Filter Lighting French Translation

[Daniel Siron]

Bonjour,

 

I'd like to point out a small translation error in the French version.

It concerns the lighting filter in Affinity Photo

[Pyanepsion]

I can confirm that. On the other hand, ‘Spot’ does not exist in the French language, although it is often used in various technical fields.

• In physics, it refers to a point of light, or more precisely a spot moving on a graduated scale, produced by a measuring instrument with a rotating mirror. This would be an oscilloscope, for example.
• In the entertainment sector, it is a small adjustable projector with a reduced light beam used for spot lighting on a stage, in a shop window or in an art gallery.

The Affinity suite help explains in French :

Quote

 

Source types

Des types de sources différents produisent des résultats radicalement différents. Prenons quelques exemples pour illustrer ces types.
(Different types of sources produce radically different results. Let’s take a few examples to illustrate these types.)

1. Spot : Diffuse un faisceau de lumière elliptique se concentrant sur un sujet d’intérêt, à l’image d’une lampe torche.
   (Diffuses an elliptical beam of light focusing on a subject of interest, like a torch.)
2. Point : Diffuse une lumière omnidirectionnelle, comme une ampoule.
   (Diffuses an omnidirectional light, like a light bulb.)
3. Directionel : Diffuse une lumière directionnelle depuis l’infini, par exemple à partir du soleil.
   (Diffuses directional light from infinity, for example from the sun.)

 

Blender, for its part, offers:

1. Lumière ponctuelle (Point Light) :
   A point light is a light source that emits rays of light in all directions from a single point in space. It creates sharp shadows and is often used to simulate light sources such as light bulbs or candles.
2. Projecteur (Spot Light) :
   A spotlight is a light source that emits a beam of light in a specific direction, at a defined angle. This light is often used to simulate car headlights, stage lights or torches.
3.  Lumière du soleil (Sun Light) :
   Sunlight is a directional light source that simulates natural sunlight. It emits parallel rays of light that pass evenly through the space. This light is used to simulate outdoor lighting and creates consistent, soft shadows.
4. Lumière de zone (Area Light) :
   A zone light is a light source that has an extended size and shape rather than a point or beam. It emits light in all directions from its surface, creating soft shadows and more natural lighting effects. Area lights are often used to illuminate large surfaces or to simulate light sources such as windows or light panels.

A good translation in French of 'Spot' would be 'projecteur' (projector) as in the famous Blender, 'phare' (lighthouse) or 'lampe-torche' (flashlight).

[Oufti]

On 2/18/2024 at 6:53 PM, Pyanepsion said:

A good translation in French of 'Spot' would be 'projecteur' (projector) as in the famous Blender, 'phare' (lighthouse) or 'lampe-torche' (flashlight).

Between these three, I prefer 'projecteur' — but 'spot' would be good also, excepted perhaps for some Quebecois, and yet… (ref.)

One could also use 'faisceau' (beam) or maybe, if it's the light source to be qualified: 'concentré' (spot) / 'ponctuel' (point) / 'directionnel' (directional).

[Pauls]

I'll reset the software translation to match the current help here - thanks for the suggestions

[Daniel Siron]

Hello,

Thank you for your reply.

The words Spot and Point are indeed used in technical French. These translations seem relevant to me and they are commonly found in other software.

There's a lot of talk about technical English these days, but technical French is really very rich and, what's more, it adapts to the dominant languages.

[Alfred]

11 minutes ago, Daniel Siron said:

There's a lot of talk about technical English these days, but technical French is really very rich and, what's more, it adapts to the dominant languages.

Technical English adapts, too. I’m predominantly a British English speaker, but I can’t imagine using anything other than American English spelling when writing words like ‘dialog’ or ‘program’.

[Pyanepsion]

15 hours ago, Daniel Siron said:

The words Spot and Point are indeed used in technical French. These translations seem relevant to me and they are commonly found in other software.

I don’t quite agree on this point!

Why complicate users’ understanding with foreign terms like ‘spot’ and ‘dot’, which don’t exist in French and require learning, when there are terms in French that everyone can understand: ‘Projecteur’ and ‘Point’?

More and more reference software, such as Photoshop, Blender and many others, are now adopting a true French version, without foreign term, because they have realized that this allows them to broaden their customer base to include beginners. It would be regrettable if the Affinity suite were to adopt a retrograde position on this issue.

[Oufti]

8 hours ago, Pyanepsion said:

[…] foreign terms like ‘spot’ and ‘dot’, which don’t exist in French and require learning

Bien que considérés comme anglicismes, le mot "spot" est quand même bien connu en français me semble-t-il…

Ce qu'en disent les principaux dictionnaires :

Le Robert en ligne 

Quote

Définition de spot   nom masculin

anglicisme

•  Point lumineux (sur un écran…).
•  Petit projecteur orientable.
•  Bref message publicitaire. ➙ écran ; anglicisme flash.

