Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Dutch term or phrase:
gaat/staat niet boven de wet
English translation:
does not replace the law [<-- if high accessibility to non-native speakers is required]; [otherwise: does not supersede the law]
Added to glossary by
Ton Remkes
Sep 20, 2004 22:57
19 yrs ago
Dutch term
Canada
de wet bovengaan
Dutch to English
Law/Patents
Business/Commerce (general)
employee's manual
"Dit handboek geeft de situatie voor [bedrijf] aan en gaat altijd voor de algemeen geldende gedragsregels. Echter het handboek *gaat niet boven de wet*."
The proper collocation for this is expression on the tip of my tongue, but I've ground to a halt with just 'transcend the law' or 'supersede the law'. The register, by the way, should not be too high to ensure accessibility to non-native speakers of English; the variant is UK English. Looking forward to your response. Cheers, Rob.
The proper collocation for this is expression on the tip of my tongue, but I've ground to a halt with just 'transcend the law' or 'supersede the law'. The register, by the way, should not be too high to ensure accessibility to non-native speakers of English; the variant is UK English. Looking forward to your response. Cheers, Rob.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +2 | does not replace the law |
Ton Remkes
|
| 4 +2 | above the law |
René Knoop
|
| 4 +2 | the law takes precedence |
Chris Hopley
|
| 3 | be above the law |
Miriam Linschoten, PhD (X)
|
| 3 | outrange the law |
shineda
|
Proposed translations
+2
2 hrs
Dutch term (edited):
gaat niet boven de wet
Selected
does not replace the law
This seems the clearest and nearest rendering of the original text if high accessibility to non-native speakers is required.
Otherwise I'd certainly prefer your own suggestion: 'supersede'!
"However, the manual/guide/reference book *does not replace/supersede* the law."
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Note added at 1 day 1 hr 24 mins (2004-09-22 00:22:10 GMT)
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Helaas nauwelijks aandeelhouder, maar toch:
Sense and simplicity.
Na ruggespraak met een van de meest ervaren \'proofreaders/revisors\' in ons team:
Deze oorspronkelijke uitdrukking \"Het handboek *gaat niet boven de wet*\" is niet alleen taalkundig, maar ook wat duidelijkheid betreft, hoogst twijfelachtig.
Immers in Nederlands, is de standaard uidrukking: \'boven de wet staan\'.
\'Gaat\' is een verwarrende, dus eigenlijk foutieve, variatie.
Ook in \'accepted\' NL is deze uitdrukking alleen toepasselijk op personen.
Otherwise I'd certainly prefer your own suggestion: 'supersede'!
"However, the manual/guide/reference book *does not replace/supersede* the law."
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Note added at 1 day 1 hr 24 mins (2004-09-22 00:22:10 GMT)
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Helaas nauwelijks aandeelhouder, maar toch:
Sense and simplicity.
Na ruggespraak met een van de meest ervaren \'proofreaders/revisors\' in ons team:
Deze oorspronkelijke uitdrukking \"Het handboek *gaat niet boven de wet*\" is niet alleen taalkundig, maar ook wat duidelijkheid betreft, hoogst twijfelachtig.
Immers in Nederlands, is de standaard uidrukking: \'boven de wet staan\'.
\'Gaat\' is een verwarrende, dus eigenlijk foutieve, variatie.
Ook in \'accepted\' NL is deze uitdrukking alleen toepasselijk op personen.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I have decided to grant Ton the points, though I must say that Chris H.'s answer would have won the day were it not for the fact that I had used this expression in the previous sentence (*gulp*, sorry, Chris, for my oversight re vital background info). To both of you my gratitude for your assistance. Cheers, Rob."
+2
9 mins
René Knoop
Native in Dutch
Dedication, seven days a week
Native in: Dutch 
Works in: English to Dutch, Dutch to English
above the law
Declined
No comment necessary
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Ariser
: is not above the law or does not supercede the law
1 hr
|
| agree |
Paula Cunningham
4 hrs
|
| agree |
Kate Hudson (X)
7 hrs
|
| disagree |
Chris Hopley
: "above the law" in English means "cannot be touched by the law", i.e. not subject to the same rules of justice as everyone else.
