Who is she

Japanese translation: それって(誰のこと)?

12:43 Feb 11, 2019
English to Japanese translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / Expression
English term or phrase: Who is she
バスカヴィルの犬より

"There is Laura Lyons - her initials are L.L. - but she lives in Coombe Tracey."
"Who is she?" I asked.
"She is Frankland's daughter."

直訳だと「彼女は誰ですか」になりますが、こういう流れですでに対象の名前が分かっていて、他の情報が知りたい場合は、どういう言い方が適切なんでしょうか。
手元の訳本は「どういう女性でしょう」と訳したのですが、これはこれでニュアンスが微妙に違う気がしてならない。
Lincoln Hui
Hong Kong
Local time: 23:13
Japanese translation:それって(誰のこと)?
Explanation:
This is a fiction and I believe every sentence does not have to be translated word by word.

Here, the reader knows that "she" refers to the name, Laura Lyons, instead of the actual person, so "それ" instead of "彼女" would be better. Also, "誰" could be omitted since it is obvious from the context what the speaker is asking. Japanese sounds more natural with fewer pronouns and interrogatives in such occasion as this.
Selected response from:

Shiho Fukuda Koski
United States
Local time: 11:13
Grading comment
I ended up going with "そのローラ・ライアンズとは?" Thank you all for your suggestions.
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5それって(誰のこと)?
Shiho Fukuda Koski
4何者(ですか)?
Takako Kimura-Ude
3誰のことですか
Yukie Nakamura


  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
who is she
誰のことですか


Explanation:
This is a phrase used to ask for a description of a person.

In this context, you could say, “それは誰のことですか” (using “it/それ” to indicate that the person didn’t recognize the name “Laura Lyons” or put a face to the name).


Yukie Nakamura
United States
Local time: 08:13
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in JapaneseJapanese
PRO pts in category: 4
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
who is she
それって(誰のこと)?


Explanation:
This is a fiction and I believe every sentence does not have to be translated word by word.

Here, the reader knows that "she" refers to the name, Laura Lyons, instead of the actual person, so "それ" instead of "彼女" would be better. Also, "誰" could be omitted since it is obvious from the context what the speaker is asking. Japanese sounds more natural with fewer pronouns and interrogatives in such occasion as this.

Shiho Fukuda Koski
United States
Local time: 11:13
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in JapaneseJapanese
PRO pts in category: 3
Grading comment
I ended up going with "そのローラ・ライアンズとは?" Thank you all for your suggestions.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 day 3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
who is she
何者(ですか)?


Explanation:
In order to demand further information after the name, I think '何者’ should be fitting. This might sound a bit stiff, depending on the relationship between the speaker and his/her counterpart.

Takako Kimura-Ude
Slovenia
Local time: 16:13
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in JapaneseJapanese
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