Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
faire fonctionner l’économie locale
English translation:
support the local economy
Added to glossary by
Tony M
Mar 28, 2013 16:28
11 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term
faire fonctionner l’économie
Non-PRO
French to English
Other
Business/Commerce (general)
business proposal
Am unsure of the intended use here for "faire fonctionner l’économie". Maybe it is brain overload, but what's meant by this:
Nous devons, une fois implantés sur le territoire, faire fonctionner aussi l’économie et les petits producteurs locaux.
act economically? use a budget? (I understand the part about using local resources). The context is a business proposal for upscale merchandise in a foreign country, so that is why being budget-conscious in this respect really doesn't fit, as they intend to have a large budget...
Nous devons, une fois implantés sur le territoire, faire fonctionner aussi l’économie et les petits producteurs locaux.
act economically? use a budget? (I understand the part about using local resources). The context is a business proposal for upscale merchandise in a foreign country, so that is why being budget-conscious in this respect really doesn't fit, as they intend to have a large budget...
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
Mar 28, 2013 18:06: Sheila Wilson changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"
Apr 2, 2013 12:23: Tony M Created KOG entry
Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:
Non-PRO (3): Jane Proctor (X), Tony M, Sheila Wilson
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Proposed translations
+6
1 hr
French term (edited):
faire fonctionner l’économie (locale)
Selected
support the local economy
As suggested by way of an alternative to Polyglot's suggestion
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
gail desautels
8 mins
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Thanks, Gail!
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| agree |
Jane Proctor (X)
13 mins
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Thanks, Jane!
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| agree |
Marie Jackson
18 mins
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Thanks, Marie!
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| agree |
Schoonbeek
20 mins
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Thanks, Schoonbeck!
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| agree |
Sheila Wilson
21 mins
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Thanks, Sheila!
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| agree |
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
: Ah, in fact this one is nice and neutral. Fine for "faire fonctionner".
2 hrs
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Thanks, Nikki! Yes, I felt that neutrality was really the key issue here, in order to remain faithful to the tenor of the source text.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+4
2 mins
polyglot45
Native in French
&
English
Native in: English 
, French
Works in: English to French, French to English, German to French, and 4 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
88
give the local economy a boost
do our bit for the economy in the country in which we have established an operation
Note from asker:
| Thanks, I too feel this makes the most sense given the context... |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Timothy Rake
: while the other solutions are very reasonable, I read into it a little more, too, than the literal translation, and therefore, prefer this option
12 mins
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| agree |
Tony M
: Or simply 'support the local economy' — it's of course vital here to parse 'économie' with 'locaux'
19 mins
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| neutral |
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
: I think this might be over-translation here. The original does not state it will boost the economy, just make it "fonctionner", turn over, keep going, make a contribution. This promises to do much more than that.
32 mins
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| agree |
Verginia Ophof
42 mins
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| neutral |
Michael GREEN
: I think Nikki makes a good point - "driving" / "contributing to" the local economy etc might be closer to what is meant?
46 mins
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| neutral |
Peter LEGUIE
: I also feel that "to boost" is an over-translation. How about "getting local economy on the move"?
57 mins
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| agree |
Jean-Claude Gouin
1 hr
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3 mins
make the economy work
une suggestion
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Tony M
: Doesn't really work in EN; whatever they do, the economy is going to 'work' anyway; it's like 'faire marcher les commerces', we can't use 'make work' in the same way in EN.
19 mins
|
| neutral |
Marie Jackson
: What Tony says is correct.
23 mins
|
+1
7 mins
keep the economy going
although that might be slightly on the colloquial side
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Tony M
: And I also think it tends to imply that the economy is currently flagging; that might of course be the case, but as we don't know that for sure from the source text, this could amount to over-interpretation.
16 mins
|
| agree |
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
: I think this is the most accurate rendering, keeping the economy going in the sense of keeping it turning over.
24 mins
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5 hrs
get the economy running
Hello,
That's how I would say it. It's nothing as specific as "supporting" or "contributing" to the economy.
I hope this helps.
That's how I would say it. It's nothing as specific as "supporting" or "contributing" to the economy.
I hope this helps.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Tony M
: Tends to suggest it isn't currently running at all, some kind of 'kick-start' — which again amounts to over-interpretation here. / There is no such implication in the source text; it looks like this company is simply using this idea as a lever.
11 hrs
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I really don't agree, Tony. It does mean, imho, to get the economy "moving" as suggested by Peter Leguie. There is an implication of things need to get in better condition. Well, I do understand it as "mettre l'économie en route", imho.
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6 hrs
stimulate its economy growth
I think this is the meaning of "faire foncionner" a economy in this phrase. It is clear that it refers to an action to be executed by the local authorities of a territory. And yes, as it has already been pointed out here, every economy runs anyway, even when it faces a downturn.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Tony M
: Probably, but inasmuch as it extrapolates beyond what the source text actually says, this has to amount to over-interpretation, I'm afraid / 'stimulate', 'boost' etc. are not neutral enough for the FR expression.
