Translation 2 - Text 2 plus some English stuff
page contents
2 German text
3 T-man's model translation with highlighted points 4-6 Selected language notes from the class:
participles as adjectives; discourse markers
generalising with and without the definite article
7 relevant article from an American English newspaper
Staatsexamenklausurenkurs SS 2006
Translate the following text into English. Time allowed: 90 minutes only.
• Any alternative translations of individual words and phrases will be ignored.
• Numbers and signs: numbers, signs (% € etc), words remain numbers, signs and words.
You are allowed to use any two of the following monolingual English dictionaries (no older editions are permitted):
Longman's Dictionary of Contemporary English (4th edition, 2003); Macmillan's English Dictionary for Advanced Learners (2002); Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (7
th edition, 2005); Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (2003) plusOxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English (2002)
• Please leave a wide right-hand margin and a wide space between each line. At the top of the page, write your name, the name of your dictionaries (eg OALD7 / DCE 4 + OCD), and the variety of English you think you write (US or GB or AUS).
• Please treat this as an exam: work in silence, do not confer with your neighbours or attempt to look at their work, and do not let your neighbours look at your work.
• If you finish early, you may not leave the room until 15 minutes before the finishing time – please leave quietly after handing in your translation and homework.
Thank you.
Text 2, Type A (current events):
Der überwachte Amerikaner
Nach dem 11. September waren die US-Bürger zu vielem bereit. Bürgerrechte, Menschenrechte, das Leben von US-Soldaten durften für Fortschritte im Kampf gegen den Terror geopfert werden. Doch inzwischen sinkt die Unterstützung Bushs in der Bevölkerung rapide. Und gegen die zuletzt bekannt gewordene Anti-Terror-Maßnahme des Präsidenten protestieren nun selbst republikanische Senatoren: Seit dem September 2001 geben drei der großen Telefongesellschaften in den USA die Daten von Telefongesprächen ihrer 224 Millionen Kunden an den Geheimdienst NSA weiter.
Bush, gezwungen, öffentlich Stellung zu nehmen, erklärte zwar: "Wir schnüffeln nicht im Privatleben von Millionen unschuldiger Amerikaner herum." Vielmehr richteten sich alle Maßnahmen ausschließlich gegen die Terror-Organisation al-Qaida und deren Verbündete.
Doch 50 Kongressmitglieder haben den Präsidenten nun aufgefordert, das NSA-Programm zur Überwachung von US-Bürgern auf seine Verfassungsmäßigkeit überprüfen zu lassen.
Bereits Ende letzten Jahres hatte die New York Times berichtet, dass die NSA tausende Amerikaner überwacht. Angeblich handelte es sich nur um Gespräche von Verdächtigen mit dem Ausland. Einem Bericht von USA Today zufolge geht die Überwachung jedoch weit über diese Dimensionen hinaus. „Sowohl der Bundesstaatsanwalt als auch der Präsident haben die US-Bürger über das Ausmaß und das Ziel des NSA-Programms belogen“, kritisiert Anthony D. Romero von der American Civil Liberties Union. (The last sentence is only for your information, not for translation: „Es beschränkt sich nicht auf internationale Anrufe und auch nicht auf Terrorverdächtige.“)
SZ 12 May 2006 (201 words)
please pay attention to the highlighted points: syntax and grammar, vocabulary, punctuation and spelling
Americans under surveillance/ The monitored American
After September 11 / In the aftermath of 9/11, the American people were prepared to accept many changes. They allowed civil rights, human rights and the lives of US soldiers to be sacrificed for the sake of progress in the war against terror. But now/ today (the) popular support for Bush is falling rapidly / is plummeting. And even Republican senators are protesting against the President's most recently disclosed anti-terror measures / the latest presidential anti-terror measures to be disclosed: since (BrE) / Since (AmE) September 2001, three of the major/ big(gest) telephone companies in the US have been passing data on/about their 224 million / 224m customers' phone calls to the NSA intelligence agency/ the National Security Agency.
Forced to make a public statement, Bush did say, "We are not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans." Rather, he claimed, all the measures were focussed (BrE) focused (AmE) on / were aimed at the terror organisation al- Qaida and its allies/ affiliates. But 50 members of Congress have now called upon the President to check whether the NSA programme(BrE)/ program(AmE) for monitoring US citizens conforms to the constitution / to check the constitutionality of the NSA programme...
