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In den Vorwärtsgang eindampfen
Arbeitslosenquote vs Erwerbslosenquote

Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

Kurve läuft flach aus

English translation:

the curve levels off

Added to glossary by Anne-Katrin Grube
Jul 27, 2015 11:32
8 yrs ago
German term

Kurve läuft flach aus

German to English Tech/Engineering Mathematics & Statistics
in a diagram (Bauwesen):

"Die Kurve läuft ab einer Dämmstoffdicke (thickness of insulating material) von xx cm flach aus"

It is more than just a curve becoming flat ... maybe "stays flat", but it's still more than that ...
Proposed translations (English)
4 +4 the curve tapers off
4 +3 curve flattens out
4 curve goes flat

Discussion

Darin Fitzpatrick Jul 28, 2015:
Nitpicking and literalism Just wanted to point out that the literal translation is that the "curve runs flat out", which is most likely not correct. :-)
But I do agree with the conclusion: just translate the phrase that was written. A picture of the graph might help understand the author's intent, but our job as translators is not to re-run the author's analysis and provide our own description of such a curve. It's to translate the author's analysis, even if the original words are less than perfectly accurate or elegant.
Anne-Katrin Grube (asker) Jul 28, 2015:
@ Ramey and DLyons seems to me you're both right, keeping it literal is the best solution - thanks to all, "I'll do my very best" :-)
Ramey Rieger (X) Jul 28, 2015:
@Anne That's species inappropriate translator husbandry (not to give you the picture) :-)! Still, it seems as if the insulation is not correctly applied, causing loss of energy OR the curve begins at an area of the house that is not insulated, as in heat-sensitive cameras that measure where energy escapes, moving to where the insulation is xxx cm thick. Keep it literal, don't seem to have much choice unless you can ask the client.
DLyons Jul 28, 2015:
@Anne It seems most likely to me that such a curve would be essentially flat see e.g. the link I posted. Hence my answer.

One might argue for a theoretical curve that exponentially approached an asymptote - but there's no way that will show up in an empirical curve!
Anne-Katrin Grube (asker) Jul 28, 2015:
@ Ramey unfortunately not.
The preceding sentence says: "Bild x zeigt den Einfluss der Dämmstoffdicke auf die Wärmeverluste einer Außenwand." That's all.
Ramey Rieger (X) Jul 28, 2015:
@Anne Okay. does the following sentence indicate to which thickness the curve recedes?
Anne-Katrin Grube (asker) Jul 28, 2015:
@ Ramey the insulating material is not identified in the context
Anne-Katrin Grube (asker) Jul 28, 2015:
sorry to all, I cannot provide the curve for inspection, there is just text no picture
Ramey Rieger (X) Jul 28, 2015:
@Anne Just curious, is the insulating material loam?
BrigitteHilgner Jul 27, 2015:
Siehe zum Beispiel: http://www.linguee.de/englisch-deutsch/uebersetzung/s curve ...

Proposed translations

+4
13 mins
Selected

the curve tapers off

The S-shaped curve characterizes, or at least seems to characterize, a variety of phenomena, including the demand for new toys. Its shape can most easily be explained by imagining a few bacteria in a petri dish (see diagram). At first, the number of bacteria will increase at a rapid exponential rate because of the rich nutrient broth and the ample space in which to expand. Gradually, however, as the bacteria crowd each other, their rate of increase slows and the number of bacteria stabilizes.

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Note added at 27 Min. (2015-07-27 11:59:32 GMT)
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Oder: the curve levels off

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Note added at 28 Min. (2015-07-27 12:00:28 GMT)
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Oder: the curve levels off

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Note added at 22 Stunden (2015-07-28 10:04:05 GMT)
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Zum Inhaltlichen:

Es geht offensichtlich um die Ermittlung der optimalen Dämm(stoff)dicke eines Hauses/Gebäudes zum Zweck einer vernünftigen Investitionsentscheidung. Also im Rahmen einer Wirtschaftlichkeitsberechnung auf Basis gewisser Faktoren, in diesem Fall des Wärmeverlustes (->Energieverbrauch) gegenüber der Materialdicke/Dämmdicke (->Investitionskosten). Trägst Du die Dämmdicke auf der x-Achse auf, den Wärmeverlust (als davon abhängige Variable) auf der y-Achse, und voila: die Kurve flacht irgendwann ab. D.h. mehr Dämmstoffdicke hilft da nicht mehr, die Dämmung hat bei der fraglichen Dicke ihre maximale Wirkung erreicht - weitere Ausgaben kannst Du Dir sparen.
Der vorherige Verlauf der Kurve interessiert für die Übersetzung dieses Satzes nicht. Nur, dass sie eben steil ansteigt und dann abflacht. That's it.

Siehe auch hier:

http://hilfe.evebi.de/index.htm#!Modules/4/Documents/optimal...

http://www.schulungsstelle-traunstein.de/Energieberatung/bac...
Reference:

http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Bajaj-Auto-RVW3841498.htm

http://www.pleacher.com/mp/mlessons/calculus/s.html

Peer comment(s):
agree philgoddard : Levels off is OK, but I don't think a curve can taper.
1 hr
Thanks Phil. A curve "tapering off" is quite common in my opinion. Then again, I'm a chemist, and you know how it is with those scientists...
agree Hans-Jochen Trost : My own inclination and habit is to say "levels off" (I'm a physicist), but 'curve "tapers off"' claims 250,000 hists at google.com with a good number of them apparently fitting the present context, so take your pick.
3 hrs
agree Cilian O'Tuama : I'm fine with tapers off too
11 hrs
agree Ramey Rieger (X) : tapers/levels both fine
19 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "That's it. Thanks heaps!"
+3
37 mins

curve flattens out

Another alternative, but if it is "more than that", please explain why.
Peer comment(s):
agree BrigitteHilgner : Das müsste passen.
2 hrs
agree Hans-Jochen Trost : 'curve "flattens out"' scores 132,000 hits at google.com, so this is indeed as good a candidate as Barbara's suggestions.
2 hrs
agree Ramey Rieger (X) : Just as good, regardless of google
18 hrs
Something went wrong...
5 hrs

curve goes flat

It seems to me this is subtly different from "flattens out" :-) I'll have a think about why when I get more time. In the meantime, see the link for an example of what the curve may be plotting.

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Note added at 5 hrs (2015-07-27 17:19:30 GMT)
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Here's a tinyurl for it http://tinyurl.com/pbrcw2k


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Note added at 5 hrs (2015-07-27 17:27:10 GMT)
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"tapers off exponentially" is a valid description for certain curves. But does it fit this curve? It might help to know what being plotted against what.

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Note added at 16 hrs (2015-07-28 04:10:21 GMT)
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OK - I've thought about this now and I think there's an essential difference between "flattens out"/"tapers off" and my suggestion. Either version could be correct, one would need to inspect the curve to see which was more appropriate.

Both "flattens out"/"tapers off" imply that this is something that happens over the course of the range of values. OTOH, "goes flat" implies that the curve is flat for the whole range, and was not flat earlier.
Reference:

http://cd8ba0b44a15c10065fd-24461f391e20b7336331d5789078af53.r23.cf1.rackcdn.com/heatinghelp.vanillaforums.com/posts/3152/Insulation%20Chart

Peer comment(s):
neutral Hans-Jochen Trost : a) Your link does not work for me. b) google.com shows plenty of references when searching verbatim; however, to me they look predominantly casual in nature/use, so I'd prefer one of the other suggestions.
20 mins
"curve * flattens out" gets 266 GHits. "curve * goes flat" gets 79. I don't think Google is the way to approach this :-)
Something went wrong...
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