8 hrs
|
| neutral |
jarry (X)
: To Ariser: 'superSede'!
9 hrs
|
| neutral |
Ton Remkes
: As far as our references go, this expression is exclusively applicable to persons, hence not to texts or books.
1 day 51 mins
|
Comment: "for reasons explained by Chris"
12 mins
be above the law
Declined
boven de wet staan: be above the law (van Dale)
Maar staan en gaan is misschien niet hetzelfde.
Maar staan en gaan is misschien niet hetzelfde.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
: is not above the law.
2 hrs
|
| disagree |
Chris Hopley
: see my comment to René above
8 hrs
|
| neutral |
Ton Remkes
: As far as our references go, this expression is exclusively applicable to persons, hence not to texts or books.
1 day 50 mins
|
Comment: "idem ditto"
10 hrs
outrange the law
..this could work in this context
+2
8 hrs
Chris Hopley
Netherlands
Netherlands
Native in English
Specializes in field
Netherlands
Dutch & German to English
Native in: English (Variants: British, UK, Irish, US, Australian, Canadian, New Zealand)
Works in: German to English, Dutch to English, Flemish to English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
87
Dutch term (edited):
de wet niet bovengaan
the law takes precedence
How about turning it around: the law always takes precedence, the law always comes first, etc.
-> "Domestic Law Takes Precedence Over the New York Convention in New York (But Not in Oregon)"
http://www.millernash.com/showarticles.asp?Show=250
-> "What takes precedence: HIPAA or state law? In most cases, state laws will not be preempted by HIPAA."
http://www.apa.org/monitor/jan03/hipaa.html
-> "EU Law and British Tax. Which comes first?"
www.cps.org.uk/craig.pdf
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Note added at 10 hrs 14 mins (2004-09-21 09:11:30 GMT)
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Further to Jarry\'s remark, my day-to-day rule of thumb is that any word or expression that is listed by the Oxford Advances Learner\'s dictionary is acceptable. My assumption is also that even if the (2nd/3rd language) reader doesn\'t know what a word means, they will have the ability and resources to look it up.
-> "Domestic Law Takes Precedence Over the New York Convention in New York (But Not in Oregon)"
http://www.millernash.com/showarticles.asp?Show=250
-> "What takes precedence: HIPAA or state law? In most cases, state laws will not be preempted by HIPAA."
http://www.apa.org/monitor/jan03/hipaa.html
-> "EU Law and British Tax. Which comes first?"
www.cps.org.uk/craig.pdf
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 hrs 14 mins (2004-09-21 09:11:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Further to Jarry\'s remark, my day-to-day rule of thumb is that any word or expression that is listed by the Oxford Advances Learner\'s dictionary is acceptable. My assumption is also that even if the (2nd/3rd language) reader doesn\'t know what a word means, they will have the ability and resources to look it up.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Mirjam Bonne-Nollen
1 hr
|
| agree |
jarry (X)
: The best answer, but will people with English as a second/third language understand?
1 hr
|
|
A problem I face regularly (translating for the developing world), but impossible to answer, as different people have different abilities. There comes a point where you have to assume a reasonable level of proficiency, otherwise you're lost.
|
|
| agree |
FullCircle (X)
1 hr
|
| disagree |
Ton Remkes
: In legalese this may perhaps be the best answer. As "accesssibility to non-native speakers" is - in accordance with asker's explanations - desirable, this answer can hardly be considered as the most helpful solution.
15 hrs
|
|
You will find this expression in many non-legalese texts; in fact, it's perfectly ordinary English and widely used in "accessible" journalism, for example, http://tinyurl.com/6s68s and http://tinyurl.com/5dpje etc., etc.
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