May 6, 2017 15:21
7 yrs ago
German term
United Kingdom
Flawless translations of corporate texts
Native in: English (Variant: UK) 
Works in: German to English, English
Das Spocken
German to English
Marketing
Human Resources
Dear Colleagues,
This word has turned up in a text I'm translating about gathering employee information and discussing it. The overall phrase ("Das Spocken macht Spaß") stands alone as a quote, and is not embedded in a context of its own. This word "Spocken" is completely unfamiliar to me - and doesn't seem to crop up in any online or paper dictionaries I can get my hands on. I'd be so grateful for any suggestions!
This word has turned up in a text I'm translating about gathering employee information and discussing it. The overall phrase ("Das Spocken macht Spaß") stands alone as a quote, and is not embedded in a context of its own. This word "Spocken" is completely unfamiliar to me - and doesn't seem to crop up in any online or paper dictionaries I can get my hands on. I'd be so grateful for any suggestions!
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 | Snooping is fun |
Michael Martin, MA
|
| 3 | playing marbles |
Kim Metzger
|
| 3 | Über Andere herziehen, Andere ausrichten, tratschen |
Ellen Kraus
|
Change log
May 6, 2017 19:38: Murad AWAD changed "Term asked" from "\\\"Das Spocken\\\"" to "Das Spocken"
Proposed translations
23 hrs
Michael Martin, MA
United States
United States
Native in German
&
English
Works in field
United States
Creativity wins in the long run
Native in: German (Variant: Germany) 
, English (Variant: US)
Works in: German to English
Related KudoZ points
:
113
Selected
Snooping is fun
I know I'm out on a limb here, but I am going with the assumption of a typo – Spicken rather than Spocken. Just don’t see how other explanations fit in with the context. This could work as a tongue-in-cheek admittance of our proclivity for examining other people’s lives – not socially acceptable normally, but okay in this context.
Spicken = das normalerweise “verbotene Anschauen von Informationen” https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spicken}
Also compare: http://www.sueddeutsche.de/karriere/lehrerpraesident-ueber-s...
Spicken = das normalerweise “verbotene Anschauen von Informationen” https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spicken}
Also compare: http://www.sueddeutsche.de/karriere/lehrerpraesident-ueber-s...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I think this is almost certainly it - thank you, Michael! Makes perfect sense in the context :)"
24 mins
Kim Metzger
Mexico
Mexico
Native in English
Specializes in field
Mexico
Committed to Quality and Service
Native in: English (Variant: US)
Works in: German to English
Related KudoZ points
:
459
German term (edited):
\"Das Spocken\"
playing marbles
spocken - mit Murmeln spielen
https://bar.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinzgauerisch
Pinzgauerisch is an Austrian dialect
https://bar.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinzgauerisch
Pinzgauerisch is an Austrian dialect
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Ellen Kraus
: the term is correct, but makes no sense here;
36 mins
|
| agree |
writeaway
5 hrs
|
27 mins
Ellen Kraus
Austria
Austria
Native in German
Austria
more than thirty years of experience
Native in: German
Works in: Greek to German, English to German, Greek to English, and 5 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
41
German term (edited):
\"Das Spocken\"
Über Andere herziehen, Andere ausrichten, tratschen
Ich kenne das in Norddeutschland bekannte Dialektwort Spökenkieker (Spuk und sehen) auch im westfäl. Dialekt geläufig Spökenkieker (abfällig gebraucht für Hellseher und Spintisierer). das Verb dazu ist spöken (NICHT spocken) dieses bedeutet u.a. über andere Leute herziehen, das würde hier gut passen- Siehe dazu:
Das Wörterbuch | NDR.de - Kultur - Norddeutsche Sprache ...
https://www.ndr.de/kultur/norddeutsche_sprache/.../woerterbu...
Schludern, Pinneberg, Tratschen, reden, über andere herziehen ..... Spökenkieker, Ganz Norddeutschland, Warzenbesprecher, Hellseher und so'n Volks
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Note added at 35 Min. (2017-05-06 15:57:15 GMT)
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the English equivalent is "to gossip " about other People. which is an easy Thing with so much info about them.
a synonym for "über andere Leute herziehen" is e.g. "tratschen über ..."
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Note added at 38 Min. (2017-05-06 16:00:10 GMT)
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after all the text is about Information about employees that is being collected to then be discussed.
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Note added at 19 Stunden (2017-05-07 10:28:10 GMT)
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under the prerequisite that we are confronted with a typo and that the correct word should be "spöken" rather than spocken I would suggest - on second thought - to avoid translating it with "gossiping" as being to coarse in this context and to revert to a more neutral Translation such as " Clairvoyance is fun" (it conveys that on account of the Information received, the firm has sufficient Details on the employees)
Das Wörterbuch | NDR.de - Kultur - Norddeutsche Sprache ...
https://www.ndr.de/kultur/norddeutsche_sprache/.../woerterbu...
Schludern, Pinneberg, Tratschen, reden, über andere herziehen ..... Spökenkieker, Ganz Norddeutschland, Warzenbesprecher, Hellseher und so'n Volks
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Note added at 35 Min. (2017-05-06 15:57:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
the English equivalent is "to gossip " about other People. which is an easy Thing with so much info about them.
a synonym for "über andere Leute herziehen" is e.g. "tratschen über ..."
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 38 Min. (2017-05-06 16:00:10 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
after all the text is about Information about employees that is being collected to then be discussed.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 19 Stunden (2017-05-07 10:28:10 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
under the prerequisite that we are confronted with a typo and that the correct word should be "spöken" rather than spocken I would suggest - on second thought - to avoid translating it with "gossiping" as being to coarse in this context and to revert to a more neutral Translation such as " Clairvoyance is fun" (it conveys that on account of the Information received, the firm has sufficient Details on the employees)
Note from asker:
| I think it's definitely something along these lines, Ellen, for sure. I wish I could select two answers as "most helpful"! Vielen lieben Dank :) |
Discussion
Though there are better Things to talk about than People, finde ich, dass der Spökenkieker und seine zahlreichen Auslegungen hier nicht außer Acht zu lassen sind.
http://www.platt-wb.de/platt-hoch/?term=spöken
I think you're confusing this with "Spoekenkieker"
The company organised English lessons and the person uttering the four words liked the "spocken" part.
This is a wild guess, but: no context, no (sensible) comment.
http://www.shortnews.de/id/1145108/besondere-art-von-trauer-...
but I don't think we have enough context. What do you mean by "gathering employee information and discussing it"? And what does it say before and after this sentence? I know you say it stands alone, but it must have text near it.