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der Öffnung

English translation: opened its door/opened up/freed up its economy

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:der Öffnung
English translation:opened its door/opened up/freed up its economy
Entered by: Abigail Weller

13:57 Jul 8, 2013
German to English translations [PRO]
History
German term or phrase: der Öffnung
Seit der Öffnung hat sich Slowenien in atemberaubendem Tempo einem westlichen Standard genähert.

Part of an article about property trends in Europe. I think "der Öffnung" must refer to the opening up of the eastern bloc and Slovenia becoming independent, but I can't find any reference to this being a standard, stand-alone term so I'm not sure.

If it is, then I'm also unsure how to translate it to make it clear to English readers without adding a lot of text that isn't in the original.
Abigail Weller
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:52
opened its door/opened up/freed up its economy
Explanation:
The trouble is that German "Öffnung" can refer to political or economic events or both. Nonetheless, there are solutions in English that can also cover both meanings:

"Ever since Slovenia opened its door (to the world)/opened up,
it's been closing in on western standards at breakneck speed."

Alternatively, it's possible to utilize a more narrow approach in which case a focus on economics seems to make the most sense:

"Ever since Slovenia freed up its economy, it has been closing in on western standards at breakneck speed."

In either case, verbal phrases usually work better in English than noun phrases.
Selected response from:

Michael Martin, MA
United States
Local time: 19:52
Grading comment
Thank you very much for this and all the other answers, which were all very helpful.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +4the opening up [of the real estate market]
Lancashireman
4Since the opening up of
Andrew Bramhall
4the fall of the iron curtain
Yorkshireman
4 -1the fall of the Berlin Wall
philgoddard
3opened its door/opened up/freed up its economy
Michael Martin, MA


Discussion entries: 6





  

Answers


9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Since the opening up of


Explanation:
Václav Klaus on the euro: Opening up Europe | The Economist
"Since the opening up of Europe, Slovenia has come close to Western European standards in a breathtakingly short space of time "

2 Oct 2012 ... THE president of the Czech Republic talks to our
correspondent about the future
of the eurozone and the European Union.
www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2012/10/václav-klaus-euro Cached


Andrew Bramhall
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:52
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Lancashireman: Is your proposal 'opening up of Europe'? If so, I'll change this to a disagree.
1 hr
  -> No, it's about the opening up of Eastern Europe through the granting of accessionary status; but still feel free to disagree if you like;I disagree with your answer.
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46 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
the fall of the Berlin Wall


Explanation:
This is how it's very commonly expressed in English.

philgoddard
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 76

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Andrew Bramhall: No Phil, I disagree with them when they're wrong! Come on now, it would hardly have been described as breathtaking if it had taken them 24 years, would it?? It's referring to the years since 2004; even Slovenian independence occurred later than that;
15 mins
  -> How do you know? The asker says she thinks it refers to the period since independence, which was in 1991, not "later than 2004". And you can't dramatically improve an entire country's property infrastructure in less than ten years.
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +4
die Öffnung
the opening up [of the real estate market]


Explanation:
or, for the UK:
the opening up [of the property market]

or, slightly freer, liberalisation of the property market

This took place on 1st February 2003.
"Ten years will have passed since Slovenia opened its real estate market to EU citizens."
http://www.sloveniatimes.com/main-challenges-for-slovenia-in...

Based on your stated context, I think this is the most likely meaning here. It is more than just the "opening up of Europe" (whatever Vaclav Klaus of the Czech republic may have intended that to mean) or even more generally of Slovenia to the West.

Lancashireman
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:52
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 252

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Helen Shiner: liberalisation
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Helen. Asker decided to go for the 'value-added' option.
agree  oa_xxx (X): this seems like a good solution-whether they mean since 1991 when Slovenia became independent or specifically since it joined the EU,the latter seems likely in the context of property trends in Europe but I guess "westernisation" has been a longer process
1 hr
  -> Thanks, orla. Asker went for "opened its door".
agree  MiriamT (X)
1 hr
disagree  Andrew Bramhall: "Opening up" means greater access of the East to the West and its financial, economic and political systems.This is a secondary consequence of that, and not the meaning.
17 hrs
agree  Klaus Schmirler
19 hrs
agree  Yorkshireman: I agree and provide several alternatives
343 days
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1 day 12 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
opened its door/opened up/freed up its economy


Explanation:
The trouble is that German "Öffnung" can refer to political or economic events or both. Nonetheless, there are solutions in English that can also cover both meanings:

"Ever since Slovenia opened its door (to the world)/opened up,
it's been closing in on western standards at breakneck speed."

Alternatively, it's possible to utilize a more narrow approach in which case a focus on economics seems to make the most sense:

"Ever since Slovenia freed up its economy, it has been closing in on western standards at breakneck speed."

In either case, verbal phrases usually work better in English than noun phrases.


Michael Martin, MA
United States
Local time: 19:52
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 74
Grading comment
Thank you very much for this and all the other answers, which were all very helpful.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

343 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
the fall of the iron curtain


Explanation:
Since the fall of the iron curtain, Slovenia has.....

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 343 days (2014-06-16 22:54:39 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Or
Since the advent of democracy...
Since the political turnaround...
Since the breakup of the Warsaw Pact/Eastern Bloc/Yugoslavia...
Since its independence from communist Yugoslavia...

Since the Slovenian spring, the country...


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 343 days (2014-06-16 23:05:00 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

"In Slovenia, the adoption of western standards has progressed at breathtaking speed since political and economic borders were swept aside."

Yorkshireman
Germany
Local time: 01:52
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
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