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Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

áreas de frontera

English translation:

across disciplinary boundaries

Added to glossary by JaneTranslates
Mar 30, 2012 02:13
12 yrs ago
2 viewers *
Spanish term

áreas de frontera

Spanish to English Social Sciences Education / Pedagogy Research projects
This document concerns goals for a university. One of those goals is to create new research centers, and the idea of multi- and interdisciplinary research has been mentioned several times. Now, in a list, I have this phrase:

Investigación en áreas de frontera y de impacto social

Given the larger context, I assume that (ignoring, for now, the aspect of social impact) this refers to research projects designed to fall into the "border zone" between disciplines.

I've done a lot of Googling with variations on "borderline" and "border zone" and even "overlap," but I can't find a phrase that sounds right. I'm sure this is educators' jargon and I'm betting that the author of this document was thinking of a specific phrase in English, but I can't find it.

Anybody know the term I'm looking for? Deadline in 10 hours! Can you help, please? Thank you!

Puerto Rican Spanish to U.S. English
Proposed translations (English)
4 +4 across disciplinary boundaries
4 +2 frontier areas
4 border zones
3 +1 Ground breaking
3 +1 cross-disciplinary interfaces
4 Cutting-edge Research

Discussion

JaneTranslates (asker) Apr 2, 2012:
Borderline That's a very good point, neilmac. I'm having the same problem, to a lesser degree, with "colaborar"--I keep thinking of citizens of occupied countries "collaborating with the enemy," and find it very hard to use the word. Thanks!
neilmac Mar 31, 2012:
Borderline sounds negative 9 times out of 10. Avoid.
José J. Martínez Mar 30, 2012:
I think I have to resort to Set theory here... when you have a situation like that you have an area called interconnection... consider this word because it identifies in proper EN what you want to say and people that took this part of mathematics-- it used to be called the new math--- will understand perfectly...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_theory
lorenab23 Mar 30, 2012:
A shot in the dark Could it be something like across boundaries...see here
The major interdisciplinary institutes at Penn State were created to promote interdisciplinary collaboration across departmental boundaries and to strategically focus Penn State's research strengths on important scientific questions and societal needs.
http://www.mri.psu.edu/Research/index.asp

Proposed translations

+4
20 mins
Selected

across disciplinary boundaries

"border zones" is sometimes found in this sense, though I wouldn't use it on its own because it would be ambiguous: if you do a search for "research" and "border zones", most of the results are to do with research on geographical border zones. You could say "border zones between disciplines".

"Frontier areas" is a very common term in this context, but I don't think it means indisciplinarity; I think it means cutting-edge areas, where the action is, as it were. That's the sense I get from looking at examples.

I think the phrase most often used here is "disciplinary boundaries", and specifically "research across disciplinary boundaries".

"Readings in Language Studies, Volume 1: Language Across Disciplinary Boundaries"
http://www.amazon.com/Readings-Language-Studies-Volume-Disci...

"Engaging Students: Integrated Learning and Research across Disciplinary Boundaries."
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_...

"Research across disciplinary boundaries comes naturally to many academics, regardless of their field."
http://multi.stanford.edu/interaction/0507/teach.html

More results for "research across disciplinary boundaries":
https://www.google.es/search?num=100&hl=es&sa=X&ei=FRt1T7jbF...


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Note added at 21 mins (2012-03-30 02:35:38 GMT)
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I have lost count of the number of times Lorena and I have posted almost the same idea simultaneously.

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Note added at 26 mins (2012-03-30 02:40:15 GMT)
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Then again, maybe it does refer to "cutting-edge" areas, frontier areas, rather than indisciplinary boundaries.
Peer comment(s):
agree Natalia Pérez : I like it! Greets, again!
5 hrs
Thanks again, Melissa! :)
agree Jenni Lukac (X)
6 hrs
Many thanks, Jenni. To be frank, I am not entirely sure what the source term means. This is really a way of expressing what Jane understood it to mean.
agree Yvonne Gallagher : yes, this (and Lorena) expresses it well
8 hrs
Thanks, gallagy :)
agree lorenab23 : Here I am, your comment has really made me laugh!
15 hrs
It's true! I regard it as an honour from my point of view. Thanks as ever, Lorena!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "This is the phrase I used, and I'm about 95% it is the intended meaning. I like the way "boundaries" preserves the "frontera" sense from the original. This phrase is just right--unless I'm wrong about the intention of the original! However, in the entire 15,000+-word document, there was never a whiff of "ground-breaking" research, while the multi- and interdisciplinary emphasis was frequent. So, I think this is it. Thank you so much for all your thought and research. And if Lorena is reading this--thank you, too!"
1 min

border zones

A good guess
Note from asker:
Thank you, José. This is what I understand from the context, but I think I prefer the phrase that Charles suggests. I appreciate your interest and your answer.
Something went wrong...
+2
5 mins

frontier areas

For the last several years our frontier area of research has been on the microbial pathogenesis and therapy of infectious diseases including retroviruses and opportunistic infections.
http://www.drexelmed.edu/Home/AboutOurFaculty/ZafarKhan.aspx

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Note added at 6 mins (2012-03-30 02:20:09 GMT)
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Within this frontier area of research, we are undertaking a number of longitudinal and experimental projects that are community based (for example, WWW), school based (Travelling Green) and workplace based (Smart Move?).
http://www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/schoolofpsychologicalscie...

