An ordinary word can be enough to cause the difficulty. Consider
teilweise, which may concern either part of a group or the
extent to which something happens. Those readings can describe quite
different operating conditions.
Take an illustrative system with several valves controlling separate
flow paths. At a particular stage, selected valves are fully open and
the others remain closed. Suppose the German description summarises
this with “Die Ventile sind teilweise geöffnet.” Read in
isolation, “The valves are partially open” looks like a straightforward
translation. It is grammatical, uses familiar engineering language and
describes a perfectly plausible valve state.
In the stated context, however, it gives the wrong information.
“Partially open” describes an opening between the closed and fully open
positions. The German passage refers to a subset of the valves.
“Some of the valves are open” preserves that
distinction. A reader relying on the inaccurate English could understand
the system as restricting flow through intermediate valve openings,
whereas the passage describes selecting which flow paths are open.
The important work happens before that short English sentence is
settled. The translator needs to establish what teilweise
refers to by following the operating sequence and comparing the passage
with the description of the valve states. If the German expressly
identifies certain valves as fully open and the remainder as closed,
that supports the reading that only some valves are open. A drawing may
help identify the valves and their connections, but a static illustration
alone may not establish their positions at the relevant stage.
Technical research helps the translator recognise the difference between
selecting open valves and varying valve openings. A general engineering
reference can explain those operating modes; the patent itself must
establish which one is being described. Equally, an arrangement shown
for one embodiment cannot simply be imposed on broader wording elsewhere.
Sometimes the source does not settle the question. If both readings
remain possible, or different passages conflict, the appropriate response
is a focused query or an explicit note identifying the uncertainty.
Quietly selecting whichever interpretation produces the neatest
explanation would risk changing the disclosure.
For anyone commissioning German-to-English patent translation, this is a
useful distinction when assessing revision. Improving the English and
checking the technical meaning are separate tasks. Revision needs to test
what the English tells the reader against what the German actually
supports. Providing the surrounding description and relevant drawings,
even when only an extract requires translation, gives the translator
evidence that a fluent sentence alone cannot supply.
