Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
Au meilleur de ma connaissance et de mes croyances
English translation:
to the best of my knowledge and belief
French term
Au meilleur de ma connaissance et de mes croyances
5 +9 | to the best of my knowledge and beliefs | Barbara Cochran, MFA |
Jun 16, 2022 08:43: changed "Kudoz queue" from "In queue" to "Public"
Jun 16, 2022 11:24: Yana Dovgopol changed "Language pair" from "English to French" to "French"
Jun 16, 2022 11:25: Yana Dovgopol changed "Vetting" from "Needs Vetting" to "Vet OK"
Jun 16, 2022 12:00: writeaway changed "Language pair" from "French" to "French to English"
Jun 16, 2022 15:02: Tony M changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"
Jun 16, 2022 15:03: Tony M changed "Field" from "Bus/Financial" to "Other"
Jun 30, 2022 08:39: Barbara Cochran, MFA Created KOG entry
PRO (1): Daryo
Non-PRO (3): Conor McAuley, philgoddard, Tony M
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Proposed translations
to the best of my knowledge and beliefs
agree |
Conor McAuley
: Belief not beliefs. Plurals in French often translate as singulars in English.
14 mins
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Yes, I just confirmed you're right about that, and I did think twice about that very issue before I entered my translation. Thanks for your "agree".
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agree |
philgoddard
32 mins
|
Thanks, phil.
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agree |
abe(L)solano
51 mins
|
Gracias, abe(L).
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agree |
Tony M
: This is the correct EN version, although the FR given is in fact an improper translation of it. Thanks for pointing out my slips: I have severe eyesight problems, which make working on-screen sometimes difficult, especially when I'm very tired.
2 hrs
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Thanks, Tony. But in the meantime, you better check your spelling!/I do, too. My exclamation was meant as nothing more than a jocular comment from a former high school English teacher and spelling bee champ.
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agree |
Mpoma
: yup
5 hrs
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Thanks, Mpoma.
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agree |
AllegroTrans
: belief (singular)
7 hrs
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OK, thanks AT.
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agree |
Anastasia Kalantzi
7 hrs
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Thank you, Anastasia.
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agree |
Adrian MM.
: (religious) beliefs could be right in Indian context, but that has not been spelt out - too many assumptions made by non-Pro voters https://www.activeindiatours.com/travel-tips/beliefs-religio...
8 hrs
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Thanks, Adrian.
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agree |
Daryo
: belief // s.o. translating into EN should be able to recognise immediately what it is an approximative translation of - in that sense it's "non-pro". But it could be tricky for s.o. not familiar with legal jargon, so it's still a "pro" question.
1 day 28 mins
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Thanks, Daryo.
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Discussion
So a French speaker who doesn't speak a word of English, or has never heard "to the best of my knowledge and belief" used in context could very easily misinterpret what "croyances" is supposed to mean. I don't think that that translation could be tolerated for being a "self-correcting error".
1.
Action, fait de croire une chose vraie, vraisemblable ou possible.
La croyance à, en qqch.
Similar:
certitude
conviction
foi
2.
Ce que l'on croit (surtout en matière religieuse).
Croyances religieuses.
A bit like the rather obvious error of saying "to the best of my beliefs" (per Barbara's error). Wrong, but not so fatal that it wouldn't be understood
"to the best of my ... belief" is about "what I believe to have seen / heard" nothing to with beliefs = croyances (religious beliefs)
There is nothing wrong a priori with "literal" - there are plenty of very literal translations that are perfect, but definitively not this one.