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Mais qu’en est-il réellement ?

English translation: But what's really going on? But is it really doing that? Bot do they?

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:Mais qu’en est-il réellement ?
English translation:But what's really going on? But is it really doing that? Bot do they?
Entered by: Tony M

21:08 Jan 6, 2019
French to English translations [Non-PRO]
Bus/Financial - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / céativité collective
French term or phrase: Mais qu’en est-il réellement ?
This question appears in the introduction to a research article about "céativité collective" and I'm not entirely sure of the intended meaning:
"...fablabs, espaces de co-working, organisations agiles, plateformes technogiques… Ces façons d’organiser le travail auraient vocation à créer un effet de levier sur la créativité des salariés. Mais qu’en est-il réellement ? "
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
Clare Hogg
Spain
Local time: 21:07
But what's really going on? But is it really doing that?
Explanation:
I think I'd prefer something with 'really' in it like this; as for the rest, you'll have to decide from the tone of tha rticle how strong you need to be. If there is a suggestion that all these no doubt admirable ambitions are not actually happening, then you might need to turn it something more like my second suggestion. This sort of 'rhetorical argument' is often used in certain styles of journalism, and it appropriate, could suit your text here.

"It's meant to... . But is it actually doing what it claims?" — that sort of thing; the use of the 'but...' makes me half suspect this is the tone of the piece.

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Note added at 14 hrs (2019-01-07 11:57:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

In an informal context, one might say "...how it pans out..." [BE] — but as Nikki rightly points out, that sort of expression would be wholly inapprorpriate in this sort of register; I also think that while something specific and comparatively concrete might indeed be said to 'pan out', I feel this is perhaps less comfortable with a rather more abstract "situation" such as we see here.
Selected response from:

Tony M
France
Local time: 21:07
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +6But what's really going on? But is it really doing that?
Tony M
4 +1But was is the reality of it?
Daryo
3But how does it actually play out?
Barbara Cochran, MFA


Discussion entries: 6





  

Answers


4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
But how does it actually play out?


Explanation:
A variation on one of the interpretations that Lorraine has shared.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2019-01-07 01:22:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

A situation that takes place and develops.

Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 15:07
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: As with Nikki's comment on my own suggestion, I don't really think "play out" is entirely appropriate for the fairly formal register here. History texts aren't in the same register as research documents; a battle is concrete enough to 'play out'.
5 hrs
  -> One often sees the expression in history texts, which can have a very formal register, e.g., "the Battle of the Bulge was played out during the Second World War". Read history journal articles and wrote abstracts of them for almost 3 years, so I know.
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24 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +6
But what's really going on? But is it really doing that?


Explanation:
I think I'd prefer something with 'really' in it like this; as for the rest, you'll have to decide from the tone of tha rticle how strong you need to be. If there is a suggestion that all these no doubt admirable ambitions are not actually happening, then you might need to turn it something more like my second suggestion. This sort of 'rhetorical argument' is often used in certain styles of journalism, and it appropriate, could suit your text here.

"It's meant to... . But is it actually doing what it claims?" — that sort of thing; the use of the 'but...' makes me half suspect this is the tone of the piece.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 14 hrs (2019-01-07 11:57:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

In an informal context, one might say "...how it pans out..." [BE] — but as Nikki rightly points out, that sort of expression would be wholly inapprorpriate in this sort of register; I also think that while something specific and comparatively concrete might indeed be said to 'pan out', I feel this is perhaps less comfortable with a rather more abstract "situation" such as we see here.

Tony M
France
Local time: 21:07
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 348
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Melissa McMahon: Yes, I think this register is better. "What is the real situation?"
5 mins
  -> Thanks, Melissa! Exactly!
agree  writeaway: everyday French, umpteen ways to express it. depends on the register of the rest of the text.
1 hr
  -> Thanks, W/A! Indeed, and I think above all the overall tone of the artcile: critical, supportive, etc.
agree  Verginia Ophof: "What's it all about, Alfie ?" :)
2 hrs
  -> Thanks, Verginia! :-D
neutral  Nikki Scott-Despaigne: An informal register could work well here, but the suggestions in the body of your post seem better suited to a research article context. Altho' journalistic turns of phrase are used in prof. magazines, it cannot be quite so informal in a research paper.
2 hrs
  -> Thanks, Nikki! Yes, I think you're right; I was just trying to higlight the many different ways it could be expressed.
agree  philgoddard: Nikki has a point - "what is".
6 hrs
  -> Thanks, Phil! Indeed.
neutral  Barbara Cochran, MFA: An overly generic interpretation./There is plenty of preliminary context!/"dnb' t"? That doesn't exist in English, either!
11 hrs
  -> I don't see how this can be qualified as "generic" — anything more specific isn't possible without the missing extra context. What we are missing is exactly how the article goes on to talk about these elements.
agree  Jennifer White
11 hrs
  -> Thanks, Jennifer!
agree  Michele Fauble
23 hrs
  -> Merci, Michele !
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11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
But was is the reality of it?


Explanation:
samples:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=“what is the reality of it...

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Note added at 1 day 3 hrs (2019-01-08 00:13:52 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

correction:

But what is the reality of it?

Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:07
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in SerbianSerbian, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 105

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tony M: I'd prefer something à little more "down-to-earth", but you've certainly captured the sense of it here. Anyone will realize you have just made a tiny typo there.
8 mins
  -> Yes, I see it now. Thanks!
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