# anecdotal evidence



## shawnee

Γιά σας
I'm not sure how to say this in Greek. One possibility is 'αβάσιμη ένδηξει'. I thought maybe 'ατεκμήριωτα στοιχεία μας προτεινων  ... 'or 'αδιευκρινηστα ...?'
I want to use in a sentence beginning with "Anecdotal evidence suggests ....."


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## Akritas

How about 'Περιστασιακές ενδείξεις' ?


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## cougr

'Aνεπίσημα στοιχεία' could be another possible rendering,depending on context.


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## Δημήτρης

I guess you don't want "Αποδείξεις της πλάκας"...

Περιστασιακές ενδείξεις is what is usually used for anecdotal evidence.


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## shawnee

Thanks Dimitri I now get 'περιστασιακές ενδείξεις' which I interpret as 'circumstantial evidence'. However, it is a little too legalistic for my purpose. I'm referring to information gathered in discussions with various people. So its a case of my findings being based on oral testimony (I would have preferred a less legal term) In which case I'm rather liking that 'ανεπίσημα στοιχεία' from my συμπατριώτησα cougr. I take 'αποδείξεις της πλάκας' to mean the _vlakies_ that are said by all and sundry.


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## cougr

Shawnee, another term which is quite frequently used in medical and scientific contexts is 'ανέκδοτες αποδείξεις'(which is also the most literal translation), but for your purposes I think that my previous suggestion might be more suitable.

PS In your post above that should be συμπατριώτηs. (add a smiley face here)


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## Akritas

How does 'ανεξακρίβωτα στοιχεία / πληροφορίες / πηγές' sound to you?


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## ireney

I would go with Akritas' post above. "Ανέκδοτες αποδείξεις" actually means "unpublished evidence". There's "ανεκδοτολογικές ενδείξεις/στοιχεία/κλπ" but it's not always a good translation for "anecdotal evidence", it depends on context.


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## cougr

"Ανέκδοτες αποδείξεις" actually means "unpublished evidence". 

I think you may have a point there Ireney, in which case the term 'Ανέκδοτες αποδείξεις' is used erroneously in many Greek articles to mean anecdotal evidence,(and hence how I've been mislead).Obviously it is being confused with 'ανεκδοτολογικέs αποδείξεις'etc. However I am thinking that for shawnees purposes ,which is based on information gleaned from discussions,that maybe 'ανεκδοτολογικέs πληροφορίεs/αναφορές' might be quite suitable.


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## shawnee

Here is my sentence (so far) which could well do with a general going over apart from the expression in question:
«Απο ανεξακρίβωτες προφορικές πληροφορίες γνωρίζουμε ότι μερικά άτομα από αυτήν την μετανάστευση κατοίκησαν προσωρινά _το τάδε τόπο_.»

Παρακαλώ πέστε μου εσείς ποιός είναι ο καλύτερος όρος.


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## Akritas

It seems to me that you sre referring to the past and that the 'evidence' is verbal. Πληροφορίες is something that I would use for the present time and not the past. Furthermore, I don't think 'προφορικές' is necessary as it is not used very often in this context.
What you need to do is decide on the focus of your sentence. Where should the emphasis be? There are a few possibilities:
1. that there is information at all
2. that it is anecdotal
3.that some people inhabited...
4. combination of the above

I am guessing that you would like to put emphasis on 'anecdotal', the translation of which depends to an extent on how you will render 'evidence'. Again, it is my understanding that 'evidence' refers to the past and it is mostly if not all verbal. My interpretation of these elements would be 'πηγές' or 'στοιχεία' which I believe go better with 'ανεξακρίβωτ-ες / -α' respectively. If on the other hand you wish to underline the verbal element I would probably use 'στοιχεία από στόμα σε στόμα' or 'από γενιά σε γενιά' which by itself makes sort of 'unofficial' or 'not verified'.
I hope I have not been too confusing. Remember one thing: the 'truth' is found in the 'source text'. Read it well, understand it, dissect it and decide how you will render the meaning. Your are looking for *equivalence *and not for word for word translation.


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## Akritas

I thought of an alternative way to express 'anecdotal evidence'. The word 'μαρτυρίες' could come handy. Once again, I understand that you are referring to oral evidence; hence you could perhaps say: 'Από διάφορες μαρτυρίες...'. The good thing about this word is that it implies the following:
1. it came from people (as opposed to something written)
2. it is mostly oral
3. it is subjective and therefore not verified.


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## shawnee

Gia sou Akritas, 
First Re: post 11 you are absolutely right the sentence was overloaded with possibilities.
              ..   12: Yes, I was thinking of μαρτυρίες without being quite aware of how economical it would be. I am really happy with 'Από διάφορες μαρτυρίες...';
very happy indeed. Thanks very much for your considerable and well considered efforts.


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## winegrower

*Μη επιβεβαιωμένες* or *ανεξακρίβωτες* ενδείξεις/πληροφορίες/μαρτυρίες are all good alternatives. Also *αδιασταύρωτες* could be an option.


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## shawnee

winegrower, I take it you are suggesting that 'μαρτυρίες' does need some back up in this context. At the risk of flogging a dead horse, Ι wonder how appropriate the term I came across in today's reading might be; 'καθώς εικάζεται.'


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## winegrower

shawnee said:


> winegrower, I take it you are suggesting that 'μαρτυρίες' does need some back up in this context. At the risk of flogging a dead horse, Ι wonder how appropriate the term I came across in today's reading might be; 'καθώς εικάζεται.'


 
 I believe Akritas (posts 11 and 12), explained at length the whole thing about μαρτυρίες (after you dropped the word προφορικές !). I only copied the way usually anecdotal evidence is reported on tv-news. "Καθώς εικάζεται" could be another good way to paraphrase the same concept.


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## shawnee

Thanks for the confirmation winegrower.


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## ireney

I beg to disagree. "Καθώς εικάζεται" basically means "as is assumed". So it actually means that no one really knows what happened and people just make (usually educated) guesses. That's different from what you have in mind isn't it?


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## shawnee

Oh, ok. Thanks ireney. I will use "Καθώς εικάζεται" elsewhere I'm sure, with the new found confidence that I'm using correctly.


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