# ontluisteren (Zuid-Nederlands)



## keithfre

I've only ever come across 'ontluisteren' in a negative sense and that's the only sense I can find in my dictionaries ('tarnish', 'taint', 'van luister of aanzien beroven').

I'm now trying to translate the sentence 'Met deze studie hebben we gepoogd bij te dragen aan de ontluistering van de leefgroep en beter door te dringen tot de ‘black box’ van het leefgroepwerk.'.

There's no way the authors can be using it in a pejorative sense here, they're in favour of 'de leefgroep'. Could it be they mean 'demystify'?


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## HKK

Wow, I have not idea what they're talking about. You are correct, "ontluisteren" only has a negative meaning. You appear to be a victim of one of those people who should be issued a restraining order from keyboards and pens.*



*Disclaimer: just kidding


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## AllegroModerato

"Ontsluiting" would seem more appropiate to me.


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## nv1962

The way I read it, it's a matter of selective and contrasting accent:


> de ontluistering van de leef*groep* en beter door te dringen tot de ‘black box’ van het leefgroep*werk*


You're right in that "ontluisteren" has a negative connotation, as it's close to "stripping from its veil of magic", or "removing a perception dominated by beauty", or "doing away with a rose-colored view", something along those lines. Which is why I applaud Keithfre's "demystify" as an apt equivalent.

So, looking at the contrasted elements, i.e. the "leefgroep" v the "leefgroepwerk" I believe the intent is to do away with a sense of charm surrounding the "leefgroep" so as to better penetrate (i.e. achieve an improved understanding of) the dynamics and chemistry of the "leefgroepwerk", considered a "black box".

Which brings me to this attempted translation of the whole thing:

_Through this research we tried to make a contribution to the demystification of the "leefgroep" and so to better penetrate into the "black box" of the "leefgroepwerk"._

Notes: I deliberately left "leefgroep" and "leefgroepwerk" as-is, because I am unfamiliar with those terms as seemingly intended (unless it's a reiteration of the late 60s / early 70s term _commune_ which is a distinct possibility) and moreover, because I assume that those have been translated elsewhere, previously.


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## HKK

I have to say your explanation sounds quite mystical itself. Abiding by Occam's Razor, I believe AllegroModerato is right and it's just a vocabulary mistake.


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## keithfre

Thanks for the confirmation. 'Leefgroep' in the context of a children's home is apparently 'family group' in the UK.


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## nv1962

Could very well be, HKK. Yet errors in the source text are an aspect a translator also has to deal with.

Thanks for that clarification Keithfre; I suppose the choice is then to either ignore the error, or to translate it. I wouldn't "correct" it in the translation though, except if you can consult with the author(s). It's not our job.


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