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German to English translations [PRO] Law/Patents - Government / Politics
German term or phrase:personenbezogene Merkmale
In a text about discrimination:
(...Das Gesetz ahndet keine Verstöße, wenn die Person zu einem solchen angestiftet wurde........)= previous sentence. "Das Gesetz verbietet Benachteiligungen nur, wenn sie an eines der personenbezogenen Merkmale anknüpfen."
I need help with the second part of the second sentence, please.
Explanation: Don't see a problem with this: "The law forbids discrimination only when tied to personal characteristics."
I can think of quite a few examples for this. For instance, I private school may have discriminating hiring practices. They just can't discriminate on the basis, of race, gender etc..
next time specify in the term line precisely what it is you need help with. Your term search, and what will apear in the glossary, is personenbezogene Merkmale. The issue with 'nur' came up after I had made my suggestion. I then intimated in the discussion box, that it appears under certain conditions, discrimination is permitted. Lancashireman then elucidated, clearing up the confusion.
This is from my original post: "I need help with the second part of the second sentence, please." I.e. not just "personenbezogene Merkmale". Michael got the points because he came up with the translation of this entire second part. Lancashireman's elucidation helped me understand Michael's explanation (i.e. that certain kinds of discrimination COULD be permitted), for which I have already expressed special thanks. It's not about the "tied to" or "based on" but the "nur". Gosh, is this discussion going to go on much longer? :-)
Or at least good enough by my lowly standards. Rest assured I would not have wasted time posting for the sake of suggesting that “tied to” was a significant improvement over “based on” in this context. In fact, I’d be more than happy to concede points to Ramey on the basis of her significantly more authentic sounding rendering. However, it quickly emerged that wasn’t the real question, which Anil, admittedly, completely misstated it in his entry line. Most translators know how to translate "personenbezogene Merkmale" but nobody seemed to understand the actual sentence in the first place. That was the only interesting part in this for me.
Ramey Rieger suggested 'based on' at 7 mins and received the support of four other professional translators. The answer you chose was posted 3 hours later, using the same noun phrase but 'tied to' a significantly less authentic-sounding verb.
I actually needed help with the second part of the sentence, not just the "personenbezogene Merkmale". Many thanks, Ramey Rieger, for confirming what I had in mind. Michael Martin was the first to come up with the entire second part of the sentence. I didn't quite understand his explanation at first, but I know what he meant now. Lancashireman's explanation threw light on the the "only". The points go to Michael Martin, and my thanks go to all who contributed. I hope you will all find the reasoning reasonable.
Your translation of personenbezogene Merkmale needs to reflect that it is a reference to a strictly defined set of criteria which are presumably listed elsewhere in the document: wenn sie an eines der personenbezogenen Merkmale anknüpfen > if they are based on one of the above criteria
The law permits discrimination against candidates on the basis of criminal record, poor references and probably also tattoos. What the law forbids is discrimination on the basis of gender, race or creed (i.e. eines der personenbezogenen Merkmale).
[15:01 CET: The following paragraphs are void] I think the term "nur" is a mistake in the source. So if there is a way to contact the customer my suggestion is that the ASKER should do this.
Although there are some google links with exactly this phrase it doesn't sound perfect. (From a German-centric perspective).
[EDIT 15:01 CET/Lancashireman has a good explanation for the "nur"]
Ramey Rieger (X)
Germany
Hi Anil
10:19 Jan 14, 2016
Yes, that bothers me. too. As if to say one is allowed to descriminate under other conditions. Is this a translation of a translation? It COULD be a grammatical mistranslation of 'expressly'. The law expressly forbids....