# mention (relevé de notes universitaire)



## tina1606

Hi 
I would like to translate this sentence in English. i found it in french trascript and after mention has "la specialite et parcours." 

mention: langues et interculturalite..

I translated it as reference: languages and cross-cultural studies.
Is it correct?


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## carog

Maybe "mention" => "course of studies: languages ...."


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## Glasguensis

In an academic transcript, this means "distinction" or "merit". The subsequent text is the name of the subject or subjects in which the person earned the distinction.


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## carog

Glasguensis said:


> In an academic transcript, this means "distinction" or "merit". The subsequent text is the name of the subject or subjects in which the person earned the distinction.



I think in this case it's different, otherwise it would be "mention: bien" (or passable or très bien...). Here we have "mention: langues ...".


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## Glasguensis

carog said:


> I think in this case it's different, otherwise it would be "mention: bien" (or passable or très bien...). Here we have "mention: langues ...".


It's a list of the subjects where the person got any "mention". Where different types of "mention" are used (which is not always the case in higher education), it would be customary to specify, for example: Anglais I (bien), Anglais II (très bien),...


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## Kecha

I do not believe this is "mention" as "distinction" in this case. 

I had a "LLCE" diploma with "mention études anglophones" because you can get the same "LLCE" diploma with different courses and languages ("mention études ibériques" for instance). Nothing to do with my actual "distinction". 
Some example here: http://www.u-grenoble3.fr/version-f...ro-americaines-parcours-hispanique-71277.kjsp

Plus, in France, "mention" in the sense of "distinction" are awarded to the whole diploma (as they depend on the overall grade you had) not on a specific subject.


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## carog

Sorry to disagree Glasguensis, but I do think it means "course of studies" in this context.
Example here:


> Présentation générale et spécificités
> 
> La mention Langues et interculturalité s'inscrit dans une perspective comparative et interculturelle. Elle se situe entre la mention Langues, littératures et civilisations étrangères (LLCE) et la mention Langues étrangères appliquées (LEA). Elle est destinée aux étudiants qui souhaitent préparer un diplôme littéraire et se diriger vers d'autres secteurs professionnels que les métiers de l'enseignement. Cette mention est aussi accessible à un public en formation continue.


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## Glasguensis

Thanks! A form I had to fill in last week suddenly makes much more sense! I have no idea what the translation is though - I've never seen an English qualification constructed in this way. "Specialisation", perhaps?


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## carog

Glasguensis said:


> "Specialisation", perhaps?



The difficulty being that it is followed by "Spécialité:..." and then "Parcours: ...."


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## Glasguensis

Yes, that's why I was confused.


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## carog

I think "mention: ...." will be ultimately the title of the degree (licence or master). That's why I thought of "studies"...


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## tina1606

thank you for your interest.

I will write for you  as i found it in the relevede notes so you can understand better.

master: arts,lettres,langues
mention: langues et interculturalite
specialite: relations internationales et langues
parcours: etudes europeennes et gestion des projets europeens

Thank you for your help.
I'm very confused too..


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## Glasguensis

In the full context, I believe that in English you would say "subject". For example: _What is your degree subject? Modern Languages_


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## tina1606

It makes sense if i translate it as field of studies?
Thank you


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## Glasguensis

Personally I would use "field of studies" for "spécialité".


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## Malcius

I have a certificate to translate with 'Le diplôme de MASTER, SCIENCES, TECHNOLOGIES, SANTE à finalité PROFESSIONNELLE, Mention MECANIQUE, ENERGETIQUE ET INGENIERIE, spécialité GENIE CIVIL ET INFRASTRUCTURES mention assez bien est délivré à...'.

I'm going with '[...] specialism in CIVIL ENGINEERING AND INFRASTRUCTURE, is awarded to...'.
Would you agree?


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## tartopom

Yep, l'étudiant(e) a obtenu un master avec une mention assez bien.


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## Malcius

I've restructured it a little (closer to the source text):
'[...] specialism in CIVIL ENGINEERING AND INFRASTRUCTURE, with satisfactory distinction, is awarded to...'

