This site uses cookies.
Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site,
while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used.
For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
French to English translations [PRO] Marketing - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / Interior design website
French term or phrase:les codes doivent s’accommoder
Is this really to be translated as "codes must accommodate"? Or is there a better way to say this.
"La décoration d’une maison ne s’improvise pas. Si les règles en la matière sont précises et répondent à des critères bien établis, les codes doivent s’accommoder des goûts de chacun, de leur vécu, de leurs attentes et bien sûr de leur mode de vie."
Explanation: To be honest, I've no idea why "codes" has been used here, but given the general flavour of the text, I think you can afford to be a bit "transcreative" with it. Seems to me that while there are specific rules that have to be adhered to, the results should ultimately suit the client's taste, lifestyle, etc.
...ideas for the melting pot What is a norm? definition and meaning - BusinessDictionary.com www.businessdictionary.com/definition/norm.html Definition of norm: Informal guideline about what is considered normal (what is correct or incorrect) ...
Totallly agree! This isn't really a "translation" issue as such, but merely one requiring superlative copy-writing in EN. Irrespective of the field, FR so often tends to "wax lyrical" — or especially philosophical! — in ways that we just wouldn't do in EN, and it's always a nightmare trying to produce something even faintly close that doesn't sound preposterously pretentious in EN!
Lara herself says "This is intended more as a marketing text for the more general reader" so I think she really needs to look at what the client wants from the translation: to showcase what they do and how wonderful they are at doing it and, in the process, attract new customers. Codes and formulas just won't cut it, I'm afraid. Sometimes these things practically have to be rewritten/copywritten to get away from architect-speak and really appeal to the target audience.
That's exactly the proof of what Carol and I have been saying! 'Formula' is a perfectly legitimate term to find in this sort of text — but it doesn't mean the same thing as 'code'! It's like saying "This text says 'table', but I've found more occurrences of 'chair', so I prefer to use that instead." without taking into account that the meaning is different! Cretainly, both might be subsets of the same group 'item of furniture', just as 'formula', 'rule', and 'code' might be subsets of the group 'guidelines for interior décor' — without pour autant being exact (and above all interhcangeable) synonyms!
between "les règles" and "les codes", to my mind is between the strict rules of using correct materials/measurements/techniques etc etc. and the principles guiding the end result
"If what you’ve just read resonates with your interior desires, you are in luck! Even though there is no instant FORMULA to get the look, there is a host of ways in which you can bring a dash of Boho Chic into your home in no time." https://blog.vinterior.co/2018/09/21/how-to-get-the-boho-sty...
"Over the years I have developed my own custom FORMULA, one that affords me the most creative control and freedom while ensuring extreme strength and durability." http://meadedesigngroup.blogspot.com/2010/06/
"NB With all the combinations you may come up with, a simple rule of thumb is if you want a bold room use the boldest colour in the colour scheme .... For a calmer room just reverse THIS FORMULA." http://www.theopenplan.com/blog/category/interior-design-col...
You'll need to consider both the register of the text and the target audience; this should help you to decide whether you'd do better to move out of your comfort zone, or to stick with everyday language that is familiar to you.
I have seen "codes" in general, marketing and conversational registers, but in the mainly for "dress code". When I google ["interior design" with "codes"] I get a lot of academic and regulatory-style texts, yet when I google ["interior design" with "formulas"] there a large amount of marketing texts and customer-focused design websites. I do understand what you are both saying here, but in reality I find that "formula" for this context is a lot more commonly used in UK marketing/advertising/promotional texts.
I do appreciate your help, which is of use and I am going to make full use of your "passive" suggestion here. And I have also seen "code" used in an artistic sense, but really only in more academic or literary -based texts. This is intended more as a marketing text for the more general reader. I am going to use "formula" in this case.
In lots of 'artistic' fields, including interior design and architecture, we do indeed talk about 'codes', and I think it is perfectly fine to use the term here in EN, even though it is perhaps less familiar to people in everyday language. There is indeed often an element of 'code' about it — e.g. the 'code' as to the meaning of the postures of statues on horseback... Do also bear in mind that the use of the reflexive, as here, can sometimes be best translated as some form of passive in EN — which I think is the key you need here to unlocking this translation; in essence, perhaps 'the codes need to be adapted to suit...'
The term "rules" has been used in the preceding phrase (I am using rules anyway as the translation for the phrase), and therefore all the references to using "rules" as a translation for "codes" is a bit confusing. Would "formula" or some other synonym work in place of "codes"?
Thanks for that! A subtle difference, and I'm trying to figure out how it affects the translation here! It seems you have to be able to bend/accomodate the rules to fit the customer's requirements...
"Rem. À la différence de s'accommoder à qui implique un renouvellement dans la manière d'être, s'accommoder de suppose l'acceptation, plus ou moins résignée, d'une contrainte extérieure limitant les exigences personnelles." (http://stella.atilf.fr/Dendien/scripts/tlfiv5/search.exe?40;...
I did not say I did not understand "code" here, I am looking for the best English term to use as we do not use this very often in such cases.
Ph_B (X)
France
code
14:46 Feb 19, 2019
You say you don't understand the use of codes here. Look at it as "the done thing", what you must do if you belong to a group and abide by its set of unwritten but well-established rules. My gran was adamant that according to code vestimentaire, you shouldn't wear blue and green together. You sometimes hear of les codes de la haute administration, i.e. know your way around if you want to make a career as a top civil servant. I understand your text as saying that there are precise (strict?) rules in the field of home decoration, but they must "make room for/allow for" the person's taste. There is also a hint that they must "find a common ground with" the person's state.
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
24 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +6
the /end/ results should suit/cater to/reflect
Explanation: To be honest, I've no idea why "codes" has been used here, but given the general flavour of the text, I think you can afford to be a bit "transcreative" with it. Seems to me that while there are specific rules that have to be adhered to, the results should ultimately suit the client's taste, lifestyle, etc.
MoiraB France Local time: 14:02 Meets criteria Works in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 28