50 Business Spotlight 6/2019 LANGUAGE
LANGUAGE
TRANSLATIONHier finden Sie englische Wörter,
die man leicht verwechselt, und
englische und deutsche Wörter,
deren Übersetzung schwierig ist.
MEDIUMMIKE SEYMOUR
is an author,
trainer and
translator
based in Leeds,
England. Contact:
http://www.mikeseymour.
comDon’t confuse...
differ, differentiate
If one thing “differs from another thing”,
it is different (sich von etw. unterscheiden,
von et w. abweichen):
⋅ “The new system differs greatly from
the old one.” — Das neue System unter-
scheidet sich sehr vom alten.If people “differ about something”, they
disagree about it (anderer Meinung sein):
⋅ “They differed about Brexit.” — Sie
waren über den Brexit anderer Meinung.
“Let’s agree to differ!” or “Let’s agree to
disagree!” means “Let’s agree that we do
not agree!” (Dann einigen wir uns darauf,
dass wir uns nicht einig sind!).If you “differentiate between people
or things” (zwischen Personen oder Dingen
unterscheiden, differenzieren) or “diffe-
rentiate one thing from another thing”
(et w. von et w. anderem abgrenzen), you rec-
ognize the difference between them or
you make them appear different:
⋅ “You must differentiate between facts
and opinions.” — Man muss zwischen
Tatsachen und Meinungen unterscheiden.
⋅ “We need to differentiate our prod-
ucts from those of our competitors.”
— Wir müssen unsere Produkte von denen
unserer Konkurrenten unterscheiden.- Make your choice
Complete these sentences with the correct form of
“ differ” or “ differentiate”.A. You will never persuade me to change my mind, so we
will just have to agree to.
B. How do you between GDP and
GNP?
C. GNP from GDP in that it includes
income received from abroad.Tricky translations
- How would you say that?
Translate the following sentences.A. The president will never sanction the trade sanctions.B. Die Diskussionen über die Umleitung des Verkehrsf lusses
sind noch im Fluss.Answers1.differA.differentiate B.differsC.2.Der Präsident A.wird die Handels-sanktionen niemalsbewilligen.The discussions B.about diverting thetraffic flow are stillin flux.How do you say
“sanction(s)” in German?
In politics, “sanctions” are
off icial orders or laws for-
bidding trade with another
countr y, for example to force
that countr y’s leaders to make
political changes (Sanktionen,
Zwangsmaßnahmen):
⋅ “The government intends
to lift the sanctions.” —
Die Regierung beabsichtigt, die
Sanktionen aufzuheben.A “sanction” is a form of pun-
ishment used if a rule or law
is disobeyed (Strafe, Straf-
maßnahme):
⋅ “The judge imposed the
harshest possible sanction.”
— Der/Die Richter(in) hat die
allerhärteste Strafe verhängt.“Sanction” is also a formal
word meaning “off icial per-
mission”, “approval ” or “ac-
ceptance” (Billigung, Bewilli-
gung, Erlaubnis, Zustimmung):
⋅ “He released the figures with-^
out his boss’s sanction.” —
Er hat die Zahlen ohne Zustim-
mung seines Chefs veröffentlicht.The verb, “sanction” means
“allow” or “permit” (billigen,
genehmigen, dulden):
⋅ Will they sanction the
subsidy? — Werden sie die
Fördermittel genehmigen?How do you say Fluss
in English?
In the context of geography,
Fluss refers to a natural and
continuous f low of water.
Used in this way, it is usually
translated as river:
⋅ Die Donau ist der zweitlängste
Fluss in Europa. — “The Dan-
ube is the second longest
river in Europe.”In scientif ic contexts, Flu ss
can also refer to a smooth,
steady movement of liquid,
gas or electricit y. Also, in a
f igurative sense, it means
“the movement of people,
goods or information”. In
both cases, we translate it as
f low:
⋅ Der Informationsfluss wird
immer größer. — The flow of
information is constantly
increasing.Finally, the phrase im Fluss
can be used to describe a sit-
uation in which things are
changing constantly so that
you never know for certain
what will happen next. In
this case, we translate it as in
(a state of ) f lux:
⋅ Die Verhandlungen um den
Brexit sind noch im Fluss. —
“The negotiations about
Brexit are still in (a state of)
flux.”