May 3, 2023 09:28
1 yr ago
64 viewers *
French term
Solidarité
French to English
Bus/Financial
Business/Commerce (general)
I'm sure the answer to this is really obvious but I'm struggling with this term in a CSR report. The company's csr approach is based on its core values: Responsabilité, Solidarité et Engagement
Responsibility - Accountability
Solidarity - is this used in this way outside France - Philanthropic Responsibility?
Engagement
Any help much appreciated
Responsibility - Accountability
Solidarity - is this used in this way outside France - Philanthropic Responsibility?
Engagement
Any help much appreciated
Proposed translations
(English)
4 +6 | solidarity | FPC |
4 +4 | community | philgoddard |
4 +1 | social cohesion, community outreach | Bourth |
3 +1 | compassion | Ana Vozone |
4 | Care for people | Conor McAuley |
Proposed translations
+6
3 mins
Selected
solidarity
I don't see any problem with using its (true) friend in English
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/solidarity
the other two values being perhaps (social?) responsibility and commitment ?
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/solidarity
the other two values being perhaps (social?) responsibility and commitment ?
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Carol Gullidge
40 mins
|
agree |
Libby Cohen
48 mins
|
agree |
writeaway
: Pourquoi chercher midi à quatorze heures
2 hrs
|
agree |
AllegroTrans
: I wouddn't use this if I were writing the text, but that is what it says
6 hrs
|
neutral |
Conor McAuley
: I don't think it's good enough to say it's the default answer and it sort of works. It's not a false friend, but there are more idiomatic translations of the idea out there
6 hrs
|
agree |
Mpoma
: It's leached into English over the past 10 years. It means "being as nice as we can reasonably afford to poor people".
14 hrs
|
agree |
Anastasia Kalantzi
5 days
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+1
5 mins
compassion
accountability, compassion, commitment
https://www.google.com/search?q="accountability, compassion,...
https://www.google.com/search?q="accountability, compassion,...
Peer comment(s):
neutral |
Carol Gullidge
: Compassion implies an element of pity, which doesn’t quite fit here
41 mins
|
neutral |
Libby Cohen
: You can have solidarity (think of labour union contexts, or joining with others to support a specific cause) without necessarily being compassionate.
1 hr
|
neutral |
Tony M
: And in addition, this term is far too "emotional" (and to some extent qualitative) to fit with the register here.
2 hrs
|
agree |
AllegroTrans
: "Commitment" could work if it's really essential to ditch "solidarity"
6 hrs
|
Thank you, AllegroTrans!
|
43 mins
Care for people
I would split the concept into two things in English, English doesn't "like" the conceptual "solidarity", it's not "terre-à-terre" enough.
- Empathy
- Material acts to help people: money, actions, concrete help
The second bit is hard to get across.
So not "Care for people", people in general and not employees because the approach probably covers society in general.
You might cynically think that this is "social-washing" (see below), but they might actually be carrying out real actions.
Social washing:
"What Is Social Washing? Social washing, like the better-known greenwashing, occurs when there is a disconnect between perceived commitments to issues and genuine action."
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 45 mins (2023-05-03 10:13:42 GMT)
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Correction, I meant to say it's not "Care for employees", it's employees and people in general.
- Empathy
- Material acts to help people: money, actions, concrete help
The second bit is hard to get across.
So not "Care for people", people in general and not employees because the approach probably covers society in general.
You might cynically think that this is "social-washing" (see below), but they might actually be carrying out real actions.
Social washing:
"What Is Social Washing? Social washing, like the better-known greenwashing, occurs when there is a disconnect between perceived commitments to issues and genuine action."
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 45 mins (2023-05-03 10:13:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Correction, I meant to say it's not "Care for employees", it's employees and people in general.
Peer comment(s):
neutral |
Libby Cohen
: Without more context, you're reading too much into this. Solidarity itself IS a commonly used term in many corporate mission statements. Example: Companies that gear their products and services to unions and their members.
