Feb 23, 2007 10:29
17 yrs ago
4 viewers *
German term

sich abgrenzen

German to English Social Sciences Psychology
This is part of graphological Gutachten for candidates for the post of headmistress of a school.
"Im Kontakt ist Frau H. höflich und gewandt. Ihr Auftritt ist professionell. Sie zeigt Haltung, ist kontrolliert und diplomatisch. In der internen Kommunikation mit Schülerinnen und Mitarbeitenden (staff) kann sie auch sehr bestimmt sein und **sich abgrenzen**. Auf der persönlichen Ebene ist sie zurückhaltend, lässt sich von ihrem Verstand leiten und entscheidet eher vernunftsmässig als emotional. Sie ist aber durchaus ein Mensch mit starken Emotionen und emotional erregbar. Möglicherweise schützt sie ihre Sensibilität im Schulalltag mit einer gewissen Reserviertheit und Strenge. Bei Konflikten haben bei ihr schulpolitische Überlegungen und die Interessen der Gruppe Vorrang vor den persönlichen Bedürfnissen des Einzelnen.

Discussion

Francis Lee (X) Feb 23, 2007:
What direction are you yourself thinking in? I initially thought "maintain her distance" but have the feeling that's not really it.

Proposed translations

+6
1 hr
Selected

set boundaries, observe boundaries

Is how I read it - and I'm assuming that this is meant to be a positive quality.

Golly - is all of this derived entirely from interpretation of the person's handwriting??
Peer comment(s):

agree Ulrike Kraemer : with "set (her own) boundaries" - that was my thought, too
1 min
agree TonyTK : And I like LittleBalu's added "her own".
19 mins
agree Mihaela Boteva : With LiittleBalu
24 mins
agree Brie Vernier
2 hrs
agree Kieran McCann : elaborating on 'bestimmt' ie 'firm/clear/definite'
3 hrs
agree Johanna Timm, PhD : agree with Golly
7 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
-1
3 mins

to shrink into oneself

...
Peer comment(s):

disagree Francis Lee (X) : Sounds like she's paranoid and/or suffers from agoraphobia. CL4??
4 mins
Something went wrong...
+2
10 mins

to disassociate

in other words, not get involved personally
Peer comment(s):

agree Sarah Downing
6 mins
Thanks, Sarah
neutral Francis Lee (X) : as an intransitive verb or a reflexive without any subject ("from ...")?/ In that case, it sounds like she treats them like lepers
29 mins
from the pupils and the staff, as the sentence indicates, Francis.
agree Tim Jenkins
2 hrs
Thanks, Tim
Something went wrong...
1 hr

stand her ground

vielleicht ist das gemeint
Something went wrong...
+2
1 hr

remain/be objective

I like dissociate, but I am not sure if it really expresses the intent. This is a tricky one, as we would need more context.
This is how I would interpret it, not exactly literally, but maybe helpful for an evaluation. Maybe ask yourself which traits would be important for such a position and this could help you come up with a good solution.
Peer comment(s):

agree casper (X) : I share your insight
56 mins
agree Diana Loos
1 hr
Something went wrong...
3 hrs

keep a professional distance

this is what occurred to me in the context
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