Spotlight - 01.2020

LOST IN TRANSLATION 1/2020 Spotlight 53

LOST IN TRANSLATION

VANESSA CLARK turns her attention to

a particularly interesting word or expression

that could be a challenge to translate.

ADVANCED

Usage
“Leeway” means “flexibility” or “freedom”. For example, most
employees are expected to dress smartly, but there might be
some leeway during a cold spell or a heatwave.
More exactly, “leeway” means “the amount of flexibility that
is available”. If you’ve arranged to meet a friend at a certain time,
you probably have a few minutes’ leeway. However, there’s no
leeway when you have an appointment for a job interview.
In negotiations, you might ask, “Is there any leeway?” when
you mean, “Is there any room to negotiate?” Synonyms for “lee-
way” are “wiggle room” (ifml.) or “room to manoeuvre”.
A good German translation of “leeway” is Spielraum or Freiheit,
both of which can be modified, of course, depending on the con-
text: Handlungsspielraum, Gestaltungsfreiheit, Raum zum Manövrieren.

Background

“Leeway” was originally a nautical word, from the world of sail-

ing ships. Ideally, ships move in a straight line, but they are of-

ten pushed off course by the wind. The wind comes from the

“windward” side of a boat and pushes it to the “leeward” side

(away from the wind). The “leeway” is the distance that a ship is

moved away from the desired course of travel. This is measured

in degrees.

Example

“...no leeway with set speeding

fines...”

The Sudbury Star, 4 July 2019

Here, a Canadian judge explains

that he cannot change the fixed

amount that motorists are fined

for driving too fast.

cold spell [(kEUld spel]
, Kälteperiode

fine sb. [faIn]
, jmdm. eine Geldbuße auferlegen

leeward [(li:wEd]
, leewärts, auf der Leeseite

negotiation [nI)gEUSi(eIS&n]

, Verhandlung

windward [(wIndwEd]

, windseitig, luvwärts

Answer: B

A

noun [(li:weI]

leeway

Exercise

In which of the following contexts would the word

“leeway” make sense?

A. “First-class seats in trains have plenty of extra

.”

B. “They’re asking for $1m, but I’m sure there’s some

.”