moshiachnow (asker) Dec 4, 2012:

It's anyone's guess... I asked for the recording from which the transcript was made. Sure enough, that section is open to interpretation even after you hear the speaker. To me it sounded like "the parts and the bars", which could refer to parts used in the printing device. But on retrospect, maybe she is saying "the stars and the bars", using a military reference to having rank or experience (with the device). In the end I left my best guess in brackets. Thanks to everyone who commented...

Ty Kendall Dec 4, 2012:

No way of knowing.... I think there are too many variables here to give any kind of a reliable answer. The fact it is transcribed, the possibility of a spelling error, perhaps it is a neologism created by the speaker, maybe it is a mispronunciation of the actual thing (because the speaker can't say it properly), maybe the speaker murdered the pronunciation because the name of it is in a foreign language and then the transcriber compounded the problem with the transcription...the possibility remains that what we have here "הפרז והברס" could be quite far removed from the actual thing.

Basically, if there was ever a situation where "ask the client" is appropriate, then this is it. In the absence of this possibility, I think a translator's note is acceptable once you have exhausted all reasonable avenues of solving the problem.

Alexander C. Thomson Dec 3, 2012:

The context you supply makes it seem like … … the interviewer's meaning is something like "you don't have this down to a tee / a fine art yet". Besides, the Hebrew words look like they have at least some onomatopœic value, as the second is like the first but with the voicing reversed. Maybe something vaguely akin to "nitty-gritty"?

moshiachnow (asker) Dec 3, 2012:

Part of the context is that I didn't notice the typo in the initial entry. It should have read " את הפרז ואת הברס"
The context is an interviewer is asking a person with a printing business about the advantages of using a new piece of equipment. She is saying "I know you don't have this [phrase in question] yet, but what can you tell me about this new piece of equipment. Does this help?

Debbie Nevo Dec 3, 2012:

More context?