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Note added at 7 mins (2012-03-30 02:21:20 GMT)
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Research has become a critical center of cultural development. It is important that artists become active in monitoring and shaping frontier areas of research.
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~swilson/emerging/wilson.newtech.htm...

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Note added at 8 mins (2012-03-30 02:22:04 GMT)
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"frontier areas of research" http://tiny.cc/fuoybw About 161,000 results

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Note added at 10 mins (2012-03-30 02:24:47 GMT)
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Frontier Areas Research Excellence
Posted on May 20, 2011 | Leave a comment
This daily report has had over a hundred ‘posts’ which consist of news snippets, in a dry run for the genuine article. The World Institute for Advanced Study pursues the following ‘Frontier Areas Research Excellence’ (FARE) programmes and the daily reports must bring them centre-stage.
http://cpfsdailynews.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/frontier-areas...

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Note added at 25 mins (2012-03-30 02:38:54 GMT)
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"cutting-edge" could be another way to go
Note from asker:
Thank you, Rich. As I continued with that lengthy document, I became more and more convinced that the other sense is the intended one, though the client didn't have time to respond to my queries. Your references made me waver a bit, though. Thanks for your time & interest. I may yet discover that you were right and I was wrong!
Peer comment(s):
agree Charles Davis : I have to say, Rich, that this could well be right, and I think it deserves an agree. I'm really not sure which meaning is intended, but on the face of it "áreas de frontera" could well mean research in the forefront.
6 hrs
Thank you, Charles :)
agree Jenni Lukac (X) : Same old saw: pick a few good possibilities and query. There's nothing more one can do.
6 hrs
Thanks, Jenni
Something went wrong...
+1
45 mins

Ground breaking

I feel it could be this and I know I'm taking a chance, but there it is.
Note from asker:
I think this is an excellent answer for another context. I had been thinking of "pioneer research" but "ground-breaking" is better. However, I am now certain that, in this context, the other interpretation is intended: the university is pushing for more interdisciplinary research. Thanks very much for your time, and I'll keep "ground-breaking" in mind for the future.
Peer comment(s):
agree Simon Bruni : I have seen "frontera" used for areas of research that are breaking new ground, the frontier of human knowledge, as it were
4 hrs
Thankyou Simon!
Something went wrong...
+1
6 hrs

cross-disciplinary interfaces

Another suggestion:

"Research of cross-disciplinary interfaces and their social impact"

Many cutting edge research challenges cross over between the arts and humanities on the one hand and the social sciences on the other. There are a series of interfaces, and many areas of overlap between the two. These areas of overlap and interface offer considerable opportunities for both the arts and humanities and social sciences. Moreover, disciplines
and areas of study are continually evolving, as researchers identify new questions and approaches. Some of the most important research questions and the most innovative approaches arise at the interface between established disciplines.

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/_images/Joint_AHRC_ESRC_Statement_on_S...

inter·facial adj.
Usage Note: The noun interface has been around since the 1880s, meaning "a surface forming a common boundary, as between bodies or regions." But the word did not really take off until the 1960s, when it began to be used in the computer industry to designate the point of interaction between a computer and another system, such as a printer. The word was applied to other interactions as well between departments in an organization, for example, or between fields of study. Shortly thereafter interface developed a use as a verb, but it never really caught on outside its niche in the computer world, where it still thrives.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/interface

the facts, problems, considerations, theories, practices, etc., shared by two or more disciplines, procedures, or fields of study: the interface between chemistry and physics.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/interface
Note from asker:
Helena, that phrase, "cross-disciplinary INTERFACES," really caught my eye. I chose Charles's answer in the end, because his "boundaries" preserved the sense of "frontera," but this option is really good, too. Thank you so much for an excellent alternative, and for your thoughtful research.
Peer comment(s):
agree Emiliano Pantoja
2 hrs
Thank you, Emiliano!
Something went wrong...
15 hrs

Cutting-edge Research

It would sound like it is at the vanguard of the research field in those areas.
Reference:

http://www.asds.net/CERG//

Note from asker:
Thank you, Rei. Excellent suggestion--if I hadn't used "on the cutting edge" for something else on the same page! And besides, I'm now sure that the "interdisciplinary" sense was meant here. Thanks so much for your time and interest.
Something went wrong...
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