Is this sentence illogical or trendy? Inițiatorul discuției: jyuan_us
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jyuan_us 
Statele Unite
Local time: 05:09
Membru (2005)
din engleză în chineză
+ ...
I read this sentence "The private sector added 263,000 jobs in March" on this webpage: "https://finance.yahoo.com/m/febfaddc-df3c-3df5-bcaa-e7b10709cb22/gold-snaps-3-session-win.html
Do you think "added" is correctly used in the above sentence? Shouldn't it be "263,000 jobs were added to the private sector in March"?
Or, do you think that the author used the verb in a non-conventional but still acceptable way?
More context:
The private sector ... See more I read this sentence "The private sector added 263,000 jobs in March" on this webpage: "https://finance.yahoo.com/m/febfaddc-df3c-3df5-bcaa-e7b10709cb22/gold-snaps-3-session-win.html
Do you think "added" is correctly used in the above sentence? Shouldn't it be "263,000 jobs were added to the private sector in March"?
Or, do you think that the author used the verb in a non-conventional but still acceptable way?
More context:
The private sector added 263,000 jobs in March, according to a report released by Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP). The employment reading outpaced economists’ average forecasts of 170,000, and highlighted a continued a pace of healthy labor-market growth.
[Edited at 2017-04-05 19:40 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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It's the language of financial markets journalism. There's a lot of jargon-ridden shorthand. But yes it's a little odd if you think too much about it.
| | | | | Neither illogical nor trendy | Apr 5, 2017 |
It's just plain sloppy journalistic writing - and that's been a trend for so many decades now that it's no longer trendy!
RL
| | | | Nina Esser
Germania
Local time: 11:09
din engleză în germană
At university we were told that the English language likes inanimate subjects and the standard example used was "the hotel sleeps 100 guests"... We had entire lessons revolving around how best to translate that structure into German
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jyuan_us
Statele Unite
Local time: 05:09
Membru (2005)
din engleză în chineză
+ ...
INIŢIATORUL SUBIECTULUI | Thank you Chris, Robin Levey, and Nina Esser | Apr 5, 2017 |
Your guys all gave enlightening opinions and I'm feeling less bothered about it now.
[Edited at 2017-04-05 22:56 GMT]
| | | | | Trouble is, we only like some... | Apr 6, 2017 |
Nina Esser wrote: At university we were told that the English language likes inanimate subjects and the standard example used was "the hotel sleeps 100 guests"... We had entire lessons revolving around how best to translate that structure into German
While we're quite happy with hotels sleeping guests and their restaurants seating them... it can be too much of a good thing. Some inanimate subjects just sound wrong to me anyway, and I don't know why. I frequently rephrase sentences that use them when translated directly from Danish, where they are quite acceptable.
I don't immediately like "The private sector added 263,000 jobs in March", but you could argue that it was short for a whole lot of other formulations that are clumsier and do not express the meaning any better. I prefer the 'were added to' version.
The fear of using the passive has a lot to answer for. Everything can be overdone, but in its place, the passive is often neater and more sensible than anything else.
| | | | Mair A-W (PhD)
Germania
Local time: 11:09
din germană în engleză
+ ...
Christine "I prefer the were added to"
Do you? It sounds weird to me.
"Added in the private sector". Maybe. "Created in" ?
ETA: Mind you, I often think "business English" is a language of its own, and I don't speak it.
[Edited at 2017-04-06 08:56 GMT]
| | | | Mervyn Henderson (X)
Spania
Local time: 11:09
din spaniolă în engleză
+ ...
I think they do that in financial reports to spice them up, albeit minimally. Gets dreary reading all the same blaargh about how things have increased, risen, fallen, decreased etc. Puts a bit of excitement into number-munching.
[Edited at 2017-04-06 09:26 GMT]
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| Don't "illogical" me | Apr 6, 2017 |
Sometimes it seems to me that in English, everything can be a verb (and a transitive one at that). Recently I had a source text where "to SSL something" was used (obviously for "to transfer something via SSL"). I flagged this but the client said it was ok.
No wonder that my German output often has more than twice the length of the original. If you want to write correct German grammar, you have to write circles around constructions like this.
| | | | Inga Petkelyte
Portugalia
Local time: 10:09
din lituaniană în portugheză
+ ...
| The main subject | Apr 6, 2017 |
The main subject here is the private sector - the emphasis is on the private sector creating new jobs, not that the new jobs just appeared by themselves in the private sector.
It is to read the message besides of the words sometimes.
| | | | | For me, this is what translation is all about | Apr 6, 2017 |
I translate stuff like this all the time for a variety of customers with a variety of needs:
The central bank would always want something formal and very precise:
"The number of employed increased by 263,000 from February to March"
The big bank's trading arm has to have it cool and funky:
"Another 263,000 punched in during March"
The rest generally want something succinct and neutral:
"263,000 jobs were created in March"
Ther... See more I translate stuff like this all the time for a variety of customers with a variety of needs:
The central bank would always want something formal and very precise:
"The number of employed increased by 263,000 from February to March"
The big bank's trading arm has to have it cool and funky:
"Another 263,000 punched in during March"
The rest generally want something succinct and neutral:
"263,000 jobs were created in March"
There are so many ways to skin a cat.
[Edited at 2017-04-06 13:43 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mervyn Henderson (X)
Spania
Local time: 11:09
din spaniolă în engleză
+ ...
Never come across "punched in" before but, like you say, if cool and funky's what they want ...
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| Skinning a kat | Apr 6, 2017 |
Mervyn Henderson wrote:
Never come across "punched in" before but, like you say, if cool and funky's what they want ...
As in "clock in"? Ah well, just a hypothetical.
How about one in the style of Katie Hopkins: "Jeremy Kyle's viewing figures fell 263,000 in March"?
| | | | Mervyn Henderson (X)
Spania
Local time: 11:09
din spaniolă în engleză
+ ...
And it's versatile, too - you could say they "punched out" when you're on unemployment figures. Or mortality tables, come to think of it.
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