I need help translating military terms from a foreign language

Question

I am translating a World War II memoir from Hungarian to English. I keep running into certain words which I understand perfectly, but have a hard time finding a proper translation. Can you guys help me out? Not with the translation itself, but to find a good English equivalent.

The original word is "karpaszományos". The word itself literally translates as "person with a ribbon on his arm". It means a soldier, either conscripted or volunteer, who completed high school. That was a fairly high academic achievement in the 1930's, so these guys received special privileges in the army, and were often sent to NCO training or officer school. Even if they didn't want to, they were usually promoted to sergeants.

So, they're NOT cadets, NOT officer candidates, NOT simply conscripts and it's NOT a rank but a privilege class. For that matter no English speaking army ever had privilege classes.

A "karpaszományos" wore a thin band around the arms of his jacket, indicating his status. It was not rank insignia. Here is a picture of a "karpaszományos" jacket.

I am looking for a single, descriptive English word to denote these soldiers, which can be used when addressing them (similarly to calling someone by his rank), or can be a title before their actual rank ("karpaszományos zászlós" = ensign with armband).

I don't think "armband" can be used here in any form because armbands are generally used to indicate a person on special duty (MPs, traffic controllers, officers on duty). The word "paszomány" means something like lacing, braiding, knotted decoration.

Answer 1

The word you're looking for may not exist

The word you describe is a cultural term, denoting status that is specific to the culture that created it. If English speaking cultures don't have an equivalent social status, then English won't have an equivalent word.

If this is the case, then the best thing to do is to simply use the original term, with a footnote (or similar) explaining what the word means.

Answer 2

I suggest getting a Hungarian-English dictionary if you don't already have one. I sometimes find myself bringing my Swedish-English one out when free online resources fail me.

However, I'm not sure your military-grade exists as you describe it in many armies.

How about using "private first class" or "lance corporal" (sometimes also known as "vice corporal" but that may be only in Sweden)?

If you compare duties and authority between your rank and those maybe you'll find a fit, or be able to go with the next best fit.

Answer 3

You might consider something like an "honors graduate" of military training or the more generic "decorated soldier."