Welsh to Dutch: preserve the condition that makes an arrangement possible
A condition and an exception point in opposite directions
A Welsh arrangement may go ahead only when a requirement is satisfied, or it may go ahead except when something prevents it. Both descriptions concern a condition, but they give the reader different instructions. Identify which outcome the Welsh writer intends before selecting a compact Dutch conjunction.
Geiriadur yr Academi’s morphology guide lists os as if and distinguishes it from pan, when. That difference helps frame a useful source check: is the writer stating a requirement, describing the time of an expected event or naming an exception? Do not turn every conditional-looking phrase into a timetable.
For a practical booking message, state the relationship in plain terms during review. Does receiving confirmation enable the booking, or does receiving a cancellation stop it? A Dutch sentence can contain all the expected nouns and still reverse that relationship through one connective.
Mits establishes a requirement; tenzij introduces an exception
Taaladvies.net explains mits as provided that and tenzij as except if. Its paired picnic examples express an outing subject to dry weather and an outing excluding rain. The condition is framed positively in one and as a preventing circumstance in the other; the intended arrangement can nevertheless match.
The advice specifically warns against using mits where tenzij is intended. It also discusses adding a negative to the conditional clause as another way of expressing the desired relationship. This means that checking the conjunction without checking the following negative is insufficient.
For less formal language, the service offers alternatives including als with tenminste and behalve als. These can make the relationship easier to follow. A Welsh conversational message does not need a formal-looking Dutch word merely because the translation is written rather than spoken.
Test the message with the event occurring and not occurring
Imagine a Welsh notice about access to a rehearsal room. Members can enter after a coordinator confirms the booking. Separately, the session is cancelled if the venue becomes unavailable. These are two distinct conditions: one permits access, while the other prevents the session. Keep them separate in the Dutch account.
Run through both possibilities for each condition. If confirmation arrives, should members enter? If it does not arrive, should they wait? Then test the cancellation clause independently. This simple reading exercise reveals whether a negative or an exception has accidentally authorised the opposite behaviour.
Pay particular attention when the main clause is already negative. A statement that an activity cannot proceed unless a requirement is met is harder to review than an affirmative statement naming the same requirement. Expanding the sentence temporarily can expose its logic without changing the arrangement the writer intended.
Also distinguish a requirement from a promise that it will be met. A Welsh source saying that access depends on confirmation does not say that confirmation has arrived. Preserve that uncertainty rather than making the instruction sound more decisive through an unsupported completed event.
When revising the finished notice, keep its condition attached to the action it controls. Moving the clause beside another instruction can change what readers think depends on it. The final Dutch message should let a member decide whether to enter, wait or cancel from the same circumstances described in Welsh.
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