Cause-research. German has a single ordinary word for the activity of investigating why something happened, and it appears in news reports as a matter of course. Die Ursachenforschung läuft — the investigation into causes is running.
There is no English equivalent that is not a phrase. Root cause analysis is consultant’s language. Ursachenforschung is what a newsreader says.
Danger recognized, danger banished.
The claim in the phrase is very strong. Not that recognizing a danger helps, or improves your odds. That recognizing it is the act of removing it.
Which tells you where the culture believes the work happens.
Historisch gewachsen — historically grown. The standard German explanation for why an arrangement is as it is. It is neither a defence nor an apology. It is an account of origin, offered as the relevant information, and a German audience accepts it as an answer to the question of why.
If confronted with a yes-no question too early, Germans react instinctively with a no. They reject any form of pressure to commit to something.
Even after having provided in-depth information and advice to a potential customer the German salesperson will be careful not to ask the closing question "Do you want to buy?".
Instead they will state their continued availability to answer any and all additional questions. Germans are allergic to any form of direct selling. Hard selling has a particularly bad reputation.
German consumers avoid the pressure applied by direct sales by seeking out expertise in their network of personal and professional contacts, including using online social networks. Germans want to take their time before making decisions. An intelligent sales approach respectfully gives them that time.
caveat: may he/she beware. emptor: buyer. caveat emptor is Latin for “Let the buyer beware”. Generally, caveat emptor is the contract law principle that controls the sale of real property after the date of closing, but may also apply to sales of other goods.
The phrase caveat emptor and its use as a disclaimer of warranties arises from the fact that buyers typically have less information than the seller about the good or service they are purchasing. This quality of the situation is known as information asymmetry. Defects in the good or service may be hidden from the buyer, and only known to the seller.
caveat emptor is a short form of Caveat emptor, quia ignorare non debuit quod jus alienum emit: “Let a purchaser beware, for he ought not to be ignorant of the nature of the property which he is buying from another party.”
A common way that information asymmetry between seller and buyer has been addressed is through a legally binding warranty, such as a guarantee of satisfaction.
Here’s a good example of the need to do your homework, your due diligence, before making a major purchase.
An older video, but very clever.
Vulgar, but humorous.
The Germans have a legal term called Auskunftspflicht. Auskunft means information. Pflicht means obligation. Auskunftspflicht: the obligation to inform. When Germans persuade, convince, present, sell, the consciously Germans present the full picture: what works and what doesn’t work. Anything less is unprofessional, dishonest, and most certainly not persuasive.