English translation: European cultural area; Europe
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Explanation: The expression "europäischer Kulturraum" strikes me as a verbose synonym for simply "Europa." (How exactly is the europaeischer Kulturraum different from Europe itself?) You could cdertainly use some kind of expression like "the European cultural area" (cf. Langenscheidt). Good writing in English is succinct, not wordy, however, so to honor English teachers everywhere let me advocate using simply "Europe."
In this case I went for Europe. Thanks *very* much for all the enlightening discussion - always appreciated! 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
Kulturraum is _not_ a Renaissance term; it was coined in the 19th/20th century! A person speaking at the end of the 15th c would not have used it. Given an exceedingly bloody history, the term "civilized" is not harmless by any stretch of the imagination.
If that's the case, then Andrew's suggestion may be best if you feel that, in context, this wording (and connotations) is in character and serves the text and story--and doesn't add a connotation the author didn't intend or a distraction to the reader.
I'd be very careful about using language that perpetuates prejudices, stereotypes, and racism in a text where you can't add footnotes or explanations to the effect that this is meant to reflect usage at the time etc.
There's no need to translate Kulturraum as "civilized Europe." It simply refers to the sphere of European culture; I'd use plain old "Europe." As to the unfortunate connotations: Europe justified its colonial expansion as a "civilizing mission"!
Hello all! Many thanks for the contributions so far! At the moment I'm thinking that "civilised Europe", despite all the comments to the contrary, is the best option here. It's part of a script to be read aloud, so unfortunately footnotes, explanations and foreign words are out - it's got to be easily understood "at first hearing"! I'd like to ask about the "unfortunate historical connotations" of using "civilised Europe" here - please could you elaborate? I should say, though, that some of these characters are VERY un-PC - they are deliberately designed to reflect the prejudices and opinions of the period.
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12 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +1
cultural scene
Explanation: enjoys over.....
hth
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 17 mins (2005-07-21 23:41:14 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
p.s.: or, why not, just \"culture\" :)
verbis Local time: 14:16 Native speaker of: Italian
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +1
