Don’t toy with us!

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    Spotlight 9/2018
    Robot writing
    © Talaj/istock.com
    Von Petra Daniell

    Oma mit Spielzeugpistole löst Polizeieinsatz aus
    Statt Spaß für die vier Enkel gab es einen Schrecken für Bahnfahrer: Eine Seniorin aus München hat mit einer Spielzeugwaffe die Bundespolizei in Atem gehalten. ... Die Frau und die vier Kinder mussten mit auf die Wache der Bundespolizei, die Spielzeugpistole wurde sichergestellt. Die Großmutter erhielt wegen des Führens einer Anscheinswaffe eine Anzeige nach dem Waffengesetz.

    From Spiegel Online, 23 May 2018

     

    Translation offered by the translation software:

    Granny with toys gun releases police operation
    Instead of fun for four grandchildren there was a fright for people travelling by train: A senior from Munich has held the federal police in breath with a toys weapon. ... The woman and four children had to go with on the guard of the federal police, the toys gun was guaranteed. The grandmother received because of the Führens of an appearance weapon a display according to the weapon law.

    (translation software: PROMT Online-translator)

     

    Spotlight translation:

    Granny with toy gun to triggerauslösen; (Schusswaffen-)Abzugtriggers police operation
    Rather than amusing her four grandchildren, she frightened train passengers: a senior citizen from Munich kept the federal police in suspense with a toy gun. ... The woman and the four children were taken to the police station; the toy gun was seized. The grandmother was charged with carrying an imitation firearm under the Weapons Act.

     

    Analysis

    • This month, we look at a short news piece typical of a newspaper’s “Panorama” section. The story is easy to follow, the sentence structure straightforwardeinfach, unkompliziertstraightforward — and yet the computer translation is poorschlecht, mangelhaftpoor.
    • Most of the problems are caused by the fact that the vocabulary used in this text has a specific meaning in the context of a police operation. Wache, for example, can mean “guard”. To a human reader and human translator, though, it is obvious we’re talking about a Polizeiwache. The verb sicherstellen can mean “to guarantee”. Police officers, however, “seize” (i.e.d.h., nämlichi.e., take possession of) unlawfulgesetzwidrig, unerlaubtunlawful substances or stolen itemArtikel, Gegenstanditems.
    • And eine Anzeige erhalten has nothing to do with an advertisement or display here. It means you’re being to be charged with sth.unter Anklage gestellt werden wegen etw.charged with an offence — in this case, carrying an imitation firearm (note the collocation “carry a gun”). This leads us to the technical expression Anscheinswaffe, which you’re unlikely to find in any dictionary. In this case, some research is necessary.
    • First, we visited the website of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, which provided the term “Weapons Act” for Waffengesetz. Obvious really, but it’s better to make sure. We then used Wikipedia to read up on gun legislation in Germany in general, and we quickly came across the term “imitation firearms” for Anscheinswaffen.
    • To to double-checkgenau prüfen, nochmals nachprüfendouble-check that this word is actually used in the English-speaking world, we went to legislation.gov.uk, “The Official Home of UK legislation”, and to www.cbp.gov, the official website of the Department of Homeland Security. Both sites quote legislation involving imitation firearms, thusdadurch, folglichthus confirming our translation.
    • We’re also proud of our headline: granny didn’t just “cause” a police operation, she “triggered” one. And what could give you a better clueHinweis, Anhaltspunktclue to the contents of the article than the word “trigger”?

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