Feb 14 15:44
3 mos ago
38 viewers *
French term

Assurance Loisirs Sérénité

French to English Law/Patents Insurance Assurance Loisirs Sérénité
Hello,

I am translating an insurance policy which includes the option of 'Assurance Loisirs Sérénité.'

The text says "Le produit Assurance Loisirs Sérénité est destiné à garantir les dommages subis par l'assuré avant et pendant le voyage ainsi que les frais restés à sa charge. Le produit peut inclure des prestations d'assistance aux personnes, des garanties en cas d'annulation du voyage, la garantie bagages, la garantie frais d'interruption de séjour selon les modalités du contrat d'assurance souscrit."

The cover is very broad, with many aspects (e.g. 'garantie frais d'interruption') actually already included in the insurer's multi-risk policy.

Some sensible suggestions would be appreciated. 'Peace of mind cover' seems too literal.

Thank you.

Discussion

Translator876 (asker) Feb 14:
Yes, I assume it refers to sports activities, although little else is provided by way of explanation.
AllegroTrans Feb 14:
Asker You say "I am undecided still about how to translate 'Loisirs' though".
I think you need to look at the policy to see how it defines these. It might mean sports activities (e.g. kayaking, diving etc.) undertaken while on holiday.

Proposed translations

+1
9 hrs
Selected

Travel Insurance, or, Trip Protection

When searching online for the term "Assurance Loisirs Sérénité", one of the top match includes a pdf document from a travel agent company called Verdié Voyages located in Paris.
The pdf document actually describes the terms and conditions of a insurance policy that covers many risk elements of travels, such as canceled, delayed or missed flights, accident, illness and many other incidents that may happen while traveling.
So while the term "Assurance Loisirs Sérénité" cannot be translated word for word, because it is an expression that is meant to convey a sense of peace of mind while traveling and would not mean anything related to what it really is, the general interpretation of that term is Travel Insurance.

When translating, I would suggest to keep the term "Assurance Loisirs Sérénité" as is and add "travel insurance" right after it, to read "the Assurance Loisirs Sérénité travel insurance, is designed to cover ...."
Example sentence:

The Assurance Loisirs Sérénité travel insurance, is designed to cover the most common travel incidents.

Note from asker:
Thanks, I agree. In this policy, too, reference is made to missed flights, accident, illness and other incidents. It does not seem to cover 'activities' or similar. I will keep the French term then provide an English translation "(Trip Protection)" in parentheses.
Peer comment(s):

agree ph-b
19 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+5
7 mins

Assurance Loisirs Sérénité (Peace of mind insurance)

This is a product name and it should not be translated. You could add your suggested translation in brackets as I have done here

Does Coca-Cola really mean “bite the wax tadpole” in Chinese? Let’s talk about your options when it comes to translating brand and product names.

Our localization solutions team sees plenty of scenarios where this question has come up: Should a company and its product names be translated to better suit a target language?

Before we dig into your options, here’s an example of why you should be asking this question.
Clairol Mist in Germany

Clairol specializes in hair care, and they released a new curling iron called the Mist Stick. It was a vapor wand that to them was an exciting innovation with worldwide appeal.

In Germany, though, mist is slang for “manure” or “excrement”, and Clairol quickly discovered why people there weren’t as into this product as English-speaking customers.

It’s no surprise that Rolls Royce faced a similar problem with their Silver Mist automobile, and that German whisky fans were reluctant to sip Canadian Mist and Irish Mist brands.
Coca-Cola in China

At the company and brand name level, take Coca-Cola for instance. When the soda company entered China in 1928, they attempted to replicate their name with Chinese characters. The characters “ko-ka-ko-la” amount to the English equivalent “bite the wax tadpole” – hardly a tasty treat.

They settled on “ko-kou-ko-le,” literally meaning “to allow the mouth to be able to rejoice.” Now that’s more like it.

To avoid a similar situation, here are some options to consider for your client.
Option 1 – Roll with the Original Name

By default, and unless instructed otherwise from the outset, assume the company will keep the original names across all geographic regions

It seems like the easiest and the safest bet, but some names won’t make sense in target areas, or perhaps could be misunderstood when translated.

It’s good practice to get in touch with the company if you believe the name should be changed to avoid potential misunderstanding or even disaster.
Option 2 – Original Name (Translation)

Our recommendation is to provide a translation of the original name in parenthesis, like this:

Original Name (Translation)

This format preserves the original name but provides a more localized example, so the customers or readers understand it.
Optional 3 – Translation (Original Name)

Your third option is to translate the name and provide the original in parentheses.

If you think it would be better to translate the name, but still want to keep the original name to avoid misunderstanding, use this format.

As your product establishes its space in the market, you can slowly phase the parentheses out.
Option 4 – Transliteration

You can also provide a phonetic translation of the original name.

This is recommended when your source and target languages use different alphabets.

For example, if you’re translating from English to Korean or Arabic, it will be easier for your audience if the name is transliterated to their language.
Option 5 – A Whole New Name

If there’s no easy translation or transliteration, you may want to consider an entirely different brand or product name.

This is a massive step, of course, as it would require starting your branding efforts from scratch, and potentially affect customer retention at home as you attempt to expand abroad.

That’s why it’s important to consider localization from the startup phase. One of our best practices for global brand marketing is to internationalize your product information and slogans.

Again, to be on the safe side, we recommend using Option 2 – Original (Translation). This covers all your bases, although you’ll have to account for the potential extra characters and formatting when it comes to marketing materials and social media presence.

