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prove, controlli, collaudi

English translation: tests, checks and inspections

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Italian term or phrase:prove, controlli, collaudi
English translation:tests, checks and inspections
Entered by: Juliet Halewood (X)

10:52 Mar 31, 2007
Italian to English translations [PRO]
Science - Other / Quality assurance
Italian term or phrase: prove, controlli, collaudi
The title of a procedure for determining the pH of various substances in a laboratory - part of the Quality Assurance Department.

I always get very confused with these words and never know what to use. Could somebody also explain the difference in meaning between them? Thanks in advance for any help. Jules
Juliet Halewood (X)
Local time: 01:19
tests, checks and inspections
Explanation:
I have to say, sometimes they are used as synonyms, mainly "prove" & "controlli" and also "controlli" & "collaudi", and sometimes the difference can be a really fine line, but generally speaking you could say that:

PROVA (TEST) - ciò che si fa per dimostrare la qualità e la natura di una cosa (Garzanti) - A procedure in which the performance of a product is measured under various conditions (McGraw-Hill)

CONTROLLO (CHECK) - verifica, ispezione (Garzanti) - "the act of testing or verifying", also "a close look at or over someone or something in order to judge condition" (Merriam Webster)

COLLAUDO (INSPECTION) - verifica sperimentale o controllo di efficienza operativa di materiali, macchine, impianti ee., per accertarne l'idoneità all'uso o la conformità ai requisiti fissati da norme (Garzanti) - critical examination of a product to determine its conformance to applicable quality standards or speicifcations (McGraw-Hill)

I also had a look on the net for these words related to lab test and pH tests. This is just one example for each word, but I found quite a few:
http://www.alkalizeforhealth.net/salivaphtest.htm
http://www.dnepharm.com/cgi-bin/dnestore/10114247.html
http://www.civision.com/lomax_ph/

Hope this helps! Cheers!
Selected response from:

Manuela Ferrari
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:19
Grading comment
Thanks, Manuela!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +4tests, checks and inspections
Manuela Ferrari
5tests, inspections and controls
James (Jim) Davis
4trials, control checks and tests
Ivana UK
4test, inspection and trial (runs)
Rosanna Palermo


  

Answers


52 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
tests, inspections and controls


Explanation:
Or just tests and one of the others. If the collaudo was for a whole plant you could talk of commissioning, but it is common practice in Italian to make the list as long and redundant as possible, for good measure.

James (Jim) Davis
Seychelles
Local time: 03:19
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 299
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58 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +4
tests, checks and inspections


Explanation:
I have to say, sometimes they are used as synonyms, mainly "prove" & "controlli" and also "controlli" & "collaudi", and sometimes the difference can be a really fine line, but generally speaking you could say that:

PROVA (TEST) - ciò che si fa per dimostrare la qualità e la natura di una cosa (Garzanti) - A procedure in which the performance of a product is measured under various conditions (McGraw-Hill)

CONTROLLO (CHECK) - verifica, ispezione (Garzanti) - "the act of testing or verifying", also "a close look at or over someone or something in order to judge condition" (Merriam Webster)

COLLAUDO (INSPECTION) - verifica sperimentale o controllo di efficienza operativa di materiali, macchine, impianti ee., per accertarne l'idoneità all'uso o la conformità ai requisiti fissati da norme (Garzanti) - critical examination of a product to determine its conformance to applicable quality standards or speicifcations (McGraw-Hill)

I also had a look on the net for these words related to lab test and pH tests. This is just one example for each word, but I found quite a few:
http://www.alkalizeforhealth.net/salivaphtest.htm
http://www.dnepharm.com/cgi-bin/dnestore/10114247.html
http://www.civision.com/lomax_ph/

Hope this helps! Cheers!

Manuela Ferrari
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:19
Works in field
Native speaker of: Italian
PRO pts in category: 15
Grading comment
Thanks, Manuela!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Luisa Fiorini
14 mins
  -> grazie Luisa! :-)
agree  Hebat-Allah El Ashmawy
2 hrs
  -> grazie Hebat-Allah! :-)
agree  Serena Tutino
7 hrs
  -> grazie Serena! :-)
agree  roni_roni
7 hrs
  -> grazie roni! :-)
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

57 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
trials, control checks and tests


Explanation:
although "collaudi" can also translate as "review", "inspections" or even "type approval" in other contexts.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2007-03-31 11:53:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

prove also translates as tests (I chose trials simply to differentiate between collaudi but as James said, in Italian they often choose to use more words than strictly necessary!)

Ivana UK
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:19
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in category: 76
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
test, inspection and trial (runs)


Explanation:
test = does the material meet specification and if so where does it fall within the stated parameters; think water or even blood testing, what does it contain, at what levels.
It describes the action of checking something for proper function as well as contents and properties.

inspection= used for checking that machinery is properly operating over time. Also used when receiving material in a warehouse to insure integrity. A "visual receiving inspection" is often used before a truckload of merchandise is accepted - they look for broken skids, crushed boxes or anything that may indicate that the material has been mishandled (and if so the product is probably damaged)

Also think "periodic inspection" such as on a car, on a furnace, or a house inspection to insure integrity before its sold.
Your yearly medical exam is technically an inspection of your body's condition to make sure everything is working properly

Trial = usually in a mechanical context. Think about new model vehicle testing or in general, prototypes; it involves checking something that is totally new and testing its performance. Think "trial run" for prototypes. These are new products that meet specifications but have not been made operative in the field.
While I was working with shaft assemblies for major international copier and printer companies, we would provide them with prototypes for their "trial run"they would put the assemblies in the newly designed copiers/printers and operate them to insure they functioned properly.
After "testing" the customer would send us approval to begin full production, so you can see how the terms can be interchangeable sometimes

I hope this helped you out..
:o)

Rosanna Palermo
Local time: 19:19
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 81
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