attelage

English translation: tow-hitch / tow-bar / towing

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:attelage
English translation:tow-hitch / tow-bar / towing
Entered by: Tony M

22:04 Aug 4, 2017
French to English translations [Non-PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Automotive / Cars & Trucks / vehicles
French term or phrase: attelage
Hello,

"C'est d'ailleurs un phénomène typique des personnes qui ne veulent pas acheter le faisceau d'origine pour l'attelage et bricolent avec le beau-frère des connections directes sur les feux par exemple...
C'est beau c'est Noêl sur le tableau de bord ! "

Is "attelage" here "coupling?

here is the text:
http://www.autoactu.com/vehicule-autonome---petite-interfere...

Thank you.
Louisa Tchaicha
Tunisia
Local time: 10:00
towing
Explanation:
We don't express it in quite the same way in EN — whereas the FR talks about 'hitching' (i.e. the action of connecting a trailer etc.), in En we refer to what it is to be used for, i.e. 'towing'.

Obviously you'll need to rework the entire sentence to take this into account.

'Coupling' is not an appropriate term that we would use here in this field.

The real sense, though rather long-winded, might be "...when installing a tow-hitch"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 14 heures (2017-08-05 12:30:05 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Oh dear, Asker, I have a great deal of practical experience with automotive electrics, and believe me, it very much IS about 'towing'.

The tow-hitch on the back of a vehicle is often called a 'boule d'attelage'; and what they are talking about here is how you wire up the socket that connects the trailer lights: either you buy the 'official' wiring harness which makes all the right connections in the right way; or you 'bodge' it by simply picking up a wire where it gos to e.g. the brake lights, etc. — which is a cheaper solution, but in these days of more complicated vehicle electrics, fraught with pitfalls for the unwary.
The only thing slightly inconsistent with all this is that the headlights are about the only thing that do NOT appear on a towed vehicle, which normally has rear lights, indicators, sidelights, but NOT headlights as such. The reason for this apparent inconsitency may however be made clear by the rest of your wider context.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 jour11 heures (2017-08-06 09:53:12 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Ah yes, thanks Terry for pinting out that the source text simlle says 'lights' — so there is indeed no inconsistency and you can simply ignore the previous paragraph.
Asker, your mention of 'headlights' was confusing, as that is not what the 'feux' in the source text means!
Selected response from:

Tony M
France
Local time: 10:00
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
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Summary of answers provided
4 +3towing
Tony M


  

Answers


11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
towing


Explanation:
We don't express it in quite the same way in EN — whereas the FR talks about 'hitching' (i.e. the action of connecting a trailer etc.), in En we refer to what it is to be used for, i.e. 'towing'.

Obviously you'll need to rework the entire sentence to take this into account.

'Coupling' is not an appropriate term that we would use here in this field.

The real sense, though rather long-winded, might be "...when installing a tow-hitch"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 14 heures (2017-08-05 12:30:05 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Oh dear, Asker, I have a great deal of practical experience with automotive electrics, and believe me, it very much IS about 'towing'.

The tow-hitch on the back of a vehicle is often called a 'boule d'attelage'; and what they are talking about here is how you wire up the socket that connects the trailer lights: either you buy the 'official' wiring harness which makes all the right connections in the right way; or you 'bodge' it by simply picking up a wire where it gos to e.g. the brake lights, etc. — which is a cheaper solution, but in these days of more complicated vehicle electrics, fraught with pitfalls for the unwary.
The only thing slightly inconsistent with all this is that the headlights are about the only thing that do NOT appear on a towed vehicle, which normally has rear lights, indicators, sidelights, but NOT headlights as such. The reason for this apparent inconsitency may however be made clear by the rest of your wider context.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 jour11 heures (2017-08-06 09:53:12 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Ah yes, thanks Terry for pinting out that the source text simlle says 'lights' — so there is indeed no inconsistency and you can simply ignore the previous paragraph.
Asker, your mention of 'headlights' was confusing, as that is not what the 'feux' in the source text means!

Tony M
France
Local time: 10:00
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 483
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
Notes to answerer
Asker: I don't think they are talking about towing here, I understood that this was to do with electricity and the headlights, that this "attelage" was done "on the inside" the person who wrote the comment was referring to the fact that warning indicator lights come on without there being a real reason for it (I have put a link to the article) thank you :)


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  chris collister: Yes, why buy a wiring loom when you can spend half a day on a bodge and get it wrong....
9 hrs
  -> Thanks, Chris! Thus speaks another man who has done it himself and rued the day ;-)

agree  Nikki Scott-Despaigne: Well, yes. The "attelage" is the towing gear and here, "towing" alone is the way to go. @Louisa, towing connections are electrical so you've picked the key feature but missed its application and meaning. Ordinary car/trailer lingo.
16 hrs
  -> Thanks, Nikki!

agree  Terry Richards: I would use tow bar rather than towing but I agree with the rest. AFAIK, feux doesn't have to be headlights but can refer to lights in general so there is no inconsistency.
1 day 10 hrs
  -> Thanks, Terry! Oh yes, it was Asker who confused me by saying 'headlight'!
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