Ramey Rieger (X) Jun 28, 2016:

@Björn I'm stunned.

Björn Vrooman Jun 27, 2016:

OK, so:

Any country has yet to set up an IRC that will...and whose staff will dedicate their time to...

This is where the project by Leuphana University comes in. Some of the university's students [or someone else] are going to prepare an application that will be submitted to UNESCO and call for the establishment of a UNESCO category II institute. Its proposed name: “International Centre for Sustainability Science and Higher Education for Sustainable Development."

IRC = international reference centre/center (although this may need to be verified)

What words do I cheer? Good question. Rewording the source usually works. A constant headache are German sentence structures that put conclusions before explanations (for dramatic effect). You may need to move entire paragraphs in such cases.

Björn Vrooman Jun 27, 2016:

PS The underlying question wasn't all that clear, I assume: Is there any way to rephrase those two sentences (the one in the d-box and the one asked for) so as to avoid using thus/therefore/this is why, not to mention that the sentence quoted in the d-box is excruciatingly long?

Sometimes, I really ask myself how you do it, Ramey, how you cope with these painstakingly long run-off sentences in German (although USA Today used to be known for that as well) =)

MT = machine translation (software)

(I'll tend to the other question later - off food shopping soon, since it FINALLY isn't that hot outside anymore.)

On a side note, Gavin: proposal or application?

Cya here later.

Ramey Rieger (X) Jun 27, 2016:

@ Björn Being an English native speaker, I still use thus or therefore or however in my translations when they appropriately reflect the source text, because the GERMAN calls for it. Yes, I'm with you there, leave it out when it works. So what's an MT?
So what words do you cheer?

Björn Vrooman Jun 27, 2016:

Notice how I did not agree with the answer suggesting "come in"? I did not because I'd split up the sentence.

Frankly, I'm not a fan of "thus" - Fowler used to say "Thus is a word with an awkward role in modern English. Used sparingly and appropriately, it is highly effective, whereas when over-used it can seem stilted and affected."

I somewhat cringed when Thomas suggested "this is why," since a lot of documents translated from German are filled with this word or thus/therefore. In my experience, Germans use those kinds of words much more often than ENS do; in most cases, they can be safely left out (although I'm not saying it can in this example). As always, it depends on the rest of the document, not only on the preceding sentence.

Over the years, my opposition to some form of "translate it as close to the original source as possible" has grown. Not because I like being sloppy or have an easier time translating...it's just that being part of a bilingual household has taught me how different some linguistic ideas can be. It's nothing you can put into MT.

Ramey Rieger (X) Jun 27, 2016:

Hi Björn This is all well (researched) and good, but notice that the phrase is a stand-alone statement and does not preface an action as in the source text. In my humble opinion, this phrase as an introduction to the ensuing action (preparing a proposal) is much too cumbersome. Also, the LU is initiating a proposal for a solution, whereas you examples have all - or all believe to have - thesolution already. Saavy?

Björn Vrooman Jun 27, 2016:

"This is where Project SOAR comes in.
[...] SOAR demystifies cancer for everyone, which is why the project is so vital to the success of pediatric patients with cancer and blood diseases."
https://michaelmagrofoundation.com/this-is-where-project-soa...

"We think it is important to reduce our dependence on big supermarkets and focus on sourcing food locally [...]. This is where the Root To Food Project comes in."
http://www.worcesterrootsfoundation.org.uk/about-the-project...

"There are many people who would like to experience the joys of cycling in the New Forest, but cannot as they do not own or have access to a bicycle. This is where the New Forest Bike Project comes in."
http://cycle-newforest.co.uk/blog/

"The key piece in this jigsaw is standardization of the development and [...] – and this is where the Investor Confidence Project comes in."
http://www.onlyelevenpercent.com/thoughts-on-the-future-of-e...

"For some of the students I serve, not having enough to eat is a daily reality.

This is where the Backpack Project comes in."
https://jvcnorthwestamericorps.wordpress.com/2015/02/26/the-...

Björn Vrooman Jun 27, 2016:

@Gavin The glossary wasn't of any help?
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/german_to_english/idioms_maxims_sa...
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/german_to_english/law_patents_trad...

Ramey Rieger (X) Jun 27, 2016:

Thus, or Therefore, .... the Leuphana University has begun preparing OR
This is where the LU takes the initiative, preparing.... OR
The LU therefore has begun to prepare... OR
To this end, the LU.....

Gavin O'Leary (asker) Jun 27, 2016:

Hi Ramey - thanks for your response. Here's the previous sentence:

Doch bisher existiert weltweit kein Referenzzentrum, das die akademische Kompetenz in Forschung und universitärer Lehre bündelt und sich der grundlegenden thematischen und methodischen Weiterentwicklung inter- und transdisziplinärer Nachhaltigkeitswissenschaften widmet.

Ramey Rieger (X) Jun 27, 2016:

Hi Gavin! What does 'Here' relate to? the previous sentence would give some clue, I believe.