•  Site favorable à la pratique d'un sport. Un spot de plongée.recommandation officielle site (de pratique).
• par extension, familier Lieu très prisé. Le nouveau spot des amateurs de mode.

Le Larousse en ligne

Quote

spot

nom masculin

(anglais spot, tache, point)

• 1. Luminaire orientable assurant un éclairage localisé.
• 2. Petit projecteur directif permettant d'éclairer localement un comédien ou une partie du décor.
• 3. Image lumineuse que l'on forme sur l'échelle des instruments de mesure à miroir tournant pour servir d'index.
• 4. Tache lumineuse formée par le pinceau d'électrons sur l'écran d'un tube cathodique.
• 5. Message publicitaire audiovisuel de courte durée.

Et le CNRTL, dans une notice bien plus détaillée

Quote

[…]

2. ÉCLAIR., TECHNOL. Petit projecteur orientable à faisceau lumineux assez étroit et permettant un éclairage localisé d'un acteur, d'une partie du décor (au cinéma, au théâtre, en photographie...) ou utilisé de manière analogue comme éclairage intérieur. […]

 

[Pyanepsion]

😁 It’s a good thing that computer science isn’t of Swedish (flat) or Lithuanian (vietą) origin, otherwise we’d certainly be in trouble!

 

Renowned dictionaries Larousse and Le Robert clearly state that ‘spot’ is considered a foreign word, not a French one. They simply indicate their translation. Similarly, the Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales (CNRTL) only ever provides an exhaustive lexicon of words found in printed documents (from 1880 to 1980 for spot, peaking in 1970, and not beyond), and does not consider them to be French terms at all. For example, it lists words such as ‘software’ that no French speaker uses any more.

 

An analysis of the evolution of the word ‘spot’ in French literature shows its emergence around 1600, its growing popularity in the 1930s with the advent of advertising, and then a decline until the 1950s, marked by the Second World War. There was a further decline until the 1980s, when computer technology revived interest in the term. Since 2015, however, its use has been declining.

 

Prominent figures in French lexicography such as Paul Robert, Émile Littré and Alain Rey, members of the Académie française, did not recognize these terms as an integral part of the French language.

 

The dictionary of the Académie française, the reference for the French language, does not recognize ‘spot’ as a French term. In 2017, it recommended avoiding anglicisms where French terms exist, advocating the use of ‘projecteur’ for software such as PhotoShop and Blender.

[Hangman]

@Pyanepsion,

With regard to Spot, not in terms of lighting but in terms of colour, would you say the current Affinity app translation is correct or incorrect both in the Swatch and Export Panels?

Spot Colour is shown as Couleur Directe (Direct Colour) rather than Couleur D’accompagnement which has always been my understanding of the French printing term for Spot Colour.

Subsequently, Honour spot colours (as it's shown in the English version) is shown in the export panel as Appliquer des couleurs directes rather than Couleurs d’accompagnement d’honneur but I have no idea which would be considered the true, correct French translation...

Just curious...

[Daniel Siron]

On 2/20/2024 at 6:51 PM, Oufti said:

Bien que considérés comme anglicismes, le mot "spot" est quand même bien connu en français me semble-t-il…

Ce qu'en disent les principaux dictionnaires :

Le Robert en ligne 

Le Larousse en ligne

Et le CNRTL, dans une notice bien plus détaillée

 

Oui, effectivement.

EN fait, j'ai pas regardé, je suis un franchouille, donc ça me paraissait evident.

[Oufti]

7 hours ago, Hangman said:

@Pyanepsion,

With regard to Spot […] in terms of colour, would you say the current Affinity app translation is correct or incorrect both in the Swatch and Export Panels?

Spot Colour is shown as Couleur Directe (Direct Colour) rather than Couleur D’accompagnement which has always been my understanding of the French printing term for Spot Colour.

Subsequently, Honour spot colours (as it's shown in the English version) is shown in the export panel as Appliquer des couleurs directes rather than Couleurs d’accompagnement d’honneur but I have no idea which would be considered the true, correct French translation...

Just curious...

 

For me, Affinity's translation is correct. I confirm couleur directe is commonly used for "spot color", opposed to quadrichromie ("process colors"). It probably conveys the idea of a color/ink in itself, not resulting from a combination of other colors. 

Thus Appliquer des couleurs directes is also very correct (or perhaps [edit: better] Respecter/Conserver/Préserver les couleurs directes). — Note that "Honour" here is a verb. 

 

 

[Alfred]

6 minutes ago, Oufti said:

Thus Appliquer des couleurs directes is also very correct (or perhaps Respecter/Conserver/Préserver les couleurs directes). — Note that "Honour" here is a verb.

I would have thought that Respecter/Conserver/Préserver would be better here. You’re not asking for spot colours to be applied, you’re just asking for them to be respected/kept.

[Oufti]

I agree with you, that's the reason I suggested these variants, but in regard to "spot color" the present translation is also correct, if not as precise. 

Actually, I intended to edit my previous message to add "perhaps better" but it failed to connect… I'll try again.