Traducciones de francés a inglés [PRO] General / Conversación / Saludos / Cartas
Término o frase en francés:avis de passage
Funnily enough, I don't seem to be able to find this in my dictionary.
In my text it refers to the procedures for inspecting a septic tank.
The SPANC worker leaves an "avis de passage". For the moment all I can think of is a "call note", but am wondering is there anything better.
It could easily be for a gas man or electricity company worker, but for the life of me, I cannot think what we call this piece of paper!
Actividad en KudoZ Preguntas hechas: 290 (todas cerradas) (20 closed without grading) Respuestas: 491
Francia
Local time: 19:43
Clarification request(s) and response
Emma Paulay: 15:04 Jan 28, 2008: Just piping up to say I really don't see why the category for this question has been changed. Miranda's initial categorisation was correct IMO. Tony M: 17:18 Jan 28, 2008: I totally agree, Emma, there is nothing specifically 'technica'l, nor 'engineering' about this, which is just as likely to be used by the post-person! MatthewLaSon: 01:09 Jan 30, 2008: Yes, mail carriers will leave "avis de passage" in the US (attempted delivery notice), but in other cases, I have no idea what it would be called in other cases. MatthewLaSon: 01:23 Jan 30, 2008: See my new answer below. I think I understand things better now. MatthewLaSon: 01:42 Jan 30, 2008: Is this a notice left by the inspector, letting the resident or whoever it is know that he is coming by in the near future to inspect the septic tank? If so, that's an "notification FOR inspection" in the US. In the US, we wouldn't use the word "visit." Tony M: 01:46 Jan 30, 2008: Again, "notice OF inspection" gets over ½ million Ghits, whereas "notice FOR inspection" gets only just under 24k MatthewLaSon: 02:06 Jan 30, 2008: Either is fine, Tony. Yes, "notice of inspection" is more common overall, but "notice for inspection" is commonly used, too, in the US. I have to admit that "for" sounds even a little more natural to my ear because that's what I hear more often. MatthewLaSon: 02:11 Jan 30, 2008: Yes, both are fine, Tony. I agree that "of" is more than "for" overall. In the US, both are said a lot, but my ears prefer "for" for some reason. Don't you just love prepositions...lol? MatthewLaSon: 02:13 Jan 30, 2008: Sorry for repeating myself. It was an accident. lol.
Explicación: Could be understood ambiguously as 'giving someone notice that they are GOING to visit', rather than simply notifying them that they HAVE visited.
"We will visit you again next week to inspect your sanitation arrangements" — doesn't sound particularly awkward to mee, and possibly slightly more formal and 'official' than to use 'call' — it would, after all, be an 'inspection visit', we would hardly say 'iinspection call', now would we?
Here's an interesting US govt. example of 'notice of visit', which also refers to them as a calling card:
The “notice of visit” cards – flyers left by enumerators after an unsuccessful non-response follow-up visit – should include information in the 5 other major languages spoken in the U.S. (Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Korean). The English-only flyers were successfully used in 2000 as a calling card when people were not at home. However, the practice could be improved by providing them in multiple languages.
Here's the site it comes from:
S E C T I O N 2 RECOMMENDATIONS
Census Federal Funds,” Appendix to the Budget of the United States Government, .... The “notice of visit” cards – flyers left by enumerators after an ...
This suits the context perfectly and I've used "advance" as suggested above, for good measure. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. 4 puntos KudoZ otorgados a esta respuesta
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a card through your door to let you know of our visit
Explicación: I've just got this on an email from a wine merchant. In this case it was after the visit but I agree with Tony - and I'm not sure it matters, since other context should make it obvious - before or after is unclear.
Charles Hawtrey Reino Unido Local time: 18:43 Trabaja en este campo Idioma materno: inglés Pts. PRO en la categoría: 12
"A couple waiting for their gas supply to be reconnected awake to find an ... were amazed to find the "sorry we missed you" calling card left in the night. ..."
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bristol/somerset/4546196.stm
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 38 mins (2008-01-28 14:51:48 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
I once saw a highly skilled performance by a British Gas engineer as he silently put his calling card through my letterbox to let me know that he had called while I was out. Though I rushed to open the front door, he scampered off so fast that he nearly got away.
B D Finch Francia Local time: 19:43 Trabaja en este campo Idioma materno: inglés Pts. PRO en la categoría: 12
Notas al usuario que envió la respuesta
Usuario que pregunta: I liked this suggestion and will keep it for reference. I think however, I would tend to take it to refer to a call that's missed. If I say "Miranda left her calling card", it means that I've been and gone. This is not the case in this instance. I'm warning the person that I'm coming at a particular date and time.
The translation workplace 
