Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
unter Zwang stehen
English translation:
to act under constraint
Added to glossary by
Jutta Scherer
Nov 16, 2009 15:08
14 yrs ago
German term
Germany
Edting + translation since 1987
Native in: German
Works in: English to German, German to English, German, and 1 more.
unter Zwang stehen
German to English
Bus/Financial
Economics
from a business book
These "meines" Autors:
Im Regelfall arbeiten Menschen (und wirtschaften Unternehmen) nicht, weil sie wollen, sondern weil sie müssen. *Sie stehen unter Zwang.* (Grund: Weil sie Verpflichtungen/ökonomische Schuldverhältnisse eingegangen sind)
Wie sage ich das am besten?
They are under pressure? They act under constraint? They are under duress???? They are forced to?
Ich brauche dasselbe Wort noch einmal für die Überschrift: Wirtschaften resultiert aus Zwang.
Der Stil des Buches ist zwar seriös, aber nicht steif. Es ist eben kein wissenschaftiches Werk, sondern ein Sachbuch für Manager.
Im Regelfall arbeiten Menschen (und wirtschaften Unternehmen) nicht, weil sie wollen, sondern weil sie müssen. *Sie stehen unter Zwang.* (Grund: Weil sie Verpflichtungen/ökonomische Schuldverhältnisse eingegangen sind)
Wie sage ich das am besten?
They are under pressure? They act under constraint? They are under duress???? They are forced to?
Ich brauche dasselbe Wort noch einmal für die Überschrift: Wirtschaften resultiert aus Zwang.
Der Stil des Buches ist zwar seriös, aber nicht steif. Es ist eben kein wissenschaftiches Werk, sondern ein Sachbuch für Manager.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +1 | to be constrained |
Peter Sass
|
| 4 +2 | (...because they) have no choice |
wfarkas (X)
|
| 3 +3 | are compelled to |
British Diana
|
| 4 +1 | are forced |
Ted Wozniak
|
| 4 | have no alternative |
Joanna Scudamore-Trezek
|
| 4 | Out of necessity |
DFTS (X)
|
| 3 | are under pressure |
Thayenga
|
| 3 | under duress |
Annett Kottek (X)
|
Proposed translations
+1
2 days 10 hrs
Peter Sass
Germany
Germany
Native in German
Germany
Proficient, diligent & reliable
Native in: German
Works in: English to German, German to English, German
Related KudoZ points
:
3
Selected
to be constrained
o.a. they act/are under constraint
Das scheint mir - wenn auch als Nicht-Muttersprachler - die genaueste Entsprechung für einen unpersönlichen Zwang - ökon. Zwangslage - zu sein (sicher besser als force und pressure) und würde sich auch gut für den Titel machen - ich glaube besser als 'compulsion' wegen dessen Psycho-Konnotation.
Aber Dianas "are compelled to" ist sicher auch eine gute Lösung für den Satz.
Vgl. to be constrained by circumstances = Sachzwängen unterliegen (Dict.)
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Note added at 8 days (2009-11-24 22:55:38 GMT) Post-grading
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Vielen Dank Jutta!
Das scheint mir - wenn auch als Nicht-Muttersprachler - die genaueste Entsprechung für einen unpersönlichen Zwang - ökon. Zwangslage - zu sein (sicher besser als force und pressure) und würde sich auch gut für den Titel machen - ich glaube besser als 'compulsion' wegen dessen Psycho-Konnotation.
Aber Dianas "are compelled to" ist sicher auch eine gute Lösung für den Satz.
Vgl. to be constrained by circumstances = Sachzwängen unterliegen (Dict.)
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Note added at 8 days (2009-11-24 22:55:38 GMT) Post-grading
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Vielen Dank Jutta!
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Annett Kottek (X)
: Very good.
6 hrs
|
|
Vielen Dank Annett!
|
3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Apparently it is impossible to let the system "decide". I am giving the points to Peter because I ended up using his wording and because I found his explanation very enlightening.
Everyone else, please forgive. I regret not being able to grade several answers at once... Thanks again for an interesting discussion and many helpful comments."
+1
7 mins
Ted Wozniak
United States
United States
Native in English
Works in field
United States
Bridging the Language GAAP-
Native in: English (Variant: US) 
Works in: German to English
Related KudoZ points
:
8
are forced
would be my choice. They don't work because they want to but because they are forced.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Kim Metzger
: Or "are forced to"
8 mins
|
| neutral |
Annett Kottek (X)
: I think 'forced to work' is a bit strong here; 'forced labour' comes to my mind.
5 hrs
|
17 mins
have no alternative
They are forced to do so because they have no alternative - but no one is brandishing a stick!
Maybe lack of alternative is easier to work into your title too.
Maybe lack of alternative is easier to work into your title too.
24 mins
are under pressure
e. g. to meet committments.
Example sentence:
They work best when being under time pressure
+2
1 hr
(...because they) have no choice
Postal strike: Angry workers say they have no choice
Royal Mail staff say they are being forced to strike Thursday, October 22, 2009
Royal Mail staff say they are being forced to strike Thursday, October 22, 2009
32 mins
under duress
‘Outside of the hotel industry, about two-thirds of the Filipino work force, including the undocumented, live and work under duress.’
