18:08 Sep 2, 2011 

would then be a solution. I mean, "moralgeschwängert" is a judgement or an observation. Neutral it is not. Without the "self", righteous offers a moral stand without the arrogance or proselytizing. (wow! haven't used that one in ages!) It fits well.

13:47 Sep 2, 2011 

From the picture on the book cover, and a quick scan inside, it would appear that the author is examining the cultural shift that has occurred since the Wirtschaftswunder, and possibly, is saying that the commonly accepted ideas then (moralgeschwängerten Begriffe) no longer generally apply. It may be important not to impose the translator's "opinion" on these words. I know my brain has absorbed "(self-)righteous" as a possible rendition in some theoretically possible future text I might translate (thank you, Ramey) but it may sway too much in one direction in this particular case.

13:29 Sep 2, 2011 

Hmmm. Selbstaktivierend. But you could leave it at righteous, which would make hazmatgerman happy. In fact, righteous sound really good here!

13:23 Sep 2, 2011 

you are the native speaker here. still, any word containing "self" sounds like it could only be associated with a human being - at least to me it does

13:22 Sep 2, 2011 

love your input - thank you!

13:19 Sep 2, 2011 

the link is not the source but a place where you can see the book the review is about. sorry for placing it before the actual quotation - that might cause some confusion.

11:38 Sep 2, 2011 

self-righteous phrases/expressions/ideas: yes, they can be self-righteous, too!

10:40 Sep 2, 2011 

What comes to my mind are the words "pregnant" and "portentous"; I think you could create a combination with them. "Bedeutungsschwanger", "heavy with meaning" is of course the normal term - you have a variation here.

08:20 Sep 2, 2011 

Hi Ramey,
I like your suggestion but I have a problem combining this word with "Begriff" - could a term be self-righteous?