Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

reaktive mündliche Sprachregelung

English translation:

Official version / official media statement

Added to glossary by Jeff Whittaker
This question was closed without grading. Reason: Answer found elsewhere
Feb 11, 2020 14:53
4 yrs ago
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German term

reaktive mündliche Sprachregelung

German to English Bus/Financial Journalism Press release heading
Can anyone explain what this is?

It is on the heading to an extract of an official Press Release about a company.

reaktive mündliche Sprachregelung - Partnerschaft zwischen X und X

Auszug aus der offiziellen Pressmeldung von...:
Change log

Feb 20, 2020 00:51: Jeff Whittaker Created KOG entry

Discussion

Jeff Whittaker (asker) Feb 11, 2020:
I think "Official Version" would work nicely since version can refer both to the content and specific language usage. It would also not be so confusing or weird if someone does leave it in as part of the title.
Jeff Whittaker (asker) Feb 11, 2020:
Thanks Steffen, You are probably right as the document is written on the company's letterhead. That would certainly make much more sense. I don't know the purpose of the document. Perhaps something like "official response" or "official media statement" would be sufficient.
Steffen Walter Feb 11, 2020:
I strongly suspect ... ... this to be an "off-the-record" instruction given to in-house press/media/PR staff on how to deal with questions subsequently asked during press conferences. In this case, this note would not be published as part of the press release. Is your extract intended for internal use only, or for publication?

Proposed translations

+1
23 mins

reactive spoken language conventions

Sprachregelung is a German language term meaning "convention of speech". It refers to a formal or informal agreement, or order, that certain things should be expressed in specific ways in official communications by an organization or by a political entity. It can also cover such concepts as agreed "lines-to-take", talking points, and the exertion of message discipline. An example came in January 1945 when Ribbentrop sent emissaries to contact the Western Allies in Sweden and Switzerland, aiming to negotiate a separate peace; they carried with them a list of Sprachregelungen to ensure they gave the same message. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprachregelung

Most of us use “reactive” language in our day to day lives: “I CAN’T do that because I HAVE to do this“.
The problem with using reactive language is that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy: Re-enforcing the belief that we are pre-determined.
Using reactive language absolves you of responsibility and makes you powerless: “I am not responsible. I am not able to choose my response. There is nothing I can do about it”.
https://czarto.com/2013/08/03/reactive-vs-proactive-language...
Note from asker:
Thank you. I thought it was something like that, but it sounds odd as the main heading (large bold font) of an article. Could it be translated with something like "This extract complies with the reactive spoken language conventions"
Peer comment(s):

agree writeaway
4 hrs
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1 hr

reactive verbal language rule

To me, a Sprachregelung is less fixed in stone than a language convention. Groups, institutions, all sorts of entities often set up their own (idiosyncratic) rules for members on whatever 'labels' they want them to use for things, persons, or concepts in internal/external communications.
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