Für mich klingt theoretic approach seltsam, aber ich kann den Unterschied nicht erklären.

theoretic approach = approaching a problem by using theories

theoretical approach = the approach itself is theoretical, i.e. not practical or impractical

I assume you'd prefer the first version.

@ karf: Bist Du English native speaker? Denn mir gefällt 'theoretic approach' besser. Aber ich habe natürlich keine Ahnung! (Sonst hätte ich ja nicht gefragt...)

Bedeutet vielleicht das eine so was wie: "Man könnte diesen Ansatz theoretischerweise verwenden" also: "theoretisch" = "theoretisch möglich" und das andere meint den wirklichen "theoretischen Ansatz"?

Alan, bist du sicher? ich habe mehrer Wörterbücher überprüft (Merriam-Webster, Encarta, The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language), und keines davon sieht irgendeinen Unterschied zwischen den Varianten.

@ Alen: Die Erklärung erscheint mir sehr treffend und nachvollziehbar. Im Grunde wollte ich sowas in der Richtung auch ausdrücken. Natürlich hast Du es viel besser auf den Punkt gebracht. ;-) In der Tat würde ich dann "theoretic approach" vorziehen.

@ Alan & Sophil: Jetzt müßtet ihr euch nur noch einig werden, damit ich auch wirklich sicher sein kann... ist für eine Diss. Da soll es schon richtig sein...

"theoretic approach" habe ich selten gesehen.
Ich würde grundsätzlich "-al" vorziehen.

Wie wär's mit google?

google hilft da nicht wirklich weiter:

"theoretic approach" = 199.000 Treffer
"theoretical approach" = 396.000 Treffer

Aber es zeigt jedenfalls, dass beides existiert!

Of course both uses exist - hopefully for different meanings. But I'm sure they are often indiscriminately.
This is hair-splitting.
But IMO an adjective ending in -al (only) describes the subject. Without the -al suffix it is practically part of a noun phrase; it becomes more important in its own right. OK?

Mittlerweile sind hier ja sowieso schon kompetentere Geister als ich am Werk, aber um die Frage nicht unbeatwortet zu lassen: Nein, ich bin kein native speaker. Erst wollte ich das dazuschreiben, dann dachte ich, es wäre zu redundant, weil ich ja auf deutsch geantwortet habe. Aber hier ist es wohl doch nicht so klar, dass deutsch Schreibende auch Deutsch-Muttersprachler sind.
Zum Thema: Mir ist der Unterschied zwischen theoretic und theoretical nicht klar. Vielleicht kann Alan oder jemand anders, der den Unterschied sieht, mir helfen, indem er einen approach beschreibt, der theoretic, aber nicht theoretical ist oder umgekehrt. Oder am besten beide Versionen.

"theoretic" in my reading and translating experience is very rare. If you look carefully at the Google ("theoretic approach") examples they almost all come in combinations like "number-theoretic", "game-theoretic", "model-theoretic", "group-theoretic", etc.

I personally would use theoretical in your example, Theorist.

Afterthought: I can imagine using under certain circumstances e.g. "theory-based approach".

I don't know if there is a rule, but as a native English speaker, I have to agree that 'theoretic' sounds a little funny. I would say 'theoretical approach,' but that describes the approach and gives the sense that it is an approach based entirely on theory and not practical-- or at least not yet tested.

'Theoretic approach' may not be entirely proper English or follow a given rule, but it is perfectly acceptable, understandable, and conveys the desired meaning.

@katsushika: And is this "theory-based approach" a "theoretic approach"? Then you would agree with Alan, I guess. The "theoretical approach" then would mean that you develop the theory itself.

I think I'd have no qualms about using "theoretical" here, and only use "theory-based" if there were some real danger of being misunderstood. But - as far as I can judge this one - there seems to be no real danger of misunderstanding. It's clear that "theoretical approach" here means an approach based on or utilizing theories.

Think of it this way:
Electric device - device that uses or is run by electricity
Electrical device - device that has electricity in it; you might get a shock if you touch it.
There are differences.

I think theoretic is same as theory-based. See my first posting. Theory-based does give it the proper emphasis though.
But I still think theoretical has a certain connotation of non-practicalness about it:
"Theoretically I can approach the North pole if I continue to walk North."
A theoretic (or theory-based) approach would by like: "Dr. X's axiom on Y combined with Prof. Z's theory on W...."

"Theoretically I can approach the North pole if I continue to walk North."
But you would not call that a theoretical approach, would you?

Alan, you convinced me! There IS a difference and I will use "theoretic approach" since I am going to use a known theory to apply on a new problem. I guess, you agree with me in this case.

@karf:
"Theoretically I can approach the North pole if I continue to walk North."

If I am right, you can use the "theoretical approach" in this sentence ("continue to walk North to reach the North pole") to plan a trip to the North pole. Probably this "theoretic approach" (plan) to reach the North pole will not lead to success since there will be a lot of water in between and the "theoretical approach" (theory) you use is not very useful to reach your goal.

So:
"theoretical approach" = an idea of the solution for any abstract problem
"theoretic approach" = a plan to reach a goal using a certain theory (or "theoretical approach")


Everybody happy now???