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numéro indigo

English translation: EUR x.xx per-minute charge

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:numéro indigo
English translation:EUR x.xx per-minute charge
Entered by: Pavlovna

18:30 Jul 5, 2007
French to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Telecom(munications) / type of toll number
French term or phrase: numéro indigo
I didn't find this in the glossary and thought it would make a good addition. This appears at the very bottom of the page of a company's letterhead stationery, right under "SARL au capital de..." and the RCS number:

"(number) numéro indigo : 0,99 F/mn"

This particular rate is given in francs because the document dates back to the pre-euro days. I'm wondering how this type of number differs from the other "color" numbers (azure, etc.) And what would be the most accurate and concise way to translate this for a US audience?

One definition I found for "numéro indigo" reads:

"Numéro de téléphone diffusé en France par France Telecom pour lequel la télécommunication a un coût unique quel que soit le point d’appel. Il fut initialement utilisé essentiellement par les vépécistes. Les autres opérateurs proposent des tarifications/ numéros équivalents."

http://www.emarketing.fr/Glossaire/ConsultGlossaire.asp?ID_G...

And if someone happens to know the best UK equivalent -- if indeed it is different from the US translation -- maybe they could provide that as well for the benefit of future glossary users?

Thanks in advance!
Pavlovna
Comment only, US perspective
Explanation:
To complement what Tony said, the telephone system is quite different in the United States and there is really no equivalent to an Indigo number, at least nothing which is so common. Americans who move to France for the first time are often quite surprised to that calling a business for information costs them money, since pretty much all business in the US have toll-free numbers (numéros verts in France). If you're calling within the US long distance your fee will depend on which company is your long-distance telephone provider (indeed, many even offer unlimited domestic long-distance for a monthly fee), so a flat fee that can be stated in the company's literature would not be given for an American company.

Thus for an American audience I would just gloss it entirely: Give the phone number and say "There is a FF 0.99 per-minute charge imposed by France Telecom for calling this number" or whatever is the case.
Selected response from:

Andrew Levine
United States
Local time: 22:22
Grading comment
I'm selecting this answer despite the "comment only" disclaimer because it contains the best solution for the US context. :-) Thanks Andrew! Thanks also to Tony for his excellent comments and to the agree-ers for their input. My text was old and so dealt with francs but I'm putting euros for the gloss since most of our future translations will talk about euros.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3Comment only, UK perspective
Tony M
5reduced rate call/number
mckinnc
3 +1Comment only, US perspective
Andrew Levine


  

Answers


9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
Comment only, UK perspective


Explanation:
I think the idea of giving these kinds of numbers names is a uniquely FR thing (in particular, there is 'numéro vert', which I think is a toll-free one)

I suggest you shouldn't even try to translate the 'proper name' (and in fact, in many instances, it is probably best simply left out), but instead, use the nearest cultural equivalent — after all, as long as the rate is stated, that's really all that matters — and in any case, it's probably acadmeic, if the reader of your translation is going to be abroad, since AFAIK these numbers only work from within FR anyway.

In the UK, we talk about (cost of a local call) and (national call rate) — the 'numéro vert' option is I think 'Freephone' (the only one I'm aware of actually having a specific name, and seems to be a proprietary one)

Of course, going the other way, we tend to call them 'premium-rate numbers', when the calls are MORE expensive than they would normally be expected to be.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 30 mins (2007-07-05 19:00:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Carlos has very helpfully pointed out that in the UK BT now refer to certain of this type of number as 'non-geographic' — however, if I understand their information correctly, this implies that calls to these numbers are charged at a standard national call rate; whereas with the FR n° indigo, azur, etc. some may be at national rate, while some may be at a local or intermediate rate — so clearly there is not a one-to-one equivalence here.

Tony M
France
Local time: 04:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 298

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Carlos Segura: I would agree that perhaps best left untouched, but just to add that BT in the UK use the term "non-geografic number" for these numbers (0845, 0870...). www.bt.com. Different rates in the UK too; 0870 is a rip-off, but 0845 lets you keep the shirt.
12 mins
  -> Thanks, Carlos! Oh yes, that's useful — though do note, here in FR some of them use differing call rates...
agree  Vicky Papaprodromou
25 mins
  -> Efharisto, Vicky!
agree  Richard Benham: As it happens, there was a question about Italian "numero nero" at another place recently, in which the Italian "numero verde" was also mentioned. So it is not specifically French, but perhaps specifically non-AngloPhone (sorry).
4 hrs
  -> Thanks, RB! That's interesting to know...
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Comment only, US perspective


Explanation:
To complement what Tony said, the telephone system is quite different in the United States and there is really no equivalent to an Indigo number, at least nothing which is so common. Americans who move to France for the first time are often quite surprised to that calling a business for information costs them money, since pretty much all business in the US have toll-free numbers (numéros verts in France). If you're calling within the US long distance your fee will depend on which company is your long-distance telephone provider (indeed, many even offer unlimited domestic long-distance for a monthly fee), so a flat fee that can be stated in the company's literature would not be given for an American company.

Thus for an American audience I would just gloss it entirely: Give the phone number and say "There is a FF 0.99 per-minute charge imposed by France Telecom for calling this number" or whatever is the case.

Andrew Levine
United States
Local time: 22:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
I'm selecting this answer despite the "comment only" disclaimer because it contains the best solution for the US context. :-) Thanks Andrew! Thanks also to Tony for his excellent comments and to the agree-ers for their input. My text was old and so dealt with francs but I'm putting euros for the gloss since most of our future translations will talk about euros.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tony M: Good comments and solution!
28 mins
  -> thank you
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23 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
reduced rate call/number


Explanation:
http://www.dossierfamilial.com/html/art_311.html

This site describes the charges for numéros verts, azurs and indigos.

Indigo carries three different tariffs depending on the precise prefix used, 0820 20, 0820, 0825.

In the UK, we talk about the likes of 0800 numbers, and if no charge is incurred, we say, for example, freephone 0800.

mckinnc
Local time: 04:22
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 27

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: But the point is, they are not *necessarily* "reduced rate" — e.g. if you dial a 'national rate number' from the building next door to the firm you are calling, you will be paying a trunk rate that would be *dearer* than the local call might have cost
1 hr
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