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das stille Örtchen

English translation: restroom


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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:das stille Örtchen
English translation:restroom
Entered by: jccantrell
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16:25 Jun 10, 2008
German to English translations [PRO]
Marketing - Advertising / Public Relations
German term or phrase: das stille Örtchen
Hi folks.

I looked at Kudoz and the solution there does not seem to fit with my context. It is an advertising brochure for restroom facilities in shopping centers and the like. The actual sentence reads:

Die Center-Besucher bewerten das "stille Örtchen" bei Umfragen sehr positiv.

Now, I can think of all sorts of nicknames for the restroom, but nothing that would be appropriate here (so much for all my vaunted education :(

What would an American say in such a context? I might just use "the facilities" or "the restrooms" but I thought I would sample the Proz wisdom on this.

Thanks for all your thoughts.
jccantrell
Local time: 05:07
restroom
Explanation:
If you think about it, 'restroom' has a lot in common with 'stilles Örtchen' -- both are euphemisms and both imply relief, although 'restroom' is much less coy.

Of course, there are lots of other slang terms to choose from, most of which probably don't fit your context...
Selected response from:

Ken Cox
Local time: 14:07
Grading comment
I ended up using this variation, and 'lavatory' elsewhere in the text. Powder room was too gender-specific, toilet is a word us Yanks avoid whenever we can. I am uncomfortable with 'comfort station'

Thanks to you all. Job is done and gone, but I enjoyed all the suggestions.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +6restrooms
SusieZ
3 +4restroomKen Cox
3 +2"comfort station"
Kim Metzger
4 +1the toilets
Textklick
4restroom facilities
Brigitte Keen-Matthaei
3 +1ladies' and gents' rooms
Nicole Schnell
4the facilities
Brigitte Keen-Matthaei
3powder room
Catherine Knight
3private loo (john)lmulter


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
"comfort station"


Explanation:
Maybe in parentheses the way the German term is presented.

http://www.answers.com/topic/comfort-station

Kim Metzger
Mexico
Local time: 07:07
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 86

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Brigitte Keen-Matthaei: I think this ís more in reference to portable restrooms. Might be OK with quotation marks, but for an upscale shopping center?
4 mins
  -> You "think"?
agree  evafink: agree with parentheses - I like "comfort" - perhaps also "comfort zone" or if the praise is very great "oasis of comfort"
14 mins
agree  Mark Flynn: Totally agree. Gently euphemistic, in brackets as you say, just the way to render the tone of the original. //Indeed. Me too. Read parentheses, wrote brackets while thinking quotes...
42 mins
  -> Actually, I meant to say in "quotation marks."
neutral  Textklick: Well spotted Kim, but I fancy our Leighton Buzzard Council are waxing lyrical (and seemingly unique) there, running the risk of offending elderly Japanese tourists http://www.123exp-geography.com/t/18624469122/. Not p.c.
5 hrs
  -> "The comfort station is a phrase used by the British Toilet Association to encourage a positive image for public conveniences." :-)
neutral  Andrew Swift: 'Comfort station' sounds even dafter on this side of the Atlantic than a 'rest (sic) room'. // Then JC must be asking out of pure curiosity rather than for a commercial translation project.
5 hrs
  -> But jc wants to know what "an American would say."
agree  hazmatgerman: Precisely because of mock citation; for the US rural West a similar tongue-in-cheek might be the "two holer". Regards.
15 hrs
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9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
powder room


Explanation:
Might be a possibility (but I'm afraid I'm not an AmE native-speaker!)

Catherine Knight
Germany
Local time: 14:07
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  SusieZ: Would only work for women's restrooms, though...
6 mins
  -> Thanks, Susie. Probably not the best option here, then.
neutral  Ken Cox: also OK in the US as a camp term for the men's restroom, but JCC probably doesn't want to go that far...
22 hrs
  -> Thanks, Ken :)
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12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +4
restroom


Explanation:
If you think about it, 'restroom' has a lot in common with 'stilles Örtchen' -- both are euphemisms and both imply relief, although 'restroom' is much less coy.

Of course, there are lots of other slang terms to choose from, most of which probably don't fit your context...

