Oct 9, 2026

(Neder)brackets

Today I was translating a set of Dutch municipal parking terms and conditions. One of the definitions is “PMS”, and it reads:

Een (parkeermanagement)systeem dat parkeerapparatuur in een Parkeerlocatie aanstuurt, bestaande uit een (centrale) computer …

A (parking management) system. Called the PMS. The P stands for parking, the M for management, and yet someone felt the need to put the parking management in brackets, as if it were optional. The computer is “(central)” too, just in case.

Welcome to the (Neder)bracket. (The title is one, by the way: “brackets and/or Nederbrackets”.)

What’s going on

In English, brackets add something: an explanation, a clarification, an aside. Take them out and the sentence still works.

In Dutch, brackets are often a compression device: two words for the price of one. (brand)verzekering means verzekering en/of brandverzekering – insurance in general and/or fire insurance. This works neatly in Dutch, because Dutch glues its compounds together, so the bracket simply marks part of the word as optional. English writes most compounds as separate words, so the same bracket ends up around a free-standing word, and the English reader takes it as an aside or a hedge.

To make life more interesting, Dutch writers sometimes use brackets the English way after all. So every (Neder)bracket is a small puzzle with two possible answers:

Dutch-style: both readings are meant (X and/or Y)
English-style: the bracketed part is just a clarification (Y)

A small gallery

(Neder)bracket	Dutch-style reading	English-style reading
(blinde) geleidehonden	guide dogs of any kind and/or guide dogs for the blind	guide dogs for the blind
(Ver)Huurder	landlord and/or tenant	–
(on)belangrijk	important and/or unimportant	unimportant
(on)rechtstreeks	directly or indirectly	indirectly
(roer)bakken	frying and/or stir-frying	stir-frying
(nood)uitgang	exit or emergency exit	emergency exit
(huis)dieren	animals and/or pets	pets
arbeids(on)geschikt	fit or unfit for work	unfit for work
(potentiële) (interne) klant	customers, potential customers, internal customers and/or potential internal customers	potential internal customer

A few favourites:

Translate (blinde) geleidehonden literally and you get “(blind) guide dogs”. Nobody wants a blind guide dog. (And in Dutch the bracket isn’t even redundant: a geleidehond can also be an autismegeleidehond, a guide dog for a child with autism.)
(Ver)Huurder fits both parties to a lease into one word. Very efficient, until you have to decide who is liable.
(on)belangrijk means “important and/or unimportant”, which covers everything and therefore says nothing.
(potentiële) (interne) klant is two brackets stacked, giving four customers for the price of one.

Today’s catch

Those parking terms alone gave me:

een (parkeermanagement)systeem → a parking management system. The bracket does nothing: the document spells out “PMS (parkeermanagementsysteem)” itself later on.
een (centrale) computer → a computer, typically a central one
het (laten) wegslepen van het Motorvoertuig → towing away the Motor Vehicle (or having it towed away)
reparaties uit te (doen laten) voeren – a double-decker: to carry out repairs, to have them carried out, or to cause them to be had carried out. I settled on carrying out (or having carried out) repairs.
bijbehorend(e) terrein(en) en ruimte(n) – three brackets in four words → the associated grounds and areas

How I deal with them

Unpack the Dutch first. Write out both readings: verzekering en/of brandverzekering.
Decide which one the author meant. The context usually settles it.
Write it the English way. Spell both out (“fire insurance and other insurance”), use “or”, or drop the bracket. Don’t just copy the brackets across: an English reader will read them as an aside.
Keep the ones English already understands. Party (or parties) and (the performance of) any agreement are normal English legal style.
If you really can’t tell, ask.

A note on patents

In patent translation, (Neder)brackets are particularly hazardous, because the choice between the two readings can change the scope of a claim. (Bio)brandstoffen in a claim can mean “fuels and/or biofuels” or “biofuels” – a very different monopoly. Where the context does not make the intended reading clear, flag it to the attorney rather than resolving it yourself.