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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

Aptitudes

English translation:

abilities

Added to glossary by Wyley Powell
Dec 15, 2019 03:57
4 yrs ago
2 viewers *
French term

Aptitudes

Non-PRO French to English Bus/Financial General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters Job ads
I'm translating several job ads for a kitchen design company. Each ad lists a number of required "compétences" and several "aptitudes."

Both terms can be translated as "skills" - so, I'm not sure how to differentiate between them.

Thanks.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +1 abilities
4 +5 aptitude
Change log

Dec 15, 2019 07:28: John ANTHONY changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

PRO (2): Carol Gullidge, Daryo

Non-PRO (3): philgoddard, mchd, John ANTHONY

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Discussion

Ph_B (X) Dec 17, 2019:
aptitude-2 It would be interesting to see how the word is used in the source text. We know it is in the plural and it may well be that the employer is looking for someone who has (a list of?) aptitudes (particulières?) dans..., i.e. specialised areas of kitchen designing. For what it's worth, randomly picked form the Net: "Kitchen designers must have strong active listening skills so that they can make sure their designs meet their clients' needs. They will also need to know the building codes for their area, have computer-aided drafting experience, possess a keen eye for detail and be up to date on current kitchen design trends."
Ph_B (X) Dec 17, 2019:
aptitude-1 This word means "being able to do something" in French, not just "able to learn".<p>Cf. Qualité rendant possibles certaines performances. (http://stella.atilf.fr/Dendien/scripts/tlfiv5/advanced.exe?8... ) or Aptitude à qqch., à faire qqch... Aptitude bien exercée, entraînant la compétence, le talent... Par ext. Compétence acquise et reconnue après une formation. Aptitude professionnelle. Certificat d'aptitude professionnelle (C. A. P.), examens ou concours sanctionnant des études à finalités professionnelles. (Le Grand Robert de la langue française)<p>Not for me to say how it should be translated into English, but choosing an English word that means only "being able to learn" would be too restrictive in my opinion. Aptitude often means that you already have the required skills. The par ext. bit above is important here: this is a job ad and I can imagine that the employer, while being happy with someone who can learn, will be even happier to find people who already know how to do things because they learnt how to. That is what aptitude generally means in a job ad.<p>
Daryo Dec 17, 2019:
Not quite Both terms can be translated as "skills"? - no they can't.

If you are looking to employ someone or if you need a partner for a projet, there is a not so small difference between someone who already knows a lot (either theoretically or as some practical skill) ("compétences") and someone with great capacity for learning ("aptitudes")

As an example, if you have an IT project, someone not capable of quick learning is useless, whatever acquired formal knowledge they may have. In the real world, words are not "just words" ...

As per usual, those who can't see the importance of "fine points" are quick to declare questions Non-PRO ...
Barbara Cochran, MFA Dec 16, 2019:
"Skills And Abilities" https://www.careeronestop.org/WorkerReEmployment/JobSearch/R...
philgoddard Dec 15, 2019:
I don't see why you conspicuously make no mention of the English word "aptitudes". It implies innate abilities, such as learning new languages, as opposed to skills, such as being able to speak French. I'm not going to post it as an answer because you appear to have rejected it.

Proposed translations

+1
14 mins
Selected

abilities

Reference: Larousse Advanced French/English Dictionary

"skills and abilities"
Peer comment(s):
agree John ANTHONY
3 hrs
Thanks, John.
agree Chakib Roula
4 hrs
Thanks, Chakib.
neutral philgoddard : Ability is a synonym of skill in my opinion.
12 hrs
It can be, but the expression "skills and abilities" is quite ubiquitous in this kind of context.
agree Verginia Ophof
14 hrs
Thanks, Verginia.
disagree B D Finch : If someone has an aptitude for something, that means they have the capacity to acquire the skills in that field, not that the skills are already acquired. "Ability" is too vague.//We must agree to differ.
1 day 7 hrs
Disagree w/your disagree, because something as informal as this job ad sounds would not use "aptitudes", certainly not in the US.
disagree Daryo : too vague - loses the difference between "what you already know" and "your capacity to learn something new" - and it's NOT "splitting hairs" - in some cases the practical consequences of the difference between the two can be HUGE if you get it wrong!
1 day 20 hrs
And your point of view is "too specific", since the text seems to be nothing more than a "job ads", and not part of a formal company document./Educated, highly experienced translators know that CONTEXT IS KEY.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks very much."
+5
15 hrs

aptitude

Hello
I pretty much agree with Phil on this (see discussion) and guess that we all feel sometimes that if we use the exact same word, we are not "earning our money". Yet, "aptitude" does exist in both languages and with the exact same meaning as far as I know so why reject it outright?
Peer comment(s):
agree philgoddard
2 hrs
Thanks but you were the one to suggest it first
agree erwan-l
12 hrs
Thanks Erwan
agree B D Finch : If someone has an aptitude for something, that means they have the capacity to acquire the skills in that field, not that the skills are already acquired.
16 hrs
Thanks and I agree comptelely that it's kind of an innate ability like someone has an apptitude for figures.
neutral Barbara Cochran, MFA : Something as informal as this job ad sounds would not use "aptitudes", certainly not in the US. Besides, you haven't offered any reference./Why not use one if you have one (looks like I have two-see above)!!!
17 hrs
Hello Barbara: Do you really need references for "aptitude"???
agree AllegroTrans
1 day 1 hr
Thanks AllegroTrans
agree Daryo : exactly that! False friends do exist, but it's not an excuse to be obsessed / paranoid / blindfolded .. about literal translations being a priori wrong / of lesser quality & similar.
1 day 4 hrs
Thanks Daryo. Imagine translating a language pair where no shared words exist. That must be much harder.
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