Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
EL PORQUÉ ME ACOJO A LA LEY DE VÍCTIMAS: Historia de una vida
English translation:
IN PURSUIT OF COLOMBIAN JUSTICE: A Victim's Account
Added to glossary by
James A. Walsh
Oct 27, 2013 23:15
10 yrs ago
10 viewers *
Spanish term
Spain
A cut above the rest in translation...
Native in: English (Variants: US, UK, Irish) 
, Spanish (Variants: Standard-Spain, Latin American)
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 2 more.
EL PORQUÉ ME ACOJO A LA LEY DE VÍCTIMAS
Spanish to English
Social Sciences
Government / Politics
Book Title
Hi all,
This is the title of a book I’m translating. There’s no other native English speakers involved in the project, so I’m having difficulties deciding on the English title.
The book is a Civil Engineer’s memoirs of 60 years of life in Colombia—40 of which he spent working on government contracts (civil engineering works). It details the constant persecution and kidnap attempts he endured from guerrillas, paramilitaries, and, indeed, the Colombian government (implicitly) during these works, and the many horrors he experienced from his early childhood there. He was eventually forced to seek political exile in the US., where he is writing this book from in 2013.
Bearing in mind I have design restrictions, in that the layout of the original title is as follows:
“EL PORQUÉ ME
ACOJO A LA LEY
DE VICTIMAS”
(which is perfectly squared-up as the title, but the emphasis is on “DE VÍCTIMAS” (the biggest font size), if that makes sense)
The ideas I’m currently toying with are:
“WHY THE
VICTIMS’ LAW
APPLES TO ME”
_________________
“HERE’S WHY THE
VICTIMS’ LAW
APPLIES TO ME”
_________________
“I’LL TELL YOU WHY
THE VICTIMS’ LAW
APPLIES TO ME”
_________________
“1,001 REASONS WHY
THE VICTIMS’ LAW
APPLIES TO ME”
(just a quirky alternative I thought I’d throw out there!)
I’d love to hear your suggestions.
Many thanks in advance.
This is the title of a book I’m translating. There’s no other native English speakers involved in the project, so I’m having difficulties deciding on the English title.
The book is a Civil Engineer’s memoirs of 60 years of life in Colombia—40 of which he spent working on government contracts (civil engineering works). It details the constant persecution and kidnap attempts he endured from guerrillas, paramilitaries, and, indeed, the Colombian government (implicitly) during these works, and the many horrors he experienced from his early childhood there. He was eventually forced to seek political exile in the US., where he is writing this book from in 2013.
Bearing in mind I have design restrictions, in that the layout of the original title is as follows:
“EL PORQUÉ ME
ACOJO A LA LEY
DE VICTIMAS”
(which is perfectly squared-up as the title, but the emphasis is on “DE VÍCTIMAS” (the biggest font size), if that makes sense)
The ideas I’m currently toying with are:
“WHY THE
VICTIMS’ LAW
APPLES TO ME”
_________________
“HERE’S WHY THE
VICTIMS’ LAW
APPLIES TO ME”
_________________
“I’LL TELL YOU WHY
THE VICTIMS’ LAW
APPLIES TO ME”
_________________
“1,001 REASONS WHY
THE VICTIMS’ LAW
APPLIES TO ME”
(just a quirky alternative I thought I’d throw out there!)
I’d love to hear your suggestions.
Many thanks in advance.
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
Nov 5, 2013 21:36: James A. Walsh changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/141521">James A. Walsh's</a> old entry - "EL PORQUÉ ME ACOJO A LA LEY DE VÍCTIMAS: Historia de una vida"" to ""IN PURSUIT OF COLOMBIAN JUSTICE: A Victim\'s Account""
Proposed translations
10 hrs
Selected
In pursuit of Colombian Justice
And perhaps then adding "A victim's account", if you feel you really must include VICTIM. It's fine, but somehow the word victim doesn't quite do the same as víctima in Spanish...
A direct translation definitely won't help at all. My suggestion is an attempt to find an alternative which mentions the important aspects here:
-Colombia
-The law, and the fact that the author is part of it
-The fact that the writer is a victim
I also vaguely thought something along the lines of
"A Victim Entwined in Colombia"
Good luck!
A direct translation definitely won't help at all. My suggestion is an attempt to find an alternative which mentions the important aspects here:
-Colombia
-The law, and the fact that the author is part of it
-The fact that the writer is a victim
I also vaguely thought something along the lines of
"A Victim Entwined in Colombia"
Good luck!
