Do you like this kind of expressions?
Thread poster: jyuan_us
jyuan_us
jyuan_us  Identity Verified
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Feb 22, 2023

I came across this phrase "Aid Paid Pending." I did a Google search and I found its
definition. That's why I didn't place this as a Kudoz question.

Is “Aid Paid Pending” a clear English expression?



[Edited at 2023-02-22 19:51 GMT]


 
MollyRose
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nope Feb 22, 2023

I would have to look it up on the internet to find out what in the world they're talking about, unless I could tell by the context. It sounds awkward.

Philip Lees
Tom in London
Christine Andersen
 
jyuan_us
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Thank you for your input Feb 22, 2023

MollyRose wrote:

I would have to look it up on the internet to find out what in the world they're talking about, unless I could tell by the context. It sounds awkward.


I thought it was just me.


 
Michele Fauble
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Like it or not … Feb 23, 2023

that’s what it’s called.

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Jennifer Levey
Becca Resnik
Thayenga
 
Josep Vives (X)
Josep Vives (X)
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So it means Paid Aid - Pending? Feb 23, 2023

Just so I am clear, this is what it refers to, correct? What is it, some sort of public HC program?

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
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Like? Feb 23, 2023

Just as with many other expressions that we encounter, it’s not clear what it means, but our job is to translate, like it or not. Anyway, I might not like some words or certain expressions in my native language, but I wouldn’t use the verb ‘to like’ to talk about an expression in a different language and culture. Who am I to say I don’t like it?

 
jyuan_us
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Explanation Feb 23, 2023

I heard Americans use the verb "like" a lot. They use "like something" to really mean that thing is good. For example, they say "I like your shirt" other than "Your shirt is/looks good."

For the title of this thread, what I really wanted to ask was "Do you think this kind of expressions is good?" However, if I did literally phrase the question that way, it may
sound way too straightforward.

Hence, the title of the thread became "Do you like this kind of expression
... See more
I heard Americans use the verb "like" a lot. They use "like something" to really mean that thing is good. For example, they say "I like your shirt" other than "Your shirt is/looks good."

For the title of this thread, what I really wanted to ask was "Do you think this kind of expressions is good?" However, if I did literally phrase the question that way, it may
sound way too straightforward.

Hence, the title of the thread became "Do you like this kind of expressions?"
Collapse


 
Tom in London
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Like Feb 23, 2023

jyuan_us wrote:

I heard Americans use the verb "like" a lot.



They, like, also use it, like, a lot as, like, an interjection.

Many younger people for whom English is not their first language have been, like, learning to insert "like" in everything they, like, say. I find that, like, very sad, It's especially, like, jarring when watching interviews with young Ukranians.

The American novelist George Saunders is very good at dealing with this way of talking by Millennials - and very funny. But it must be (like) problematic translating him into other languages.

https://tinyurl.com/2qyxl52b

[Edited at 2023-02-23 10:08 GMT]


Josep Vives (X)
Tony Keily
 
jyuan_us
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"Swabable valve" as another example Feb 23, 2023

Someone put "Swabable valve" as a Kudoz question in the English - Chinese pair, and by searching the term online, I found more than 10 ProZ members had placed Kudoz questions about this term in various language pairs.

In my target language, it has been translated into many different ways, but most of them don't make sense, or are simply wrong.

I wonder why the original designer/engineer of the device chose such a term that many people would not understand. Isn't there
... See more
Someone put "Swabable valve" as a Kudoz question in the English - Chinese pair, and by searching the term online, I found more than 10 ProZ members had placed Kudoz questions about this term in various language pairs.

In my target language, it has been translated into many different ways, but most of them don't make sense, or are simply wrong.

I wonder why the original designer/engineer of the device chose such a term that many people would not understand. Isn't there any easier way to name the same part on the device?


[Edited at 2023-02-23 10:57 GMT]
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jyuan_us
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From the definitions on the websites, I guess Feb 23, 2023

Josep Vives wrote:

Just so I am clear, this is what it refers to, correct? What is it, some sort of public HC program?


It means something along the line of "the service (i.e., the health insurance benefit) that is covered by the health plan while the member's grievance is pending a decision."

Something like that.

[Edited at 2023-02-23 11:15 GMT]


Josep Vives (X)
 
MollyRose
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comma, context Feb 23, 2023

If it said, "Aid paid, pending a final decision," that would make some sense to a regular reader (unfamiliar with their jargon), rather than as a phrase by itself without a direct object.

Tom in London
 
Denis Fesik
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Elliptic language Feb 23, 2023

This expression lacks context to be readily understandable, but I didn't even have to read much about to understand how to translate it (with more than three words, alright). All I had to do was Google it and look through the search results. English is exceptionally good at handling elliptic language: you just put together a few words that describe a concept and put the imaginary "dot, dot, dot" in between them. "Dot, dot, dot" are the things the reader is supposed to know already. I once mentio... See more
This expression lacks context to be readily understandable, but I didn't even have to read much about to understand how to translate it (with more than three words, alright). All I had to do was Google it and look through the search results. English is exceptionally good at handling elliptic language: you just put together a few words that describe a concept and put the imaginary "dot, dot, dot" in between them. "Dot, dot, dot" are the things the reader is supposed to know already. I once mentioned real analysis and complex analysis (in a forum thread). Just how is the former analysis real, in what sense? If you translate it into Russian word-for-word, you'll get it wrong because it'll make no sense. Elliptic language doesn't work that well in Russian because of the different word forms: if you write "complex analysis," the words will match each other in form, so you'll get something like comprehensive analysis (of anything whatsoever), while in English, it's just an elliptic expression. In Russian, you're actually supposed to write "theory of functions of a real/complex variable." And none of the dictionaries I know of ever get it right (maybe there are mathematical dictionaries that do get it right, but I haven't read them). Which only goes to show English is not an easy language as soon as you get beyond the basics of itCollapse


Michele Fauble
P.L.F. Persio
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Christopher Schröder
 
jyuan_us
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I checked its Chinese translations on the internet Feb 25, 2023

In the Chinese websites of some health plans and/or insurance carriers, "aid paid pending" was translated into Chinese terms that makes zero sense, or that are misleading, even if the phrase is in a sufficient context.

I don't have the statistics, but a conservative estimate is that a majority of the organizations that use this term have had it incorrectly, inappropriately, or ambiguously translated into Chinese.

A phrase that can be misunderstood by many people, or th
... See more
In the Chinese websites of some health plans and/or insurance carriers, "aid paid pending" was translated into Chinese terms that makes zero sense, or that are misleading, even if the phrase is in a sufficient context.

I don't have the statistics, but a conservative estimate is that a majority of the organizations that use this term have had it incorrectly, inappropriately, or ambiguously translated into Chinese.

A phrase that can be misunderstood by many people, or that could give the reader a hard time, is at most a fuzzy one. There could be better ways to precisely express the same concept.
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jyuan_us
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Translation put aside Feb 25, 2023

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:

Just as with many other expressions that we encounter, it’s not clear what it means, but our job is to translate, like it or not. Anyway, I might not like some words or certain expressions in my native language, but I wouldn’t use the verb ‘to like’ to talk about an expression in a different language and culture. Who am I to say I don’t like it?


If you live in a country of your source language, and you are a member of the community to which the term in question is targeting, you should be well justified to dislike it if it takes you more than 5 minutes to do online research to understand it.


 


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Do you like this kind of expressions?






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