Tempo 120/80

English translation: speed limit 120/80 km/h

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:Tempo 120/80
English translation:speed limit 120/80 km/h

11:12 Jun 17, 2017
German to English translations [Non-PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Automotive / Cars & Trucks
German term or phrase: Tempo 120/80
"Im Zuge der „Waldsterben“-Debatte in den 1980er Jahren wurde nicht nur das Benzin entbleit, der Katalysator sowie ***Tempo 120/80*** eingeführt, sondern auch das XXX Programm sowie die XXX Forschung gestartet."

So far, my research leads me to believe that this is referring to some sort of cruise control, but I haven't found anything concrete yet. Suggestions? Thank you!
Barbara L Pavlik
United States
Local time: 06:52
speed limit 120/80 kmph
Explanation:
120 on the highways, 80 on the regional roads.
Tempo is a general term for the speed of a vehicle
Selected response from:

Ronald van Riet
Local time: 11:52
Grading comment
Thanks for solving the mystery!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +6speed limit 120/80 kmph
Ronald van Riet
4 +1and the speed limit outside urban areas reduced
Lancashireman


Discussion entries: 11





  

Answers


4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +6
speed limit 120/80 kmph


Explanation:
120 on the highways, 80 on the regional roads.
Tempo is a general term for the speed of a vehicle

Ronald van Riet
Local time: 11:52
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Thanks for solving the mystery!
Notes to answerer
Asker: So, this would refer to the speed limits on the respective types of roads?


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Kim Metzger: This wouldn't currently apply to Germany or Switzerland. I can't find evidence it would apply to the 1980s either. Confidence level 5?
40 mins

agree  Willem Dubelaar: Except that the standard abbreviation should be 'kmh'. To me, it does not seem to be about a particular country, but more in general. 120/80 would apply perfectly to the Netherlands, although the 120 has now become 130 in many places there.
51 mins

neutral  writeaway: fyi, the correct abbreviation is km/h (km/u in Dutch). Proof: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilometres_per_hour
1 hr

agree  Johannes Gleim: 100 km/h auf Schweizer Autobahnen, 80 km/h auf allen anderen Straßen. In Deutschland gelten andere Grenz- und Richtwerte.
2 hrs

agree  jccantrell
4 hrs

agree  Eleanore Strauss: It's fine . . duh.. Why are the commenter questioning the content? It's about language. And btw CH autobahn was always 120. When did that change.? And there are areas in Germany where there are such speed limits
15 hrs

agree  Vere Barzilai
16 hrs

agree  Lancashireman: "120 on the highways, 80 on the regional roads" Mystery solved! Not sure about "speed limit 120/80 kmph" as a translation, though.
7 days
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
sowie Tempo 120/80 eingeführt
and the speed limit outside urban areas reduced


Explanation:
The register of your article would permit the precise numbers to be omitted, or at least confined to parentheses:
... wurde nicht nur das Benzin entbleit, der Katalysator sowie Tempo 120/80 eingeführt ...
... not only was lead removed from petrol [motor fuel], the catalytic converter made compulsory and the speed limit outside urban areas reduced (to 120kph on motorways and 80kph on single carriageways) ...

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q="speed limit outside urban...


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Note added at 4 hrs (2017-06-17 15:19:03 GMT)
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I don't think an English reader will be able to make any sense of "120/80" if left in the body of text, not least because the UK and USA use mph.

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Note added at 6 hrs (2017-06-17 17:37:27 GMT)
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Another reason for preferring 'outside urban areas' is the proliferation of terminology in different variants of EN: highway, motorway, A roads, trunk roads etc. I have never heard of 'regional roads', as proposed above.

Re kph or km/h, my preference is for the former. I have certainly never seen kmph before today.

I am assuming that the three votes cast for the answer proposed above are for solving the mystery. As a translation, though - and this is a translation forum - it fails to provide clarity for the reader.

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Note added at 8 hrs (2017-06-17 20:04:41 GMT)
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One further reservation about the current leader:
The forward slash has several different uses in EN, none of which correspond to the one in the source text. To an EN reader, 120/80 suggests a division resulting in a ratio of 2:1. I frequentlyhave to correct DE clients who think it is OK to list driver pairings as Lewis Hamilton/Nico Rosberg (without even doing them the courtesy of adding spaces on each side of the slash!),
German punctuation does not automatically transfer 1:1 (or even 1/1) to English.

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Note added at 3 days11 hrs (2017-06-20 23:01:42 GMT)
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"That really confirms the original answer" namely "speed limit 120/80 kmph". Is that really the wording you plan to send off to the client?

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Note added at 7 days (2017-06-24 17:28:52 GMT) Post-grading
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You're welcome.

Lancashireman
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:52
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 395

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Björn Vrooman: See disc. Perhaps you could change it to "outside many urban areas" or "on many roads outside urban areas"? That may be enough to take care of the 100kph issue (Autostrassen).
42 mins
  -> Thanks, Björn. The source text is so compact that producing an equally pithy yet sensible EN version is a real challenge.
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