Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
in den Vordergrund treten
English translation:
become significant/important, come to the fore
Added to glossary by
David Williams
Feb 18, 2010 16:16
14 yrs ago
6 viewers *
German term
Germany
Scientific & technical expertise
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: German to English
in den Vordergrund treten
German to English
Tech/Engineering
Manufacturing
Context:
"Bei Verfahren im Miniaturbereich treten physikalische Effekte in den Vordergrund, die in der Makrotechnik vernachlässigt werden können."
I know exactly what this means, I'm just having a hard time expressing it it English. I'm thinking along the lines of:
"Processes on the microscopic scale involve physical effects that are negligible on the macroscopic scale."
"Bei Verfahren im Miniaturbereich treten physikalische Effekte in den Vordergrund, die in der Makrotechnik vernachlässigt werden können."
I know exactly what this means, I'm just having a hard time expressing it it English. I'm thinking along the lines of:
"Processes on the microscopic scale involve physical effects that are negligible on the macroscopic scale."
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +3 | become significant/important |
Armorel Young
|
| 4 | take precedence |
Anja Wulf (X)
|
| 3 | focus more on |
Edith Kelly
|
| 3 | emphasised |
Michael Harris
|
| 3 | sentence suggestion |
polyglot45
|
| 3 | come to the fore |
casper (X)
|
| 3 | play a more important role |
Bernhard Sulzer
|
| 3 -1 | Priority is given to... |
Courtney Sliwinski
|
Proposed translations
+3
44 mins
Selected
become significant/important
I think this goes some way towards conveying the active sense of "treten".
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Sabine Akabayov, PhD
: This is the best option in this context (scientific/technical)
3 hrs
|
| agree |
Bernhard Sulzer
6 hrs
|
| agree |
Harald Moelzer (medical-translator)
1 day 19 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks!"
8 mins
Edith Kelly
Switzerland
Switzerland
Native in German
&
English
Works in field
Switzerland
Professional conference interpreter
Native in: German , English
Works in: German to English, English to German, Dutch to German, and 4 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
92
focus more on
may be too strong
14 mins
Michael Harris
Germany
Germany
Native in English
Works in field
Germany
Technical translator
Native in: English (Variants: British, US) 
Works in: German to English
Related KudoZ points
:
32
emphasised
could be another alternative
14 mins
polyglot45
Native in English
Native in: English , French
Works in: English to French, French to English, German to French, and 4 more.
sentence suggestion
in microscopic processes there are phyical effects of paramount importance, which are barely signficiant, if at all, on a macroscopic scale.
-1
17 mins
Courtney Sliwinski
Native in English
The right words for the right price
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, English to German
Priority is given to...
This could work in this sentence
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 20 mins (2010-02-18 16:36:44 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
During the microscopic process priority is given to the physical effects, which can be disregarded on a macroscopic scale.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 20 mins (2010-02-18 16:36:44 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
During the microscopic process priority is given to the physical effects, which can be disregarded on a macroscopic scale.
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Sabine Akabayov, PhD
: you are not giving priority to the effect, there are just more relevant on the microscopic scale. On the macroscopic scale other (bulk) effects are just larger and make them insignificant. I think, your Note (whole sentence) is wrong.
4 hrs
|
57 mins
2 hrs
take precedence
"come to the fore" is very accurate; "take precedence" is another way of putting it.
7 hrs
Bernhard Sulzer
United States
United States
Native in German
United States
High quality at a reasonable price
Native in: German
Works in: English to German, German to English, German, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
15
play a more important role
or, as already suggested:
become important, come to the fore.
these physical effects cannot be ignored because they have great impact here.
"in den Vordergrund' - become paramount - it's stronger than just "involve" IMO.
become important, come to the fore.
these physical effects cannot be ignored because they have great impact here.
"in den Vordergrund' - become paramount - it's stronger than just "involve" IMO.
Discussion
I'm now working with "In processes on the microscopic scale physical effects that are negligible on the macroscopic scale, such as capillary action, which draws liquids into narrow gaps, come to the fore/become significant/play a more important role".