Glossary entry

Italian term or phrase:

7 regali capitali

English translation:

7 cardinal perks // 7 cardinal offerings

Added to glossary by Therese Marshall
Jun 20, 2014 05:41
9 yrs ago
Italian term

7 regali capitali

Italian to English Marketing Tourism & Travel copywriting for a hotel website
Tra sogno e realtà: il modo più comodo di vivere e visitare Vicenza
Scopri i tuoi 7 regali capitali
Prenotare dal sito è facile, veloce e ti assicura ben 7 regali!
• Miglior prezzo garantito (almeno il 5% in meno rispetto a qualsiasi altra tariffa)
• Internet Wi Fi gratuito
• Parcheggio privato gratuito
• Welcome drink di benvenuto
• Room service free
• Late check out ore 13
Per l’intero soggiorno 2 bottiglie d’acqua gratuite nel minibar


As you can see, this is a "play on words" relating to the 7 deadly sins "sette peccati capitali" - obviously in this context I can't use "deadly" but I'm not all that keen on "7 capital gifts" either...
Change log

Jun 20, 2014 07:05: writeaway changed "Field" from "Bus/Financial" to "Marketing" , "Field (write-in)" from "Hotel website" to "copywriting for a hotel website"

Discussion

Giles Watson Jun 20, 2014:
Puns You could try something like "seven capital/cardinal wins" if you want to keep an element of wordplay.

Proposed translations

1 hr
Selected

7 cardinal perks // 7 cardinal offerings

Maybe "cardinal" could work. The term is often used in place of "deadly" in the context of deadly sins.

"The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or CARDINAL SINS, is a classification of vices (part of Christian ethics) that has been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct Christians..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins

It will be difficult to find a word rhyming with "sin", but maybe a short one syllable word could be used such as "perk", otherwsie "offerings" has a religious sound to it.

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Note added at 1 hr (2014-06-20 07:35:50 GMT)
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"Cadinal
adjective
1. of prime importance; chief; principal: of cardinal significance."
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cardinal

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Note added at 1 hr (2014-06-20 07:36:06 GMT)
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Sorry typo: Above should read "Cardinal".

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Note added at 1 hr (2014-06-20 07:37:11 GMT)
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Or you could just say "Cardinal gratuities". Although they are not all entirely "Free", it could still contain the same idea in the whole.
Peer comment(s):

disagree G. D.Gennaro : the words -capitali- means first class, in this context, we needn't repeat the word literally and give it a religious or spiritual meaning which is out of context, unless the hotel is located in an area with a historical religious importance....
4 hrs
The asker has suggested a "play on words". This is called responding the asker's question // As Gallagy says "Giovanna doesn't realise obviously that "cardinal" is a synonym for 1st class"
agree Yvonne Gallagher : Giovanna doesn't realise obviously that "cardinal" is a synonym for 1st class
8 hrs
Thank you. I shall inform him, I didn't realise she did not get that.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+1
1 hr

7 sterling/first-class benefits

Just a suggestion but without the 7 deadly/capital sins
Peer comment(s):

agree G. D.Gennaro : Josephine is right! why do we need to translate capitali? aren't we translating meaning instead of words? first class translates -capitali- without having to use a false friend....
5 hrs
Thank you; exactly- the "bonuses" of visiting the place, but I did not want to suggest anything too colloquial
Something went wrong...
-1
6 hrs

regali......

Therese, what is the document you are translating? is it a hotel brochure....?
Not enough context has been given to determine the meaning and therefore the proper translation. Again you need to read the text as a whole, by taking into consideration the purpose of the document, the target audience, the time it was written, the tone, and so forth....
this way you can determine what is meant by -regali capitali-
otherwise ours is a mere throwing around of words....
"offerings" sounds very church-like - I am wondering if a religious or spiritual tone needs to be added to this translation....

"perks" sounds much better, this is what an Anglophone would use...

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Note added at 1 giorno8 ore (2014-06-21 14:13:57 GMT)
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Hello Therese, I hadn't seen your explanation about the context when I sent my question. I understand that it's a word play we're dealing with, however, what I meant was this; if the hotel is perhaps in a city with historical or cultural religious importance then it's appropriate to choose words that evoke the religious context, otherwise it doesn't make sense to me, personally and I would use "First class" because it is more suitable to a hotel-hospitality context.
If I were a potential hotel client reading the website of brochure what would I think if I saw "cardinal" or "first class" ? This is what I always ask myself when I'm trying to find the right meanings, not words.
And although Gallaghy here suggested that the word -cardinal- means first class, it is more something that has to do with -fundamental, basic, vital, crucial, and so forth, and I personally think it is out of context for a hotel advertisement unless, as I already suggested above, we are talking about a city or area with a strong religious heritage. For example, some hotels in Italy are former convents which have been bought and turned into luxury hotels, in such a case I think the word cardinal would be ad hoc with the overall historical and cultural surroundings.

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Note added at 1 giorno9 ore (2014-06-21 14:50:30 GMT)
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ON the other hand, the word fundamental could work if it refers to fundamental perks, it all depends on the tone you want to give your translation. It's not easy to choose the right words, but you have the document and you know where you want to go with this and how you wish to have your readers receive it. So it is not really a matter of words but overall atmosphere, tone, cultural context and so forth. I realize that my replies are very wordy, but that's probably because I always think over my answers and try to come up with better results.
At any rate, I hope this has been helpful.
Note from asker:
This is a hotel website and does not imply the need for any religious or spiritual touch to the translation of this text. It is simply a "play on words" referring to the 7 complimentary gifts/benefits that the guest would receive if he/she booked directly through the website.
Peer comment(s):

disagree Yvonne Gallagher : It > En/what an inaccurate, sweeping statement!
4 hrs
Gallahy there are no synonyms in liguistics, it is context that we need to look at and not word synonyms. A linguist knows this.
Something went wrong...
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