11 mins
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Tony, there is no expression in English to litteraly translate "faire foncionner" related to economies. The verbal expression has two complements and the meaning of it is the same for both: to stimulate the local economy and small farmers' production.
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16 hrs
include to include the local economy and local small industry in our activities.
"Nous devons, une fois implantés sur le territoire, faire fonctionner aussi l’économie et les petits producteurs locaux."
=
"Once implanted in the area, we'll have also include to include the local economy and local small industry in our activities."
The basic idea is not to be a "foreign body" foisted on the locals, but to give them their "share of the cake", make them feel they have their stake in the business.
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Note added at 20 hrs (2013-03-29 13:12:32 GMT)
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correction:
we'll have also to include the local economy and local small industry in our activities.
or
we'll have also to include the local economy and local small growers / (or local small businesses, depending on the context) in our activities.
=
"Once implanted in the area, we'll have also include to include the local economy and local small industry in our activities."
The basic idea is not to be a "foreign body" foisted on the locals, but to give them their "share of the cake", make them feel they have their stake in the business.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 20 hrs (2013-03-29 13:12:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
correction:
we'll have also to include the local economy and local small industry in our activities.
or
we'll have also to include the local economy and local small growers / (or local small businesses, depending on the context) in our activities.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Tony M
: Apart from being pretty clunky in EN, this does also extrapolate a bit too much for my taste; we don't know if these 'producteurs' are 'industry' at all — what if they just grow lettuce?
4 mins
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you're right, "growers" is more likely, "local small businesses" is more vague, but can't be wrong// OTOH, that's for sure the idea of the whole sentence...
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1 day 8 hrs
to drive the economy
Hello.
Perhaps this may work.
faire fonctionner = to drive (stimulate; get into gear)
I hope this helps.
Perhaps this may work.
faire fonctionner = to drive (stimulate; get into gear)
I hope this helps.
Discussion
"I think my confusion lie in the fact that in the sentence, "l'economie" doesnt have an adjective ..."
Aha, that's rather what I had guessed was the underlying problem here! But that's the whole point — it does have an adjective, 'locaux'! It's that old, old problem of what to do with the adjective agreement when you have items that have different gender and/or number — the rule is that masculine takes precedence over feminine (and in this case, plural over singular). This rule often means that the word order needs to be modified in order to avoid illogical situations like:
'les producteurs et l'économie locaux'
or having to say 'l'économie locale et les producteurs locaux', which would of course be stylistically hideous.
Note, too, that one can 'assume' an adjective from what precedes, as they speak of 'territoire', and hence we can also infer 'l'économie (du territoire)'
But one point needs to be made (and I'm sure you've thought of it): if "contribute to the local economy" is used, you have to integrate the bit about local producers. Something like, "contribute to the local economy and support local producers ...".
That way you keep everybody happy ...
Otherwise, "support the local economy and producers" is shorter and more elegant ...
;-)
;-)
Chacun va rester sur ses positions, et en fin de compte, c'est Catherine qui va décider ...
I do agree with you that different contexts suggest different verbs. Maybe this is the case.
I am not trying to say that I'm right and you're wrong. I merely express the opinion of a non-native reading the statement.
"Nope! I don't want to contribute to the local economy, but I agree to support it."
Look at the charity collector's well-worn phrase: "We're collecting for XYZ charity, would you care to contribute?" Perhaps a more subtle approach might be "Would you care to support our charity XYZ?" (i.e. by contributing!)
I think we're really over discussing this; I agree that both work to some extent, but for the reasons I have already explained, I prefer my own suggestion.
You see it all the time, with things like 'support your local traders' — we certainly couldn't say 'contribute to your local traders', which at worst could be interpreted as making a donation!
Just because the verb is used with 'economy' instead of 'trader' or 'producer' or 'shopkeeper' doesn't inherently mean we need to change the verb — though it does highlight how the alternative verb would work less well the other way round.
Je ne suis pas anglophone, mais je vois néanmoins une différence importante entre "contributing to the local economy", qui comporte la notion de "donner à/giving to" (I want you to buy my stuff, but look: I also buy yours!) et "support the local economy" qui, comme le mentionne Michael, vaut pour bien des choses, mais sort plutôt de la bouche de l'industrie ou du gouvernement comme un beau slogan illusoire. Je crois que je n'ai même pas à donner d'exemples!
I constantly hear expressions like « faire marcher les commerces du village », which surely is the same notion (though with 'fonctionner' as a more appropriate verb when applied to 'économie').
The equivalent in EN could well be 'support the village shops' — in which there would be no really sense of 'étayer', or even specifically 'soutenir', but simply exactly the same idea as in FR.
(Tony - I was just typing this when your comment arrived. We agree...)