Note from asker:
| Thanks very much, Rachael. I really like "In Pursuit of Colombian Justice: A Victim's Account", it has a great ring to it, I think, and I particularly like the "in pursuit of" bit. Cheers! |
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks again, Rachael. After much discussion, the author is going with "In Pursuit of Colombian Justice: A Victim's Account". I didn't mention in my original post that the title actually has the sub-title "Historia de una vida", so this solution worked best all round. Thanks to everyone else for your invaluable help, too :)"
2 hrs
Tim Friese
United States
United States
Native in English
Specializes in field
United States
Ar, Es, Pt, Fr, He > En
Native in: English 
Works in: Arabic to English, Portuguese to English, Spanish to English, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
I too | deserve the | victims' law
I like starting the title with "I too" - it's strong and instantly gets the idea that other people get this and his claim is that he should get it too.
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Note added at 2 hrs (2013-10-28 01:26:51 GMT)
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As I see it, putting 'victims' law' in the title is itself a tricky issue; having that phrase there could well drive away readers who aren't familiar with the law.
If you don't want to mention the law, you could use "I too | was a | victim" with victim in the last line in large type.
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Note added at 2 hrs (2013-10-28 01:26:51 GMT)
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As I see it, putting 'victims' law' in the title is itself a tricky issue; having that phrase there could well drive away readers who aren't familiar with the law.
If you don't want to mention the law, you could use "I too | was a | victim" with victim in the last line in large type.
Note from asker:
| Thanks, Tim. I like "I too", nice food for thought. |
+1
9 hrs
The Colombian experience A victim's claim
The Colombian Experience
A Victim's Claim
I think a reference to Colombia is needed to set the scene for a prospective reader. We've all heard/read of the atrocities of the different factions there.
A Victim's Claim
I think a reference to Colombia is needed to set the scene for a prospective reader. We've all heard/read of the atrocities of the different factions there.
Note from asker:
| Thanks, Franglish. I like your idea about the reference to Colombia, makes sense. |
12 hrs
Phoenix III
United States
United States
Native in Spanish
&
English
United States
True words...
Native in: English (Variant: US) , Spanish (Variant: Latin American)
Works in: Spanish to English, Spanish, English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
I witnessed. A personal account of 60 years amidst the Colombian conflict.
I know that you want "victim" there but that's the reader's choice.
The title could also be: EYE witness. The Olive Branch (a play on words since the government and the most violent guerrilla group are holding "peace" talks in Cuba of all places)
The title could also be: EYE witness. The Olive Branch (a play on words since the government and the most violent guerrilla group are holding "peace" talks in Cuba of all places)
Note from asker:
| Thanks a lot, Phoenix :) |
15 hrs
Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Works in field
United Kingdom
poetically precise prose with... panache
Native in: English
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
84
ROUGH JUSTICE IN COLOMBIA
or RIGHTING THE WRONGS IN COLOMBIA
Neither of these specifically mentions victims, although this is clearly implied in both "rough justice" and "righting the wrongs"
If you'd prefer to make it clear that this is written by an actual victim, you could use something like
"COLOMBIAN CORRUPTION: A VICTIM STRIKES BACK"
or
"VICTIM TURNS THE TABLES ON COLOMBIAN CORRUPTION"
or
"A VICTIM'S RESPONSE TO COLOMBIAN CORRUPTION"
---
or even "COLOMBIAN CORRUPTION AND THE WORM THAT TURNED" - OK, this is just one I couldn't resist throwing in for fun - please ignore!
---
Neither of these specifically mentions victims, although this is clearly implied in both "rough justice" and "righting the wrongs"
If you'd prefer to make it clear that this is written by an actual victim, you could use something like
"COLOMBIAN CORRUPTION: A VICTIM STRIKES BACK"
or
"VICTIM TURNS THE TABLES ON COLOMBIAN CORRUPTION"
or
"A VICTIM'S RESPONSE TO COLOMBIAN CORRUPTION"
---
or even "COLOMBIAN CORRUPTION AND THE WORM THAT TURNED" - OK, this is just one I couldn't resist throwing in for fun - please ignore!
---
Note from asker:
| Many thanks, Carol. Some excellent suggestion here - much appreciated! :) |
+3
1 hr
Through the Eyes of a Victim / The Voice of the Dispossessed
Sound advice from others; to get the right title you really need to read the book. But since you've invited a bit of brainstorming, here are a couple of ideas.