Ken Cox
Local time: 14:07
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 50
Grading comment
I ended up using this variation, and 'lavatory' elsewhere in the text. Powder room was too gender-specific, toilet is a word us Yanks avoid whenever we can. I am uncomfortable with 'comfort station'

Thanks to you all. Job is done and gone, but I enjoyed all the suggestions.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Kinga Elsewesi-Korcsmaros
2 hrs
agree  Susanne Rindlisbacher: True. But the shopping centers I know have at least two.
3 hrs
  -> depends -- you would never say "I went to the restrooms', and the asker posted the term in the singular.
agree  Eike Seemann DipTrans: I agree, 'restroom' is an almost literal translation of 'stilles Örtchen'
8 hrs
agree  Harald Moelzer (medical-translator)
21 hrs
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13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +6
restrooms


Explanation:
I was looking into

"the john", which might work depending on the context. But the safest bet is really restrooms. I know down here in the south, they never use "the john" although it's pretty common up north.

Found a pretty grossed out report on a location's restroom facilities for the punk rocker scene giving several other "nice" alternatives, for anyone strong enough to read it.

http://www.restroomratings.com/reviews/restroom404.htm


SusieZ
United States
Local time: 08:07
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 22

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Stephen Sadie
8 mins
agree  Petra Williams
13 mins
agree  Craig Meulen
20 mins
agree  Susanne Rindlisbacher
3 hrs
agree  VeronikaNeuhold
4 hrs
agree  Harald Moelzer (medical-translator)
21 hrs
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9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
the facilities


Explanation:
I think you have already hit the nail on the head with this one. Restroom is correct of course, but the above choice is not quite so direct and matches the German term more closely while still being appropriate for a brochure.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 56 mins (2008-06-10 17:22:25 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

True, but provided there are quotation marks (not parentheses or brackets incidentally) around the term, there is no question as to what facilities we're talking about.

Brigitte Keen-Matthaei
Local time: 04:07
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Craig Meulen: With such a general word, it would only be usable if the context made it very clear what type of facilities we are talking about.
24 mins
  -> True, but provided there are quotation marks (not parentheses or brackets incidentally) around the term, there is no question as to what facilities we're talking about.
disagree  Textklick: "there is no question as to what facilities we're talking about." Forgive me, but they are tallking about 'bathrooms' - where you go to read the Bild-Zeitung, Thomas Mann, or whatever.
5 hrs
  -> Precisely, referred to in polite company as "the facilities"
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
private loo (john)


Explanation:
Oertchen - john (Am. En.), loo (B.E.)

Still - private

lmulter
United States
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Andrew Swift: I don't think there were any American divisions at Waterloo. Unless they were on the (losing) French side, perhaps?
3 hrs
neutral  Textklick: With AJS. And these are apparently for the major benefit of the general public.
12 hrs
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
the toilets


Explanation:
"What would an American say in such a context?"

You tell me. I am a Brit.

How P.C. do we want to be? ;-)


Textklick
Local time: 13:07
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 64

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Andrew Swift: Very good, but probably too neutral a term by asker's criteria.
1 hr
neutral  Brigitte Keen-Matthaei: You guys are a lot more direct. Better not ask for "the toilets" here in the US. Would you not say "the lavatory" in Britain? (That's the washbasin here...)
1 hr
  -> OED 1967: "Loo is holding its own fairly well and most of Toilets gains have been at the expense of Lavatory.
agree  GeorginaW: choice of "toilet" or "lavatory" is a class thing in UK; but "toilets" are comprehensible to many non-English speakers
13 hrs
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
restroom facilities


Explanation:
Would this not cover all the options?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 hrs (2008-06-10 23:03:00 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

good luck JC, it's now all up to you!

Brigitte Keen-Matthaei
Local time: 04:07
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
ladies' and gents' rooms


Explanation:
Suggestion.

Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 05:07
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 84

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Andrew Swift: Hey, Madame America! Do you really have signs with LADIES and GENTS on in the USA? I would have thought that was not only British but positively Victorian. (Omit ‘rooms’ though).
14 hrs
  -> Thanks, Andrew! Ladies' / men's room is more common, though.
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