Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
je n'ai eu de cesse de mettre dans la lumière
English translation:
I have made it my mission to raise the profile of
French term
Spain
A cut above the rest in translation...
Native in: English (Variants: Irish, US, UK) 
, Spanish (Variants: Latin American, Standard-Spain)
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 2 more.
je n'ai eu de cesse de mettre dans la lumière
This is from the website of a French company that makes height access solutions for buildings such as suspended platforms, cradles, harnesses, etc., which are lifted by many different types of hoists and winches also made by this company.
The passage below is from the “About us” section of the site, and more specifically it is a message from the company’s chairman in the “Mission statement” subsection.
I’ve been going around in circles and haven’t come up with anything I’m happy with yet, so would love to hear other takes on it. The “mettre dans la lumière” part is proving trickiest, as the closest thing I can think of in English is “shine a light on” or “shine a spotlight on”, but more often that not these phrases are used in English to highlight something negative like a problem or issue, so I’m not sure they would be the right choice here.
Here’s the context:
“[Company Name] est depuis de très nombreuses années une référence française de l’accès en hauteur suspendu.
Depuis son acquisition en 1999, je n'ai eu de cesse de mettre dans la lumière cette entreprise presque centenaire.
Nous avons, ensemble, engagé une croissance significative à l’international, consacrée par la création de [Company Name] Asia en République Populaire de Chine et de [Company Name] North America aux Etats-Unis d’Amérique.”
_________________
Source: FR-FR
Target: EN-UK
Jun 5, 2021 15:00: philgoddard changed "Field" from "Bus/Financial" to "Other" , "Field (write-in)" from "\"About us\" section of a website" to "(none)"
Jun 6, 2021 20:13: James A. Walsh changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/141521">James A. Walsh's</a> old entry - "je n\'ai eu de cesse de mettre dans la lumière"" to ""I have made it my business to raise the profile of""
Jun 6, 2021 22:12: James A. Walsh changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/141521">James A. Walsh's</a> old entry - "je n'ai eu de cesse de mettre dans la lumière"" to ""I have made it my business to raise the profile of""
Non-PRO (1): AllegroTrans
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Proposed translations
I have constantly striven to raise the profile of
In the Larousse bilingue, "mettre quelque chose en lumière " (locution adverbiale) means " to bring something out, to shed light on something". However, I do not believe that "shed light on the company" would be entirely correct here, as you shed light on a fact rather than a company. (https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais-anglais/lumiè...
(Btw, in French, the usual expression is "mettre en lumière", not "mettre dans la lumière".)
| Thanks a lot for taking the time, I like it! |
| agree |
JaneD
: I like this solution!
1 hr
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Thank you, Jane!
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| agree |
philgoddard
: Perfect!
12 hrs
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Thank you!
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Morocco
Juggling languages: a science and an art
Native in: Arabic (Variants: Moroccan, Standard-Arabian (MSA)) , French
Works in: English to Arabic, French to Arabic, Arabic to English, and 3 more.
promote
United Kingdom
Versatile, accurate, professional
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: French to English, English
I have made it my business to showcase
Just a couple of suggestions
| Liking these suggestions a lot, Suzie — thanks! |
| Liking these suggestions a lot, Suzie - thanks! |
| I've researched this chairman, and he actually bought the company with two siblings in 1999, so "made it my business" seems very fitting indeed (I'd even be tempted to add "personal", but that might be OTT) |
| agree |
ormiston
: Showcase in the sense of highlighting sounds good
1 hr
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Thanks!
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| agree |
AllegroTrans
: You could add "always" to get closer to the French
2 hrs
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Yes, good idea. Thanks :)
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| agree |
SafeTex
3 hrs
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Thank you :)
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| agree |
David Hollywood
: le mot juste :) perfect
9 hrs
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Thanks, David :)
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| neutral |
philgoddard
: Can you showcase a company?
11 hrs
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Hmmm, good point... others have used the phrase. Maybe "showcase our work at..." or "showcase what we do at"
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| disagree |
Francois Boye
: This does not translate the expression 'n'avoir eu de cesse de'//il faut traduire correctement les expressions idiomatiques d'une langue.
11 hrs
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It's not a literal translation, no. It's difficult to find an elegant way to say it. My other suggestion is probably closer to the French
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United States
Laudable Lady Linguist
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 3 more.
I have constantly striven to promote/raise the stature of
...of this almost 100-year old enterprise, by putting the spotlight on...
