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Quelles sont leurs forces?

Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

a priori

English translation:

first

Added to glossary by PB Trans
Apr 4, 2005 23:26
19 yrs ago
14 viewers *
French term

a priori

Non-PRO French to English Other Business/Commerce (general) training session
I did find some answers in the glossary but I'm still not clear on the meaning here. I think it means "in broad terms" as opposed to "beforehand"??

Sommaire de discussions
Perceptions de réseautage

S.V.P. donnez vos perceptions de vos activités avec divers regroupements (associations, chambres de commerce, clubs sociaux et autres).

Notre groupe de discussions comprend .... personnes

Par un tour de table rapide, identifiez à priori:

1. A combien de groupements appartenez-vous?
(nombre) / Total du groupe

A 1 seul...
A 2 ...
Plus de 2 ...
Proposed translations (English)
4 +2 first identify
3 +5 at first sight
5 +1 preliminarily
4 +2 en premier lieu
4 +1 first
4 +1 a priori/in order of priority
3 +2 in principle
4 +1 start off by
3 -1 first and foremost

Discussion

Claire Cox Apr 5, 2005:
Cont: I don't think "in broad terms" works here, especially when the desired answer is expressed in simple numbers - you can't get broader than that! But maybe it's used as a starting point for further discussion, hence first and foremost or initially...
Claire Cox Apr 5, 2005:
Hi Pina - I think the fact that this phrase is in conjunction with a "tour de table rapide", suggests that it has been misused in the French, as the general consensus seems to be, and that there is a sense of priority here.
Leonid Gornik Apr 5, 2005:
I have been trabslating a priori as a priori (putting it in italic or underlning). And why not?
RHELLER Apr 5, 2005:
Pina, we use this latin phrase sometimes in the U.S. as well
Non-ProZ.com Apr 4, 2005:
Claire Could it be "as a general rule" or "in broad terms" since they ask for a "tour de table rapide"?
Non-ProZ.com Apr 4, 2005:
I would like to translate it, if possible. In the document, those 2 words are written in caps.
Non-ProZ.com Apr 4, 2005:
If you could translate "identifiez � priori"...

Proposed translations

+2
6 mins
Selected

first identify

in this case, I think à priori is from priority - first - give first priority though that's not the GDT's definition but that's my impression

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 14 hrs 32 mins (2005-04-05 13:58:29 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

small correction : first, identify (your activities)
it\'s certainly not in broad terms
Peer comment(s):
agree A-C Robertson (X)
6 mins
agree Charlie Bavington : or initially - I have a suspicion the French author may have slightly misused the term here.
9 mins
disagree Leonid Gornik : a priori has nothing to do with prioriy. It means that you do something before you know anything...
3 hrs
but that's a priority - first you do something, before you do something else
agree David Goward
4 hrs
agree DocT
22 hrs
disagree Daryo : "à priori is from priority" no it's not - "a priori" has NOTHING to do with any "priority=more important" it's ONLY about s.t. being "prior to/BEFORE" s.t. else. Here "do this before what comes next" -that might be far more important!
5241 days
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you all for your input. The explanations were very useful."
+1
2 mins

preliminarily

Or: it is Latin. Another alternative would be not to translate it
Peer comment(s):
neutral Charlie Bavington : Altho sometimes leaving latin terms as they are is an option, this one is nowhere near as common in English as it is in French and an average reader might not understand it
15 mins
Thanks, Charlie.
agree RHELLER : you could leave it in the original :-)
1 hr
Thanks, Rita. That's what I thought too.
Something went wrong...
+1
6 mins

first

or first of all
a priori=au premier abord=a premiere vue, tout de suite.
Peer comment(s):
agree Anna Maria Augustine (X)
22 mins
Something went wrong...
-1
9 mins

first and foremost

Horrible expression - my heart sinks when I come across these Latin phrases! I often translate this as "as a general rule", but that doesn't fit here. Depending on what follows, I wonder if you could use "first and foremost" (or just first?)?
Peer comment(s):
disagree Daryo : there is nothing "horrible" in using a term that had more than 20 centuries to acquire a well defined meaning.
5237 days
I think you'll find it's not used anywhere near as much in English as it is in French - just because an expression has been in use (in Latin?!) for centuries doesn't mean it is still in current use nowadays.
Something went wrong...
+1
27 mins

a priori/in order of priority

seems to be : identify in order of priority in context but we use it in the same way anyway so you can leave it.
Check this link
www.thefreedictionary.com/apriori
Peer comment(s):
agree RHELLER : keep original :-)
45 mins
Something went wrong...
+5
30 mins

at first sight

I've heard it used often in oral contexts like this, meetings etc., and this is what I understand it to mean, though exactly how to translate it in a literary way escapes me.

"Going quickly round the table, make an initial analysis of..." ???
Peer comment(s):
agree RHELLER : good option - "initially"
45 mins
Thanks, Rita!
agree TesCor -
1 hr
Thanks, Teresa!
agree Leonid Gornik : If you really want to get around the good old Latin, this is the best way to do it!
3 hrs
Thanks, leonid! Although I agree that it is 'good old Latin', in this register I think it sits uncomfortably in English; I have NEVER heard it used in a meeting or training session like this....
agree Assimina Vavoula
5 hrs
Thanks, npapd!
agree Julia Maitland : yeas, "at first sight" seems to be the most natural way of getting the idea across
7 hrs
Thanks a lot, Borderlands!
neutral Charlie Bavington : would usually agree with "at first sight" but as I say above, I think the author may have misused the term slightly, and probably just meant initially/first, as docPC suggested, so I'm only going neutral 'cos docPC said it first :-)
8 hrs
Thanks, CB! I think you're probably right, which is why my final suggestion of 'initial' possibly encapsulates both ideas
Something went wrong...
+2
48 mins

in principle

This seems to be one of those cases where a word or phrase jumps from written language into everyday speech and acquires new interpretations or nuances along the way. It's common now in articles, newscasts, interviews, etc.
Peer comment(s):
agree suezen
5 hrs
agree eileengreen
7 hrs
Something went wrong...
+2
53 mins

en premier lieu

a priori = locution adverbiale meaning "avant toute expérience"

in other word for your sentence : the first thing to be done which can replaced by : "en premier lieu" and translated by "identify first"
Peer comment(s):
agree Bruce Berger : An "a priori" is usually an assumption, supposition or presumption about something. The most common usage is closest to the US expression "at first glance", "in principle". In this case, since it follows "identifiez" it seems to mean "starting with".
16 mins
Merci
agree Daryo
5237 days
Something went wrong...
+1
4 hrs

start off by

...
Peer comment(s):
agree Daryo
5241 days
Something went wrong...
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