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 #17 (permalink) Thu Aug 16, 2007 13:39 pm Is the test question correct? |
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| Jamie (K) wrote: |
Here is one part that I think is really bad:
| Quote: |
| Sie wollen ein Unternehmen als Kunden gewinnen und erz?hlen von dem erfolgreichen Unternehmer, der Ihre Firma gegr?ndet hat. Wie ?bersetzen Sie das Wort Unternehmer? |
The test claims that "Unternehmer" should be translated as "player", but it's a completely inappropriate choice. It would mean that the founder of your company was a gambler who wasn't serious about what he was doing. The correct word would be "entrepreneur". |
And this is their explanation:
Im amerikanischen Business English sind oft Anlehnungen aus dem Sport zu finden. Tats?chlich wird das Wort "player" in Bezug auf Wirtschaftsunternehmen als "Unternehmer" verstanden.
TOEIC listening, photographs: In the desert |
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Torsten
Learning Coach
Joined: 25 Sep 2003
Posts: 14512
Location: EU
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| #18 (permalink) Thu Aug 16, 2007 14:03 pm Is the test question correct? |
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| Torsten wrote: |
| Jamie (K) wrote: |
Here is one part that I think is really bad:
| Quote: |
| Sie wollen ein Unternehmen als Kunden gewinnen und erz?hlen von dem erfolgreichen Unternehmer, der Ihre Firma gegr?ndet hat. Wie ?bersetzen Sie das Wort Unternehmer? |
The test claims that "Unternehmer" should be translated as "player", but it's a completely inappropriate choice. It would mean that the founder of your company was a gambler who wasn't serious about what he was doing. The correct word would be "entrepreneur". |
And this is their explanation:
Im amerikanischen Business English sind oft Anlehnungen aus dem Sport zu finden. Tats?chlich wird das Wort "player" in Bezug auf Wirtschaftsunternehmen als "Unternehmer" verstanden. |
Yes, that's true, but we don't use it as a general term. There can be various "players" in a business deal -- when we're speaking informally -- but when one person founds a company, he's definitely not a "player", but an entrepreneur. |
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Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 6552
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| #19 (permalink) Thu Aug 16, 2007 14:11 pm Is the test question correct? |
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I think the entire test is just a T-Online joke intended to show that the Germans do have their own sense of humor.
TOEIC listening, photographs: In the dock |
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Torsten
Learning Coach
Joined: 25 Sep 2003
Posts: 14512
Location: EU
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| #20 (permalink) Thu Aug 16, 2007 16:43 pm Is the test question correct? |
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Hi Jamie and Torsten
T-Mobile is one of the things that was "new" to me when I returned to the US. It's a subsidiary of the German telephone company (Deutsche Telekom) and it first started doing business in the US only after I moved to Germany. When Telekom advertises on German TV and radio, they always use a certain 5-note tune (three notes at the same pitch, the fourth one at a higher pitch, and the final fifth note the same as the first three). This jingle is apparently the default ringtone on T-Mobile cell phones too. So, after I left Germany, it was almost eerie to hear what I had previously known only as a German advertising jingle emanating from cell phones here in the US. :shock: :lol:
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_________________
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln |
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Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8316
Location: USA
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| #21 (permalink) Thu Aug 16, 2007 16:50 pm Is the test question correct? |
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| Yankee wrote: |
| T-Mobile is one of the things that was "new" to me when I returned to the US. It's a subsidiary of the German telephone company (Deutsche Telekom) and it first started doing business in the US only after I moved to Germany. When Telekom advertises on German TV and radio, they always use a certain 5-note tune (three notes at the same pitch, the fourth one at a higher pitch, and the final fifth note the same as the first three). This jingle is apparently the default ringtone on T-Mobile cell phones too. So, after I left Germany, it was almost eerie to hear what I previously known only as German advertising jingle emanating from cell phones here in the US. :shock: :lol: |
Weirder for me was seeing Mentos ads on American TV. The company makes only one set of ads for the whole world. They looked normal to me when I was in Europe, but when seen on American soil, the ads became eerie and surrealistic. Americans had a vague feeling something was wrong in them, but they didn't know what. |
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Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 6552
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| #22 (permalink) Thu Aug 16, 2007 16:55 pm Is the test question correct? |
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| lost_soul wrote: |
| Yankee wrote: |
Hi Jamie
I couldn't help but chuckle at this one:
"You tell Mr. Smith that you would like to schedule the cooperation."
:D
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Hi, Amy
I dont quite follow you... why were you chuckling at this sentence ?
Thanks :) |
Hi LS
I lived and worked in Germany for a very long time. I couldn't help but chuckle at that sentence because it sounds so very German to me -- even though all the words are in English. This is a good example of how a sentence can end up sounding unnatural, weird, or even humorous only because the translation is too direct.
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_________________
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln |
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Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8316
Location: USA
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| #23 (permalink) Thu Aug 16, 2007 17:03 pm Is the test question correct? |
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| Torsten wrote: |
And this is their explanation:
Im amerikanischen Business English sind oft Anlehnungen aus dem Sport zu finden. Tats?chlich wird das Wort "player" in Bezug auf Wirtschaftsunternehmen als "Unternehmer" verstanden. |
Hi Torsten
I agree that the word 'player' is used in the business world, but I think the meaning is much closer to 'participant' (Teilnehmer) than to 'entrepreneur'.
On the other hand, I imagine that the word 'Teilnehmer' would sound pretty unsatisfactory in the German sentence.
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_________________
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln |
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Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8316
Location: USA
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| #24 (permalink) Thu Aug 16, 2007 17:04 pm Is the test question correct? |
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As a matter of fact, I don't think the English verb "to schedule" has a German equivalent. In German you would need a noun before the verb.
TOEIC listening, photographs: The deserted beach |
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Torsten
Learning Coach
Joined: 25 Sep 2003
Posts: 14512
Location: EU
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| #25 (permalink) Thu Aug 16, 2007 17:17 pm Is the test question correct? |
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That's a good point, Torsten. So I guess what the people in that test sentence want to do is 'discuss the timing and coordination' of the work that the various members of the team are responsible for doing.
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_________________
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln |
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Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8316
Location: USA
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| #26 (permalink) Thu Aug 16, 2007 17:44 pm Is the test question correct? |
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That's right, Amy. They want to discuss a project so the verb "schedule" should be replaced with "discuss" and the noun "cooperation" with "project".
TOEIC listening, photographs: A stroll along the coast |
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Torsten
Learning Coach
Joined: 25 Sep 2003
Posts: 14512
Location: EU
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| look at it what happened | "Despite" or "Although" |
