13:59 Apr 16, 2011 

With all due respect to your extensive professional knowledge and experience in this field - which, incidentally, is on a par with my own - the context of asker's question is clearly not 'domestic TV dishes'.

It clearly refers either to a VSAT antenna, or to a point-to-point terrestrial link, maybe of the kind described in the webref I provided (which is basically a fancy wifi system). In either of these contexts (and in the terrestrial link scenario in particular) antennas resembling domestic TV 'dishes' are now the exception rather than the rule (parabolic grids or phased arrays are now the norm).

So, unless you are privy to some context which entirely rules out the option of a parabolic grid (or some other form of non-dish-like reflector) the translation should make it clear that it does specifically refer to a reflector in the form of a smooth dish, i.e. an 'assiette'. 'parabole' by itself does not convey this essential information.

13:10 Apr 16, 2011 

You only have to go into any TV shop, or call out the aerial erector, over here in France (and I'm not talking about FR-speaking Arab countries, for example) to see and hear nothing but 'parabole', and in the context of microwave or satellite communications, it is totally and utterly unambiguous.

All satellite reception antennæ for domestic use in the UK (for example) are referred to as 'dishes', regardless of their actual construction, and indeed of their precise shape.

'Dish' has nothing whatever to do with the smoothness of the surface — in essence, it simply refers to the fact that the surface is generally concave.

I agree that in the world of Goonhilly and other major users of big-time microwave communications, there are indeed other, more technical terms to describe the variety of different antennæ of this general type; but let's keep our feet firmly on the ground, here we're just tallking about a bog-standard 3' dish.

I totally refute R's criticism that "translating 'dish' as 'parabole' is like translating 'leopard' as 'cat'" — this is totally untrue, and misleading to asker, as well as casting a slur on my professional knowledge and experience in this field.

12:18 Apr 16, 2011 

I invite Tony and other detractors of the 'assiette' to have a look at this webref, and then confirm (or not, as the case may be) that the photo shows a 'parabole' - which is most certainly not a 'dish': http://www.antenna.theindiancenter.com/grid-parabolic-antenn...

Translating '3-foot dish' as 'parabole' is like translating 'leopard' as 'cat'. 'dish' means the reflector is not only in the form of a paraboloid, but also that it has a continuous smooth surface; other types of parabolic reflector may be in the form of a grid (as per my webref), a mesh (commonly used in C-band systems), or some other structure.

The English text refers to a 'dish', implying it has a smooth surface and 'parabolic' is understood because all 'dishes' are parabolic. Translating it as 'parabole' conveys the part of that information that is understood in English, but does not inform the reader that it has a smooth surface as distinct from a grid, mesh or other structure.