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wissenschaftshistorisch

English translation: in the context of the history of science

09:02 Jul 27, 2006
German to English translations [PRO]
Science - Science (general) / history of science
German term or phrase: wissenschaftshistorisch
Is there an adjective like this in English? I can't find one, or an elegant way of wording this sentence:

"Es ist höchst begrüßenswert, daß es in der vergangenen Dekade mehrere verdienstvolle Versuche gegeben hat, in speziellen Veranstaltungen dem **wissenschaftshistorischen** Aspekt der Präsenz der "Orientlateiner" in Palästina nachzugehen."
Rachel Ward
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:37
English translation:in the context of the history of science
Explanation:
something like that
I think "history of science" is clearer than "scientific history"
Selected response from:

Nick Somers (X)
Local time: 05:37
Grading comment
That's pretty much what I had anyway, but I hoped there would be an adjective. Schade! It's definitely "history of science" in this context - it's about the influence of Arab science on Europe via the crusaders and others.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +1in the context of the history of science
Nick Somers (X)
4from the perspective/ point of view of historical science/historiography
nic456
3scientific historical
Harry Borsje
3(needs to be paraphrased)
Gert Sass (M.A.)
4 -2historical science
natalia m (X)


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


15 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
scientific historical


Explanation:
;-)


    Reference: http://annotatedlife.blogspot.com/2006/03/scientific-histori...
Harry Borsje
Netherlands
Local time: 05:37
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  rainerc (X)
11 mins
disagree  natalia m (X): yes, but you can't cut it off the sentence. wouldn't you rather say "aspect of historical science" than "scientic historical aspect"?
15 mins
  -> No... although I'd use scienti*fi*c historical aspect - just kidding ;-)
neutral  Gert Sass (M.A.): Google hits for this wording stem from 2 domains all in all. Although it could be derived from "scientific history", the formation just does not sound standard English, which is a good reason why it has not become generally established as an adjective.
43 mins
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
in the context of the history of science


Explanation:
something like that
I think "history of science" is clearer than "scientific history"

Nick Somers (X)
Local time: 05:37
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
That's pretty much what I had anyway, but I hoped there would be an adjective. Schade! It's definitely "history of science" in this context - it's about the influence of Arab science on Europe via the crusaders and others.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  TonyTK: Quite a mouthful (as the actress ...) but surely the best solution
10 mins
neutral  Harry Borsje: I don't know whether 'Orientlatainer' have been relevant for the history of science in Palestine, although they may have been relevant from an historical point of view, based on scientifically proven facts
40 mins
neutral  nic456: It cannot be history of science if the context is not science. It is far from obvious.
2 hrs
  -> I don't know whether the context is science, but that's what wissenschaftshistorisch normally means, imo. If the writer wants it to mean something else, he/she is being very misleading.
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43 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
(needs to be paraphrased)


Explanation:
e.g. "… the aspect of … which is so significant for the history of science"

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Note added at 5 hrs (2006-07-27 15:01:51 GMT)
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For all those who still confuse the history of science with historical science (ie, the science of history), historiography (ie, the science of history writing, which poses such problems as the necessary subjective boundaries of any historiograph´s personal involvement with his/her historical conditions, limiting his point of view, the inevitable shaping of historiographic "reports" according to narrative and mythical patterns validated through nothing more than tradition and so called "common sense", distinguishing historical science essentially from any "exact" science; for more info, refer to the discussion of Hayden White´s arguments and others), and anything that may pop up next, here is some input from a reliable source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_science):

"The history of science investigates the historical record of human events that are pertinent to the cultural context and the secular development of what is currently called science, namely, a body of empirical and theoretical knowledge, produced by a global community of researchers, making use of specific techniques for the observation and explanation of real phenomena, this techne as a whole being summed up under the heading of scientific method. As such, the history of science draws on the historical methods of both intellectual history and social history."

HTH

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Note added at 6 hrs (2006-07-27 15:08:08 GMT)
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Error (just besides): please read "any historiograph´s *work due to his/her* personal involvement" instead

Gert Sass (M.A.)
Germany
Local time: 05:37
Native speaker of: German

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  rainerc (X): there is no need; 'scientific historical aspects' can be used perfectly well in the sentence.
2 mins
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4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -2
historical science


Explanation:
aspect of historical science

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 hrs (2006-07-27 19:55:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Well, it has nothing to do with Greek grammar rules. It is a so-called compound adjective. And if you don't believe me, you can check out the BBC website: "Other common patterns for compound adjectives include: .... adj + noun: deep-sea, full-length, last-minute ... " (http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/le...



natalia m (X)
Local time: 05:37
Native speaker of: Native in GreekGreek

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  HarryHedgehog: this is not an adjective, and therefore does not answer the question//Perhaps Greek has different grammar rules, but a multiword noun does not make an adjective in English. Sorry.
11 mins
  -> of course it is an adjective, when used before a noun. Examples: historical science collection, Historical Science Society!!!
disagree  Gert Sass (M.A.): "Historical science" is the science of history rather than the history of science
45 mins
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
from the perspective/ point of view of historical science/historiography


Explanation:
I hope this clarifies matters a bit and elaborates on Gert Sass' hint.

Wissenschaftshistorisch = wissenschaftsgeschichtlich

Judging from the context and the key word Orientlateiner, it refers to history as science, i.e. historical science.

Trace with special events the presence of x from the perspective/ point of view of historiography [historical science]

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/historiography


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Note added at 22 hrs (2006-07-28 07:16:00 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Clarification

Wissenschaftsgeschichtlich = adj referring to Wissenschaftsgeschichte
Geschichtswissenschaftlich = adj referring to Geschichtswissenschaft

Why did I suggest historiographical then?
History comprises many specialisms (social, political, of a country, of any science and science itself) and any historical research is historiographical.
Orientlateiner refers to two archbishops (Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada von Toledo and Wilhelm von Tyrus) whose major works are Geschichte der Araber and Geschichte der orientalischen Fürsten respectively. These are remarkable for covering the Muslim world from a Christian perspective, the perception of the other.
In my opinion, the only context the use of wissenschaftsgeschichtlich is appropriate would be for research on medieval scholasticism as a precursor of modern science.

Rachel, you will know best.


nic456
Local time: 04:37
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman, Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Nick Somers (X): Wouldn't historiographical be "geschichtstechnisch"?
34 mins
  -> Please see explanatory note. I think geschichtswissenschaftlich would be preferable, otherwise it is simply methodologisch.
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