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German to English translations [PRO] Bus/Financial - Advertising / Public Relations
German term or phrase:Schlappenfaktor
Dear colleagues,
I'm currently mid-way through a revision project and I've stumbled across the term "Schlappenfaktor". The word itself gets 0 Google hits, and while there are a few more for "schlappen Faktor", there isn't quite enough for me to work out what's going on here - especially as the term seems to have positive connotations in this instance. It seems to mean something like "multiplier factor", but I'm honestly stumped!
The document itself is a lengthy business brochure singing the praises of a particular German region, and this is the part of the text in question:
"Durch die zentrale Lage kann die Zusammenarbeit mit der betriebswirtschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität bei der Erarbeitung von geeigneten Geschäftsmodellen erleichtert werden. Wissenschaftler sprechen in dem Zusammenhang gerne auch vom „Schlappenfaktor“. Etwa 240 neue hochqualifizierte Arbeitsplätze bringen der Stadt und der Region direkt und indirekt positive wirtschaftliche Effekte."
Explanation: It's doubtful there'll be an ideal solution to this question, but I think 'knock-on' is the better pick to date. I'll throw this one in anyway in keeping to a slightly stricter interpretation...
Thank you so much, Chris (and all the other answerers)! It was almost impossible to choose just one answer - really, any of them would have worked in the context, and I am so hugely, hugely grateful to everyone who contributed. For me, this one struck the neatest balance between having a clear meaning in English (particularly for the potential international readership of the brochure who might not necessarily speak English at native level) and a visible link to (one interpretation of!) the German :) 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
Thank you, Phil - I'm relieved to have confirmation of my "cluster effect"! :)
Yes, I agree with you about the "scientists" - as a "Wissenschaftlerin" by trade who is anything but a scientist, I promise I'm normally hyper-sensitive to the scientist/academic elision in German!
is perfect. I don't think "walking distance" works - it's not literal, it's about the synergies that come of proximity to the university and other businesses. And Wissenschaftler means academics here, not scientists, but you probably know that :-)
I like "walking distance" - I've also been toying with "cluster effect", in the sense that the facilities etc. are clustering together, and that certainly sounds scientific, to my ear! I like Steffen's 'proximity', too - now I've got a grasp of what the term is trying to say, it's much easier to work out what might fit.
As background, my preference for putting something in its place, rather than leaving it, is that the previous translator simply left the term in German (i.e. "Scientists often talk of the "Schlappeneffekt" "), which I think is anything but satisfactory - so I'd quite like to come up with something that's at least a little better to pre-empt the inevitable queries from the PM (and the original translator) about what's happened to the sentence!
You've all helped me immeasurably - thank you for giving up the time on a Monday afternoon. The translators' grapevine saves the day! (I, for one, have had Marvin Gaye stuck in my head ever since I read Ramey's comment!)
...for whatever reason (though I'd rather omit it), there's "acceptable walking distance": "Walking distance is an important concept in the fields of transportation and public health. A distance of 0.25 miles is often used as an acceptable walking distance in U.S. research studies." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3377942/
"The catchment area of an individual shop is defined as being a radius of 400m from the unit; this being the maximum acceptable walking distance. In most cases, up to 300m is considered to be an 'easy walking distance' (PPS6 'Planning for Town Centres') and..." https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/sites/brighton-hove.gov.uk/...
I know, not very colloquial, but it's what scientists use. Ofc, you could also tout it as the "optimal walking distance for white lab coat wearers," but I'm not sure that's going to go down well.
Isn't your interpretation (with which I agree) not in line with what Klaus and Thomas suggested ("The idea being that people can just pop over without even changing into proper...") and what I said about Schlappenreichweite?
I also concur with this being an exaggeration. Earlier, I was tempted to write that whoever created this piece of marketing copy must have overheard two or maybe three researchers joking around and now believes this is a "thing."
I doubt we're talking about an established term here. Not geeky enough, for one.
And thanks, Jennifer, I think either Klaus or Thomas should post something to that effect.
Best and all of you: have a great start to the week
Another take on it would be to focus on the close proximity of the premises ("da kann ich ja eben mal [in Schlappen] rübergehen"). I consider the statement "Wissenschaftler sprechen ... gerne auch vom 'Schlappenfaktor'" to be mildly exaggerating, given that searching for this term on the web does not yield a single hit.
I'd thus paraphrase that the close proximity of the premises (or the fact that the university premises are situated within easy reach = "kurze Wege") creates a win-win situation for all stakeholders.
