachs erinnerndes Aussehen hat.
Zur Herstellung von Lachsersatz werden die Fische zunächst filetiert, entgrätet und mit Salz gebeizt. Anschließend werden die Filets in dünne Scheiben geschnitten, mit Gelborange S und Cochenillerot A rotorange gefärbt, kalt geräuchert oder mit Raucharoma versehen und schließlich in Pflanzenöl und Branntweinessig eingelegt.
In den Handel kommt Lachsersatz z. B. als „Seelachs-Filetblockscheiben“ oder „Seelachsscheiben in Pflanzenöl“. Bei der Herstellung anfallende kleinere Stücke werden auf gleiche Weise zubereitet als „Seelachsschnitzel“ angeboten.
Ramey Rieger (X)
Germany
Thanks!
11:07 Oct 8, 2015
So the "rock salmon without salmon" would work, if the tone is less casual, but you have the article. Should it be a teaser or a straight translation? Rock salmon sans salmon
no, it's not even a headline with something resembling a pun, it's right in the middle of a sentence... Of course it's supposed to be humorous or satirical, but in my view fails completely in German. But let's get back to the linguistic and cultural side: "salmon" and "rock salmon" would work, but nobody outside of Germany can imagine those jars of artificially coloured bright-orange, seriously salty bits of fish in cheap oil that have nothing to do with the idea of "salmon"!
I think that this is wry humour based on two similar-sounding words having different meanings - i.e. by definition a pun. German humour is no joke etc.
Die habe ich schon hier mehrmals versucht zu vertreten. Deswegen meine letzte (englischsprachige) Idee, dass der Autor eventuell schon ein paar Jahre auf dem Buckel haben könnte und in Kategorien denkt und schreibt, die der heutigen Zeit nicht mehr so ganz entsprechen... Was auch mein Bild der FAZ generell nicht so schlecht wieder gibt....
also, Dorothy hat vollkommen recht gehabt: Da hat einer einfach ein falsches Bild gewählt; dass Seelachs nichts mit Lachs zu tun hat, weiß, glaube ich, hierzulande jeder und das auch schon seit langer Zeit - immerhin gab es ja auch in jeder Wirtschaft früher russische Eier und deren Bestandteil war Seelachs und "deutscher Kaviar" - übrigens bin ich FAZ-Leserin, da passiert so etwas eigentlich nicht so häufig ...
that won't keep the food industry from using the same cheaper fish that was used for classic German "Lachsersatz" (or some other fish which is even cheaper nowadays), coloured pink and smothered in artificial aromas, in their lovely products... I do have a feeling that the author of the article may have lived for a few years and is not completely up to date with the current food industry market...
as far as I can tell, the food industry is actually changing -- in the past it was perfectly ok to fool people into believing that those German jars or tins of bright-pink and artificially coloured "Lachs" (which as far as I know on the labels in small print was always indicated as "Lachsersatz"!!!), but they are increasingly unpopular, and sit on German store shelves in old-fashioned style, only older people still buy them in memory of the tastes of their past.
Is that crap still to be found on German supermarket shelves since my bloody childhood? That bright pink stuff that is just as genuine as "Deutscher Kaviar" which comes from some sea slug??
I've asked a couple of Germans what they think of "Seelachssalat ohne Lachs". My husband laughed and said it's like saying "Kartoffelsalat ohne Nudeln" and my colleague, who works in the food industry and write recipes, was quite banjaxed and said it doesn't make any sense. She also said that most Germans would know that 'Seelachs' has nothing to do with 'Lachs' and that the author of the article is seriously wrong!
Have you ever managed to find a goooood recipe for Touille sauce, because I do find a nice fat rat occasionally, but mostly I feel sorry for them and adopt them, but if Touille sauce is really delicious, I might try...
Ramey Rieger (X)
Germany
the general idea
08:21 Oct 8, 2015
is that people just don't know what they're eating, and with convenience foods VERY high on the shopping list, they are literally losing their sense of discernment, as additives, colors and mass-produced seasonings kill taste buds. BUT there is an army out there eating more and more organics (even though EU-Bio standards are much lower than demeter, Bioland, etc.), so watch out food industry, we ARE getting smarter, too!
Ramey Rieger (X)
Germany
hotdog sans dog
08:15 Oct 8, 2015
It's not SO uncommon, as you might think, ribeye steak without the eye, although seelachs really is a chimera. Taking the fish out of fishsticks/fishing for fish in fishsticks
Maybe Germans don't actually realise that 'Seelachs' is not salmon! When I see 'Seelachs' I know 'pollack' and I don't expect salmon, but that's only because I'm a culinary translator...
I think whoever wrote the original article really doesn't know their stuff! Saying "Seelachssalat ohne Lachs" is like saying "Ratatouille ohne Ratten" - the one has nothing to do with the other! I'm feeling quite angry on your behalf, Rowan! Even the Wikipedia article on Seelachs (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Köhler_(Fisch)) calls the word 'irreführend' and says it's only used to because it appeals more to consumers!
You might have to do a huge roundabout description saying something like "In Germany, you can buy 'Seelachssalat', a salmon-pink fish spread [or other description] that literally translates as 'sea salmon salad'. However, the fish used in this product is simply pollack ...."
I'd almost be tempted to leave it out entirely, but that might not wash with the client... =/
Good luck! I feel for you!
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
7 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +1
Food without/foregoes thought
Explanation: Yes, the pun is hard to capture, but there are some fantastic people out there, so let's get things started...
Eat 'em and weep The secret ingredient
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 12 mins (2015-10-08 07:52:54 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
What are you eating? Chickenfishlettuce (hihi) Meatless meat, fishless fish
Ramey Rieger (X) Germany Local time: 22:20 Meets criteria Works in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 23
Explanation: Ok, (according to me) this is a matter of playing about with words, and also with a lot of explanations.
So: "Seelachssalat (direct translation: "Sea Salmon Salad"), i.e intending to indicate to the consumer that there is some actual salmon contained in the "salad") in fact contains no salmon at all but is made from...
Take it as you like it...
beermatt Local time: 22:20 Meets criteria Works in field Native speaker of: German, English PRO pts in category: 4
Rock salmon without the salmon/Crab sticks without the crab
Explanation: The headline is not a pun.
The German word Seelachs, literally sea salmon, is an attempt by the fishing industry to make pollack sound more fancy. It's not translatable (at least not without a lot of explanation), so if the article is for publication I would suggest replacing it with something that does work in English.
In the UK, fish and chip shops sell "rock salmon", which is not salmon but a euphemism for various species of small shark. I think this would be a good equivalent - you'd obviously have to specify "in the UK" if you're writing for an international readership.
Alternatively, you could refer to crab sticks, which are imitation crabmeat made from pulverised white fish.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 45 mins (2015-10-08 08:26:38 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Another alternative is to forget the reference to "salat", which just complicates things, and say "In Germany Seelachs, which means sea salmon, is not salmon but the rather less glamorous pollack".
philgoddard United States Meets criteria Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 12
Grading comment
In the end, I opted for "crab sticks without the crab" and completely rewrote the sentence that contained the "Seelachs/Lachs" references. That appears to have been accepted by the client - or at least, I haven't heard any complaints about it. Although the "rock salmon" reference might have been closer to the original text, I decided that it was maybe too specifically British, and that "crab sticks" was the safer and more international option, as Lonnie said. So many thanks for your help with translating this very "fishy" piece of writing! Much appreciated.
peer agreement (net): +1
