Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
christliches Abendland
English translation:
Christian West(ern world)
Added to glossary by
Karin Walker (X)
Apr 20, 2006 08:08
18 yrs ago
German term
christliches Abendland
German to English
Social Sciences
Religion
same-sex marriages
"Eine rechtliche Regelung für eine kleine Minderheit kann das ***christliche Abendland* nicht in Gefahr bringen."
I'm still with the text on same-sex partnerships but this query is much less controversial ;-)
This seems to be a term heavily in use in German. A close translation (the Christian occident) results in virtually only German hits on Google so I'm loathe to use this. Why Abendland, anyway? Surely the issue (the legal recognition of same-sex partnerships) is a matter for the entire Christian world, not just the Abendland (although I guess you could argue that the Morgenland is not dominated by Christianity, but then again isn't that where it originated???) I don't understand a) whether it's significant that the authors limit themselves to Abendland and b) how this is best translated. Hope some of you can help me out.
TIA
Karin
I'm still with the text on same-sex partnerships but this query is much less controversial ;-)
This seems to be a term heavily in use in German. A close translation (the Christian occident) results in virtually only German hits on Google so I'm loathe to use this. Why Abendland, anyway? Surely the issue (the legal recognition of same-sex partnerships) is a matter for the entire Christian world, not just the Abendland (although I guess you could argue that the Morgenland is not dominated by Christianity, but then again isn't that where it originated???) I don't understand a) whether it's significant that the authors limit themselves to Abendland and b) how this is best translated. Hope some of you can help me out.
TIA
Karin
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +7 | Christian West(ern world) |
Francis Lee (X)
|
| 4 +3 | Western civilization |
Lilia Shtakser
|
| 3 | Western civilization |
Jalapeno
|
| 3 | Christian occident |
itla
|
Proposed translations
+7
8 mins
Selected
Christian West(ern world)
It just means what is otherwise called "the West".
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Note added at 9 hrs (2006-04-20 17:12:31 GMT)
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Morgenland/Abendland is simply a more elaborate (although I could think of other words) way of saying the East/West (based on the 'path' of the sun). Both are hugely subjective (and, like it or not, are firmly established terms).
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Note added at 9 hrs (2006-04-20 17:12:31 GMT)
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Morgenland/Abendland is simply a more elaborate (although I could think of other words) way of saying the East/West (based on the 'path' of the sun). Both are hugely subjective (and, like it or not, are firmly established terms).
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Ian M-H (X)
: Yes: "threaten the Christian West". Not just as opposed to the non-Christian world but also the non-Catholic "Orthodox East".
42 mins
|
|
ya think so?
|
|
| agree |
Ulrike Kraemer
: with Ian
49 mins
|
| agree |
Rebecca Garber
: With Ian. top of the morning, Francis
4 hrs
|
|
Erm ... hello.
|
|
| agree |
Robert Kleemaier
: with Ian
5 hrs
|
| agree |
Maureen Millington-Brodie
8 hrs
|
| agree |
Brigitte Albert (X)
: with Ian
18 hrs
|
| agree |
Matthias Quaschning-Kirsch
: the Christliches Abendland is a typical German term (in practical use, the Abendland is always christlich). Rarely seen other translations than this one.
3 days 2 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I chose this because even though I thought it reads funny (never heard it like this), the 'Christian' element seemed important to me (given the context). Thanks to all who participated in this - saw some very helpful and enlightening comments."
+3
7 mins
Lilia Shtakser
Germany
Germany
Works in field
Germany
translation degree, authorized by court
Native in: Russian 
Works in: English to German, German to English, Russian to German, and 9 more.
Western civilization
may be without "Christian"
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Francis Lee (X)
: but keep the "Christian" in there somewhere
1 min
|
| agree |
RobinB
: German conservatives use "christliches Abendland" in much the same way as we say ""Western civilization as we know it". They still have this curious notion that Germany, and the West in general, is Christian, specifically Catholic. Very tedious.
1 hr
|
| agree |
Annette Urbschat
3 hrs
|
8 mins
Western civilization
I believe this is used humorously here and that it could best be rendered by something along the lines of "will not be the end of Western civilization".
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Robert Kleemaier
: good solution, but disagree with your comment re its 'humorous' use.
5 hrs
|
|
agree. When I posted my answer, I didn't know that the text was written by the Catholic church. Taken alone, the sentence might well have appeared in a GLT newspaper - I operated under that premise...
|
2 hrs
Christian occident
This is a fairly common expression used by historians.
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Note added at 2 hrs (2006-04-20 10:15:53 GMT)
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Sorry, I should have read your entire post. It was spontaneous.
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Note added at 2 hrs (2006-04-20 10:18:33 GMT)
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http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/interreligious/cd40-02.html
The World Council of Churches uses it.
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Note added at 2 hrs (2006-04-20 10:15:53 GMT)
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Sorry, I should have read your entire post. It was spontaneous.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2006-04-20 10:18:33 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/interreligious/cd40-02.html
The World Council of Churches uses it.
Discussion