https://www.proz.com/kudoz/german-to-english/investment-securities/6910496-quasi-quer-durch-die-branche.html
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Leitungsverzug
Dec 18, 2020 15:05
3 yrs ago
42 viewers *
German term

quasi quer durch die Branche

German to English Bus/Financial Investment / Securities
Nach etlichen Börsengängen oder Übernahmen in Börsenhüllen werden ***quasi quer durch die Branche*** die meisten Wasserstoffunternehmen von Tag 1 mit einer Marktkapitalisierung von weit über 1 Milliarde US-Dollar bewertet.

Provisional translation:

After uncountable IPOs or takeovers into shell companies, ***most hydrogen companies across the industry**** are valued at market capitalizations far beyond US$1 billion, right from day one.


The client thinks that the word "quasi" is not adequately reflected in the translation, but in my opinion, the translation is fine and nothing needs to be changed. What do you think?
Proposed translations (English)
4 +3 across virtually the whole industry
3 +2 pretty well throughout the industry
5 virtually across the board
4 (most companies) across the industry
4 covering almost the entire industry

Discussion

Cilian O'Tuama Dec 28, 2020:
Yes, Your original translation was also fine, IMO.
Olaf Reibedanz (asker) Dec 22, 2020:
@Björn: Thanks for providing the extra context, which I should have included! The author actually mentioned precisely that company as an example to illustrate his point :-)
Björn Vrooman Dec 19, 2020:
Mostly agree with Phil What Olaf didn't include but would have helped is that they gave an example of such a company: Enapter.

Enapter is an electrolyzer manufacturer: https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/news/enapter-to-set-up-elec...

Another example is Nikola (via SPAC). But that's a totally different industry, as their goal is to make Class 8 trucks running on hydrogen: https://valueandopportunity.com/2020/06/11/nikola-motor-comp...

I believe what the author is trying to say is that no matter what a business actually does or sells (stationary, portable or vehicle systems or integration services)--that's "quasi quer durch die Branche"-- the company will have a near-instant advantage as long as hydrogen is involved in some way.

Why do you think Nikola switched from natural gas trucks to hydrogen? See first para.: https://www.trucks.com/2016/08/30/nikola-hydrogen-fuel-cell-...

I know this sort of writing style, too, and I don't like it. Quasi, in German, is more of a filler word than anything else. But in this context, the above explanation might be of some use.

Best
Cilian O'Tuama Dec 19, 2020:
If the client... If the client intentionally used "quasi" (as seems to be clear from his objection), then it needs to be included in the translation.
philgoddard Dec 18, 2020:
Exactly.
Steve Robbie Dec 18, 2020:
Olaf's client disagrees. So it is up to Olaf to decide (i) whether he also thinks it's badly written and (ii) whether or not he wants to tell the client that.
philgoddard Dec 18, 2020:
Steve The German is badly written, because "die meisten" and "quasi quer durch die Branche" is saying the same thing twice. It's even possible that they meant to delete "die meisten", but forgot.
You can't say "most companies almost all across the industry". Olaf is quite right to omit "almost".
Steve Robbie Dec 18, 2020:
Read it again, Phil "Most" translates "die meisten".
philgoddard Dec 18, 2020:
Quasi *has* been translated. "Most".

The only things I disagree with are "uncountable" for "etlich" (it means quite a few) and "valued at market capitalisations", which is a tautology. A market cap is a value. "Have market capitalisations" would be better.
Steve Robbie Dec 18, 2020:
"Quasi" hasn't been translated.
"...across [b]virtually the whole industry[/b]" would capture it.
You could argue that this makes the sentence too long, but personally I don't think it does.

Proposed translations

+3
1 hr
Selected

across virtually the whole industry

As per discussion above.

You could conceivably argue that the source is verbose and benefits from being pared down by the translator, but if the client won't buy it or you just don't agree with that, this is how I would translate it.
Peer comment(s):
agree Cilian O'Tuama
5 hrs
agree Lancashireman
6 hrs
agree writeaway
19 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks everybody for your input! I finally went with this version although I still think that my original translation was also fine."
+2
15 mins

pretty well throughout the industry

a little idiomatic but fits...
Peer comment(s):
agree Cilian O'Tuama : Though I'd prefer "much" to "well". / ...most companies - pretty much throughout the industry - are valued....
6 hrs
agree David Hollywood : I agree with Cilian. In this context "pretty much" is spot on and you could even go with "pretty much throughout the entire industry" for added emphasis, tautological though it may be...
12 hrs
Something went wrong...
29 mins

(most companies) across the industry

See the discussion box.

Your version is fine - I can see why the customer queried what they thought was an omission, but their logic is wrong.
Note from asker:
Thanks for your valuable input, Phil! I took into account your comments about "etlich" and "Marktkapitalisierung" and changed the translation accordingly.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Cilian O'Tuama : logic not necessarily wrong, maybe poorly punctuated
9 hrs
Something went wrong...
1 hr

covering almost the entire industry

Quasi can often be translated by "nearly" or "almost" depending on the context. And yes, it should be rendered, even if it sounds vague.

"Following numerous IPOs..., the bulk of the hydrogen companies covering almost the entire industry have a market capitalization of well over $1 billion from day one."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2020-12-18 16:17:21 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Make that "Following numerous IPOs..., most of the hydrogen companies covering almost the entire industry HAD a market capitalization of well over $1 billion from day one."

BTW, "quasi" defines industry, not companies. If that doesn't come across in the translation, the issue has potentially been ignored or misinterpreted.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Cilian O'Tuama : the idea is right IMO, but 'cover' not suitable here // Then how lucky we all must be that you finally came along. We're clueful now. :-)
9 hrs
There are always ways to render something more elegantly. But it looks to me that nobody had a clue how to handle this until I came along.
Something went wrong...
2 hrs

virtually across the board

After uncountable IPOs or takeovers into shell companies, virtually across the board, hydrogen companies in the industry now achieve market capitalizations far exceeding US$1 billion. Right from day one.
Peer comment(s):
agree Adrian MM.
5 hrs
neutral Lancashireman : 1. How has Branche (DE) morphed into board (EN)? 2. Why couldn't you post this variation as an agree to S Robbie? 3. How does this qualify for CL5 (= I am sure)?
5 hrs
disagree Cilian O'Tuama : Board is way too broad, IMO
8 hrs
neutral writeaway : Agree with colleagues. CL5 is OTT and it should have been posted as an agree to the initial answer this is copied from. It's possible to suggest alternatives in a peer agree
19 hrs
Something went wrong...