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English translation: In the below/this press release, we explain...
16:10 Sep 24, 2020
German to English translations [PRO] General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters /
German term or phrase:schildern dürfen
Hi everyone,
This text is part of the opening paragraph of a press release for X company announcing a partnership with Y company. I am having a bit of trouble grasping the precise nuance.
Does it mean something along the lines of "allow us to explain how we began our partnership with..."?
I appreciate any and all answers/assistance and hope all of you stay safe out there.
***Wir von der X Firma dürfen im Folgenden schildern, wie es zu unserer Partnerschaft mit der Y Firma kam und welche Ideen und Konzepte uns gemeinsam antreiben.**
Explanation: I think the "dürfen" here is honestly a bit of a red herring and I really wouldn't get caught up in it with the translation (which I think is a similar stance to what Phil's proposing in the d-box!).
I can't think of a hugely eloquent explanation, given that it's the end of a long day, but I'd think of it like the phrase "Darf ich meine Frau vorstellen?", say, which (context dependent!) we'd often naturally translate quite directly as "Meet my wife" or "This is my wife" (although, of course, there are many ways to translate it!). The "darf" adds a nice little touch of quasi-superficial politeness, but we don't necessarily need to carry it over into English explicitly (in my view!).
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 hr (2020-09-24 17:52:17 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
(and obviously, change out "explain" for whatever verb best fits what exactly it is that they're, well, "explaining"!)
Normally I would agree to your statement on the press release, which should start with a attention-grabbing piece of news, but this is the failure of the editor, not of the translator. He cannot inverse all phrases but should convey the content, considering the intent. He may suggest to rework the ST or he has to translate what's written.
Now, it's surely to late to modify the source text.
Just as an aside: I don't think this captures the meaning, as "make so bold as to" implies an apology, while "dürfen" in this case suggests that they are proud of having the opportunity to tell their story.
I have noticed that the wording is a bit unusual in German. I originally asked this KudoZ because the client wanted me to re-word my original translation, and I wanted to be 100% sure I got every nuance right. They haven't provided me any guidance on the tone, though. I asked them today and have yet to receive a response. I will stick to a formal register, though, since that is my "default" for press releases like this, at least until the client gets back to me.
@phil: I would agree with you that a press release must begin with a punchy, attention-grabbing piece of news, but I am awaiting client confirmation on whether they wish to pursue this path.
like Herr Gleim's solution: May you allow me to describe how our partnership with the company Y came about and which ideas and concepts drive us together.
Ramey Rieger (X)
Germany
Revision of my suggestion
19:59 Sep 24, 2020
We at X would like to begin by describing how we came to work /partner up /join forces with Y, depicting the concepts and ideas that drive us forward together.
They are describing, relating, narrating, illustrating - anything but explaining!
Wir von der X dürfen im Folgenden schildern, wie es zu unserer Partnerschaft mit der Y kam und welche Ideen und Konzepte uns gemeinsam antreiben. Unsere Kunden im Bereich der ZZZ ZZZZ sehen sich seit vielen Jahren den unterschiedlichen spannenden Digitalisierungsthemen gegenüber, dabei vor allem • dem XXXXX • dem YYYYY
As part of X company, let us in the following recount the events leading up to our partnership with Company Y, together with spelling out the ideas and concepts we both share for the future
Sorry, I see you say this is *part of* the opening paragraph. If it's not the beginning, please could you tell us what it says before this, obviously omitting the companies' names.
A press release can't start with "allow us to explain" or " let us tell you".
Even in German, as Erik points out, it's an odd way to begin. A press release should start with a punchy, attention-grabbing piece of news, like "X announced on Tuesday that it was acquiring 100 percent of Y". They seem to be explaining the reasons for the "partnership", but not what it actually involves. I would rewrite this, and tell the customer why.
Your solution seems absolutely fine. Just to give you some extra information: The German wording is a bit old-fashioned, and stilted in the extreme. Don't know whether you'd want to reproduce that? ;-)
Depending on the register of the text, I might use "Let us tell you how our partnership [...] (all) started/began..."
=)
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
1 hr confidence: peer agreement (net): +4
In the below/this press release, we explain...
Explanation: I think the "dürfen" here is honestly a bit of a red herring and I really wouldn't get caught up in it with the translation (which I think is a similar stance to what Phil's proposing in the d-box!).
I can't think of a hugely eloquent explanation, given that it's the end of a long day, but I'd think of it like the phrase "Darf ich meine Frau vorstellen?", say, which (context dependent!) we'd often naturally translate quite directly as "Meet my wife" or "This is my wife" (although, of course, there are many ways to translate it!). The "darf" adds a nice little touch of quasi-superficial politeness, but we don't necessarily need to carry it over into English explicitly (in my view!).
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 hr (2020-09-24 17:52:17 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
(and obviously, change out "explain" for whatever verb best fits what exactly it is that they're, well, "explaining"!)
Jennifer Caisley United Kingdom Local time: 05:19 Works in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 12