kashew Nov 21, 2013:

I agree with Tony "ou" = "et" as often in French Installer and these guys:
http://www.prefanor.com/etude-conception-technique-installat...

Didier Fourcot Nov 21, 2013:

@Tony Ambiguous means that different ersons may understand differently, you demonstrate that one can understand one way, if it was my translation I should ask the customer or writer

Tony M Nov 20, 2013:

@ Didier I agree, up to a point — but one must not lose sight of the fact that the 'ou' comes at the end of a list of several jobs, in a way that would more usually be rendered as 'and' in EN; I don't see any logic or necessity here for any explanation of the meaning of 'installateur'. And I think the 'pieuvriste' would have just as much need to be involved in this list of names.
Where an alternative might be involved is perhaps more likely if there is either an 'installateur' or a 'pieuvriste' — depending on the nature of the project, for example. The wiring might be installed in a conventional manner by an electrical installation engineer, or might be pre-fabricated by a 'pieuvriste'. That seems to me a more logical meaning of 'ou' here.

Didier Fourcot Nov 20, 2013:

@Tony The question boils down to the meaning of "ou" in "installateur ou pieuvriste", this may mean "installateur aussi dénommé pieuvriste", or "l'installateur mais aussi le pieuvriste"

Préfanor se prétend sur son site "Pieuvriste et fabriquant d'installation électrique préfabriquée" (remarquez la faute d'orthographe à fabricant, pas fort pour une entreprise qui se présente comme française):
http://www.prefanor.com/

D'un autre côté "installateur ou pieuvriste" me parait plus approprié pour "la coordination des projets en cours": le fabricant de la pieuvre n'est pas concerné par cette coordination

Donc je maintiens: je trouve la formulation ambiguë

Tony M Nov 20, 2013:

@ Didier I agree with what you are saying, but do note that they menation the pieuvriste AND the installer, which strongly supports my own instinctive reading that it is the (clever) pieuvriste who make up the thing and the (dumb!) installer who merely installs it! My neighbour is currently doing this as part of building his own house — and they don't come much dumber ;-)

Didier Fourcot Nov 20, 2013:

Reste à trouver l'équivalent en anglais Sites de fabricants:
http://www.fabricant-pieuvre-electrique.com/
http://www.axline.fr/lelectricite/3567868
http://www.pieuvres-electriques.fr/

Didier Fourcot Nov 20, 2013:

poseur de la pieuvre ou fabricant de la pieuvre? La "pieuvre" est le plus souvent fabriquée sur mesure à partir des plans, donc le terme de pieuvriste me paraît ambigu.
Pour un traducteur garder l'ambiguïté ça peut aussi se défendre, donc "contractor" me semble pouvoir s'appliquer dans les deux cas, reste que j'aime mieux comprendre quand je traduis, mais quand la source est peu claire...

Tony M Nov 20, 2013:

pieuvre is the special kind of wiring 'loom' or 'harness' that is used in a lot of buildings these days; it is prepared in advance, with all the various wires, cables, etc. (hence why it looks a bit like an ungainly octopus!), which is then quicker and simpler to install than running conduits and cables individually -- at least in theory, if everything goes according to plan!