en exigeant que la traverse soit remplacée

English translation: that would require the replacement of the tie

15:55 Apr 19, 2010

French to English translations [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Transport / Transportation / Shipping / railway tie specification

French term or phrase: en exigeant que la traverse soit remplacée

La prévision de la durée de vie des traverses sera de 50 ans en minimum. La traverse supportera le poids et les forces dynamiques du rail et des trains sans échec, *en exigeant que la traverse soit remplacée.*

The fact that this document has a lot of errors makes me unsure of what is being said here. It seems as if they wouldn't expect to replace the tie for 50 years. The present participle and comma seem odd to me. Does it mean "..without failure that would require the replacement of the tie"?

Kate Deimling KudoZ activity Questions: 20 (none open) (2 closed without grading) Answers: 25 United States
Local time: 09:10

English translation:that would require the replacement of the tie

Explanation:
I think you've read it correctly, that is to say, "en exigeant que la traverse soit remplacée" qualifies "échec"; it reads like spoken French so perhaps it's comes from dictation

and of course "traverse" is "tie" or "sleeper" depending on which side of the pond you are standing (you could even call it a "transverse" if you want to be pedantic)

Selected response from:

Graham macLachlan
Local time: 15:10

Grading comment

Thanks for your help! I think this is the only answer that is logical, interpreting it in spite of the faulty translation (I've seen similar examples in the same document).
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

defective sleepers (ties) being replaced.

kashew

that would require the replacement of the tie

Graham macLachlan

, while requiring that the ties be replaced

MatthewLaSon

1 +1

provided the sleeper is replaced

Alain Mouchel

Discussion entries: 4

MatthewLaSon

"Faulty" text

15:50 Apr 20, 2010

Yes, I'm afraid you're going to have go on instinct here, which is very unfortunate with a technical text like this.

Machine-translated? Ouchh!!

Best of luck and let us know how you get on this.

Graham macLachlan

As I see it, there can only be two interpretations

13:18 Apr 20, 2010

La traverse supportera le poids et les forces dynamiques en exigeant que la traverse soit remplacée.
OR
Un échec qui exige que la traverse soit remplacée.

One version makes sense, the other doesn't

Kate Deimling

United States

ASKER

problematic syntax

12:37 Apr 20, 2010

I also would have expected a phrasing such as what you suggested at the end, or "sans échec qui exigerait que la traverse soit remplacée." But the only logical meaning to me is that the failure would *not* require the replacement of the tie (as in Graham's translation agreeing with mine). The more I look at this document, the more parts I find where it seems to have been translated (machine-translated?) from English into French. At one point, "traverse" was even called "cravate"! I think this may be what's going on here, since in English one could say, "without failure requiring that the tie be replaced" though the present participle is not used this way in French. This is all very frustrating, because of an English version of parts of these specifications exists somewhere, why on earth didn't they provide it to the English-speaking client (who is now my client)? I guess the moral of the story is to read over assignments more carefully before accepting them, because if I had done so I would have accepted the contract portion and refused the faulty specifications portion.

MatthewLaSon

Looking at the grammar

01:16 Apr 20, 2010

"En exigeant que la traverse soit remplacé" can only mean one of two things, imho: by OR while requiring the tie to be replaced. I personally thought it meant "while" here.

Are they talking about replacing an old tie with one that is expected to last 50 years or more? It's hard to say.

You say the text is littered with errors. That's not good, particularly for a technical document. LOL.

If what you suspect is the meaning, the French should have said "sans exiger que celle-ci (la traverse) soit remplacée."

Answers

12 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

provided the sleeper is replaced

Explanation:
provided the sleeper is replaced ?

Alain Mouchel
Local time: 15:10
Works in field
Native speaker of:

French
PRO pts in category: 4

Notes to answerer

Asker: "provided the sleeper is replaced" would mean that it won't fail if it is replaced (which doesn't really make sense, right, because if it is replaced then it is no longer the same tie/sleeper). Aren't they saying that for fifty years it is expected not to have a failure that would require replacement?

13 mins confidence:

defective sleepers (ties) being replaced.

Explanation:
* A kind of guarantee clause. 50 year normal sleeper life.

kashew
France
Local time: 15:10
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 123

5 hrs confidence:

that would require the replacement of the tie

Graham macLachlan
Local time: 15:10
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 317

Grading comment

Thanks for your help! I think this is the only answer that is logical, interpreting it in spite of the faulty translation (I've seen similar examples in the same document).

5 hrs confidence:

, while requiring that the ties be replaced

Explanation:
Hello,

Perhaps you could word it this way.

It's the "en" that is giving you problems, isn't it? It has various meanings when preceded by a present participle, depending on context.

en exigeant = while requiring

Another example:

Je me suis endormi en lisant = I fell asleep while reading

I hope this helps.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2010-04-19 21:41:12 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Yes, I used the subjunctive here in English. I still believe it's more correct. LOL.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 hrs (2010-04-19 23:45:00 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I believe that they also could have written it "tout en exigeant que..."

MatthewLaSon
Local time: 09:10
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 35

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

See also:

ProZ.com term search

Search millions of term translations

en exigeant que la traverse soit remplacée

English translation: that would require the replacement of the tie

Answers

KudoZ™ translation help

Your current localization setting

Select a language

en exigeant que la traverse soit remplacée

English translation: that would require the replacement of the tie

Answers

KudoZ™ translation help

You have native languages that can be verified

Your current localization setting

Select a language