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  3. Electronics / Elect Eng

reprendre le matériel

English translation: provide a maintained supply to the equipment

20:05 Feb 19, 2017
French to English translations [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Electronics / Elect Eng / Security policy for corporate information system
French term or phrase: reprendre le matériel
Hello

I am translating a document describing a company's policy on information system security and I am now at a section headed "General Services" which talks about general security provision in relation to the IT systems (location of hardware, protection from fire, water etc.).

The section where the phrase "reprendre le materiel" occurs is talking about the power supply ("une arrivée EDF dans le local TGBT") and appears in this sentence:

Des onduleurs permettent de reprendre le matériel des salles sensibles.

The "salles sensibles" are rooms which are more sensitive from an IT security viewpoint.

Thanks in advance

Mark
Mark Radcliffe
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:11
English translation:provide a maintained supply to the equipment
Explanation:
Although a lot longer, this is one standard way this sort of thing is expressed in technical EN.

Even though it's perfectly obvious what they are actually saying technically, I have to admit I have never actually seen it expressed this way before in FR!

'proivde a backup supply / provide backup power' might be a more concise way to express it in EN.

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Note added at 14 heures (2017-02-20 10:43:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The whole problem translating this expression is the use of the verb 'reprendre' — this way of expressing it in FR is IMHO quite simply alien to the way I would naturally express it as a native-speaker of technical English.

It's easy to see how the intended meaning arises: we could say in EN "takes over the equipment", with the sense of "takes over [the job of powering] the equipment", which would be understood, but hardly natural or idiomatic.
One simply has to accept that sometimes there is no direct, literal translation available, and it is necessary to render the intended meaning in a way that will be more familiar to a reader in EN who has the requisite technical knowledge in the relevant field.
Selected response from:

Tony M
France
Local time: 03:11
Grading comment
Thank you
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
2 +2provide a maintained supply to the equipment
Tony M


  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +2
provide a maintained supply to the equipment


Explanation:
Although a lot longer, this is one standard way this sort of thing is expressed in technical EN.

Even though it's perfectly obvious what they are actually saying technically, I have to admit I have never actually seen it expressed this way before in FR!

'proivde a backup supply / provide backup power' might be a more concise way to express it in EN.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 14 heures (2017-02-20 10:43:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The whole problem translating this expression is the use of the verb 'reprendre' — this way of expressing it in FR is IMHO quite simply alien to the way I would naturally express it as a native-speaker of technical English.

It's easy to see how the intended meaning arises: we could say in EN "takes over the equipment", with the sense of "takes over [the job of powering] the equipment", which would be understood, but hardly natural or idiomatic.
One simply has to accept that sometimes there is no direct, literal translation available, and it is necessary to render the intended meaning in a way that will be more familiar to a reader in EN who has the requisite technical knowledge in the relevant field.

Tony M
France
Local time: 03:11
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 2116
Grading comment
Thank you

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  chris collister: or less formally, "keep the equipment going"
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Chris!
neutral  GILLES MEUNIER: il faudrait plus de contexte, sinon cela reste de l'hypothèse....Ce n'est pas une question d'être spécialisé dans le domaine mais de compréhension de la phrase. Vous utilisez une paraphrase, cela montre bien que vous n'avez pas la traduction....
8 hrs
  -> No, Gilles, the meaning is eminently clear to anyone familiar with the field. / No, it merely shows that simplistic one-to-one literal translations don't always exist in specialist technical contexts, and that more idiomatic language is often needed.
agree  B D Finch
15 hrs
  -> Thanks, B! :-)
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