une résonnance certaine

English translation: a definite / undoubted influence

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:une résonnance certaine
English translation:a definite / undoubted influence
Entered by: Tony M

06:41 Jul 23, 2015
French to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - International Org/Dev/Coop / results-based development programme evaluation
French term or phrase: une résonnance certaine
Au niveau de l’administration centrale, le programme a contribué à améliorer les capacités stratégiques en matière de gestion globale de l’environnement économique et social. Les formations dispensées, les équipements de travail mis à disposition, les experts externes mobilisés ont eu "une résonnance certaine" sur le pilotage de l’économie.

Would that be "substantial impact"?
Zonia Clissold
Local time: 23:43
definite influence
Explanation:
Personally, I felt that 'certaine' here would be less strong than 'substantial', but more along the line of 'definite' (or maybe even 'distinct', 'marked'?) — then again, given the underlying meaning of 'certain', maybe one should consider something along the lines of 'undoubted', or possibly 'undoubtedly influenced' etc. to be more idiomatic in EN.

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Note added at 3 heures (2015-07-23 09:41:50 GMT)
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Yes, so the reference kindly provided by W/A confirms lmy feelings about the word order here, with 'certaine' following the noun, as in this examples cited:

Literal: une victoire certaine > a certain (assured) victory

Tenu pour assuré, inévitable : Dans ces conditions, l'échec est certain.
Évident, exact, dont on ne peut douter : Parvenir à des conclusions certaines.

It seems to me this last example clinches the deal, corresponding to my last suggestion of 'undoubted'.
Selected response from:

Tony M
France
Local time: 23:43
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +8definite influence
Tony M
4 +1a certain influence
nweatherdon
Summary of reference entries provided
fwiw
writeaway

Discussion entries: 5





  

Answers


14 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
une résonnance certains
a certain influence


Explanation:
they have had a certain influence on ...

Much like Tony's suggestion, but a more limited statement


nweatherdon
Canada
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: Trouble is, in EN this means 'some, a little bit of' — but I'm not sure that is the implication of 'certaine' in FR when used after the noun like this?
2 mins
  -> That's sort of the way I mean it, yes

neutral  writeaway: oops. is unlikely because certain is placed after the noun. I misread it.
2 hrs

agree  Nikki Scott-Despaigne: "certain" is sometimes used with ambiuous positioning in EN too. This covers that eventuality in the same ay as the FR.
2 hrs

neutral  kashew: I agree with Tony here.
2 hrs
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11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +8
definite influence


Explanation:
Personally, I felt that 'certaine' here would be less strong than 'substantial', but more along the line of 'definite' (or maybe even 'distinct', 'marked'?) — then again, given the underlying meaning of 'certain', maybe one should consider something along the lines of 'undoubted', or possibly 'undoubtedly influenced' etc. to be more idiomatic in EN.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 heures (2015-07-23 09:41:50 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Yes, so the reference kindly provided by W/A confirms lmy feelings about the word order here, with 'certaine' following the noun, as in this examples cited:

Literal: une victoire certaine > a certain (assured) victory

Tenu pour assuré, inévitable : Dans ces conditions, l'échec est certain.
Évident, exact, dont on ne peut douter : Parvenir à des conclusions certaines.

It seems to me this last example clinches the deal, corresponding to my last suggestion of 'undoubted'.


Tony M
France
Local time: 23:43
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  B D Finch
1 hr
  -> Thanks, B! :-)

agree  Jocelyne Cuenin: dans le sens de indéniable, quelque chose du genre
1 hr
  -> Merci, Petitavoine !

agree  writeaway: oops. it is after the noun in asker's question. my bad. working and doing kudoz don't mix. of course there are many other ways to translate this.
2 hrs
  -> Thanks! Yes, indeed — I guess in the first instance Asker was just seeking clarification of this word-order issue.

agree  kashew
2 hrs
  -> Thanks, J!

agree  Simon Mac
2 hrs
  -> Thanks, Simon!

agree  patrickfor: Yes Tony une "résonnance certaine" is not "une certaine résonnance". the first is definite, the other is not!
2 hrs
  -> Merci, Patrick ! I'm glad native FR speakers like yourself agree with my reading here.

agree  Jean-Claude Gouin
5 hrs
  -> Merci, J-C ! :-)

agree  NancyLynn
1 day 7 hrs
  -> Thanks, Nancy!
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Reference comments


2 hrs peer agreement (net): +3
Reference: fwiw

Reference information:
Figurative: un certain regard a certain (type of) look
Literal: une victoire certaine a certain (assured) victory

http://french.about.com/od/grammar/a/adjectives_4.htm

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Note added at 2 hrs (2015-07-23 09:13:13 GMT)
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Larousse:
certain
Devant un nom commun, désigne quelqu'un ou quelque chose qu'on distingue, sans grande précision, d'un ensemble : À un certain moment, on a pu craindre le pire.


Tenu pour assuré, inévitable : Dans ces conditions, l'échec est certain.
Évident, exact, dont on ne peut douter : Parvenir à des conclusions certaines.

writeaway
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  Tony M
33 mins
agree  Jennifer White
6 hrs
agree  NancyLynn
1 day 5 hrs
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