French Canadian dilemma telephone handle - pass Thread poster: Accent Network
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Hello,
I have a small dilemma and I'm trying to figure out who's right and who's not.
Once upon a time there was an English IVR script with the following prompt:
Just answer my questions by speaking into your phone and I’ll help you place your order. You can speak at your normal pace – and feel free to interrupt as soon as you want to respond.
that was translated into French Canadian as follows:
Répondez simplement à mes questions en pa... See more Hello,
I have a small dilemma and I'm trying to figure out who's right and who's not.
Once upon a time there was an English IVR script with the following prompt:
Just answer my questions by speaking into your phone and I’ll help you place your order. You can speak at your normal pace – and feel free to interrupt as soon as you want to respond.
that was translated into French Canadian as follows:
Répondez simplement à mes questions en parlant dans votre combiné et je vais vous aider à passer votre commande.
yet the talent who was to record the script said if she heard that sentence when calling, she would understand:
Simply answer my questions by speaking into the HANDLE of your phone and I will help you PASS your order
so... what gives?
who's right? is the French Ca translation wrong? is the voice talent just being difficult?
thanks so much in advance for helping me sort this out. ▲ Collapse
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NancyLynn
Canada
Local time: 02:40
Member (2002)
French to English
+ ...
Moderator of this forum | I understand it to mean what it says | May 22, 2009 |
I see no problem with this translation. Does the talent have an alternative to suggest?
Nancy
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no, she did not as far as I know. I thought that perhaps in Canada there was another way of saying it and that's why she complained, but I'm totally ignorant on the issue.
Thanks for shedding some light, Nancy.
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Skatrine
Canada
Local time: 02:40
English to French
| Combiné is never used in spoken Québec French | May 22, 2009 |
Educated people may understand the word when they read it in context but it would be better to drop it entirely and just say «Répondez simplement à mes questions...» If you're on the phone, you naturally assume you have to speak into the phone, not to your toaster.
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I would also drop entirely the "parlez dans votre combiné" part.
Other than that, I see no problem with using the word combiné.
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NancyLynn
Canada
Local time: 02:40
Member (2002)
French to English
+ ...
Moderator of this forum
Indeed the parlez dans votre combiné part is superfluous. As Skatrine says, you're using your phone to make the call - obviously you're going to be talking into it. However it is not unintelligible as it stands. Cf Québec-Amérique: Combiné: n.m. Partie d'un appareil téléphonique réunissant le microphone et l'écouteur. Elle reposa le combiné avec douceur.
But your second question, passer votre commande, is the way to translate Place your order. One ne peut pas placer une com... See more Indeed the parlez dans votre combiné part is superfluous. As Skatrine says, you're using your phone to make the call - obviously you're going to be talking into it. However it is not unintelligible as it stands. Cf Québec-Amérique: Combiné: n.m. Partie d'un appareil téléphonique réunissant le microphone et l'écouteur. Elle reposa le combiné avec douceur.
But your second question, passer votre commande, is the way to translate Place your order. One ne peut pas placer une commande en français. Cf. Dico Québec-Amérique: Placer: formes fautives: 2) Placer une commande. Calque de To place an order pour Commander, Passer une commande.
Nancy
[Edited at 2009-05-23 12:36 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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| In any case... | May 24, 2009 |
The word "combiné" doesn't mean a handle - it means the piece on your phone that you use both to hear and to talk, i.e., the speaker and the microphone combined in one piece of equipment. That is probably why it is called a "combiné"...
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Thanks everyone for your insight on this issue. It has been most useful
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French Canadian dilemma telephone handle - pass
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