English translation: up to, in this case, 15 doctoral programs
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English to English translations [PRO] Education / Pedagogy
English term or phrase:with fewer than
Here is my context:
"UMSL faculty as a whole was ranked 5th among the nation’s top research universities with fewer than 15 doctoral programs by Academic Analytic’s Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index – immediately behind Boston College and Georgetown University."
I don't quite understand the structure here. Any help is much appreciated. TIA
The translation is fine ya Hany, but I don't think I should be awarding you the points, since this is not an Eng-Ar question. I hope you wouldn't get offended by that.
Yup, Hani, I did edit the language pair, because, like Fuad suggested, this might help more if I am not particularly looking for a certain term, but am only baffled by the construction for some reason or the other. But thanks for your input of course :)
You missed the changing of language pairs. It is now 'English to English' rather than 'English to Arabic' as it started. Does this solve the mystery for you?
This red sentence has adorned all KudoZ questions (as far as I can see) since yesterday (Friday). However, I have yet to find an explanation about it.
A Support Request wii not be answered until Monday morning, I think. Starting a thread on the KudoZ forum needs to be vetted (unless one is a fully paid-up experienced Site Member of ProZ.com and not just a Site User like we are).
So why not simply contact a Moderator? Or perhaps one is reading this anyway and can tell us.
Good morning (where it is morning) to everyone. I too am curious about the rule and would like to know what it means and where the box is for the future. Mediamatrix, you are absolutely right. University 15th in the ranking needs to be accounted for. We were all so fixed on fewer and less that no one noticed the discepancy. It sould read "with 15 or more". Thank you! I hope that in the end, the two answers and the following answers addressed the doubt that Noha had about the structure of the sentence.
"In order to post in the ask-the-asker box and peer grade other users' answers in this question, users should have at least 20 PRO points in the corresponding language pair."
Does anyone know anything about this sentence in red letters which I've just seen for the first time under the Discussion box? Is it perhaps a new regulation?
What is the "ask-the-asker box", anyway?
But even though Jenni's answer is correct, her explanation is wrong.
The ST means "Universities with 15 or more were not included in this index", not 'more than 15'.
(NB: I would have put this observation as a 'neutral' comment under Jenni's answer if the Kudoz system was (were?) not broken tonight, preventing me from giving peer gradings.)
I think what Noha was after was an explanation of the structure of the sentence. This I see has been covered quite successfully by Jenni. I think the issue relating to the difference between 'less than' and 'fewer' is a side issue. Isn't it?
Less and fewer are easy to mix up. They mean the same thing—the opposite of more—but you use them in different circumstances (1). The basic rule is that you use less with mass nouns and fewer with count nouns.
Count Nouns Versus Mass Nouns
Now I'm worried that I've scared you off, but it's easy to remember the difference between mass nouns and count nouns.
A count noun is just something you can count. I'm looking at my desk and I see books, pens, and M&M's. I can count all those things, so they are count nouns and the right word to use is fewer. I should eat fewer M&M's.
Mass nouns are just things that you can't count individually. Again, on my desk I see tape and clutter. These things can't be counted individually, so the right word to use is less. If I had less clutter, my desk would be cleaner. Another clue is that you don't make mass nouns plural: I would never say I have clutters on my desk or that I need more tapes to hold my book covers together.
To gain an understanding of the structure, post this question as English-English. You will be more likely to receive answers that directly address your concern.
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Answers
27 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +6
It refers to categories. The index tracked universities with less than 15 doctoral programs
Explanation: Universities with more than 15 were not included in this index.
Jenni Lukac Local time: 21:56 Works in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 12
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +6