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how well my work is going

German translation: inwieweit

06:56 May 23, 2003
English to German translations [Non-PRO]
English term or phrase: how well my work is going
I am regularly told how well my immediate work group is doing.

Es geht um eine Mitarbeiterumfrage, und ich wüsste gerne, ob dieser Satz neutral ist oder positiv gefärbt (im Sinne von: ich werde für ... gelobt)
Alexandra Becker
Germany
Local time: 20:06
German translation:inwieweit
Explanation:
As an English native speaker I have to disagree with Uta. How well is not the equivalent of dass - if that was intended the statement would have read "I am told that ...."

In "how well" the how means "to what degree", or "to what extent" ... I am told whether and to what extent my work group is doing well. The answer could be that the group is doing badly - it does not have to be a positive answer, although I think there is some expectation that it will be.

"That" fails as a translation because it only indicates one possibility - the group is doing well. "How well", however, relates to a range - very badly, quite badly, quite well, very well etc.

I agree that "how" is a ambiguous word in English and it can need a lot of Fingerspitzengefühl to detect the meaning. If I say "He told me how well I look", that does indeed mean that he told me that I look very well. But "He told me how well I did in the exam", although it could mean "he told me I did very well", is more likely to mean "he told me whether I did well or badly" - and I think that this is the meaning in which the word is used in your sentence. If used in the sense "I am regularly told that the group is doing well" I would question what is going on, because there would then be no possibility for a group to be told it is doing badly!
Selected response from:

Armorel Young
Local time: 19:06
Grading comment
Das war richtig, hab noch mal mit dem Kunden gesprochen, vielen Dank!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +9...dass meine Arbeitsgruppe eine gute Leistung erbringt...
Uta Muller
4 +3inwieweit
Armorel Young


  

Answers


4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +9
...dass meine Arbeitsgruppe eine gute Leistung erbringt...


Explanation:
Ist bloß ein Vorschlag. So wie ich das aus Mitarbeiterbefragungen kenne, ist das schon positiv gemeint, nämlich als Lob...

Uta Muller
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:06
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in pair: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Edith Kelly: positiv
25 mins
agree  Harald Moelzer (medical-translator): Andernfalls würde es wohl heißen: "I am regularly told whether/if my immediate work group is doing..well"
36 mins
agree  Susanne Rindlisbacher
49 mins
agree  Ivo Lang
1 hr
agree  Nicole Tata: auf jeden Fall positiv
1 hr
agree  Chris Rowson (X): Der zitierte Satz ist meiner Meinung nach etwas zweideutig; die positive Bedeutung war aber meine erste Reaktion, die neutrale Bedeuting ist etwas unterschwellig..
2 hrs
agree  Stefano77: Ich bin eher für die positive Bedeutung
4 hrs
agree  Ino66 (X)
4 hrs
disagree  Birgit Beer: a bit tricky, I would say: "werde regelmaessig ueber die Leistungen meiner Arbeitsgruppe informiert"
5 hrs
agree  Brigith Guimarães: postiv - meiner Meinung nach
6 hrs
agree  JózsefÁrpád Bende
4 days
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
inwieweit


Explanation:
As an English native speaker I have to disagree with Uta. How well is not the equivalent of dass - if that was intended the statement would have read "I am told that ...."

In "how well" the how means "to what degree", or "to what extent" ... I am told whether and to what extent my work group is doing well. The answer could be that the group is doing badly - it does not have to be a positive answer, although I think there is some expectation that it will be.

"That" fails as a translation because it only indicates one possibility - the group is doing well. "How well", however, relates to a range - very badly, quite badly, quite well, very well etc.

I agree that "how" is a ambiguous word in English and it can need a lot of Fingerspitzengefühl to detect the meaning. If I say "He told me how well I look", that does indeed mean that he told me that I look very well. But "He told me how well I did in the exam", although it could mean "he told me I did very well", is more likely to mean "he told me whether I did well or badly" - and I think that this is the meaning in which the word is used in your sentence. If used in the sense "I am regularly told that the group is doing well" I would question what is going on, because there would then be no possibility for a group to be told it is doing badly!

Armorel Young
Local time: 19:06
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in pair: 259
Grading comment
Das war richtig, hab noch mal mit dem Kunden gesprochen, vielen Dank!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Ino66 (X)
6 mins
neutral  Birgit Beer: I do get your point, but doesn't the input word "well" suggest a positiv performance, because it could be just: "how my work group is going"
43 mins
agree  Johanna Timm, PhD: excellent explanation- but I think the author of the survey would have chosen"informed" instead of "told" if the intention was to make a neutral statement
16 hrs
agree  Herbert Fipke: Sehe ich auch so. Nicht positiv, sondern neutral!
2 days 6 hrs
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