Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term
Fährmann
This is a caption for a tourist brochure. The picture shows a man in a punt-like boat (Flachboot - see my other question). Any ideas for a nice creative translation for this would be very much appreciated.
| 4 +8 | Ferryman |
Yaotl Altan
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| 4 | boatman |
Clare-Louise Smith (X)
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| 4 -1 | Discover nature's paradise in a flat-bottomed boat with a ferryman of the reeds. |
Serena Rohrbeck
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| 2 | chauffeur |
Claire Cox
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Non-PRO (1): AllegroTrans
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Proposed translations
Mexico
Mexican translator proofreader +20 years
Native in: Spanish 
, Italian
Works in: English to Spanish, Italian to Spanish, French to Spanish, and 5 more.
Ferryman
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Note added at 3 mins (2007-09-16 21:53:29 GMT)
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fer·ry·man /ˈfɛrimən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[fer-ee-muhn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -men. a person who owns or operates a ferry.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ferryman
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Note added at 9 mins (2007-09-16 21:59:29 GMT)
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"Boat driver" is another suggestion if it's not a ferry.
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Note added at 4 days (2007-09-21 16:19:53 GMT) Post-grading
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Vielen Danke!
| agree |
David Hollywood
: can't agree more :) .. "ferryman" doesn't only relate to ferries :)
8 mins
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Thank you very much
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| agree |
Textklick
: Agree with ferryman. (Boat driver? - sorry, no way - that's about racing boats etc.)
40 mins
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Grazie mille
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| agree |
Gert Sass (M.A.)
: I think the definite article in "mit *dem* Fährmann" makes it clear that he really is the (traditional) ferryman. Showing tourists around (on a boat different from a ferry) may be a side job.
1 hr
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vielen Danke
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| agree |
AllegroTrans
1 hr
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merci
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| agree |
Sangeeta Joshi
6 hrs
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Obrigado
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| agree |
Brigitte Albert (X)
8 hrs
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Gracias
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| agree |
Michael Harris
11 hrs
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Thanx!
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| agree |
Stuart Dykes
11 hrs
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Grazie mille
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Discover nature's paradise in a flat-bottomed boat with a ferryman of the reeds.
| Thanks for your answer...and in marketing most of the time anything goes...so good for you for sticking up for yourself. ;-) |
| disagree |
Francis Lee (X)
: "a ferryman of the reeds" sounds, well, strange ...; "nature's paradise" is not English/ 1st link is apparently a translation of hieroglyphics and the 2nd is referring to a name; neither link has any relevance here as modern descriptive terms are needed
11 hrs
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and yet they are both in common use, see: http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/pyt/pyt27.htm and http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-16451295-action-pictures-nat...
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boatman
Hope this helps
United Kingdom
French & German Technical Translations
Native in: English
Works in: French to English, German to English
chauffeur
see: http://www.ukattraction.com/a_print/print_entries_frames.php...
Whether it's suitable for your specific context, I don't know, but it obviously can be used for boats.
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Note added at 10 hrs (2007-09-17 08:44:20 GMT)
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or punter (see my answer to Flachboot)
From the Wikipedia entry for punt:
There is also punting on the River Neckar in Tübingen, Germany, using boats (called Stocherkahn) that are similar in design to Thames punts but are larger and deeper, and have a narrower bow and stern. Bench seats for passengers are provided down each side, and the punter stands on a small triangular deck at the stern.
Discussion
@Gert Sass: the man steering the boat is not doing this part-time