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Abgrenzungsvermögen

English translation: (emotional) detachment

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

German term or phrase:	Abgrenzungsvermögen
English translation:	(emotional) detachment
Entered by:	Christine Andrews

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16:45 Nov 7, 2009

German to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Human Resources

German term or phrase: Abgrenzungsvermögen

List of skills required for a job:
-soziale Kompetenz
-emotionale Unabhängigkeit und Abgrenzungsvermögen

Objectivity??

Christine Andrews KudoZ activity Questions: 105 (1 open) (1 without valid answers) (10 closed without grading) Answers: 51 United Kingdom
Local time: 12:20

(emotional) detachment

Explanation:
in the positive sense of maintaining one's boundaries and psychic integrity when faced with the emotional demands of another person or group of persons.

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Note added at 1 Stunde (2009-11-07 17:53:52 GMT)
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"Emotionale Unabhängigkeit" und "(emotionales) Abgrenzungsvermögen" are both categories belonging to what is referred to as "soft skills." Within the present context, the second skill pertains to the ability to emotionally detach oneself from the decisions to be made in the job as well as from the emotions of one's fellows. Another possible term for this social skill is "assertiveness".

Selected response from:

Michél Dallaserra
Germany
Local time: 13:20

Grading comment

Thank you for everyone for all this input. I have used detachment - however I do think that depending on the context some of the other suggestions would also work, especially "ability to maintain personal boundaries"
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

3 +5

ability to maintain personal boundaries

Anne-Marie Grant

(emotional) detachment

Michél Dallaserra

4 +1

emotional independence and emotional distinction capability

Ingrid Moore

professional detachment

sappho

3 +1

ability/capacity to differentiate

lirka

the ability to stay focused

misterherrnau

Summary of reference entries provided

a discussion point for Kim and Michél

British Diana

Discussion entries: 3

Michél Dallaserra

Germany

Letter from a Native Speaker

22:34 Nov 7

Dear all! In the meantime one more valid answer has been posted by sappho and I would like to use this as a starting point for a last attempt to shed some light on the issue at stake. If you have, within the context of a job offer, a German sentence reading "emotionale Unabhängigkeit und Abgrenzungsvermögen" the native speaker immediately understands that this is concerned with what is commonly referred to as emotional intelligence. Grammatically speaking, the adjectival form "emotionale" does not define "Abgrenzungsvermögen". Nevertheless, this connection is implied. Apparently, the offered job requires the suitable candidate to be able to emotionally detach or dissociate himself in or from certain situations or decisions. Although I agree that in some respects this kind of thinking is rather appaling, I am prepared to acknowledge that in certain professions emotional detachment might be indispensable. For example, paramedics, in certain extreme situations, need to be emotionally detached so as to be able to function and give aid to seriously injured people. This kind of detachment is meant here as a requirement for the offered job.

Michél Dallaserra

Germany

18:37 Nov 7

Thanks for quoting this, Christine. However, there seems to be a difference between the two. As I have tried to explain before: Nowadays, it is considered to be beneficial to be able to detach oneself emotionally from decisions to be made in the job. Clearly, this requirement is based on the (artificial and superficial) differentiation between emotion and reason as well as on the alleged superiority of the former over the latter. Employees are supposed to act and decide "reasonably" as opposed to "emotionally". I hate this kind of thinking but that's the way it is. The second sentence refers to a different kind of ability, I think, namely to the ability to say no if confronted with tasks and problems that are not part of one's responsibility.

Christine Andrews

ASKER

18:23 Nov 7

I have got a bit further down the text now and there is the following character trait that is required which I think must refer to the same thing:
"Er hat die Möglichkeit sich gegenüber Anforderungen ,die nicht mit der Rolle vereinbart sind, abzugrenzen

Answers

8 mins confidence:

(emotional) detachment

Michél Dallaserra
Germany
Local time: 13:20
Native speaker of:

German,

English
PRO pts in category: 4

Grading comment

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

neutral

Kim Metzger: I'd be more inclined to agree with a more modest proposal./We're dealing with bullet points, very little context. How can you be 100% sure this is meant?/emotionale Unabhängigkeit und Abgrenzungsvermögen

2 mins

-> Is it really immodest to be certain of a given answer? And is a scale on the internet a good basis for a judgment on a person's modesty? This is a very common requirement in job offers and what else could be meant by "emotionales Abgrenzunsvermögen"?

neutral

sylvie "grumpy translator" malich: goodness, even if this were 100% correct this could hardly be taken as a positive character attribute, unless the opening was for executioner or kitten-culler/ heh! it is "Bus/Financial" -- loan officer p'raps?

1 hr

-> Excellent point, Sylvie. Yet, I am afraid it is considered to be a positive character trait within the context of certain professions. Sorry, not my fault! Yeah, probably something like that :-)

neutral

lirka: I would tend to agree that emotional only refers to the 1st word, though I am not a German native :) And how do you incorporate "Vermoegen" then?

1 hr

-> Grammatically speaking, it is incorrect. However, this is common practice in German writing.

21 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

ability/capacity to differentiate

Explanation:
I think that it's about the capacity to diferential between things and principles. Good and bad, right and wrong, etc.

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Note added at 41 mins (2009-11-07 17:27:10 GMT)
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sorry, differentiate

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Note added at 1 hr (2009-11-07 18:20:27 GMT)
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Perhaps a word about how I arrived at my interpretation. In medicine, we often use Abgrenzung to differentiate between tissues and structures. For instance, a tumor mass shows good "Abgrenzung" to the rest of the tissue, in radiological images.

lirka
Native speaker of:

English,

Slovenian
PRO pts in category: 9

3 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

emotional independence and emotional distinction capability

Explanation:
my option;

Ingrid Moore
Germany
Local time: 13:20
Native speaker of:

German
PRO pts in category: 24

3 hrs confidence:

professional detachment

Explanation:
I'd say

sappho
Germany
Local time: 13:20
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 4

6 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +5

ability to maintain personal boundaries

Explanation:
emotional objectivity and ability to maintain personal boundaries

Anne-Marie Grant
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:20
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 15

15 hrs confidence:

the ability to stay focused

Explanation:
Focus is the bizspeak (and sports) buzzword you definitely want to include in your translation. I interpret this as the capacity to tune out or rise above distractions, keep your eye on the prize, persistently take a goal-oriented approach.

misterherrnau
Austria
Local time: 13:20
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English

Reference comments

1 hr

Reference: a discussion point for Kim and Michél

Reference information:
@ Michél: I am not a Native German speaker, but I cannot agree with you that "emotionale" defines both "Abhängigkeit" and "Abgrenzungsvermögen". It is "emotionale Abhängigkeit " because Abhängigkeit is a feminine word. For dasAbgrenzungsvermögen, the writer must repeat the word with the ending "s" "emotionales Abgrenzungsvermögen" if he wants it to define Abggrenzungsvermögen as well.
As we have so little text, it is crucial to analyse its grammar carefully.

British Diana
Germany
Native speaker of:

English