supraregional?

[Torsten]

Hi, how often do you use the word 'supraregional'? It seems that it is sometimes used in scientific papers and texts that were translated from German into English. There is a German word that sounds similar and this might explain why the Germans are so fond of it. What would be a better alternative to describe a project that is run by people and organizations from different regions and areas?

Thanks,
Torsten

TOEIC listening, photographs: Single white water canoe

[Haihao]

How about 'trans-regional'?

[Jamie (K)]

I think "supra-regional" is a perfectly good word for that concept, and you do hear it from native speakers.

Maybe it's not a problem of the Germans using a word that's wrong, but a problem of them falling madly in love with the word and using it too much. That would put it into the same class as other good expressions that Germans love too much, such as "greenfield project".

It could also be that the specific way something or other is organized in Germany requires them to use that term more than people in the anglophone world do. They might need to say "supra-regional" in situations where Americans would say "intra-state" or "intra-regional".

An example of that second problem would be the use of terms like "half board" and "full board" in hotel listings in Central Europe. I thought the terms were way overused -- in fact, I didn't even know what they meant at first -- but the reason was that American hotels don't offer those services. If they offer "half board", they just say "breakfast included" or something like that. (Pardon me, but I still can't remember exactly what the term means.)

[Torsten]

Hi Jamie,

Thanks a lot for your explanation. As for half-board, I think it means that breakfast and another meal such as dinner while full board includes all meals.

TOEIC listening, photographs: A night scene

[Haihao]

Is it 'Bed & Breakfast' or 'B&B'? (= breakfast included)

[Torsten]

Yes, B&B means 'bed and breakfast' while 'half-board' means that you get breakfast and dinner.

TOEIC listening, photographs: Ready to cook

[Jamie (K)]

But a B&B is also the name of a type of hotel, usually privately run and in a house, in contrast to a hotel. You can get bed and breakfast in a hotel, but it's not a B&B.