I tend to agree that keeping a direct reference to the Victims' Law is not going to come across to a general reader. On the other hand, maybe you or the publisher would like to keep the word "victim" and emphasise it by putting it at the end. That's the thinking behind my first suggestion.
Then again, as Muriel points out, the Victim's Law is at least partly about restitution to those dispossessed of their land through the conflict, and this guy has been driven into exile, so "dispossessed" or "dispossession" might be something you could bring in.
I get the feeling that the point of the title is not that the book is in any direct way about the Victim's Law, but simply saying that he is the kind of person who has a good claim under that law. Maybe victimhood is the concept to stress. The law is not only about restitution of land, it's more generally about compensation for human rights abuses.
Anyway, one thing may lead to another, and perhaps one of these ideas may suggest something else to you.
By the way, I also thought of "Caught in the Crossfire", but I feel it's a bit too obvious and there are already a lot of books called that.
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Note added at 9 days (2013-11-06 01:20:32 GMT) Post-grading
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No problem, James. I'm glad you got what you needed. That's what we're here for!
I tend to agree that keeping a direct reference to the Victims' Law is not going to come across to a general reader. On the other hand, maybe you or the publisher would like to keep the word "victim" and emphasise it by putting it at the end. That's the thinking behind my first suggestion.
Then again, as Muriel points out, the Victim's Law is at least partly about restitution to those dispossessed of their land through the conflict, and this guy has been driven into exile, so "dispossessed" or "dispossession" might be something you could bring in.
I get the feeling that the point of the title is not that the book is in any direct way about the Victim's Law, but simply saying that he is the kind of person who has a good claim under that law. Maybe victimhood is the concept to stress. The law is not only about restitution of land, it's more generally about compensation for human rights abuses.
Anyway, one thing may lead to another, and perhaps one of these ideas may suggest something else to you.
By the way, I also thought of "Caught in the Crossfire", but I feel it's a bit too obvious and there are already a lot of books called that.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 days (2013-11-06 01:20:32 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
No problem, James. I'm glad you got what you needed. That's what we're here for!
Note from asker:
| Two nice options there, Charles. Thanks very much. See my discussion entry about what this guy has been a victim of, and the part of the book that covers the "Victims' Law". Really don't see how I can avoid the word... |
| Charles, as much as I loved "The Voice of the Dispossessed", I was faced with the dubious task of ultimately choosing the final title. So with weighty influences coming from the authors agent (an English speaker - finally!) I went with Rachael's option. And they love it, so HEY! :D |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
neilmac
: "Voice of the Dispossessed" has an august ring and avoids the use of "victim", which I'd try to minimise.
7 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Neil :) I have doubts about "victim" too.
|
|
| agree |
Evans (X)
: Nice suggestions for titles. I think avoiding the use of "me" or "I" in the title is a better option too.
8 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Gilla!
|
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| agree |
teju
: I like both options. Agree with Gilla about avoiding the use of the first person here.
12 hrs
|
|
Thanks, teju! Saludos :)
|
Discussion
Thanks for al your input, really appreciate it. I just thought I'd mention that this guy has been a victim of dispossession on two occassions (and I'm talking substantial properties—one a large coffee planatation, the other a large cattle ranch), no end of extortion, 3 kidnapping attempts, his brother/business partner was shot at close range 3 times (but survived), one of his sons was murdered, many of his employees were killed, he was conned out of close to US$1m by corrupt politicians, and then there are all the other horrors he withnessed, such as finding a family of 8 hanging from mango trees when he arrived at his work site one morning. It really is horrific stuff, and I feel the "victim" has to stay in there, as he really has been a victim.
The book is broken down into 3 parts (26 chapters):
Part 1 covers Colombia's bloody history.
Part 2, his personal experiences,
And part 3, his proposals for reforming the legal and justice system in Colombia, in which he makes many references to this "Victims' Law" and how it will not be effective in reversing the dispossessions and paying compensation to victims unless certain additional reforms are implemented.
Also, I don't think you should choose the title based on the number of characters. It's the cover designer's job to make it fit. And there's no hurry to give it a title: you should probably leave it till last, when something obvious may suggest itself.
From the perspective of communication theory, your most important concept should come last, so I'd avoid 'victims' law' - 'victim' is your point, not 'law'. The same for 'applies to me' - it's weak, has no punch.
Maybe something like To Hell and Back.