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se décline en

English translation: takes the form of / consists in/of / comprises

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:se décline en
English translation:takes the form of / consists in/of / comprises
Entered by: Tony M

13:30 Jul 13, 2017
    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2017-07-16 14:54:08 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)


French to English translations [Non-PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / General communication document
French term or phrase: se décline en
Hi,

I am struggling to understand what 'se decliner en' means in this phrase. Can anyone help?

Ce partenariat se décline en conventions d’application et en réponses à des appels à projets

Thank you.
Emma Smith
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:15
comes in / takes the form of
Explanation:
This sort of expression is often used in things like 'comes in various colours' / 'is avaliable in different sizes' etc.

Here, I think my suggestions — possibly preferably the second one — would probably fit your context best...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 heures (2017-07-14 10:57:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

OK, Asker, please disregard the first part of my suggestion 'comes in' — I should have made it clear that this was only to illustrate one of the commoner meanings of 'se décline en...' in certain other contexts! Likewise 'available as / in'... but as Nikki points out, this is more applicable to some actual product, and of course wouldn't work here for a partnership!

I was just hoping that starting from that common meaning might help you to see how we get to the sense required here...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 heures (2017-07-14 13:11:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

To ph-b:

Just to expand a little more on your peer comment below, which I have only now fully understood.

Despite the fact that on of our respected colleagues disagrees, I firmly believe that 'forms' can be used here, without being mistaken as referring to the legal form of the partnership.
However, I don't believe it can be teamed up here with 'various', which implies some degree of uncertainty or variability; it might work if one were to say '...may take various forms, such as...' — but I don't believe that would then convey the meaning of the source text clearly; IMHO, that would be more like '...peut se décliner en...' (with an implied 'entre autres').
In the context here, it seems to me that the affirmation 'se décline' strongly suggest (perhaps I'm wrong?) that this is how it is, and that's all: there are just these two kinds of actions involved in this particular partnership.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 heures (2017-07-14 13:14:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I am seeking to interpret 'se décline...' here as if it were the near equivalent of 'se matérialise sous forme de...'

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 jour14 minutes (2017-07-14 13:44:57 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

By the way, I think some people might have misunderstood the presentation of my suggestion: even though my first suggestion is as I say withdrawn, it was indeed meant to be 'comes in the form of...' (and not, for example, 'comes in blue and red')
Selected response from:

Tony M
France
Local time: 06:15
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +4comes in / takes the form of
Tony M
4is dedicated to
Terry Richards
3 +1encompasses OR takes various forms
ph-b (X)
3 -1is broken into
janthenor


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


21 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
se decline en
is dedicated to


Explanation:
Another way to put it, at least in this context.

Terry Richards
France
Local time: 06:15
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 28
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

18 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
se decline en
encompasses OR takes various forms


Explanation:


https://www.oecd.org/edu/innovation-education/35779480.pdf

Il se décline sous de nombreux modes possibles, allant de l’enseignement présentiel (qui
peut prendre des formes diverses telles qu’un déplacement à l’étranger pour l’étudiant, ou un
campus d’université étrangère) jusqu’à l’enseignement à distance (qui met en œuvre des
technologies variées, y compris les solutions de cyberformation).

It encompasses a wide range of modalities, in
a continuum from face-to-face (taking various forms such as students travelling abroad and
campuses abroad) to distance learning (using a range of technologies and including e-learning).

or, less wordy, 'takes various forms'

Collection : Wedding hairdo | Blog mariage, Mariage original, pacs, déco
www.unbeaujour.fr/en/blog-mariage/collection/coiffure-maria...
23 janv. 2015 - It takes various forms: bejeweled headbands, ribbons, fine or broad .... Il se décline de plusieurs façons : headband bijou, turban, cordon fin ou ...

