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gesprekspartner

English translation: communicate on equal terms/footing with

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

Dutch term or phrase:	een volwaardige gesprekspartner zijn
English translation:	communicate on equal terms/footing with
Entered by:	Kitty Brussaard

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00:23 Mar 16, 2009

Dutch to English translations [Non-PRO]
Bus/Financial - Management / Demand Management / Requirements Engineering

Dutch term or phrase: gesprekspartner

From the description of a course called 'Demand Management with Requirements':
Voor opdrachtgevers die een volwaardige *gesprekspartner* willen zijn van de IT-leverancier. Deze korte training geeft u handvatten om grip te krijgen op uw requirements en zicht op hoe uw IT-leverancier er mee omgaat.

I'm thinking along the lines of 'discussion partner' or - less literally - 'negotiating partner/party' but I'm not altogether confident that either of these are appropriate here. I would greatly appreciate your confirmation or more suitable alternatives!

Kitty Brussaard KudoZ activity Questions: 25 (none open) (1 closed without grading) Answers: 441 Netherlands
Local time: 22:00

to be on equal footing with; to be in a position to negotiate with

Explanation:
"een volwaardige gesprekspartner zijn" can be translated as "to be on equal footing with" or "to be in a position to negotiate with".
This depends on the context and on the message that is intended.

Selected response from:

KrisN
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:00

Grading comment

Thanks everybody! With so many good options, it wasn't easy to award the points. I've finally decided to use ' communicate on equal terms with' and added some of the other suggestions in a comment for my client.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +1

to be on equal footing with; to be in a position to negotiate with

KrisN

4 +1

Discussion partner

Andrew Howitt

3 +2

informed purchaser

lianne jm van de ven

Summary of reference entries provided

interlocutor

Dorine Oz

Answers

2 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

informed purchaser

Explanation:
In this case you could use "how to become an informed purchaser"
"Suppliers too were worried about this – businesses that were consulted realised that a better informed Purchaser almost always means a better Supplier-Purchaser relationship."
http://www.accredituk.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=...

lianne jm van de ven
United States
Local time: 16:00
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Dutch

7 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

Discussion partner

Explanation:
This is one you already chose for. In the context of the text, this is probably the best phrase to use because it is easy to understand and fits exactly. I too thought of "interlocuter" but this word and all of Rogets synomyms are words not exactly in every day use in English, let alon in the ICT world. Conclusion: Go for "Discussion partner" For volwardige you might use "fully fledged".

Andrew Howitt
Netherlands
Local time: 22:00
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English

9 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

to be on equal footing with; to be in a position to negotiate with

een volwaardige gesprekspartner zijn
to be on equal footing with; to be in a position to negotiate with

KrisN
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:00
Native speaker of:

Dutch,

English

Grading comment

Reference comments

18 mins

Reference: interlocutor

Reference information:
Sometimes this is fitting, but as I am not sure it is in this context, I did not submit it as answer. Other suggestions?

Reference: http://www.yourdictionary.com/interlocutor
Reference: http://reut-institute.org/en/Publication.aspx?PublicationId=...

Dorine Oz
United States
Native speaker of:

Dutch