1 hr
|
The internet search matches I get for solidarity "corporate values"/"mission statement" are from social organisations, charities and French companies. Solidarity is typically what I'd call Latinate, doesn't grab me in the guts, in the heart
|
|
neutral |
AllegroTrans
: Approx 50% of your (and my) vocabularly is Latinate, so whatcanisay?
5 hrs
|
My ongoing point about intellectual consistency: your comment on "solidarity": "I wouddn't use this if I were writing the text, but that is what it says". You can't have the butter, the money for the butter...and the milkperson, as the variant joke goes!
|
|
neutral |
SafeTex
: I'm not convinced by this either as the best translation, not only in terms of meaning but in terms of conciseness. We have 3 one word key values and this too is important to keep
10 hrs
|
I don't think one-word key values are required: would you reject "environmental responsibility" on the basis that it's two words? I'm not saying it's the best translation, I'm saying that there are plenty of better options than "solidarity".
|
+1
48 mins
social cohesion, community outreach
etc. etc., there are 1001 ways of expressing this.
A clue lies in the expression 'corporate social responsibility'.
Responsabilité goes beyond the social aspect and these days includes a lot of environmental stuff.
And 'commitment' (or, increasingly, 'engagement').
A clue lies in the expression 'corporate social responsibility'.
Responsabilité goes beyond the social aspect and these days includes a lot of environmental stuff.
And 'commitment' (or, increasingly, 'engagement').
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Tony M
2 hrs
|
neutral |
philgoddard
: I like "community outreach", but I think we need a one-word answer.
3 hrs
|
+4
4 hrs
community
I think solidarity is too French, and has too many labor-union connotations. But community conveys the idea of sticking together and looking after one another.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Conor McAuley
: Pretty good
1 hr
|
agree |
AllegroTrans
: Could work if it's really essential to ditch "solidarity"
1 hr
|
agree |
Wolf Draeger
6 hrs
|
agree |
Anastasia Kalantzi
5 days
|
Discussion
2) It appears that the HR/senior management involved in coming up with the values didn't realise that they were spelling out RSE (see my previous Discussion entry below).
3) For a French company in a French context, I have no problem with "Solidarity".
For me, it works in a French context but not in an Anglosphere business context.
Anglo shareholders would have a CEO who came up with something as commie as "solidarity" shot, haha!
On this thing (your comment 23:05 3 May), I'm very much for keeping the translation down to 3 words if possible.
Certainly, you can find mottos or core values expressed in short phrases and sometimes this is unavoidable.
But I think it's avoidable here and we should go with a 3-word solution.
Regards
2) I think to adhere strictly to the spirit of the original, "Responsabilité, Solidarité et Engagement" will have to be translated using words starting with CSR, "Corporate Social Responsibility".
I suppose we're lucky that HR executives in France have the time to come up with such ingenious and hilarious ideas.
"Responsabilité sociétale des entreprises" = RSE
"Responsabilité, Solidarité et Engagement" = RSE
So now, do you need the key values in English to read CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility? Good luck with that!
I think that's what the French text is doing.
Who made up that rule for the Universe?!
Brotherhood, helping others, community (credit to Phil) spirit, etc. etc. Come on people, get creative.
Is business the opposite of solidarity? Removing money from people's wallets and making as big a profit as possible.
Also I would say that there is plenty of language mixing going on in Quebec, so second-language transference.
Easy to lose sight of what is truly idiomatic...people thinking in French but writing in English.
I've become immersed in the common expressions used around here - and these organizations tend to favour the notion of Solidarity in their EN descriptions. Especially in labour contexts, the term arouses more positive feelings than it likely would in more general English writing. Solidarity, as I use it, has a pretty strong connotation at least for my clients, and it meets the needs of what they're trying to convey (even if it's admittedly not a very sexy term).
If you can get away with it, I’d alter the formula somewhat to say
something like Responsibility, Solidarity, and Standing up for what we believe in.