Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Berührungsangst/-ängste (hier)
English translation:
wariness, guardedness, reservations, apprehension
Added to glossary by
Woodstock (X)
Jun 5, 2006 13:08
17 yrs ago
7 viewers *
German term
Berührungsangst/-ängste
German to English
Bus/Financial
Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc.
business integration issues
An interview on the integration of two companies, particularly in the sales area. This section involves the challenges, after some discussion of the positive aspects:
"Und im Zuge der Internationalisierung gibt es auch einige Sprachprobleme, was wiederum *Berührungsängste* zur Folge hat."
Obviously we're not talking about literal "fear of contact", but the two sides being careful, perhaps reserved. Is there a good English term for this? TIA (I've checked various dictionaries, but have not found the term I think would fit.)
"Und im Zuge der Internationalisierung gibt es auch einige Sprachprobleme, was wiederum *Berührungsängste* zur Folge hat."
Obviously we're not talking about literal "fear of contact", but the two sides being careful, perhaps reserved. Is there a good English term for this? TIA (I've checked various dictionaries, but have not found the term I think would fit.)
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +9 | wariness |
Lancashireman
|
| 3 +4 | apprehension/s or anxiety/ies |
Lori Dendy-Molz
|
| 4 | worries/concerns relating to contacts |
David Moore (X)
|
| 2 +2 | reservations |
TRANSRAPID
|
| 3 -1 | xenophobia |
Cetacea
|
| 3 -3 | Coldwar.! |
muitoprazer (X)
|
Proposed translations
+9
14 mins
Selected
wariness
(mutual) wariness
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Note added at 16 mins (2006-06-05 13:24:54 GMT)
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S: (n) wariness, chariness (the trait of being cautious and watchful)
http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=wariness
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Note added at 1 hr (2006-06-05 14:31:10 GMT)
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For 'standoffishness' see:
http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=standoffishness
The sense of 'aloofness' may be absent from your context but 'standoffishness' could express the 'Berührungs-' element.
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Note added at 16 mins (2006-06-05 13:24:54 GMT)
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S: (n) wariness, chariness (the trait of being cautious and watchful)
http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=wariness
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2006-06-05 14:31:10 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
For 'standoffishness' see:
http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=standoffishness
The sense of 'aloofness' may be absent from your context but 'standoffishness' could express the 'Berührungs-' element.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Louise Mawbey
: good solution
0 min
|
| agree |
Ken Cox
: fits the context nicely -- reluctance to make contact
27 mins
|
| agree |
Ulrike Kraemer
29 mins
|
| agree |
Ingeborg Gowans (X)
: yes, exactly
35 mins
|
| agree |
Laurel Porter (X)
: I like wariness. Well, not really - but I like it as a solution here!
1 hr
|
| agree |
Ian M-H (X)
1 hr
|
| agree |
archtrans
2 hrs
|
| agree |
Brigitte Albert (X)
2 hrs
|
| agree |
Cetacea
3 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks, everyone, for some outstanding contributions. It was hard to decide, because I liked several, but settled closest to Andrew's version: In fact, I ended up using "guardedness", which is not so elegant but pitch-perfect in this context. "Wariness" led me there."
-3
4 mins
Coldwar.!
think U.S.S.R.,1960'S 1970'S think mistrust and you come up with isolationist off the wall out of the box like this!.
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Ulrike Kraemer
: Hier geht es nicht um kalten Krieg, sondern darum, dass bei den Beschäftigten Unsicherheit herrscht, weil sie nicht wissen, wie sie miteinander umgehen sollen (und können). // Wenn das bei dir schon kalter Krieg ist, dann tust du mir leid...
3 mins
|
|
ja,genau, cold war!
|
|
| disagree |
Louise Mawbey
: Agree totally with LittleBalu
5 mins
|
|
use your imagination.
|
|
| disagree |
Cetacea
: Agree totally with all LittleBalu says. Either you're way overshooting the mark, or you're belittling the Cold War. // Woodstock's client probably doesn't, either.
1 hr
|
|
no,neither.would explain,but not sure you have imagination to understaND.
|
51 mins
worries/concerns relating to contacts
These might be felt if there really is a language barrier here, as the text suggests.
+4
18 mins
Lori Dendy-Molz
Germany
Germany
Native in English
Germany
Experienced journalist and marketing pro
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, English
apprehension/s or anxiety/ies
could also work here
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 51 mins (2006-06-05 14:00:02 GMT)
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'reticence' is another option
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Note added at 51 mins (2006-06-05 14:00:02 GMT)
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'reticence' is another option
Note from asker:
| I liked all of your suggestions a lot, but decided to keep things more "neutral" , i.e. not so "psychologically" loaded. |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
muitoprazer (X)
: even better -apprehensiveness.
1 min
|
|
Would also work. Thanks.
|
|
| agree |
Julia Lipeles
49 mins
|
|
Thanks.
|
|
| agree |
Ellen Zittinger
3 hrs
|
|
Thanks.
|
|
| agree |
Erik Macki
: I like "reticence" for this context very much.
10 hrs
|
|
Thanks.
|
+2
3 mins
reservations
???
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 55 mins (2006-06-05 14:03:29 GMT)
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as in "having reservations", "expressing reservations",
i.e. these linguistic/language problems in turn are giving rise to/cause reservations on either side.............
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 55 mins (2006-06-05 14:03:29 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
as in "having reservations", "expressing reservations",
i.e. these linguistic/language problems in turn are giving rise to/cause reservations on either side.............
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Ulrike Kraemer
6 mins
|
| disagree |
muitoprazer (X)
: what, ?like south american indians live on?
15 mins
|
| neutral |
sylvie malich (X)
: muitoprazer should check a dictionary
36 mins
|
| agree |
Armorel Young
: I think this is indeed a good word in the context - words can have more than one meaning so muitoprazer's point is pointless.
1 hr
|
| agree |
Veronika McLaren
3 hrs
|
-1
1 hr
xenophobia
language problems causing a certain degree of xenophobia (as in "fear of strangers and the unknown").
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
archtrans
: a bit too strong for this instance
1 hr
|
|
I thought about that, too, that's why I added "a certain degree" in my explanation, but you are right, others have proposed better options.
|
Discussion