France
Excellence, Expertise & Experience
Native in: English (Variants: Irish, British, Wales / Welsh, UK, Scottish)
Works in: French to English, English
I have never stopped putting Xxxx (, which will soon celebrate its centenary,) in the limelight
My hunch is that the company's chairman is of a certain age, since he refers to China and the US as "République Populaire de Chine" and "Etats-Unis d’Amérique”.
So, while I do like "raise the profile" from SilenceOnTourne, I feel that this is a more like-for-like translation.
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Note added at 6 hrs (2021-06-05 21:05:00 GMT)
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I used to have a colleague who spent a lot of her time "improving" texts, basically interpreting what she thought the writer intended to say (and not what the writer actually said) and effectively rewriting the texts.
That is not our job.
A recent business school graduate might go on about "roadmaps" and "leveraging our core values" here, or whatever the latest fashion is, but this guy uses plain words to say simple things, and there's nothing at all wrong with that, so you translate that like for like.
I'm totally ok with "raise the profile" here though, that said.
Personally, I think the long-form country name thing is a bit barmy, but maybe that's in the company's style guide.
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Note added at 7 hrs (2021-06-05 22:22:17 GMT)
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To James: there's no real value judgement on my part, but a stylistic assessment and maybe judgement, yes. Different people write and talk in different ways, and that's fine.
But a translation reveals all these things, people can be surprised by the image in the mirror held up to their texts. A milk powder company once told me to make their products sound more exciting, when I was working from rather flat and uninspired text.
As I often think to myself, you don't hire a stand-up comic to the CEO of a big multinational, and vice versa! Horses for courses!
I would have "engagé" as "begun" or "started".
"Nous nous sommes engagé à..." would be "We have committed to...", but well, it's late night if you're in Spain.
This corporate communications stuff can be tricky, good luck with it!
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Note added at 7 hrs (2021-06-05 22:23:56 GMT)
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correction: to BE the CEO
| Thanks Conor! Couldn't agree more with you re the chairman's rather outdated and awkward wording. Here's how I'm handling "République Populaire de Chine" and "Etats-Unis d’Amérique" so far: "Nous avons, ensemble, engagé une croissance significative à l’international, consacrée par la création de [XXXX] Asia en République Populaire de Chine et de [XXXX] North America aux Etats-Unis d’Amérique." "We have committed to significant international expansion plans as a company, which our [XXXX] Asia (China) and [XXXX] North America (US) subsidiaries only serve to demonstrate." |
| neutral |
AllegroTrans
: clunky//French sentence construction is often clunky and English translation needs to be adapted to arrive at something natural-sounding
2 hrs
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That's my point really -- the original is clunky. How many people do you know who go around saying "PRC"? :-) / Not clunky in fact, the word order in French is sometimes different, you re-order that, no problem, but the expression used is just a bit dull!
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| neutral |
SilenceOnTou (X)
: Hello Conor, the chairman is using the countries' official (long) names. I have to use them all the time on first mention in the texts I translate. Thereafter I can write "Chine" or "Etats-Unis".
3 hrs
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I was aware that this was the case when writing for the EU (see https://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-5000500.htm), but for me, in business, it makes no sense, and feels old-fashioned. Unless you've trying not to offend Taiwan or whatever country.
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Psychologist, Court-certified legal
Native in: English
Works in: French to English
I have been relentless in -ING
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Note added at 12 hrs (2021-06-06 03:29:52 GMT)
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I will not rest until I...
United States
An economic geek with social skills
Native in: French
Works in: English to French, French to English, Spanish to English, and 1 more.
I have had no rest until this almost 100 years old company is in the limelight
| This is not English. It is a horrible attempt at English... but thanks for taking the time, none the less. |
| I say your English is "horrible" because you seem to think it's amazing! |
| disagree |
AllegroTrans
: Unnatural-sounding English; and we say 100-year (singular) old//I really think you need to step back from telling native English speakers how to write in their own language, your tenses are mixed up and that's why it is simply wrong
7 hrs
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100 year company is how British English puts it. 'To have no rest until sth is done or a goal is reached' is a common expression of the English language.//you don't want to admit that US English is the most widespread English in the world.
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United Kingdom
Sensible solutions
Native in: English (Variant: Wessexois)
Works in: French to English, English, English to French
I have consistently (...) this company
(...) part:
sung the praises of
promoted
endorsed
highlighted
publicised
reccomended
admired
extolled
Out with the Thesauris James
The problem is that we don't know who is saying this and with what, if any, particular emphasis
Any discussion about "accurate" translation here is rather naive imo. What is needed is natural-sounding English. It's from a website after all said 'n done.
| Thanks for this truly elucidating information Alegro! |
Discussion
My only problem now is who to award the points to?!
"I have made it my business to showcase..."
"I have worked tirelessly to..."