Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Man kann nicht nicht kommunizieren
English translation:
One cannot 'not' communicate
Added to glossary by
Nicole Tata
Sep 29, 2003 20:05
20 yrs ago
German term
Man kann nicht nicht kommunizieren
German to English
Marketing
Linguistics
Man kann nicht nicht kommunizieren (Zitat von Paul Watzlawick, 1967)
This is one of several subheaders on a corporate design brochure. Is there a standard translation? 'You can't not communicate' springs to mind, but I'd like to try and avoid both 'you' and 'can't' as they strike me as too informal given the context. Thanks for your suggestions.
This is one of several subheaders on a corporate design brochure. Is there a standard translation? 'You can't not communicate' springs to mind, but I'd like to try and avoid both 'you' and 'can't' as they strike me as too informal given the context. Thanks for your suggestions.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +11 | one cannot 'not' communicate |
Kim Metzger
|
| 4 +3 | One cannot go without communicating |
Ellen Zittinger
|
| 3 +2 | It is impossible |
Trudy Peters
|
| 4 +1 | It is impossible not to communicate |
Terri Doerrzapf
|
Proposed translations
+11
2 mins
Kim Metzger
Mexico
Mexico
Native in English
Works in field
Mexico
Committed to Quality and Service
Native in: English (Variant: US) 
Works in: German to English
Related KudoZ points
:
123
Selected
one cannot 'not' communicate
Apparently those are his words.
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Note added at 5 mins (2003-09-29 20:10:26 GMT)
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The Interactional View Paul Watzlawick (1922- ) and the Palo Alto Group
http://www.colorado.edu/communication/meta-discourses/Theory...
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Note added at 5 mins (2003-09-29 20:10:26 GMT)
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The Interactional View Paul Watzlawick (1922- ) and the Palo Alto Group
http://www.colorado.edu/communication/meta-discourses/Theory...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks Kim, and everyone else"
+2
2 mins
It is impossible
not to communicate
Don't know if there's a standard translation. This is my take on it :-)
Don't know if there's a standard translation. This is my take on it :-)
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
William Stein
: I did not see the not.
35 mins
|
| agree |
Boris Nedkov
: ot's correct
9 hrs
|
+1
4 mins
Terri Doerrzapf
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
Medical and Legal Translation Services
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, English
+3
27 mins
Ellen Zittinger
Native in German
&
English
Works in field
Educator/Realtor/Securities Rep/Agent
Native in: English 
, German
Works in: English to German, German to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
One cannot go without communicating
You cannot live/exist without communication
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
verbis
: bingo!!!!!!!!!!!!
35 mins
|
|
thank you!
|
|
| agree |
vafo
1 hr
|
|
thanks!
|
|
| agree |
Sarah Fletcher
: I've come across this myself and although "One cannot not communicate" is accurate in terms of the original academic source, I would suggest that "You just can't help but communicate" might be a bit snappier here.
1561 days
|
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