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Le couple franco-allemand
Officier de sapeurs pompiers
Oct 6, 2009 13:29
14 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term

fédération

Non-PRO French to English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Hi. Odd question - we're translating some info for an organization (http://www.croixblanche.org/) and we've translated fédération as "federation" in English, but my client wants to know if it could also be "association". Of course, then, the French should probably be "association", too, but I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts either way - or cares to opine on the difference between a federation and an association.

Merci!
Proposed translations (English)
3 +3 federation or association
4 +3 federation
5 +1 association
References
Quiphekif
Change log

Oct 6, 2009 13:41: Chris Hall changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

PRO (3): Jean-Louis S., Sheila Wilson, gsloane

Non-PRO (3): philgoddard, Helen Shiner, Chris Hall

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Discussion

gsloane Oct 6, 2009:
Use of Association and Federation in English It is true that, in English, "federation" is the umbrella organization bringing together, say, individual professional associations/organizations representing one profession, say, accountants. Therefore, by strictest definition, "fédération" in this case should be translated by "association" in English because that is indeed what it is in English. Now, if "fédération" has the same meaning as "association" AND "federation" in English in the strictest sense of the word, then the translation into English would depend on the composition and structure of the organization. Therefore, in this case, La Croix Blanche, is definitely "association" and that is what the translation should be.
gsloane Oct 6, 2009:
"Association" and "Fédération" I agree that they aren't interchangeable. However, what is happening here is that countries where federal-type governments exist, as in France, Canada, US, etc, but not the UK, you find that not-for-profit organizations tend to use "fédération" as opposed to "association" when naming their organization and when describing its administrative structure. In this case, it would appear to make sense to keep "federation" as the translation because of origin of country but again, it wouldn't be wrong, per se, to use "association". Personally speaking though, I tend to keep the original name as much as possible.
HugoSteckel Oct 6, 2009:
"Association" is not impossible These words are not interchangeable, but it's not incommon to see the word "association" in English where "Federation" is the French option. For example, the Fédération française de football is the French equivalent of England's Football Association.

Proposed translations

+3
10 mins
French term (edited): fédération
Selected

federation or association

It really depends on the purpose of the group. If we take a look at the basic definitions:
-fédération : Regroupement d’une multitude de sociétés, de mouvements ou de syndicats sous une même autorité. Fédération sportive, ouvrière. Fédération syndicale.
- association : Groupement de personnes travaillant à un but commun; (droit) un tel groupement dont le but n'est pas lucratif.

The objectives of the organization would determine if it is a federation or an association. Since the site is in French, once the correct name is established in French, the translation would follow.
Peer comment(s):
agree Jean-Louis S. : A quick look at the website suggests it is an association and not a federation despite the name; unless they consider being a federation of their various departmental branches...
3 mins
agree Sheila Wilson : Seems to me it's both - "niveau féféral" for the umbrella org. (training; admin; legal; ...) and refers to 70+ others in depts = associations for me
15 mins
agree John Detre : As the definitions suggest, the key difference between federation and association is not the purpose but the fact that a fed's members are organizations, an association's may be organizations or individuals. So Croix Blanche could definitely be an assoc.
1 hr
neutral gsloane : It can't be both. See comments above.
3 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+3
1 min

federation

If it says federation in French, I don't see any reason to change it in English.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 mins (2009-10-06 13:31:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Also, a federation often refers to a group of associations.
Peer comment(s):
agree Chris Hall
6 mins
agree Helen Shiner
8 mins
agree Sheila Wilson : I think your note @ 2mins is relevant in this context
1 hr
neutral gsloane : See comments above.
3 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
3 hrs

association

In this case, it's definitely an association (ie where members are individuals) and not a federation (members aren't groups/organizations/associations). The distinction is important in English but may not be in French.
Peer comment(s):
agree Catherine Gilsenan
23 hrs
Thank you.
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

1 hr
Reference:

Quiphekif

I don't think this issue bears too much interpretation and analysis.

3. FÉDÉRATION ... Association professionnelle, politique, corporative, ou sportive
Larousse Lexis
Something went wrong...
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