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à l'origine de

English translation: at the head of the installation

13:18 Mar 3, 2019
French to English translations [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Electronics / Elect Eng / Differential protection devices
French term or phrase: à l'origine de
In the context of a property sale, the vendor has had the electrical installation at the property inspected and the inspection has brought to light the following issue: 'Dispositif de protection différentiel *à l'origine de* l'installation / prise de terre et installation de mise à la terre'. I'm struggling with where and how the differential protection device is installed so any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance if you're able to help me.
Sarah Russell
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:31
English translation:at the head of the installation
Explanation:
We don't usually express it quite this way in EN, which is why it's tricky to find an elegant solution, though there are several possibilities.

It would probably be more natural to treat the expression as a whole and say 'the incoming (master) differential protective device' — 'master' not being explicit (though implicit in the use of 'origin') in the source text, so amounting to slight over-interpretation, but this would be a more idiomatic way of putting it.

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Note added at 1 day 4 hrs (2019-03-04 17:51:12 GMT)
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I don't see how SafeTex can claim my suggestion is "clumsy" — it uses the same number of words as the S/T, apart from the fact I've included the 'installation' as part of my answer.
We all know (that's what over-interpretation means!) that this is what most lay people would call the 'main switch' — BUT given the nature and register of this document, it's important to be very careful to be technically accurate here!
The only thing the S/T tells us is that this is a 'differential device' — this is quite precise and deliberate use of language, seeking to both be very specific as to the device, whilst at the same time remaining non-committal enough not to inadvertently exclude anything.
And yes, in electrical installations we do indeed talk about the 'head' of a system / installation or whatever — although as I was also at pains to point out, I would advocate re-wording into a more natural form, once you have grasped the overall sense of the expression as a whole.
Selected response from:

Tony M
France
Local time: 09:31
Grading comment
Thanks very much Tony, much appreciated!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1at the origin of
Kartik Isaac
4 -1at the head of the installation
Tony M
2 -1main circuit breaker
SafeTex


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


35 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
à l\'origine de
at the origin of


Explanation:
I think this fits the context: "at the origin of the installation" or "at origin of installation"

Kartik Isaac
Switzerland
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: This would not really be a terribly idiomatic way of expressing this idea in EN, since we don't usually speak of the 'origin' of an installation — if we did, it would tend to be thought of as 'where it came from' / 'how it came about'
14 mins
agree  GILLES MEUNIER: ou coming from....
14 hrs
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1 day 2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): -1
à l\'origine de
main circuit breaker


Explanation:
Hello
Assuming it means "principle" circuit breaker and not "original" model, surely it is the main circuit breaker or something to that effect?


    Reference: http://www.topelectricians.com/articles/main-breaker
SafeTex
France
Local time: 09:31
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Tony M: "something to that effect" — yes; but that amounts to technical over-interpretation, which in this particular context is very unwise. The s/t says it is a 'differential device' — it does NOT explicitly say it is a circuit-breaker
22 mins
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47 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
à l'origine de
at the head of the installation


Explanation:
We don't usually express it quite this way in EN, which is why it's tricky to find an elegant solution, though there are several possibilities.

It would probably be more natural to treat the expression as a whole and say 'the incoming (master) differential protective device' — 'master' not being explicit (though implicit in the use of 'origin') in the source text, so amounting to slight over-interpretation, but this would be a more idiomatic way of putting it.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 4 hrs (2019-03-04 17:51:12 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I don't see how SafeTex can claim my suggestion is "clumsy" — it uses the same number of words as the S/T, apart from the fact I've included the 'installation' as part of my answer.
We all know (that's what over-interpretation means!) that this is what most lay people would call the 'main switch' — BUT given the nature and register of this document, it's important to be very careful to be technically accurate here!
The only thing the S/T tells us is that this is a 'differential device' — this is quite precise and deliberate use of language, seeking to both be very specific as to the device, whilst at the same time remaining non-committal enough not to inadvertently exclude anything.
And yes, in electrical installations we do indeed talk about the 'head' of a system / installation or whatever — although as I was also at pains to point out, I would advocate re-wording into a more natural form, once you have grasped the overall sense of the expression as a whole.

Tony M
France
Local time: 09:31
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 2116
Grading comment
Thanks very much Tony, much appreciated!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  SafeTex: Very clumsy. What is an "incoming differential protective device in the explanation? Incoming is used for things like electricity (supply feed) and missiles. Devices otherwise are not "incoming". Also do installations have "heads"? Is this all English?
1 day 3 hrs
  -> This IS an electrical supply! And yes, in the profession, we do refer to the 'head' of an installation — though it certainly isn't everyday lay parlance, it is entirely appropriate in this context and register.
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