As recently/early as the end / Only at the end of last year, the/The
New York Times reported that the NSA was eavesdropping on / was
monitoring thousands of Americans. This supposedly involved /
This was said to involve only international calls (made) by
suspects. However, according to a report by/in USA Today, the
surveillance goes far beyond / far exceeds this remit / these
dimensions. "Both the Attorney General and the President have
lied/ have been lying to the American people about the scope and
nature/ target / aim of the NSA's programme/program," said
Anthony Romero of the American Civil Liberties Union critically.
Participles / Discourse Markers Participles as adjectives: Where's the logic?!
Yes Oh no...
a lost dog a found dog
a deserted wife a left wife
a monitored American a watched American an unopened letter a disclosed letter But oh yes...
a recently found dog
a carefully watched American a recently disclosed letter
not a recently left husband* (left: the opposite of right) And be careful...
the concerned young man the young man concerned
different word order, different meaning
disclosed reserves (business English - offene Reserven) See Swan: "participles as adjectives"
Discourse markers
TIP: collect them and their translations and their special features (useful for A-texts, B-texts, and essays)
bereits + time phrase as early as / as recently as
doch but
jedoch however
vielmehr rather (check word order, commas) on the contrary....
zwar....aber he did verb .... but they verbed...
although he verbed ... they verbed (although structure possible only in one sentence!)
See The Great Bird again: "discourse markers"
The monitored American
Generalising and the definite article B-texts in particular make generalisations
- about der Mensch or die Menschen, for instance.
In German: either a singular common noun der Mensch or a plural common noun die Menschen
can be used to represent a whole class.
But English works differently, especially with people...
Der Mensch braucht Sauerstoff.
* Typical mistake: The human being needs oxygen.*
Correct: Human beings need oxygen.
Die Menschen brauchen Liebe.
* Typical mistake: The people need love.*
Correct: People need love.
Exception: when people are reduced to sociological types
"the man in the street" or "the customer is always right".
Der Amerikaner ist eher offenherzig (the) Americans are more open or the average American is more open
German generalisations: article + singular uncountable noun Der Sauerstoff ist unsichtbar.
* Typical mistake: The oxygen is invisible.*
Correct: Oxygen is invisible.
Die Liebe sieht man auch nicht oft.
* Typical mistake: The love is not seen very often either.*
Correct: Love is not seen very often either.
Print-out T-man's Guide to Articles (next page)
Translation 2
The Definite Article in Bee Texts General
It is in the nature of B Texts to make generalisations (about der Mensch or die Menschen, for instance). In German, these generalisations can be made by using either a singular common noun (der Mensch), or a plural common noun (die Menschen), to represent a whole class. When translating, German-speakers tend to reproduce these patterns in English - but English works differently, and so mistakes occur.
Two examples:
Der Mensch braucht Sauerstoff.
* Typical mistake: *The human being needs oxygen.
Correct: Human beings need oxygen.
Die Menschen brauchen Liebe.
* Typical mistake: *The people need love.
Correct: People need love.
Similarly, the B Text often makes generalisations about things which, unlike der Mensch, are uncountable and cannot be used in the plural (der Sauerstoff, for instance, which is a material noun, or die Liebe, which is an abstract noun). This, too, is an area where German usage interferes in English translation. E.g.:
Der Sauerstoff ist unsichtbar.
* Typical mistake: The oxygen is invisible.
Correct: Oxygen is invisible.
Die Liebe sieht man auch nicht oft.
* Typical mistake: The love is not seen very often either.
Correct: Love is not seen very often either.
In each mistake, a definite article has been used where none was required.
Specific Rules and Examples
1. The definite article can be used with singular countable nouns used to represent a whole class of things if the language register is formal; and the thing referred to is not abstract.
a. Der Bienenwolf ist eine Wespe und füttert ihre Larven mit Honigbienen.
b. The robber wasp feeds its larvae honeybees.
Note: This rule does not apply to nouns referring to human attributes (e.g. intelligence) or to human beings (e.g. der Deutsche - Germans) unless they are reduced to human types, as in "the man in the street", or "the customer is always right".
c. Der Mensch und die Biene: eine Ausstellung.
d. Man and the Bee: an exhibition.
e. Die Einstellung zur Biene hat sich geändert.
f. Attitudes to the bee have changed.