I think this makes it clearer that the distinction is a grade rather having something to do with categorising the subject.


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## tartopom

Could we say:

With satisfactory distinction, the professional master's degree in S, T and H, in the subject of M, E and E, specialism in CE and I, is awarded to ..


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## Malcius

Grammatically, that would tie the distinction to the awarding, rather than to the degree. 
It's an annoyingly long sentence which makes most versions of the phrasing rather clunky.


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## tartopom

Would it work?

The certificate with satisfactory distinction of the professional master's degree in S, T and H, in the subject of ..., specialism in ..., is awarded to ..


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## Malcius

That sounds very unnatural, I'm afraid. 
In English, it's generally a case of the fewer clauses the better, so adding 'the certificate' really doesn't help. 
I think it is more streamlined to keep the distinction bit where I had it in my second version, which is roughly where it was in the French. The overall phrasing could perhaps be improved but I think I've got the clause order about right.


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## tartopom

Sorry for being so little helpful. I agree your second suggestion sounds better.


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## wildan1

Malcius said:


> specialism in CIVIL ENGINEERING AND INFRASTRUCTURE


"Specialism" is not the correct word for an academic transcript (I'm not sure it is an English word in any context!).

It would need to be reworded using the gerund: _*specializing* _[BE_ specialising_]_ in Civil Engineering and Infrastructure_, 

or in AE, _*majoring* in... _ to major in (academic subject)


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## Malcius

wildan1 said:


> "Specialism" is not the correct word for an academic transcript (I'm not sure it is an English word in any context!).
> 
> It would need to be reworded using the gerund: _*specializing* _[BE_ specialising_]_ in Civil Engineering and Infrastructure_,
> 
> or in AE, _*majoring* in... _ to major in (academic subject)


It may not be the best word for an academic transcript but it's definitely an English word:
*specialism* ([_pronunciation guide_]) NOUN the act or process of specialising in something, or the thing itself.  (Collins English Dictionary, sixth Edition 2003)
In the UK we don't have much in the way of Major/Minor courses. It's mostly single honours (you study a subject) or joint honours (you study two subjects with more or less equal weighting).


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Malcius said:


> I have a certificate to translate with 'Le diplôme de MASTER, SCIENCES, TECHNOLOGIES, SANTE à finalité PROFESSIONNELLE, Mention MECANIQUE, ENERGETIQUE ET INGENIERIE, spécialité GENIE CIVIL ET INFRASTRUCTURES mention assez bien est délivré à...'.
> 
> I'm going with '[...] specialism in CIVIL ENGINEERING AND INFRASTRUCTURE, is awarded to...'.
> Would you agree?



What I find puzzling in the quote in your post, Malcius, is the use of "Mention" and "mention" with (it seems to me) different meanings.


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## Locape

I think the first 'Mention Mécanique' means 'option', but I'd use the same term in French (Option Mécanique), so I don't know...


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## Malcius

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> What I find puzzling in the quote in your post, Malcius, is the use of "Mention" and "mention" with (it seems to me) different meanings.


That was my main reason for posting the phrase in this thread, as an example showing two different meanings of 'mention'.
Per your moniker, ain't translation fun?


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## Kecha

"MASTER, SCIENCES, TECHNOLOGIES, SANTE " is a very broad category (I mean look at these. You can go to very, very different jobs with these)
"Mention MECANIQUE, ENERGETIQUE ET INGENIERIE" is narrowing it down to a smaller category.
"spécialité GENIE CIVIL ET INFRASTRUCTURES" is showing which option the student chose.
"mention assez bien" shows how well the student did


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Merci, Kecha. Would "_filière_" fit in there somewhere?


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## Kecha

A "filière" is a rather broad category too, it could be considered to be at the Master STS level (although I'm still not sure what ties together sport teachers, lab technicians, risk assessors, and math teachers, except as "miscellanous science stuff that is sometimes related to health but not medicine").


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## Malcius

We use broad categories in English too. A Master of Science could encompass any of many different things as does a Master of Arts.


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