It all depends on your register; you'll know.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 mins (2017-07-13 13:51:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I've just realized my 1st example actually uses both 'encompass' and 'take various forms (such as...)'.

ph-b (X)
France
Local time: 06:15
Native speaker of: French
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  writeaway: encompasses may be one way to go, however 'takes various forms' is definitely not an option here. /well Nikki has posted my 2 personal preferences. and again no, 'takes various forms' does not work in this context.
2 hrs
  -> Fine, you know better. But just for info: not even 'taking various forms, such as...', as in the OECD source?
agree  Nikki Scott-Despaigne: Or "includes/comprises" (conventions d’application et réponses à des appels à projets=
2 hrs
  -> Thanks - hope Emma will see your suggestion.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -1
se decline en
is broken into


Explanation:
The way I understand it is: " the different forms the patenariat has broken into

janthenor
United States
Local time: 00:15
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench, Native in Haitian-CreoleHaitian-Creole

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Tony M: That sounds as if it has in some way broken down, though the text seems to suggest it has been set up.
4 hrs
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
comes in / takes the form of


Explanation:
This sort of expression is often used in things like 'comes in various colours' / 'is avaliable in different sizes' etc.

Here, I think my suggestions — possibly preferably the second one — would probably fit your context best...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 heures (2017-07-14 10:57:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

OK, Asker, please disregard the first part of my suggestion 'comes in' — I should have made it clear that this was only to illustrate one of the commoner meanings of 'se décline en...' in certain other contexts! Likewise 'available as / in'... but as Nikki points out, this is more applicable to some actual product, and of course wouldn't work here for a partnership!

I was just hoping that starting from that common meaning might help you to see how we get to the sense required here...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 heures (2017-07-14 13:11:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

To ph-b:

Just to expand a little more on your peer comment below, which I have only now fully understood.

Despite the fact that on of our respected colleagues disagrees, I firmly believe that 'forms' can be used here, without being mistaken as referring to the legal form of the partnership.
However, I don't believe it can be teamed up here with 'various', which implies some degree of uncertainty or variability; it might work if one were to say '...may take various forms, such as...' — but I don't believe that would then convey the meaning of the source text clearly; IMHO, that would be more like '...peut se décliner en...' (with an implied 'entre autres').
In the context here, it seems to me that the affirmation 'se décline' strongly suggest (perhaps I'm wrong?) that this is how it is, and that's all: there are just these two kinds of actions involved in this particular partnership.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 heures (2017-07-14 13:14:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I am seeking to interpret 'se décline...' here as if it were the near equivalent of 'se matérialise sous forme de...'

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 jour14 minutes (2017-07-14 13:44:57 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

By the way, I think some people might have misunderstood the presentation of my suggestion: even though my first suggestion is as I say withdrawn, it was indeed meant to be 'comes in the form of...' (and not, for example, 'comes in blue and red')

Tony M
France
Local time: 06:15
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  Jennifer White: Yes, simple. Second choice better IMO
20 mins
  -> Thanks, Jennifer!
agree  ph-b (X): I like it too but I thought 'form' wasn't OK? Or is it 'various forms' that isn't OK? I'm lost! :-)
23 mins
  -> Personally, i can't see anything wrong with 'forms', when these 'forms' are types of agreement; were they to be other things, then possibly 'forms' wouldn't work, no.
neutral  writeaway: I think Nikki's 2 suggestions are best in the context. form does not work here imo. it's nothing to do with the form of partnership /I would never say a partnership takes the form of agreements and responses of any sort. I'd use includes or comprises.
39 mins
  -> No, but we are not talking about the 'form of partnership' when we say 'takes... forms'. I really can't see anything wrong with it, when used with care.
agree  Victoria Britten: I think you're right about the second suggestion being better
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Victoria! Yes, indeed!
neutral  Nikki Scott-Despaigne: "Takes the form of" works well, but "comes in" does not work here at all though, as this is not describing a commercially available range ;-)
15 hrs
  -> Thanks, Nikki! Yes, "stream of consciousness'" stuff — I should have left out the first part! I was merely trying to help Asker by showing the rapprochement with the more common meaning first, but should have put that in my explanation instead.
agree  rokotas
16 hrs
  -> Thanks, rokotas!
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