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14:16 Mar 13, 2011
English to English translations [PRO] Government / Politics
English term or phrase:state of panic
An Arabic text says that a government official "declared a state of panic" during a time of crisis in the country.
If the author had wanted to, he could have said "declared a state of emergency" as this term exists in Arabic and is commonly used.
As a native speaker of English, I do not feel comfortable with "declared a state of panic." I have Googled around and only see the phrase used on a few individual blogs, not on any official websites.
I am wondering what others think about the term. Am I right that it does not sound correct in English? Would you use "declared a state of emergency" instead, or is there a subtle difference I am not aware of?
I know that "state of panic" by itself is a common phrase, but my concern is pairing it with the verb "declared."
Explanation: *A state of panic would be an observation about the situation rather than a declaration about government policy and action. A state of crisis might work for you, but how to describe depends on what extraordinary powers the government assumed with the declaration . Examples: Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says the African nation is in a state of "crisis." (could be anything of nothing) www.upi.com/...state-of-crisis/UPI-56981299854154/ - En caché. Other choices: In response Nasser put his armed forces in a state of maximum alert, .... Given the wide disparity in the populations of Israel and Egypt, Israel could not ...
motherearthtravel.com/history/israel/history-14.htm - En caché - Similares (involves a heightened alert in view of an external threat) ; Egyptian military regime rolls out a new front man
5 Mar 2011 ... The military should go back to the barracks and the state security ... would maintain the power of the government to declare emergency rule, ... www.wsws.org/articles/2011/mar2011/egyp-m05.shtml - En caché or 14 Feb 2011 ... But setting an initial period of military rule at six months seemed to be an ... Egypt declared Monday a bank holiday after workers disrupted ... the lifting of a state of emergency, the abolition of military courts, ...
au.news.yahoo.com/.../military-rulers-dissolve-egypts-parliament/ - Australia - En caché (these two imply restrictions and military rule in the face of disorder or crisis). The order angle is to explore the translation of the verb "declare" - if it was not a declaration that had the force of civil or military law it could be interpreted as "he declared (personally - it was his assessment or opinion) that the country was overtaken by/in the grips of/in a state of panic. Examples: Gaddafi Regime in 'State of Panic' as Libyans Take to the Streets ... in the country's second-largest city as Egypt-inspired unrest spread. ... www.huffingtonpost.com/.../gaddafi-regime-in-state-o_b_8243... - En caché; The country has not yet fell into a state of panic, however things will be very ... of the University of the Free State, declares his belief in the South ...
vview.co.za/tag/egypt/ - En caché
Should you really assume that it means something other than what it says? I am inclined to think not. If you are certain the Arabic words mean "state of panic" then go ahead and give that as the translation
"Declared that there was ..." I can imagine, with "declared" being a stronger form of reporting verb than "said". But to declare a state of emergency is a set expression in English - a collocation that doesn't apply to panic, chaos or suchlike. Maybe he "announced a state of panic" - I'm not sure that's really correct either but it doesn't seem quite so odd. I agree with Stephanie that this probably wan't exactly the intented term.
panic alert is used in some US Govt documents including the TSA. I don't think a government would declare a state of panic, but a government could issue a panic alert. However, I think it possible that your author was being sloppy or attempting to be innovative in his use of language. Only the larger context of the event, and the modalities of the government in question could exactly determine if the author is referring to something different than a state of emergency. In general terms I think state of emergency certainly works as a general non technical term.
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Answers
1 min confidence:
an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
Explanation: meaning of panic - an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety. ... /ˈpæ nɪ ki/ ? thrown into a state of intense fear or desperation; panicle ... www.beedictionary.com/meaning/panic
Explanation: *A state of panic would be an observation about the situation rather than a declaration about government policy and action. A state of crisis might work for you, but how to describe depends on what extraordinary powers the government assumed with the declaration . Examples: Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says the African nation is in a state of "crisis." (could be anything of nothing) www.upi.com/...state-of-crisis/UPI-56981299854154/ - En caché. Other choices: In response Nasser put his armed forces in a state of maximum alert, .... Given the wide disparity in the populations of Israel and Egypt, Israel could not ...
motherearthtravel.com/history/israel/history-14.htm - En caché - Similares (involves a heightened alert in view of an external threat) ; Egyptian military regime rolls out a new front man
5 Mar 2011 ... The military should go back to the barracks and the state security ... would maintain the power of the government to declare emergency rule, ... www.wsws.org/articles/2011/mar2011/egyp-m05.shtml - En caché or 14 Feb 2011 ... But setting an initial period of military rule at six months seemed to be an ... Egypt declared Monday a bank holiday after workers disrupted ... the lifting of a state of emergency, the abolition of military courts, ...
au.news.yahoo.com/.../military-rulers-dissolve-egypts-parliament/ - Australia - En caché (these two imply restrictions and military rule in the face of disorder or crisis). The order angle is to explore the translation of the verb "declare" - if it was not a declaration that had the force of civil or military law it could be interpreted as "he declared (personally - it was his assessment or opinion) that the country was overtaken by/in the grips of/in a state of panic. Examples: Gaddafi Regime in 'State of Panic' as Libyans Take to the Streets ... in the country's second-largest city as Egypt-inspired unrest spread. ... www.huffingtonpost.com/.../gaddafi-regime-in-state-o_b_8243... - En caché; The country has not yet fell into a state of panic, however things will be very ... of the University of the Free State, declares his belief in the South ...
vview.co.za/tag/egypt/ - En caché
Jenni Lukac Local time: 03:06 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 40
Grading comment
Thank you so much, Jenni. "State of crisis" is a good alternative.
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +5