2. The definite article in English is not used with plural nouns that refer to a class of things in general, without restriction.
a. Die Bienen summen.
b. Bees buzz.
3. The definite article is not used with uncountable abstract nouns that refer to abstract things in a general, unrestricted way.
a. Die Bienensprache ist eine tanzartige Zeichensprache.
b. Bee language is a dance-like sign language.
4. The definite article is not used with uncountable nouns that refer to substances or materials in a general, unrestricted way.
a. Das Bienengift ist ein Heilmittel gegen Rheumatismus.
b. Bee poison is a remedy for rheumatism.
5. The definite article is not used with gerunds employed in a general, unrestricted way.
a. Die Bienenzucht ist gefährlich.
b. Beekeeping is dangerous.
And, of course, see Swan: articles and the
NSA Keeps Track Of Most U.S. Phone Calls
By BARTON GELLMAN and ARSHAD MOHAMMED The Washington Post http://news.tbo.com/news/nationworld/MGBR8KHZ3NE.html
Published: May 12, 2006
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration has secretly been collecting the domestic telephone records of most American households and businesses, assembling gargantuan databases and attempting to sift them for clues about terrorist threats, according to sources with knowledge of the program.
Known as "call detail records," the information enables U.S. intelligence agencies to track who calls whom, and when, but does not include the contents of conversations, the sources said. The companies cooperating with the National Security Agency dominate the U.S. telecommunications market and connect hundreds of billions of telephone calls each year.
Intelligence analysts seek to mine their records to expose hidden connections and details of social networks, hoping to find signs of terrorist plots in the vast sea of innocent contacts.
Fresh disclosures Thursday in USA Today about the scale of domestic surveillance - the most extensive yet known involving ordinary citizens and residents - touched off a bipartisan uproar against a politically weakened President Bush.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., vowed to haul telephone companies before his committee under oath to ferret out details the Bush administration refuses to supply, and more than 50 Democrats signed a letter demanding a criminal investigation by an independent counsel.
Bush made an appearance in the White House press room, where he sought to shape perceptions about the surveillance while declining to acknowledge it is taking place. He said "the intelligence activities I authorized are lawful," but he specified no source of statutory or constitutional authority. He denied forcefully that his administration is "mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans," saying, "Our efforts are focused on links to al-Qaida and their known affiliates."
Neither Bush nor his subordinates denied any factual statement in the USA Today report, which said AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. have provided customer calling records to the National Security Agency since shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Together those companies serve some 224 million land-line and cellular customers - about four-fifths of the wired market and more than half of the wireless market. According to data provided by the research group TeleGeography, the three companies connected nearly 500 billion telephone calls in 2005 and nearly 2 trillion calls since late 2001.
Though he did not acknowledge particulars, the president complained that a leak about "sensitive intelligence" methods
"hurts our ability to defeat this enemy."
Thursday's report in USA Today arrived as Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, the president's nominee to be CIA director, faced tough scrutiny on Capitol Hill for his role in the interception of calls and e-mails between Americans and parties abroad.
After The New York Times disclosed the eavesdropping in December, the White House dubbed it a "terrorist surveillance program" and said it involved only international communications by people with "known links" to al-Qaida and its allies.
Government access to call records is related to the previously disclosed eavesdropping program, sources said, because it helps the NSA choose its targets for listening. The mathematical techniques known as "link analysis" and "pattern analysis," they said, give grounds for suspicion that can result in further investigation.
"Let's say lots comes in and we don't see anything interesting," said a source who helped develop the technology.
"Tomorrow we find out someone is communicating with a known terrorist. When you go back and look at the past data, there may be information that you missed. A pattern that was meaningless suddenly makes sense."
Critics reacted angrily, contrasting the new disclosures with the Bush administration's previous claims that domestic surveillance has been narrowly targeted and restricted to international communications.
"Both the attorney general and the president have lied to the American people about the scope and nature of the NSA's program," said Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union. "It's clearly not focused on international calls and clearly not just focused on terrorists. ... It's like adding more hay on the haystack to find that one needle."
