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qualitative Grundprinzipien
Aperozeit

Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

Studentenfutter

English translation:

Brain food

Added to glossary by PoveyTrans (X)
Mar 9, 2007 14:53
17 yrs ago
1 viewer *
German term

Futter

German to English Marketing Marketing / Market Research
This is an internal document for a German bank. It discusses a new account package aimed at students. It uses the term Studentenfutter. Note sure genau, was dabei gemeint ist.

Danke i.v.

Simon

Der ganze Text...


Diese besteht aus einem Studienkredit, einem Versicherungspaket und einer Kreditkarte, jeweils zu besonderen Bedingungen sowie Studentenfutter.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +1 Student food
4 +2 Trail mix
3 +2 goodies for students
3 +1 (a bag of) brain food
3 -1 trail snacks / trail food
1 +1 specially tailored to student needs

Discussion

PoveyTrans (X) (asker) Mar 12, 2007:
Thanks everyone for all your comments and ideas on this. It turned out that brain food was the preferred option by the client. So the points must go to David. Thanks again. Simon
Francis Lee (X) Mar 12, 2007:
What do you mean when you say LittleBalu is right, Simon? That more info from the customer is required?
Nicole Schnell Mar 10, 2007:
I like Francis' suggestion a lot. However, Jonathan seems to be on the right track, please see: http://www.dogewo21.de/default.aspx/G/111327/L/1031/R/-1/A/1...
Johanna Timm, PhD Mar 9, 2007:
hehe ...meine vielen Kinder finden das leider überhaupt nicht :-(
PoveyTrans (X) (asker) Mar 9, 2007:
Tja, Johanna, du kommst immer auf die besten Ideen!
Johanna Timm, PhD Mar 9, 2007:
What if the copy should actually read"..., so wie Studentenfutter" {=just like"}, not: {sowie= and}, and the editor just goofed...?
PoveyTrans (X) (asker) Mar 9, 2007:
UEbrigens... This is not an AD but an internal newsletter within the bank in question.
PoveyTrans (X) (asker) Mar 9, 2007:
Note Thanks for all the suggestions and notes. LittleBalu is right.
Craig Meulen Mar 9, 2007:
and if you want it visual, to see that it really is trail mix, here's another bank using the image (on page 20)
http://www.spare-cent.de/html/pdf/hh_spardaaktuell_0606.pdf
Craig Meulen Mar 9, 2007:
They might mean it as a joke, like in this link:
http://www.sparkasse-lengerich.de/0a76a7c3b2749565/index.htm
Alan Johnson Mar 9, 2007:
Agree with LittleBalu here - you need to know what the client actually means.
Ulrike Kraemer Mar 9, 2007:
... ask the client (which is the safest thing to do anyway).
Ulrike Kraemer Mar 9, 2007:
There's no way of getting this right without knowing what they mean with "Studentenfutter". Is it a bag of nuts and raisins (because that's what Studentenfutter is) or is it some other kind of incentive included in the account package? If in doubt, ...
Jonathan MacKerron Mar 9, 2007:
perhaps the Futter here refers to money for students??

Proposed translations

+1
2 mins
Selected

Student food

-

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 mins (2007-03-09 14:57:49 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

You may want to use “brain food” to avoid the culture-specific connotation (You find „Studentenfutter“ on snack shelves in every supermarket in Austria)
Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_food

Peer comment(s):
neutral Alan Johnson : I would certainly go for brain food and avoid student food/Sorry, David, because I also heartily disagree with your initial suggestion I have decided to change to neutral to reflect this properly. I still think brain food is OK.
4 mins
neutral Francis Lee (X) : A super-quick response and explanation ("-") as ever there, David - and that addition of "brain food" saved you from a Disagree. Your Wiki ref. is of little use because "student food" simply isn't a viable term ;-)
12 mins
agree Erik Freitag : Yes, other terms seem to be used, too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_mix But this seems to fit well because it includes "student".
15 mins
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Danke"
+2
3 mins

goodies for students

I think Studentenfutter is not known in the English-speaking world, so you must use a workarounf
Peer comment(s):
agree Alan Johnson : I think this may be an option. Depends what the Studentenfutter in the bank ad is really referring to.
4 mins
thanks alan, I think it is the fruity, nutty mixture
agree Ines R. : yes!
2 hrs
thanks, nice to have an agree on an answer which shows a little fantasy
Something went wrong...
-1
5 mins

trail snacks / trail food

I know this term in relation to trail snacks (the bags you can get with mixed nuts and raisins). But here I'm just guessing that they may throw in a bag of the snack food.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Alan Johnson : Given the context I don't think there is any way this will fit.
48 mins
Something went wrong...
+2
8 mins

Trail mix

Well, this mix consists of nuts and raisins and is termed Studentenfutter, because these ingredients are good for the brain.

You can also say "nuts and raisins", but I know it as trail mix.

So the intended pun does not work in English.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 36 Min. (2007-03-09 15:29:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I also agree with Jonathan on one hand, but can imagine on the other that the ad agency who thought that up might have found it funny to make Studentenfutter part of the package.
Reference:

http://odge.de/deutsch-englisch/Studentenfutter+%7Bn%7D.html

Peer comment(s):
agree Jalapeno : I also know this as trail mix. I'm assuming that the bank actually gives the students a bag of trail mix as a marketing gag.//Of course, the pun is lost with this translation ...
10 mins
Thanks Jalapeno, one of those terms "lost in translation". ;-)
agree Stefanie Egenhofer : I know this as trail mix too.
21 mins
Thanks!
disagree Alan Johnson : Given the context I don't think there is any way this will fit.
45 mins
Well, Alan, Simon will decide what fits the bill, then.
agree Jeanette Phillips : Yes, one of the terms for it is trail mix. nuts, dried fruit etc. That's Studentenfutter. It's cheap and doesn't require cooking.
2 days 19 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
1 hr

specially tailored to student needs

is perhaps what is being implied here
Peer comment(s):
agree Nicole Schnell : Yep. If there only was a nice wordplay. Could you eat some Studentenfutter quickly and come up with a brilliant one? :-))
10 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
8 mins
German term (edited): Studentenfutter

(a bag of) brain food

In Germany this is assorted nuts and raisins etc.

In the UK, the commercial equivalent would be something spicier like Bombay mix, but in your context perhaps "brain food" would be applicable. You can alsways put an explanation in parentheses ...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 mins (2007-03-09 15:03:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://www.walledlakecentral.com/files/brain food.doc

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 mins (2007-03-09 15:09:48 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Jonathan raises a good point, there. Giving them a bag of nuts would be a joke at best - perhaps they mean "pocket money"?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days22 hrs (2007-03-12 13:24:03 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Hmmm ... maybe in future I should also employ the "fastest is best" method of simply typing a "-" instead of taking the time to voice an actual opinion ...
;-)
Note from asker:
These types of questions are most difficult to grade because they raise so many interesting questions. In the end, I had to chose based on the quickest answer and the one closest to the client's preferred option. But that doesn't necessarily reflect on the content of the other answers, it was just that David got in first with Brain Food. Thanks again. Simon
Peer comment(s):
agree Alan Johnson : Yes, I think brain food is probably the best option.
1 min
agree Catherine Winzer : seems to be best solution to convey both meaning and play on words
6 hrs
disagree Jeanette Phillips : Fish is "brain food" in British English
2 days 19 hrs
That's an outdated opinion, I'm afraid. My link above makes no mention of fish ...
Something went wrong...
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