carreaux: nous avons fait le point vers AB Sud trente degres Ouest

14:30 May 23, 2012
French to English translations [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Surveying / Surveying terminology
French term or phrase: carreaux: nous avons fait le point vers AB Sud trente degres Ouest
I'm trying to translate some documents concerning gifting of a property to a Pastor in Haiti.
sammie murphy


Summary of answers provided
3 +1plots: we took a bearing towards AB 30° W of S
B D Finch
4carreaux: we measured a heading of south 30 degrees west towards AB
Cyril B.
1Tiles: We [did a reckoning] around [AB Sud] thirty degrees west
Dorian Cave
Summary of reference entries provided
sud trente degrés ouest = S30W
Nikki Scott-Despaigne

  

Answers


56 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 1/5Answerer confidence 1/5
Tiles: We [did a reckoning] around [AB Sud] thirty degrees west


Explanation:
Would you have more elements of context to provide?

From what I can gather, "AB Sud" seems to be the name of a plumbing repairs shop in La Réunion (http://absudplomberie.com/contact).

So the only way I could interpret the sentence at all would be if it were referring to some kind of activity having taken place over there... I'm guessing the sentence *could* be understood as referring to a "reckoning" that would have happened near that shop, "30 degrees west" (of another point, not mentioned here).

But :

1/ From the context you provide, it would seem the geographical context would be Haiti, not La Réunion...? Would there be another shop named "AB Sud" (a fairly generic company name) around there?

2/ "Faire le point" can refer to all sorts of different things, depending on the context. From the most technical activity (reckoning) to the most daily, trivial ("have a briefing", "hold a meeting", "have a discussion"...)

3/ Is the word "carreaux" (translatable as "tiles") part of another clause in the sentence? If so, it would help to know the other words preceding it.

In brief: more context is needed!

Dorian Cave
Local time: 04:52
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench, Native in EnglishEnglish
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
plots: we took a bearing towards AB 30° W of S


Explanation:
"carreaux" is certainly not "tiles":
"Vx ou régional (Auvergne, Suisse). Carré (de terre cultivée). Les carreaux d'un jardin. Un carreau d'artichauts."
Le Grand Robert

I think you need to clarify what "AB" is, but it is likely that it is either a stake label, or the label of a point marked on a plan, or both. 30° W of S is not a very professional way of giving a bearing; as S is 180°, it would be clearer to call it 210° SW.


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Note added at 4 hrs (2012-05-23 18:44:41 GMT)
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Given Nikki's comment and reference, "30° W of S" it is.

B D Finch
France
Local time: 21:52
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Nikki Scott-Despaigne: Uses 30° W of S as 210° lies between SSW and SW. http://www.boeingconsult.com/tafe/ss&so/CompassBearings.pdf // Further reference in reference post to say "S30W".
1 hr
  -> Thanks Nikki. That's a useful reference.
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15 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
carreaux: we measured a heading of south 30 degrees west towards AB


Explanation:
Assuming that AB is the name of some place or landmark.

A 'carreau' is the common measure of land plots in Haiti, so it shouldn't be translated.

I suspect this is part of the description originally made by the land surveyor, so he would have messured the heading. If it's some other party, they could be just saying that they followed that heading.

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Note added at 15 hrs (2012-05-24 06:16:10 GMT)
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Maybe use 'carreaux (surface area)' or something to clarify that part?

Regarding the heading notation:
http://www.directlinesoftware.com/metes.htm



Cyril B.
France
Native speaker of: French
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Reference comments


4 hrs
Reference: sud trente degrés ouest = S30W

Reference information:
The "compass degree headings" system seems to have been used in the Asker's text. Accordingly "Sud trente degrés Ouest" can be represented as "S30W".


http://www.directlinesoftware.com/metes.htm

"There are two main ways surveyors described the directions (headings) of lines:

The standard Compass Degree system, which was used in most areas.
The Compass Point system, which was not so widely used.


Compass Degree Headings.
These are given by specifying a compass point (north, south, east, or west), a number of degrees, and then another compass point. For example, N23E is a heading.

This picture shows examples of various headings at ten degree intervals. Any of the lines leaving the center of the diagram has its heading shown at the end of the line. Surveyors use this system today, and it can be as precise as the surveyor wants.

[Image]

Compass Point Headings.
In some parts of the country, the Compass Point system of headings was used. It used the 32 "points of the compass" shown in this compass rose diagram.

You've heard of North, and Northeast, and North-Northeast? Well, how about "North by East one quarter point North"? That, too, is a compass point. (In the diagram you'll see a small 'x' is used to represent the word 'by'.) In some areas the phrase "and by" was used to signify one half point, so, for example, "North and by East" meant "North one half point East".

[Image]

Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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