Thank you all! Yes, Carmen, that's certainly what "Schlappe" means "normally", as it were, but it just doesn't quite fit here - it's quite the opposite of a defeat or a setback!
I'm leaning rather more towards the idea as suggested by Bjorn, Thomas and Klaus - so if one of you would like to post your suggestion as an answer, I'll happily give you the points :)
I agree with Thomas' approach, and I would usually either leave it out or subtly circumnavigate it, but in this instance, I'd certainly prefer to put something in to get the sense across, if nothing else!
Klaus Beyer could be onto something. Since the term is used to describe the proximity of the faculties leading to closer cooperation it could really refer to 'Schlappen' = house slippers. The idea being that people can just pop over without even changing into proper shoes – ie. cooperation is easy and can happen all the time without the need to arrange formal meetings. (But just to stress: I have never seen the term before so that's really just a wild guess.)
Leaving it out might be the best option here. It doesn't seem add anything to the text, after all.
'Eine Schlappe erleiden' is to suffer a setback, take a beating, as when a team loses. I haven't really seen it in this particular context but if you translated it more or less literally, I assume it would express what the author means.
...related to "Schlappe" in the meaning of a bright feather used as an extra lure in fly fishing -- meaning that there is a factor present in the region attracting lots of extra "fish", i.e. businesses?
"Schlappen" is, of course, a colloquialism for "house slippers". Farfetched though it may be, possibly an allusion to sort of "all in the family" matter, a "cheek to jowl factor", as it were. Naturally going off the deep end with that.
Andreea Sepi, MCIL (X)
Germany
Misspelling?
11:50 Jun 29, 2020
I suspect what they mean is "Schleppfaktor" or "Schleppenfaktor" in the sense of "multiplier effect"... The location generates a "tow"
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
2 hrs confidence:
multiplier effect
Explanation: It's 'schlappe Faktor', not 'Schlappenfaktor.' Compare:
Compare with this: "How does the multiplier effect work in economics? In economics, a multiplier broadly refers to an economic factor that, when increased or changed, causes increases or changes in many other related economic variables. In terms of gross domestic product, the multiplier effect causes gains in total output to be greater than the change in spending that caused it.Feb 6, 2020."
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 8 hrs (2020-06-29 19:59:04 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
"The region's central location may boost cooperation with the university's business administration department in the development of suitable business models. Scientists often talk about a multiplier effect in that regard. About 240 new high-skills jobs are expected to have a positive direct and indirect impact on the city's and the region's economy."
Michael Martin, MA United States Local time: 21:52 Works in field Native speaker of: German, English PRO pts in category: 52
1 day 57 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +2
knock-on effect
Explanation: The jobs that are being created are a knock on effect of the centralization. They want to emphasize that it will not result in job losses as centralization is usually perceived to result in.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 day 1 hr (2020-06-30 12:36:23 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Domino effect can also work. I think the Schlappen here is onomatopoeia - think of firecrackers going off one by one, each one causing the next one to go off. because yeah it doesn't seem to relate to the topic in terms of meaning. https://www.linguee.com/english-german/search?source=auto&qu...
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 day 1 hr (2020-06-30 12:37:15 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
buzz and thud are examples of onomatopoeia - sound of the word suggests its meaning.
Cillie Swart South Africa Local time: 03:52 Works in field Native speaker of: English
1 day 2 hrs confidence:
convenience factor
Explanation: It's doubtful there'll be an ideal solution to this question, but I think 'knock-on' is the better pick to date. I'll throw this one in anyway in keeping to a slightly stricter interpretation...
Chris Pr United Kingdom Local time: 02:52 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you so much, Chris (and all the other answerers)! It was almost impossible to choose just one answer - really, any of them would have worked in the context, and I am so hugely, hugely grateful to everyone who contributed. For me, this one struck the neatest balance between having a clear meaning in English (particularly for the potential international readership of the brochure who might not necessarily speak English at native level) and a visible link to (one interpretation of!) the German :)
Explanation: Of the 40 investments that Perrelli has made as an angel investor in the past several years, for example, 35 were based in the area, he says. “Angels, not unlike many VCs, prefer to invest close to home. I refer to it as the “pop-in” factor,” says Perelli. https://www.incimages.com/uploaded_files/article/2016Washing...
The Wissenschaftler can "pop across" and call in on each other at any time without changing from slippers to outdoor shoes.
Lancashireman United Kingdom Local time: 02:52 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 171
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