Feb 13, 2015 04:56
9 yrs ago
English term

Manhole floating

English Other Other
The liquefaction induced floating of sewer manhole during earthquake
or The liquefaction induced manhole floating during earthquake

The above is OK? Someone said manhole floating or floating of manhole is strange.

Please advice.
Change log

Feb 13, 2015 07:27: Shera Lyn Parpia changed "Level" from "Non-PRO" to "PRO"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

PRO (3): Danik 2014, BrigitteHilgner, Shera Lyn Parpia

Non-PRO (2): Tony M, Yvonne Gallagher

When entering new questions, KudoZ askers are given an opportunity* to classify the difficulty of their questions as 'easy' or 'pro'. If you feel a question marked 'easy' should actually be marked 'pro', and if you have earned more than 20 KudoZ points, you can click the "Vote PRO" button to recommend that change.

How to tell the difference between "easy" and "pro" questions:

An easy question is one that any bilingual person would be able to answer correctly. (Or in the case of monolingual questions, an easy question is one that any native speaker of the language would be able to answer correctly.)

A pro question is anything else... in other words, any question that requires knowledge or skills that are specialized (even slightly).

Another way to think of the difficulty levels is this: an easy question is one that deals with everyday conversation. A pro question is anything else.

When deciding between easy and pro, err on the side of pro. Most questions will be pro.

* Note: non-member askers are not given the option of entering 'pro' questions; the only way for their questions to be classified as 'pro' is for a ProZ.com member or members to re-classify it.

Discussion

Tony M Feb 13, 2015:
@ BDF Well found! NOW it makes sense — without enough context, it didn't seem to before!
B D Finch Feb 13, 2015:
Earthquakes: OK, manholes can float! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_liquefaction
"Buried tanks and manholes may float in the liquefied soil due to buoyancy". The grammar in both the Asker's suggestions is still wrong.
B D Finch Feb 13, 2015:
Agree with Tony Posting snippets like this, with no proper context to indicate what the linguistically inept author was trying to convey, is rather pointless. As Tony points out, a manhole cannot float and the grammar is equally questionable.
Tony M Feb 13, 2015:
Neither Both sound extremely odd and un-idiomatic.

The use of the gerund 'floating' in this way reads as stilted and awkward, and is best avoided in EN as it needs handling with some care — especially when qualified with the equally awkward 'liquefaction-induced'.
Jean-Claude Gouin Feb 13, 2015:
SOMETHING YOU DON'T SEE EVERY DAY A floating manhole is not something you see every day. Danik 2014 supplied a few videos where you can see floating manholes ...

Responses

+2
5 hrs
Selected

manholes floating due to liquefaction

It all depends, of course, on how the rest of the sentence continues, which will entirely define how to start it.

However, I would suggest this sort of wording would sound more natural and less awkward — as long as you can then join onto it whatever follows.

Please post the complete sentence right to the end, so we can help you better.
Peer comment(s):

agree magdadh
55 mins
Thanks, Magdadh!
agree acetran
2 days 20 hrs
Thanks, Acetran!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you very much!!"
+1
2 hrs

floating manhole cover

It's the cover, not the manhole, that floats when too much liquid pushes it up. And it probably happens right after an earthquake, not during it.

Btw, what was liquefied here?

I'd say
The liquefaction caused the sewer manhole cover to (rise and) float after the earthquake


Peer comment(s):

neutral Yvonne Gallagher : with Tony. What is Pro about this?
1 hr
neutral B D Finch : See my discussion comment: it seems the entire manhole can float!
2 hrs
neutral magdadh : ANYTHING can float if liquefaction occurs... whole houses sometimes.
3 hrs
agree jccantrell : Yeah, it would be the cover, not the manhole itself. Happens here in California when it just rains too much and there is enough water to force its way out the manhole.
7 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
7 hrs

liquefaction caused manholes to float / Manholes floated due to liquefaction

It's not clear from your text whether this is one manhole or several manholes? There is also another little point, which is that the use of the term "inspection chamber" is generally preferred nowadays to "manhole".
Peer comment(s):

agree Tony M : Depending on how the rest of the sentence is structured, either of these could lead to a more idiomatic rendering.
20 hrs
Thanks Tony
Something went wrong...
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search