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/24/017.html
‘The prohibition of all forms of forced labor: includes security from prison labor and slavery, and prevents workers from being forced to work under duress’
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_rights
‘I was forced to work under duress in a hostile working environment where I had not right to voice a concern anymore about the Manager.’
http://community.lawyers.com/forums/t/85647.aspx
‘Human services professionals are pivotal members of our society. They often work under duress and as a result, stress related health and mental health problems commonly lead to job burnout in this population (Maslach 2003).’
http://www.britannica.com/bps/additionalcontent/18/32767203/...
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Note added at 39 Min. (2009-11-16 15:47:39 GMT)
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Siehe auch:
'The colonial economy under duress'
http://books.google.com/books?id=6qRc-Q3fO7oC&pg=PA199&lpg=P...
'But Time Warner Cable had resisted the demands, saying that with the national economy under duress, it was no time to be seeking higher fees from consumers.'
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/02/business/media/02viacom.ht...
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Note added at 59 Min. (2009-11-16 16:07:18 GMT)
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Z.B. 'Management founded on duress' od. 'Management the consequence of duress'
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Note added at 1 Stunde (2009-11-16 16:40:45 GMT)
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Sorry Jutta, I now see what you mean. One more suggestion, even though I'm not a native speaker (please forgive):
necessity, e.g. 'They work out of necessity' and 'Management a consequence of necessity'.
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/24/017.html
‘The prohibition of all forms of forced labor: includes security from prison labor and slavery, and prevents workers from being forced to work under duress’
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_rights
‘I was forced to work under duress in a hostile working environment where I had not right to voice a concern anymore about the Manager.’
http://community.lawyers.com/forums/t/85647.aspx
‘Human services professionals are pivotal members of our society. They often work under duress and as a result, stress related health and mental health problems commonly lead to job burnout in this population (Maslach 2003).’
http://www.britannica.com/bps/additionalcontent/18/32767203/...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 39 Min. (2009-11-16 15:47:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Siehe auch:
'The colonial economy under duress'
http://books.google.com/books?id=6qRc-Q3fO7oC&pg=PA199&lpg=P...
'But Time Warner Cable had resisted the demands, saying that with the national economy under duress, it was no time to be seeking higher fees from consumers.'
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/02/business/media/02viacom.ht...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 59 Min. (2009-11-16 16:07:18 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Z.B. 'Management founded on duress' od. 'Management the consequence of duress'
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 Stunde (2009-11-16 16:40:45 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Sorry Jutta, I now see what you mean. One more suggestion, even though I'm not a native speaker (please forgive):
necessity, e.g. 'They work out of necessity' and 'Management a consequence of necessity'.
Example sentence:
They work under duress.
Note from asker:
| Danke, Annett, aber in all Deinen Beispielsätzen scheint mir "duress" eher eine Zwangslage im Sinne von "missliche Lage" zu sein. |
+3
19 mins
British Diana
Germany
Germany
Native in English
Works in field
Germany
enthusiast
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: German to English, English to German, English, and 1 more.
are compelled to
The advantage here is that you also have compulsion, they are under compulsion, for use elsewhere in the text.
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Note added at 4 hrs (2009-11-16 19:28:13 GMT)
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to force and to compel are almost but not quite synonyms (see the discussion) for zwingen.
The other reason why I prefer "compel" here is the association with "compulsive" = "zwanghaft" . I think there is a tiny bit of "Zwanghaftigkeit" involved in "unter Zwang stehen"
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Note added at 4 hrs (2009-11-16 19:28:13 GMT)
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to force and to compel are almost but not quite synonyms (see the discussion) for zwingen.
The other reason why I prefer "compel" here is the association with "compulsive" = "zwanghaft" . I think there is a tiny bit of "Zwanghaftigkeit" involved in "unter Zwang stehen"
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Michél Dallaserra
: This seems far better than "are forced to".
22 mins
|
|
Thanks, Michél !
|
|
| agree |
AlessiaBeneg
28 mins
|
|
Thanks, Alessia !
|
|
| agree |
BrigitteHilgner
: Yes - this sounds just right. Have a nice evening.
1 hr
|
|
Thanks, Brigitte, you too !
|
8 hrs
Out of necessity
I like it even more for "resultiert aus Zwang" to be "out of necessity". I am not totally sure about how exactly to word necessity into the initial sentence, but necessity sounds like the right word to capture the meaning here to me in any case.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Annett Kottek (X)
: I already suggested that.
8 hrs
|
|
I didn't see it under any of the headings, and I have never even heard the word duress before. It is probably British English.
|
Discussion
As for my text, I'll probably go back using either "necessity" or "constraint", both of them options I had been considering before I posted.
Thanks again, this has been very insightful!
scheint mir nicht so gut zu passen, da uneindeutiger als 'Zwang' und etwa '...results from necessity' nicht den gleichen Bedeutungsgehalt hat (bei 'Zwang' geht es um einen kausalen Mechanismus - à la 'unsichtbare Hand'-, während 'necessity' eine finale Zweckbestimmung beschreibt).
So that is the meaning: "Sie stehen unter Zwang" = sie haben keine Wahl, sie sind durch die Umstände gezwungen.
Which English translation of "Zwang" would best convey that meaning?
Actually, I had also thought of "necessity" (which would also work nicely for the chapter title). Would that be off the mark?
for an attempt to untangle this
Not sure if being a native speaker really helps here, but my personal feeling is that "force" has more to do with brute strength applied directly (fors - strength) and "compel" with necessitating something using force (pellere - drive). The other difference that presents itself to me is that "compel" is used a lot in the passive, which is why I prefer "the workers are compelled to...". But in fact there is really very little in it!