Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Paragraphendschungel
English translation:
maze of rules and regulations
Added to glossary by
Robin Salmon (X)
May 14, 2004 00:52
20 yrs ago
German term
Paragraphendschungel
German to English
Law/Patents
Government / Politics
Bürger und Unternehmer müssen sich heute allein im Steuerrecht durch 118 Gesetze und 87 Verordnungen finden, von den steuerrechtlichen Nebenbestimmungen gar nicht zu sprechen.
Ein solcher Paragraphendschungel behindert unternehmerische Initiative.
I'm thinking along the lines of "bureaucratic red tape".
Ein solcher Paragraphendschungel behindert unternehmerische Initiative.
I'm thinking along the lines of "bureaucratic red tape".
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +4 | maze of rules and regulations |
Beate Lutzebaeck
|
| 3 +1 | bureaucratic jungle |
Mary McCusker
|
| 5 -1 | bureaucratic morass (of red tape) |
David Hollywood
|
| 4 | bureaucratic labyrinth |
IanW (X)
|
| 4 | jungle of regulations |
David Moore (X)
|
| 3 | or just red tape--that's good! |
Gabo Pena
|
Change log
Jan 14, 2015 15:34: Steffen Walter changed "Field" from "Bus/Financial" to "Law/Patents"
Proposed translations
+4
9 mins
Beate Lutzebaeck
New Zealand
New Zealand
Native in German
&
English
Works in field
New Zealand
Double qualification in law (Germany/NZ)
Native in: German 
, English
Works in: English to German, German to English, French to German, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
12
Selected
maze of rules and regulations
Funny you should ask ... I've had to translate this term five minutes ago for the web site of a German law firm.
I was tossing up between "maze" and "jungle", in the end I opted for maze coz it has a more Kafkaesque feel to it.
Btw, "bureaucratic red tape" to me is now such an over-used clichee that it sounds a bit hackneyed.
I was tossing up between "maze" and "jungle", in the end I opted for maze coz it has a more Kafkaesque feel to it.
Btw, "bureaucratic red tape" to me is now such an over-used clichee that it sounds a bit hackneyed.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you; just what I was looking for. "
3 mins
Gabo Pena
Native in English
Specializes in field
'meaning, intent, demeanor'
Native in: English (Variants: US, Canadian) , Spanish (Variants: Dominican, Mexican, US, Cuban, Canarian, Latin American, Puerto Rican, Costa Rican, Salvadoran, Argentine, Venezuelan)
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English, English to French, and 4 more.
or just red tape--that's good!
8^7
+1
5 mins
Mary McCusker
Native in English
Works in field
Excellence combined with speed
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English, Dutch to English
bureaucratic jungle
or possibly 'regulatory jungle'. I think the use of the word jungle has great imagery in the original and there's no reason to lose it in the translation. 'Red tape' is a little on the mild side and lacks the power of the original - imho
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Agnieszka Hayward (X)
: bureaucratic jungle... sounds lovely (linguistically, that is)
9 mins
|
-1
2 hrs
David Hollywood
Native in English
worked for int. orgs (IMF, OAS, IDB)
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, German to English
Related KudoZ points
:
59
bureaucratic morass (of red tape)
another take on this one :)
4 hrs
bureaucratic labyrinth
Much as I like Mary's "bureaucratic jungle", I think "bureaucratic labyrinth" conveys the element of confusion a little better.
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Note added at 5 hrs 0 min (2004-05-14 05:53:05 GMT)
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He\'d wander through the insurer\'s bureaucratic labyrinth for hours before he would learn the truth. Little did he know that all along I knew I couldn\'t be related to him-or anyone else for that matter-who knew so little about the doctrine of efficient proximate cause!
http://www.iiaba.net/vu/Lib/Ins/ACE/ACE16DogSolution.htm
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs 0 min (2004-05-14 05:53:05 GMT)
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He\'d wander through the insurer\'s bureaucratic labyrinth for hours before he would learn the truth. Little did he know that all along I knew I couldn\'t be related to him-or anyone else for that matter-who knew so little about the doctrine of efficient proximate cause!
http://www.iiaba.net/vu/Lib/Ins/ACE/ACE16DogSolution.htm
9 hrs
jungle of regulations
Just another form of words....how well the Germans know their own bureaucracy - but why don't they do something about it????
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