Antwort: 

anonymous, 2010-12-13, 23:28   Spam?  64.20.13....

....rutschte der Wert des Namens Mercer auf einen alarmierenden Tiefstand.
....rutschte der Name Mercers auf einen alarmierenden Tiefstand.

Antwort: 

von uffie (GH/KI), Last modified: 2010-12-14, 20:56   Spam?  

Chat:     

anonymous, 2010-12-13, 23:54   Spam?  64.20.13....

Antwort: 

von wandle (GB), Last modified: 2010-12-14, 00:20   Spam?  

4; anonymous:
(a)  'relegated to' means 'reduced it to the status of';
(b)  'regressed to' means 'made it evolve backwards into'.
I imagine the author means (b).

Antwort: 

von Lisa4dict loggedout, 2010-12-14, 00:24   Spam?  99.11.160....

the premium on Mercer's signature doesn't just indicate the price but also the desirability.  No one is willing to pay a premium for it anymore.  It's no longer as desirable to hire Mercer.  Not sure how to represent that in German.

Antwort: 

anonymous, 2010-12-14, 00:27   Spam?  64.20.13....

I agree with your definitions, but one thing can't "regress" another.

Antwort: 

von wandle (GB), Last modified: 2010-12-14, 00:59   Spam?  

First, an imaginary example.  Professor Krickbrane develops a time machine.  He puts a horse in it and regresses it to an Eohippus.
Secondly, a real example.  The professor is operating an orrery.  First, he advances the earth's position to represent the end of the year.  Then he regresses it to the month of June.
Third, a direct comparison.  A senior manager speaks to a junior colleague: 'Play your cards right and I'll progress your career.  Play them wrong and I'll regress it right back to the shop floor.'

Chat:     

von wandle (GB), 2010-12-14, 01:35   Spam?  

Having done the above examples, I decided to consult a few dictionaries. The only transitive uses of 'regress' I could find are (1) psychological, where the analyst regresses the patient (under hypnosis, say) to an earlier period of life, and (2) mathematical, where you regress a variable by calculating its coefficient of regression against another variable.
However, it seems to me that the transitive use by Wasson in the quoted text makes sense, and that my examples above do so too.  There is a great deal of transitive use of intransitive verbs by our transatlantic cousins, and this advancing tide generates new valid usages and cannot be wholly held back.

Chat:     

von uffie (GH/KI), Last modified: 2010-12-14, 20:55   Spam?