Do you authors keep the Herr or German rank in English translations?

[Felix C]

Do you?

Is it appropriate I see Herr Kapitän (naval) and wonder if you translate that as merely Captain or include.

Same for Rottenführer etc. etc.

[Sheldrake]

What is the purpose of your translation? Whether you translate the ranks depends on your readers' knowledge and the language into which you are going to translate.

There isn't always a direct translation between ranks. A "Rottenführer" isn't quite the the same as a "Corporal" or "Sergeant." The duties of a captain are different in the British, German and US Armies.

[Mori]

I tend to use "general" (no capital letter) for any high ranking officer, and only write "Lieutenant-general" or "Major-general" (with capital letter) when there is something specific to say about the rank. For example, if I need to explain that one individual gets a job beyond his theoritical rank, or when problems arise between organizations because of inconsistencies in ranks.

For Field-marshalls, I only mention the rank the first time the name is mentioned. These are well-known figures, and they are not too many: only using the last name is enough for the reader to follow.

[Felix C]

Memoirs. Conversation quoted in the memoir.

To me reading both versions, the Herr Ka... maintains a certain Germanic flair of the piece.

[Christian Ankerstjerne]

Words that can be translated without loosing any information, such as 'Herr', always should be. Keeping regular German words will only make the text more difficult to read for those who doesn't speak German, and will look like you're romanticizing the Wehrmacht. Ranks are somewhat a different matter, as explained by others above, in that they can not always be freely translated, and may form false cognitives (such as Generalleutnant, that translates to Major General rather than Lieutenant General).

You also have to consider how close you want your translation to be to the original. For a memoir, it would make the most sense to explain the rank the first time in a note, and then use the English equivalent throughout the text.

[Felix C]

Thanks guys. I guess it is not a good idea to use Sven Hassel as a role model.

[Sheldrake]

Thanks guys. I guess it is not a good idea to use Sven Hassel as a role model.

Depends on your target reader. Sven Hassel sold a lot of books....

[Christian Ankerstjerne]

Thanks guys. I guess it is not a good idea to use Sven Hassel as a role model.

Depends on your target reader. Sven Hassel sold a lot of books....

So did Hitler

Besides, Hassel's books are not memoirs in the first place, but rather literary skullduggery.

[Felix C]

I was jesting about Sven Hassel. Thought of him as I was recently trolling ebay and notice many of his paperbacks there for sale.

Thanks for the above advice. I changed to USN or generic titles and footnoted the original titles in German. Agreed it is different as an Fähnrich has no USN equivalent.