political consequences

Chinese translation: 人事纷争带来的影响/后果

14:41 Aug 3, 2007
English to Chinese translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Human Resources / interpersonal relationship
English term or phrase: political consequences
Context: They take little interest in why people behave as they do or interpersonal differences; may act without considering likely reactions from others involved or political consequences.

政治后果/影响 does not fit into the context and it also has sensitive connotation in China.

A related terms in psychology is "political skills" , which has been defined as “the ability to effectively understand others at work, and to use such knowledge to influence others to act in ways that enhance one’s personal and/or organizational objectives”.

Any suggestions are appreciated !
uker
Local time: 21:26
Chinese translation:人事纷争带来的影响/后果
Explanation:
political出现在公司企业时,多指人与人之间的复杂关系,可以说成是:人事纷争(或“办公室政治”)。如果译成“政治”,太别扭。毕竟,“政治”这个词一般指国家政治。
Selected response from:

clearwater
China
Local time: 05:26
Grading comment
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +3人事纷争带来的影响/后果
clearwater
4 +2政治后果
Wenjer Leuschel (X)
3 +1人情世故(方面的影响)
Huijun Suo
3同理心
Shirley Lao


  

Answers


14 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
同理心


Explanation:
同理心(Empathy)是一個具有彈性及成熟性格的人,以溫暖的心去感受他人的處境及感覺。其德文的原意是「感覺進入」(felling into),也就是深入感受到他人的經歷,特別是他人的感覺。

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Note added at 19 mins (2007-08-03 15:01:07 GMT)
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同理心就是站在對方立場思考的一種方式。

在既定已發生的事件上,把自己當成是別人,想像自己因為什麼心理以致有這種行為,從而觸發這個事件。 因為自己已經接納了這種心理,所以也就接納了別人這種心理,以致諒解這行為和事件的發生。與「己所不欲,勿施於人」同出一轍。
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/同理心

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Note added at 27 mins (2007-08-03 15:08:59 GMT)
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In fact, you may also use "政治技巧或手段" (political skills). However, "政治技巧" and "政治手段" have rather negative connotations in Chinese.

Perhaps, you may translate "political consequences" as "interpersonal skills" (人際技巧) or "social skills" (社交技巧). I personally prefer "social skills".


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Note added at 45 mins (2007-08-03 15:27:24 GMT)
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If a person is high in empathy, he/she may perceive the others' feelings and reactions and respond to them accordingly. It is more than "perspective taking".

You may also translate "political consequences" as "social skills" (社交技巧), which has a more neutral connotation than the term "political skills".



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Note added at 1 hr (2007-08-03 16:13:59 GMT)
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Empathy is more than the appreciation of others' feelings.

(From the Hyperlink)
Empathy is appreciating the inner state of others. We often associate empathy with a sensing of others' feelings, but because feelings are only part of our inner state, empathy is much more than appreciation of feelings.

One model of inner state is the Personal Iceberg, used by Virginia Satir and articulated later by her colleagues. In this model, inner state is a hierarchy of copings, feelings, perceptions, expectations, yearnings and ultimately the Self. They called it an "iceberg" because so much of it is out of view. Empathy is appreciating all of these elements in others.

***We need empathy not only to inspire others, but also when we're figuring out how to express something, or even whether to express it. While we're deciding, we need a sense of what the impacts of various options might be, which requires empathy. Here are some other applications of empathy skills.***
http://www.chacocanyon.com/pointlookout/060104.shtml

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Note added at 1 hr (2007-08-03 16:16:42 GMT)
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I believe the simpliest way to translate "political consequences" is to translate this term as "social skills" rather than "political skills", which has rather negetive connotations in Chinese, as you know.

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Note added at 1 hr (2007-08-03 16:23:51 GMT)
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Interpersonal skills (人際技巧) refers to mental and communicative algorithms applied during social communications and interactions in order to reach certain effects or results. The term "interpersonal skills" is used often in business contexts to refer to the measure of a person's ability to operate within business organizations through social communication and interactions.

Social skills (社交技巧) are a group of skills which a social animal uses to interact and communicate with others. These skills can be used to affect status in the social structure and for many other motivations. Social rules and relations are created, communicated, and changed in verbal and nonverbal ways creating social complexity useful in identifying outsiders and intelligent breeding partners.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_skills

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Note added at 2 hrs (2007-08-03 17:19:26 GMT)
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So, you may translate "political consequences" as 欠缺人際技巧 or 欠缺社交技巧.

Shirley Lao
Taiwan
Local time: 05:26
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese
PRO pts in category: 4
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks ! From what you describe, 同理心就是站在對方立場思考的一種方式, it may refer to "perspective taking", which I don't feel it is the same as "political skills/consequences"

Asker: Perspective taking is the cognitive act of imagining oneself in another’s position and adopting his or her viewpoint. Empathy involves understanding or identifying with another person’s experiences and feeling concern for them when things go wrong. For me, perspective taking is more cognitive while empathy is more emotion related.

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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
政治后果


Explanation:
政治后果 fits in the context perfectly. A preliminary translation would be as follows.

他们对别人的行为背后的缘由,没有多大兴趣,或是人与人之间漠不关心;他们采取行动时,可能不考虑到会引起怎样的反应,或带来怎样的政治后果。

In principle, persons in leading positions must have the quality mentioned by Shirley, 同理心, that is, empathy --- "em-" means "goes into" and "pathy," derived from Greek word "pathos," means "feeling." The meaning of "empathy" is exactly identical to that of the German word "Einfühlung" which means "feeling into."

