Apr 27, 2008 18:02
16 yrs ago
French term

social (in this contect)

French to English Bus/Financial Business/Commerce (general)
Just when I was breathing a sigh of relief over my previous question (q.v), I came across this beauty :
"Accompagnement ***social*** dans le respect de l’environnement réglementaire"

I'm sorely tempted to translate this by "we will go to cocktail parties with you, as laid down by the regulations", but I probably wouldn't keep my client (but do I want to ...?).

I'm not sure whether "social" in this context means "social security"' or "corporate".
Pour mémoire, this is from a financial services company web-site.
Any suggestions will be gratefully received.

Discussion

Michael GREEN (asker) Apr 29, 2008:
Well I finally got a response from my client : who wants to use "social support" for "accompagnement social" : hohum ... I don't know why we bother. I'm very sorry you've all been troubled. Thanks for your willingness to help.
Jack Dunwell Apr 27, 2008:
Might this not, M, therefore, be Business Consultancy? Bedtime!
Michael GREEN (asker) Apr 27, 2008:
That's right Jack - financial services, essentially (plus management consulting etc).
Jack Dunwell Apr 27, 2008:
Thanks Michael...so, is the context some advisory organisation offering its services to businesses?
Michael GREEN (asker) Apr 27, 2008:
Thanks Jack : I think here "l'environnement réglementaire" is this company's way of saying "the rules and regulations in our sector" - ie the rules and stuff that have to be respected when practicing this "accompagnement social". I'm still not sure whether "social" should be taken in the general sense or as "corporate". :)
Jack Dunwell Apr 27, 2008:
If "accompagnement" really means "advisory" or "consultancy" and "social" being of the company or "in your business", might yr thoughts have tended towards "Consultancy for your business in Regulated Environmental Issues" or does that not fit the context
Michael GREEN (asker) Apr 27, 2008:
"social", which is causing me the problem, associated with "accompagnement", could mean several things here, it seems to me.
Michael GREEN (asker) Apr 27, 2008:
Thanks, AllegroTrans : I added some detail in response to Lipiswap's question, which may help, but here is some more background :
This is a web-site mostly composed of pages with similar layouts, destined for various target sectors, and using similar phraseology (naturally enough) to promote the services. "Accompagnement" crops up frequently, and usually the meaning is clear enough, as "assistance" or "support" but here I'm not sure what is intended.
AllegroTrans Apr 27, 2008:
mmm.....have you any more text?

Proposed translations

11 mins
Selected

"company" support or "social" support

Hi this is just a guess. I need more information.
Note from asker:
More information : this is a web site promoting the consulting skills of a financial services company. "accompagnement" in their usual sense means "assistance" or consulting" but in this phrase it seems to me to be ambiguous. The phrase appears in a section headed "Savoirs faire spécifiques".
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I almost closed without graidng - and then realised that your second alternative was just what my client said - so congratulations - a good guess, finally ! "
10 mins

see explanation

Support with human resources/labour issues?
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4 hrs

union support [as in labor unions]

In a French business context, in any corporate (in the French sense) endeavor, the labor have a lot of power. While on the left generally, they tend to be traditionalist, and Environmental stuff might seem weird to them (the unions in France did not alway go for the programs of "les Verts" from both sides of the aisle, thus it is an "atout" that the initiative is receiving union support.

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Note added at 7 hrs (2008-04-28 01:09:33 GMT)
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No you are absolutely right-- it was a dumb hair-trigger answer. Embarrassed. "Environment reglementaire" is the regulatory environment, or the current state of regulations that companies must comply with, and my guess at "accompagnement social" means some kind of government-mandated benefits for workers, like pensions, job stability or insurance. Given the brief context, I'd say as a second guess that it means the employee benefits companies have to shoulder in the current regulatory environment. As far as "social security" or "corporate" being a translation of "social", my feeling is that "social" is much more general here, though the notion of social benefits is true--and if there is any "corporatisme" involved, is has nothing to do with a business, but with a workers group or association. I cannot recall the adjective "social" ever being used to describe something on the side of the private sector.

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Note added at 7 hrs (2008-04-28 01:12:55 GMT)
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BTW, the old French corporatisme is still alive, and unions still are players in whats left of the old model of the French economy as a "rapport des forces", and occupy different positions in politics. Look at centrist unions like the CFDT, for example, which supported the Juppé reforms. Sorry I talk too much.
Note from asker:
Thank you for your suggestion, Blake, but I'm sorry, this is off-target. We are not talking trade unions here, nor environmental problems. I really don't see how a financial services company is going to offer "union support" to its clients. The question of how much power French unions have is another debate, but except in key industries they are not an issue. Only a very small percentage of French workers are "unionised".
N oneed to feel embarrassment, Blake : I think you second answer was very close to what I was looking for - but finally I managed to get a response from my client (see above) !
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