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Zakelijk als het moet, informeel als het kan.

English translation: Formal where necessary, but not necessarily formal.

18:37 Mar 12, 2014
Dutch to English translations [PRO]
Marketing / Market Research
Dutch term or phrase: Zakelijk als het moet, informeel als het kan.
I am looking for a good translation for this expression.
Context is a case study for an IT company.
Full sentence:
"XX is echt een professionele partner: zakelijk als het moet, informeel als het kan."
I was looking for a nice rendering for this in English.
David Van der Vloet
Belgium
Local time: 17:48
English translation:Formal where necessary, but not necessarily formal.
Explanation:
It's a take on MacKenzie King, the Canadian PM pre-WWII & during WWII, who famously commented "Conscription where necessary, but not necessarily conscription." It was a masterstroke on his part to keep his Liberal party in power during a particularly divisive period in Canadian political history.

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Note added at 9 mins (2014-03-12 18:46:53 GMT)
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reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_Crisis_of_1944
Selected response from:

Robert Kleemaier
Canada
Local time: 08:48
Grading comment
I decided to go with this option in the end. It is very elegant and livens up the marketing text.

Thanks all for your suggestions!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +5[See my suggestion for the whole thing]
philgoddard
4 +1Formal where necessary, but not necessarily formal.
Robert Kleemaier
3 +2businesslike if necessary, casual if possible
Barend van Zadelhoff
3 +2professional when called for, informal/casual when befitting/acceptable/suitable
Verginia Ophof


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Formal where necessary, but not necessarily formal.


Explanation:
It's a take on MacKenzie King, the Canadian PM pre-WWII & during WWII, who famously commented "Conscription where necessary, but not necessarily conscription." It was a masterstroke on his part to keep his Liberal party in power during a particularly divisive period in Canadian political history.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 mins (2014-03-12 18:46:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_Crisis_of_1944

Robert Kleemaier
Canada
Local time: 08:48
Meets criteria
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
I decided to go with this option in the end. It is very elegant and livens up the marketing text.

Thanks all for your suggestions!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Michael Beijer: Has a nice ring to it!
3 hrs
  -> Merci, Michael. MacKenzie King is a gem in political history. :)
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10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
businesslike if necessary, casual if possible


Explanation:
of course, always from a businesslike perspective :-)

Barend van Zadelhoff
Netherlands
Local time: 17:48
Does not meet criteria
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch
PRO pts in category: 3

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  katerina turevich: I like this. Simple and straightforward.
24 mins
  -> Thank you, Katerina.
neutral  philgoddard: You said in your comment on Verginia's answer that it might imply they were not professional when casual - but this suggestion implies the same thing. And "casual" can mean lazy or careless.
1 hr
  -> I don't think so. "if possible" means "they can be casual if it does not harm his/her business" Don't you see that?
neutral  Michael Beijer: No solid arguments, just doesn’t sound right to me. / Barend, all I mean is if it were my company, I wouldn’t want ‘businesslike if necessary, casual if possible’ in my corporate bumf. It sounds poorly written.
3 hrs
  -> I really no longer take this "doesn’t sound right to me" of yours seriously, you may understand why. Also, such an expression doesn't explain a whole lot./Okay, thank you. What I read in 'zakelijk/informeel' is, briefly, 'non-identification/identification
agree  Richard Purdom: I would slightly modify it to 'businesslike when necessary, casual when possible'
23 hrs
  -> Thank you. There certainly can be a difference between 'if' and 'when' and 'when' is more 'actual': http://tinyurl.com/mfekykw
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17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
professional when called for, informal/casual when befitting/acceptable/suitable


Explanation:
suggestion

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Note added at 35 mins (2014-03-12 19:12:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Businesslike when called for, casual when acceptable

Verginia Ophof
Belize
Local time: 09:48
Meets criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Barend van Zadelhoff: I don't think 'professional' and 'casual' are correct opposites, it might imply they were not professional when casual. And imo it is not so much about competence/skills as about attitude/manner.
9 mins
  -> correct
agree  katerina turevich: I like it. especially the combination :"informal/befitting". As far as implying unprofessional attitude, in this context it goes quite well.
24 mins
  -> Thank you Katerina !
neutral  philgoddard: So they're only professional for some of the time?
42 mins
  -> good point...should read businesslike as Barend suggested
neutral  Michael Beijer: agree with Phil
3 hrs
agree  Tina Vonhof (X): I like this too: sometimes professional, sometimes informal, whatever is appropriate in any given situation.
20 hrs
  -> Thank you Tina !!
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58 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
[See my suggestion for the whole thing]


Explanation:
I don't think you should try to reproduce the Dutch idea in English - it just doesn't sound natural. I suggest something like:

"XX is a great company to do business with: friendly people, with a professional approach."



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Note added at 4 hrs (2014-03-12 23:35:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Or, more colorfully, a friendly bunch of people with a thoroughly professional approach.

philgoddard
United States
Meets criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Michael Beijer: My second favourite (after Robert’s elegant solution). / I like FionaT's suggestion.
2 hrs
agree  Robert Kleemaier: A fresh approach, Phil. I like it!
2 hrs
agree  Barend van Zadelhoff: Perhaps this is an option after all. My problem is 'businesslike' vs 'professional'. For me 'zakelijk/informeel' is to do with the ability to emotionally detach, 'to be businesslike'. Perhaps you could call this 'to be professional' as well.
4 hrs
  -> Sorry, you've lost me.
agree  FionaT: I like this approach, Phil. Maybe "combining a friendly attitude with a professional approach", to emphasise the juxtaposition slightly more.
13 hrs
agree  katerina turevich
18 hrs
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