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schwimmen

English translation: wanders

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:schwimmen
English translation:wanders
Entered by: Marcus Malabad

13:59 Dec 10, 2003
German to English translations [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Automotive / Cars & Trucks / Automotive
German term or phrase: schwimmen
"Einzelne beschrieben, dass er „...auf der Fahrbahn schwimmt“ und eine „...stabile Straßenlage fehlt.“"

From an automotive market research report (about MPVs). What exactly is meant by "schwimmen" here. That it is imprecise and/or unresponsive?

Any comments or suggestions appreciated.

Thanks


Ian
IanW (X)
Local time: 06:06
wanders
Explanation:
Hi Ian,
Wyhlidal's Kfz WB shows "wandering/wander" for "Schwimmen über dem Spür".
HTH
Rebecca
Selected response from:

Rebecca Holmes
United States
Local time: 00:06
Grading comment
In the end I put "tends to wander" - thanks Rebecca and everyone else who contributed
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +5to drift / to veer
Cilian O'Tuama
3 +6wanders
Rebecca Holmes
3 +1handles like a hammock on rollerskates
Richard Benham
4fishtailing
gangels (X)
3same as "glide"
Clauwolf
2 +1unstable
tectranslate ITS GmbH
3lacks grip
Wenke Geddert
3isn't in touch with the road
Klaus Herrmann
3flounders
Edward Guyver
3unsteady
Grimm Resear (X)


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
to drift / to veer


Explanation:
it means you lose some control of it

Cilian O'Tuama
Germany
Local time: 06:06
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 379

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  tectranslate ITS GmbH: drift ist schön. "tends to drifting" oder so.
2 mins
agree  Stefan Wollinger (X): sounds good
4 mins
agree  Lori Dendy-Molz: I like drift. Veer is generally done intentionally.
8 mins
disagree  Klaus Herrmann: I think this is too strong. Schwimmen will make the driver feel uncomfortable but it doesn't mean a loss of control IMO.
14 mins
  -> IMO you do lose 'some' control, the steering is no longer as 'direct',
agree  avantix: yes, I agree with tectrans: tends to drifting. That's not too strong because it just "tends to"
18 mins
agree  Sven Petersson: drift
20 mins
agree  Heidi Stone-Schaller: tends to drift
56 mins
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6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
same as "glide"


Explanation:
:) From heritage, "glide" =
1. To move in a smooth, effortless manner: a submarine gliding through the water. See Synonyms at slide. 2. To move silently and furtively.

Clauwolf
Local time: 01:06
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
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8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +1
schwimmen (hier)
unstable


Explanation:
Sounds like the steering is behaving fuzzy, as if you were experiencing aquaplaning.

tectranslate ITS GmbH
Local time: 06:06
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  swisstell
5 mins
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8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +6
wanders


Explanation:
Hi Ian,
Wyhlidal's Kfz WB shows "wandering/wander" for "Schwimmen über dem Spür".
HTH
Rebecca

Rebecca Holmes
United States
Local time: 00:06
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 48
Grading comment
In the end I put "tends to wander" - thanks Rebecca and everyone else who contributed

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Klaus Herrmann: This is how I perceive Schwimmen here.
15 mins
agree  Roddy Stegemann: This is the precise term. I know this from a long acquaintance with an expert in the field -- my father!
53 mins
agree  John Jory: "Not enough caster causes your car to 'wander' and feel unstable" (one ref of thousands)
1 hr
agree  Gareth McMillan: Not enough swimming lessons, you mean.
1 hr
agree  Richard Benham: This is a pretty good rendering.
1 hr
agree  Fantutti (X)
10 hrs
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9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
schwimmen (hier)
lacks grip


Explanation:
Denke, das ist damit gemeint:

"We don't know whether that's because the tires lack grip or if It is because the ABS is aggressive. It also kicks in when just one side of
the car is on a slippery surface, ..."

"Like many small SUVs, the Tracker lacks grip on wet pavement; the rear tires tend to spin when turning and accelerating briskly away from a stop sign"



    Reference: http://www.nctd.com/review-drive.cfm?ReviewID=776
Wenke Geddert
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:06
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Heidi Stone-Schaller: I agree with you but if you look at the context the next bit is "eine stabile Straßenlage fehlt"--so you have to save the "lack" phrase for that IMO
57 mins
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22 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
handles like a hammock on rollerskates


Explanation:
As Stirling Moss once said about an Aston Martin.

(OK, I was joking!)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2003-12-10 15:58:16 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

A serious suggestion: \"is vague\", or \"its roadholding is vague\".

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2003-12-10 16:34:00 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Fishtailing: To me, \"fishtailing\" suggests specifically the rear end sliding from side to side, rather like the tail of a fish (possibly not of a flounder), whereas \"schwimmen\" could be a little more general (e.g. the front end could also be unstable).

And, as it happens, I drive on the left in Australia and Britain and on the right in Europe. So far, I have managed to avoid driving in North America.

Richard Benham
France
Local time: 06:06
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 19

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Gareth McMillan: I know Ian likes "creative translations".
1 hr
  -> Probably this is a bit **too** creative.
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50 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
fishtailing


Explanation:
they call it in the US

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2003-12-10 14:57:31 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

slithering (a snake slithers) you could say, but a car with insufficient road grip (eg on icy ground will \'fishtail\'

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2003-12-10 16:18:48 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

\'shimmying\' is another word for the phenomenon, though \'fishtailing\' is more exclusive to cars. Of course, driving on the left side of the road as our friend Richard does, any decent driver would feel reason to start \'fishtailing\'. (Just a bit a limp, German humor).

gangels (X)
Local time: 22:06
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 191

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Richard Benham: To me "fishtailing" is something specific, whereas "scwimmen" seems more general.
1 hr
  -> read it in American car manuals all the time. Simply means 'slipping and sliding'
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
schwimmen (hier)
isn't in touch with the road


Explanation:
Just to provide some space for disagrees :-). Maybe I'm reading 'drift' too much as going into a skid, and I'm certainly not going to argue with native speakers about how words feel. Still, schwimmen feels more like a time-lagged steering, not like an indirect steering.

Klaus Herrmann
Germany
Local time: 06:06
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 377
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
flounders


Explanation:
In a similar vein to all the other suggestions. Langenscheidt suggests this definition if the word "schwimmen" is used figuratively.

Edward Guyver
Local time: 05:06
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Richard Benham: Generally, when you "flounder", you make no forward progress. I think this is a bit strong, although real flounder do of course swim.
37 mins
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9 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
schwimmen (hier)
unsteady


Explanation:
I like Wenke's term. Here's how I would translate the sentence:

Some described the car as being unsteady on the road, lacking grip.

Grimm Resear (X)
United States
Local time: 23:06
Native speaker of: German
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