Dear Spanish-speaking friend!
Stephanie Heuer needs help! Her book is being translated into Spanish.
Please see further down the message that Sando, the CEO of the publishing company, sent to her.
Most warmly!
Evelin

Dear Stephanie,

Sounds great! I finished the translation on Thursday and we should be able to have a Spanish-language dummy by Monday. However, I still am not really sure about the "I feel like somebody / nobody" mechanism in Spanish. Let me explain why:

In English, kids readily understand the concept of "I feel like somebody (important)" and "I feel like a nobody." In Spanish this can be said, but it would be quite elevated, as language:

"Me siento alguien cuando...". Not at all in the realm of children's everyday expression.

The negative part is harder:

"Me siento nadie cuando...". This is definitely beyond the linguistic pale for kids.

We are doing some field research on the subject in a school here in Mexico City. This person has a week to see what kids respond to. This person is a teacher and understands what you are getting at in your book. She also has the translation I did.

I am thinking that perhaps, the least important part of this decision is how the "title" in itself sounds (the perfect opposites represented by "somebody / nobody." Perhaps it would be wiser to make sure that the statements in themselves are absolutely clear in plain Spanish that would sound natural in the mouths of children.

Let's see:

Me siento feliz cuando...
Me siento triste cuando...

This is the basic idea but it lacks the feeling of being obliterated, in the negative : "I feel like nobody when..." And it lacks the idea of "I feel important when...", in the positive.

Do you see what the quandry is? It would be easy to just say: "Let's do it this way and hope for the best." But I think it' important that you understand what the problem is because you know what is at stake. My question is, just how important is it that the the person aspect of the phrasing be in the statements ("nobody, somebody")?

If this is absolutely essential, the "feliz / triste" option is no good. If it is not absolutely essential, this option will probably do just fine, or any other every-day language synonyms. I realize that the phrasing comes from the book you sent me, that this is a whole line of thinking and research. But, how important is it that the literal "somebody / nobody" equation be carried literally into the Spanish. Or to put it another way, how would you phrase it in English not using the the "somebody / nobody" equation?

Let that be your homework for the next few days! Give me an alternate title in English that would mean the same thing, only without the "somebody / nobody" equation. And make sure it would sound natural in the mouths of children.

Could you give that a try? Then I think we would be set.

Best regards,
Sandro