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se situer, c'est déjà progresser

English translation: self-assessment is progress per se

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:se situer, c'est déjà progresser
English translation:self-assessment is progress per se
Entered by: Sophie Raimondo

19:24 Feb 4, 2009
French to English translations [Non-PRO]
Marketing / Market Research / Sustainable development
French term or phrase: se situer, c'est déjà progresser
"Se situer, c'est déjà progresser".
Il s'agit d'un slogan pour promouvoir la notation des collectivités territoriales en matière de dévelopement durable.
Pour l'instant, j'ai: "Knowing where you stand is already a progress" ou "Assessment is progress", ou encore "assessment today is tomorrow's progress".

Des idées? Merci!
Sophie Raimondo
United States
Local time: 23:40
self-assessment is progress per se
Explanation:
self-assessment is progress per se.
or self-assessment is progress in itself
Selected response from:

Mostafa MOUHIBE
Morocco
Local time: 07:40
Grading comment
I think this is perfect for my text. Thank a lot.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +4Knowing where you are is a (jolly) good place to start
Tony M
4 +1self-assessment is progress per se
Mostafa MOUHIBE
4see explanation
Jessica Agullo (X)
4To be in position, is progress in itself
Jenn Mercer
4Having a sense of direction is progress alone
MatthewLaSon
4Knowing where you stand is taking a step in the right direction
Emma Paulay
3Situating yourself, is already progressing.
Lidia Saragaço
3taking stock of your situation is the first move/step forward
Euqinimod (X)
3If you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there. (see explanation)
Craig Macdonald


  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
revisions on the above
see explanation


Explanation:
yours are good options but two of them need a teeny bit of correction:
" knowing where you stand is already progress"
"assessment today is progress tomorrow" or "today's assessment is tomorrow's progress"
another option might be "assessment is the first step on the path to progress"

Jessica Agullo (X)
United States
Local time: 02:40
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Voir phrase SVP
Situating yourself, is already progressing.


Explanation:
I like your first suggestion best. Here is another.

Lidia Saragaço
Portugal
Local time: 07:40
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in PortuguesePortuguese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: Really doesn't sound at all natural in EN / Yup, it's all about brainstorming!
13 mins
  -> Quite agree Tony, just threw in more to add to the "Brainstorming" effect, thanks.
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34 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Voir phrase SVP
To be in position, is progress in itself


Explanation:
I would go with a rather loose translation of this in order to convey the concise nature of the original expression

Jenn Mercer
United States
Local time: 02:40
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: Yes, but 'to be in position' doesn't really mean much to my ears... and I'm certainly not sure that it accurately conveys the spirit of the source text.
28 mins
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Voir phrase SVP
taking stock of your situation is the first move/step forward


Explanation:
A suggestion.

Euqinimod (X)
Local time: 08:40
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 7
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
se situer, c\'est déjà progresser
If you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there. (see explanation)


Explanation:
You could turn it around, adding a phrase after this, to point out how the organization now DOES know where they are, and there is a specific road to take (for progress, etc).

"If you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there."

This might be from "Alice in Wonderland".

Craig Macdonald
United States
Local time: 01:40
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: I appreciate the sentiment in what you're seeking to say, but I can't help feeling that it would be counter-productive to introduce a negative idea here... particualrly as the 'slogan' format may not allow of subsequent explanation.
11 hrs
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
self-assessment is progress per se


Explanation:
self-assessment is progress per se.
or self-assessment is progress in itself

Mostafa MOUHIBE
Morocco
Local time: 07:40
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic
Grading comment
I think this is perfect for my text. Thank a lot.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Catherine Gilsenan: I really do like this second one (self-assessment is progress in itself")
12 mins
  -> thanks Catherine
neutral  Jenn Mercer: I like "progress in itself" but "per se" does not have the right connotations for me.
1 hr
  -> yes agree, I think my second option is the better
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Having a sense of direction is progress alone


Explanation:
Hello,

This is what I'd say.

MatthewLaSon
Local time: 02:40
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 58
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14 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Knowing where you stand is taking a step in the right direction


Explanation:
To take stock is to take a step in the right direction.
Taking stock is taking a step in the right direction.
Review is the first stop on the road to progress...

Emma Paulay
France
Local time: 08:40
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 75
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28 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
Se situer, c'est déjà progresser.
Knowing where you are is a (jolly) good place to start


Explanation:
I think this sort of slogan requires you to get away from the original, if you want to avoid its sounding 'clunky'.

I think my suggestion reads smoothly as natural-sounding EN, while retaining the concept behind the source text.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-02-04 20:26:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Although it sounds to me rather 'modern' and American, you might wish to consider a variant on the above:

"Knowing where you're at is a good place to start from"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day13 hrs (2009-02-06 09:05:20 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Right, Sophie... it would have helped a bit if you'd give us that rather crucial extra piece of context right from the start, so that we could have known where we were and not been all led up the garden path ;-)

Tony M
France
Local time: 08:40
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 134
Notes to answerer
Asker: I would pick your reply, Tony, in another context. I think it sounds best, out of all the proposal. But I know my client, and this is specifically about evaluation/assessement, as in receiving a rating. So i'll have to stick to something a bit closer to the original. Thanks a lot for the input though.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Craig Macdonald: It would be hard to beat this one.
21 mins
  -> Thanks a lot, Craig! Most kind...
agree  John Peterson: Although "jolly" always makes me think of this: http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/6280-Charles-Causley-I-Saw-A-Joll...
1 hr
  -> Thanks, John! / Nice one! For me, always conjures up "jolly hockeysticks!" and dear, departed Joyce Grenfell
neutral  MatthewLaSon: Sorry, I misread this last night. You didn't write it the way I thought you did (late last night LOL). It's ok, but it's not correct American English as you know. It's very colloquial, but it's acceptable for very informal language.
6 hrs
  -> Thanks, Matt! You're entitled to your minority opinion. 'to know where you're/it's at' seems to me to be a thoroughly American expression, no?
agree  Clair Pickworth: I'd go for your first suggestion (but without the "jolly" personally!
12 hrs
  -> Thanks, Clair! Yes, I agree, 'jolly' could only be used with great circumspection.
agree  Emma Paulay: To know where you are is to take a step in the right direction?
12 hrs
  -> Thanks, Emma! Personally, I prefer the gerund to the infinitive here, but it's purely a matter of personal preference, and I do lik 'step in the right direction'
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