缺乏同理心的人很容易做出那些自以为是的事情而不自知。如果不幸让那样的人占据领导的地位,他们很容易造成伤害:比方说不近人情,原本不是问题的问题,他们死板板地阐释规定的条文,毫无变通地扩大解释内涵,据以过当行动;那样的人其实是缺乏同理心,也就是对别人其实是漠不关心,根本不在意别人的行为背后有怎样的缘由;那么,他们自己的行动当然是欠缺考虑会引来什么反应,或会带来什么政治后果的。简而言之,那种人一般“政治手腕”都很差,但他们沾染学习到一点“斗争伎俩”,就以为自己很有政治手腕;这是由于他们缺乏“同理心”。

缺乏同理心者,当然不关心别人为什么这样那样,他们只管自己的或自以为是自己的好处。他们的行为会带来相当严重的“政治后果”,但他们通常在事前事后都无法理解“政治后果”是什么,只会感到“斗争的胜负”。

政治后果:这需要具有 sensibility, empathy 的人才能够了解。I will be back with explanations from google search.


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Note added at 2 hrs (2007-08-03 17:34:48 GMT)
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http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1196096.ece

"US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice threatened Norway with 'serious political consequences' after Finance Minister and Socialist Left Party leader Kristin Halvorsen admitted to supporting a boycott of Israeli goods."

The above is one of the examples of the usage of "political consequences" I am about to provide.

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Note added at 3 hrs (2007-08-03 18:11:07 GMT)
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http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&fr...

"...It was absurd to have a Black representative in the political arena where no real political influence existed for Black people. Whites, however, had and have a base of power from which they exert political consequence. This is evident in the fact that when the farmers are not given adequate prices for their crops, the economy receives a political consequence. Farmers let their crops rot in the field. To be political, you must have a political consequence when you do not receive your desires—otherwise you are non-political."

Note the use of "political consequence" above.

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Note added at 4 hrs (2007-08-03 18:59:10 GMT)
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Back to your initial passage, "They take little interest in why people behave as they do or interpersonal differences; may act without considering likely reactions from others involved or political consequences."

My preliminary translation must be revised a bit as "他们对别人行为背后的缘由,或人与人之间的差异,没有多大兴趣;他们采取行动时,可能不会考虑到会引起怎样的反应,或会带来怎样的政治后果。"

Most people have little interest in why people behave as they do, when it has nothing to do with them directly. But a leader must be interested in knowing why people do as they do, or else he/she wouldn't be able to lead efficiently but rules authoritatively, so that it might lead to a drastical revolt from the basis when people learn about the right way of politics and that is what we regard as the "political consequence" of his/her behaviour.

I believe, this explanation is clear enough to make people understand what "political consequence" means. In Chinese, it might include 政治后果、政治影响、政治责任, etc.


Wenjer Leuschel (X)
Taiwan
Local time: 05:26
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese
PRO pts in category: 32

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Huijun Suo: Politics does not necessarily refer to state politics alone, it is everywhere, eg, office politics, interpersonal politics, etc. People can accept 办公室政治, why not 政治后果 in the case of interpersonal relationship? In this case readers need to get used to it.
41 mins
  -> 政 means "concerning people." 治 means "to handle or to manage." Politics or 政治 is everywhere where there are people in communities.

agree  orientalhorizon
2 days 8 hrs
  -> Thanks.
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +3
人事纷争带来的影响/后果


Explanation:
political出现在公司企业时,多指人与人之间的复杂关系,可以说成是:人事纷争(或“办公室政治”)。如果译成“政治”,太别扭。毕竟,“政治”这个词一般指国家政治。

clearwater
China
Local time: 05:26
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese
PRO pts in category: 15

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Lu Zou: 如果用于大陆市场,尽量慎用“政治”,因为它的含义已经被具体化了,而不再只是指利益/利害关系了。
17 mins
  -> 谢谢。邹大哥说得正是!

agree  orientalhorizon: 说法不错,多年前见到国外资料中这种提法时,很为如何与中文的词对应而费思量,不过后来很多教科书在翻译为中文后,都按照字面意思翻译了,而且有些还是由“著名”学者担纲。
2 days 4 hrs
  -> 谢谢!不要盲目轻信所谓的“著名”:)

agree  Danbing HE
6 days
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19 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
人情世故(方面的影响)


Explanation:
I think this is the Chinese version of "interpersonal politics" deprived of the nuances of 政治. It is simply 人际关系, but with strong Chinese flavor.

There is an ancient Chinese saying: 上知天文,下晓地理,中通人事 (Know about the heaven above, the earth below, and the human life in the middle). So in the Chinese philisophy, 人情世故 is simply 人事, including all aspects of social relationsihps of the human society. Politics is only one aspect. Unfortunately in modern Chinese the meaning of 人事 has also narrowed to the staffing or human resource planning of an organization.

Huijun Suo
China
Local time: 05:26
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese
PRO pts in category: 28

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Wenjer Leuschel (X): 要避政治,那就徹底一點吧。// 或該說翻譯人也往負面方向推波助瀾吧?
14 mins
  -> 没办法,要拓宽国民对“政治”的理解,恐怕靠几代翻译人的努力也是不够的,甚至翻译人的作用就是苍白无力的。
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