If your business doesn’t have the resources to create a localization team then outsourcing the localization work is your best option. You can rely on a language service provider to make your localization efforts more efficient and cheaper while also avoiding potential embarrassment.
Note from asker:
Thank you so much. I really appreciate your comprehensive reply, which will be useful for future translations. I am undecided still about how to translate 'Loisirs' though.
Bramhall, why be so nasty? Proper nouns actually can be translated, as in Praha -> Prague. Why imply 'AMM' is stupid? I am not aware of any disparaging comments. Keep your unkind comments to yourself.
Peer comment(s):

agree philgoddard : Travel Peace of Mind.
28 mins
thanks
neutral Emmanuella : Quid de Loisirs ? L'Asker y tient apparemment...
48 mins
I think the asker needs to look carefully at the policy to see how these are defined
neutral ormiston : The 'loisir' element should be rendered. Mind you, the text goes on to CV larify it so this is a mild neutral!
1 hr
thanks for being "mild"!
agree Andrew Bramhall : 'Peace of mind' covers it.Ironically, AMM thinks you can translate proper nouns, and inadvertently includes himself in the group he disparages in 1st sentence under'Explanation'!!!
2 hrs
Thanks but I have asked you before not to use your comments on my answers to swipe remarks at others. PLEASE keep them to yourself or post them elsewhere. Or maybe you could mobilise one of the Fox girls.
neutral Charlie Bavington : Agree entirely with not translating it. So disagree with having a translation of sorts in brackets after (hence neutral as balance!). I'd certainly describe it in () e.g. cover for leisure activities. Just not bother with a translation per se.
20 hrs
Ok that is one way
agree Mark Nathan
1 day 10 hrs
thanks
agree Daryo : Add this one to the list: advertising the Orange mobile phone network in Northern Ireland with the slogan "The future is Orange". // I would always add a translation - as it's meant for people who DO NOT understand French.
1 day 16 hrs
Thanks
agree Yvonne Gallagher : I think simply bracketed "travel insurance" is all that's needed when there is so little context re "loisirs"
1 day 20 hrs
thanks but I wonder whether that is already apparent and that this product is an option within travel insurance; asker to check
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-1
2 hrs

Serene Leisure Pursuits Insurance

It's not much good leaving the French title of such noble policy when many English readers haven't even studied the lingo or have forgotten their 'school French'.

Note that Americans pronounce leisure the 'entertaining way' of lee-zure.
Example sentence:

Serene Insurance Motor insurance covers includes Third Party Only Cover, Comprehensive Cover a... Learn more. Fire and Allied Perils. Our Standard Fire Policy

Peer comment(s):

neutral ormiston : It's not the leisure pursuits that are serene!
2 hrs
neutral AllegroTrans : Weird-sounding sentence. Bit like calling l'Arc de Triomphe Marble Arch on the basis that "English readers wouldn't understand". And what is serene about white water rafting?
2 hrs
disagree liz askew : SERENITE = name of product
3 hrs
neutral philgoddard : Even if you did translate it, and I don't think you should, 'serene' is way too literal.
23 hrs
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-1
5 hrs

All-inclusive/Comprehensive Cover Holiday Insurance

I like "Peace of Mind", and I think it's the kind of thing you might find in the marketing blurb of an insurance company. But I think you'd be less likely to find it as the title of a type of cover, or in the T&Cs. The point is, from a consumer's point of view, that you are paying substantially more than for standard cover, and that is the price of peace of mind.

But in fact I'm a little puzzled about how you describe it: because you seem to be saying that this is an option which can added on to a policy which is already "multi-risk". But, you seem to say, which describes some stuff which is already in that multi-risk policy.

The Loisirs thing, on the other hand, seems to be quite straightforward because of the words "avant et pendant le voyage" and "...annulation du voyage". Pretty categorical. Unless there's something to contradict this in the rest of your documents this would appear to be travel insurance.



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Note added at 5 heures (2024-02-14 21:10:03 GMT)
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... or rather "travel and everying during the holiday sandwiched by the travel" ...
Peer comment(s):

neutral AllegroTrans : Are you effectively saying that it's correct to "translate" a product name in this way?
1 hr
I would, with the agreement of the client. No insurance company wishing to sell a product in an English-speaking country will want to say "xxx (the French name), i.e. yyy (this is the English meaning)" EACH TIME they allude to the product.
disagree ph-b : I wouldn't use 'all inclusive/comprehensive' if tous risques is not mentioned in the source text.
1 day 3 mins
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2 days 34 mins

Leisure Pursuits Serenity Insurance

Hello

We can't leave it in French as this is an insurance package for an English speaking country
As the word "serenity" exists in English and makes sense here, there is no reason to omit it.
I'm sure the client would want a relatively parallel translation if possible and i think this is achieved in this suggestion
Peer comment(s):

neutral AllegroTrans : It's a product name, that's why it's capitalised - so leave in French and add a "translation" in brackets, however "serenity" is much too literal
4 days
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Reference comments

12 mins
Reference:

SERENITE = name of product

Peer comments on this reference comment:

agree AllegroTrans : Yes, I think variious insurers use this word as part of a product name
1 hr
agree Andrew Bramhall
2 hrs
disagree Mpoma : As AT says (or implies), this is a generic marketing term, not in any sense proprietary. "Peace of Mind" is a very good English equivalent.
5 hrs
agree philgoddard
1 day 1 hr
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