remmende voorsprong

English translation: paraphrase, see below [context: initial head start proving to be a handicap in the long run]

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Dutch term or phrase:remmende voorsprong
English translation:paraphrase, see below [context: initial head start proving to be a handicap in the long run]
Entered by: Kitty Brussaard

12:35 Feb 16, 2017
Dutch to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Dutch term or phrase: remmende voorsprong
Doordat we dit werk al jaren doen hebben we een remmende voorsprong: we kunnen niet omgaan met de moderne manier van werken die anderen intussen hebben ontwikkeld.
Evelien Snel
Netherlands
Local time: 10:31
[paraphrase, see below]
Explanation:
See the discussion box. Consider rephrasing/paraphrasing 'remmende voorsprong' rather than translating it literally.

For example:

Doordat we dit werk al jaren doen hebben we een remmende voorsprong (...)
>>
Our years of experience in this line of work are now working against us (...)
Selected response from:

Kitty Brussaard
Netherlands
Local time: 10:31
Grading comment
Thanks. I have decided to paraphrase.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +3[paraphrase, see below]
Kitty Brussaard
4 +1to "fall into the dinosaur trap" / "become a dinosaur"
Bryan Crumpler
Summary of reference entries provided
Wet van de remmende voorsprong
Roy vd Heijden

Discussion entries: 5





  

Answers


2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
[paraphrase, see below]


Explanation:
See the discussion box. Consider rephrasing/paraphrasing 'remmende voorsprong' rather than translating it literally.

For example:

Doordat we dit werk al jaren doen hebben we een remmende voorsprong (...)
>>
Our years of experience in this line of work are now working against us (...)

Kitty Brussaard
Netherlands
Local time: 10:31
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch
PRO pts in category: 44
Grading comment
Thanks. I have decided to paraphrase.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  philgoddard
31 mins
  -> Thank you, Phil. Good to receive confirmation from a native speaker.

agree  Natasha Ziada (X)
3 days 9 hrs
  -> Dank je wel, Natasha. Ik vond zojuist ook nog de 'curse of first' :-). Zie http://simplicable.com/new/curse-of-first.

agree  Michael Beijer
4 days
  -> Thanks, Michael.
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3 days 19 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
(een) remmende voorsprong (hebben)
to "fall into the dinosaur trap" / "become a dinosaur"


Explanation:
This 1st phrase is non-standard, but the metaphor still applies.

"To fall into a dinosaur trap" would be the author admitting that they've failed to stay ahead of the curve and innovate/evolve along with the industry. In essence, they haven't kept up with the times, which puts them at risk of being choked out of the market for not being able to work / operate / do business using modern processes/methods/techniques. They're "trapped" in the old ways essentially.

"To become a dinosaur" is fairly standard idiom, assuming the definition: "a person or thing that is outdated or has become obsolete because of failure to adapt to changing circumstances."

Might not be a perfect fit. Nonetheless, the semantics are in the ballpark, and it allows you to use much more natural idiom than that literal "handicap of a head start" nonsense that Jan Romein coined while he was "good busy" working on essays.

Either way, native speakers will know what it means for businesses to be (or become) dinosaurish. See example renderings below.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 days (2017-02-20 23:12:01 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

If your client is ahead of the competition, why are they admitting "we kunnen niet omgaan met de moderne manier van werken"? That still puts them at risk, no? I mean, Mozart was ahead of the competition (and arguably still is) but he can't use an iPhone. Just saying :-p

Example sentence(s):
  • We've fallen into a dinosaur trap, having been in the business for so many years...
  • We started in this business so long ago that we've become a bit of a dinosaur...

    https://goo.gl/ExsOVK
    Reference: http://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/adapt-or-die/
Bryan Crumpler
United States
Local time: 05:31
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 15
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks. It is close, but the dinosaurs were not obviously ahead of many other species, like my client was ahead of the competition.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Michael Beijer: just wondering what you would propose for "Het onvoltooid verleden"?
9 hrs
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Reference comments


25 mins peer agreement (net): +2
Reference: Wet van de remmende voorsprong

Reference information:
"The law of the handicap of a head start (original Dutch: Wet van de remmende voorsprong) or dialectics of lead is a theory that suggests that an initial head start in a given area may result in a handicap in the long term. The term was coined in 1937 by Jan Romein, a Dutch journalist and historian, in his essay "The dialectics of progress" ("De dialectiek van de vooruitgang"), part of the series The unfinished past (Het onvoltooid verleden)."
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_the_handicap_of_a_head_...

Roy vd Heijden
Belgium
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  Kitty Brussaard: This explains it well, albeit the English may not be perfect.
1 hr
agree  Tina Vonhof (X): Interesting.
2 hrs
neutral  Bryan Crumpler: Just my two cents (not for you, Roy, but for others who may come to read this): this wiki is very poorly written. VERY poorly written. Translated terms such as "the unfinished past" are embarrassingly titterworthy.
10 hrs
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