Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Dutch term or phrase:
al was het maar
English translation:
if for no other reason than ...
Dutch term
30+ years experience - accurate and fast
Native in: Dutch 
Works in: English to Dutch, Dutch to English, Flemish to English
al was het maar
Can anyone help me with the "al was het maar" bit?
| 4 +5 | if for no other reason than ... |
LogosART
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| 4 +1 | even if |
Wiard Sterk
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| 4 +1 | if only that they were |
Michael Beijer
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| 4 | if only for |
Schoonbeek
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| 4 | even though... |
LouisV (X)
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Apr 15, 2013 19:04: writeaway changed "Field" from "Law/Patents" to "Bus/Financial" , "Field (specific)" from "Law (general)" to "General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters" , "Field (write-in)" from "Legal text" to "in a legal text"
Apr 15, 2013 20:17: writeaway changed "Field (write-in)" from "in a legal text" to "(none)"
Non-PRO (1): CJG (X)
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Proposed translations
if for no other reason than ...
| agree |
Marijke Singer
33 mins
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Hartelijk dank! Vriendelijke groet!
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| agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
: Good option.
46 mins
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Thank you very much! Kind regards!
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| agree |
Anna Maria Biezen
4 hrs
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Bedankt voor uw reactie! Groetjes!
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| agree |
Michael Beijer
: (less clunky than my option)
13 hrs
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Thanks! Greetings!
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| agree |
Anne Lee
1 day 15 hrs
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Thanks and greetings!
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United Kingdom
Fast, accurate and creative translator
Native in: Dutch , English
Works in: English to Dutch, Dutch to English
even if
| agree |
Alexander Schleber (X)
: short and good
21 mins
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Thanks.
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United Kingdom
Native in: Dutch
Works in: Dutch to English, French to English, French to Dutch, and 1 more.
if only for
just becasue is another, very informal, formulation that indicates the 2 services have not necessarily ben shown to be equivalent, they are just heaped together here.
United Kingdom
Experienced technical/patent translator
Native in: English (Variants: British, US) 
Works in: Dutch to English, Flemish to English, English to Dutch, and 2 more.
if only that they were
=
. . . if only that they were offered from a satellite constellation.
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Note added at 14 mins (2013-04-15 19:05:23 GMT)
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sounds a little strange, but I think it's correct English
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Note added at 16 mins (2013-04-15 19:06:43 GMT)
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oops, I think that should have been 'if only that they are'
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Note added at 39 mins (2013-04-15 19:30:11 GMT)
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'Successful historical reconstructionscan be performed only by people who have some idea of what they themselves think about the issues under discussion, even if only that they are pseudo-issues.'
-Truth and Progress: Philosophical Papers, by Richard Rorty (http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=MP6G4Q8Ox0kC&pg=PA251&lpg... )
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Note added at 41 mins (2013-04-15 19:32:28 GMT)
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'That alternative is to assume that this information is not itself harmful, that people will perceive their own best interests **if only that they are well enough informed**, and the best means to that end is to open the channels of communication rather than to close them...' (http://legacy.uspharmacist.com/oldformat.asp?url=newlook/fil... )
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Note added at 46 mins (2013-04-15 19:37:35 GMT)
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'Some considerable amount was known about the so-called "specific infectious diseases," if only that they were infectious.'
–National Bureau of Economic Research, 'Fatal Years: Child Mortality in Late Nineteenth-Century America' (http://www.nber.org/chapters/c11541.pdf )
| agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
: I would say "if only because they were...".
50 mins
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Thanks!
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Discussion