# un mobile-home



## semiller

It seems like I have heard the franglais word "un mobile-home" said before. Is there another word that conveys the word for a trailer home (mobile home)? I'm not even for sure or not if there are mobile homes in Europe? Are there and if so, is the word "mobile-home" used?

*Moderator note: *multiple threads merged to create this one.  Please note that the fluidity -- some might say "imprecision" -- of modern English usage ("motor home" v.s. "mobile home") combined with geographical differences in housing and transportation habits (North America v.s. Europe) has led to a certain amount of confusion in this thread about the exact meaning and optimal translation.


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## CrazyFroggy

Yes, there are mobile homes in Europe. We use the word "mobile-home" in France. I don't think I've heard another word.

CF


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## Kendo

Here in Belgium, but I am sure it is the same in france

But I am not sure it is the same in the States

Caravane = caravan

Camping-car = is a tent into a little tow to truck with a car=    In english ???

Motor-Home = a little truck transformed like a caravan =   in english ???

Mobile-Home = real house movable by truck = Mobile home in english

Who can answer to that ?


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## valerie

Here is my version:

Une *caravane* is a mobile home you can pull with a car
Un *mobile-home * is not so mobile: You can rent it in campings, it is like a caravan (basic house for holidays), and usually they do stay where they are during years (they probably were pulled to the camping when bought). The concept is: build apartments near the beach very quickly, very cheap, and without any security/authorization issues,  and rent them as expensive as real apartments.
Un *camping car * is a small truck (pick-up?) with all equipment to live in (to sleep, to cook, etc...)
Une *caravane pliante * is the same than une caravane, but the walls are made of tissue, so that the roof can come down and the caravane catches less wind when pulled

I hope it helps


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## Kendo

in Belgium a camping-car is what valerie calls  "une caravane pliante". But I don't like his definition. 

It is more like a tent than a caravane ...


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## Gutenberg

Au Canada :

mobile home = maison transportable ; maison mobile


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## Nicomon

Actually... I have yet to hear _maison transportable_ and according to the GDT, this term is mostly used for a mobile home that sits on a platform, rather than wheels.
I also believe that some say mobile home, when they really mean motor home/ (house) trailer/camper

Now if I use above examples, for this Quebecer :

mobile home (park trailer home) = *maison mobile*
caravan (BE) camper/trailer (AE) = *roulotte* (caravane in Franco French)
motor home/camping car = *motorisé*, used as a noun (often called RV's = véhicules récréatifs)
camping trailer = *tente-roulotte* (caravane pliante in Franco French)


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## Gutenberg

Définition de "mobile home" *au Canada* (projet de loi C-70) _Chambre des communes du Canada_


> « maison mobile » Bâtiment, dont la fabrication et l'assemblage sont achevés ou achevés en grande partie, qui est équipé d'installations complètes de plomberie, d'électricité et de chauffage et conçu pour être déplacé jusqu'à un emplacement pour y être placé sur des fondations, raccordé à des installations de service et occupé à titre résidentiel. La présente définition exclut les véhicules et remorques conçus pour les loisirs, tels que les remorques de tourisme, les maisons motorisées et les tentes roulottes.


    « maison mobile » = "_mobile home_''

Definition of a mobile home *in the United States* :


> "“Mobile home” means a dwelling unit that is placed on a parcel other than the parcel where it is made or assembled, is equipped with the necessary service connections for the hook up of required utilities, may or may not require a permanent foundation as per manufacturer’s instruction (i.e., mobile homes and manufactured homes), and that does not meet the requirements of the applicable Building Codes. *This definition does not include recreational vehicles*."


Donc ce ne peut être une « caravane », mais bien ce que l'on appelle en Amérique une « maison mobile » (ou une maison transportable).


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## Cath.S.

Gutenberg, d'après cette dernière définition, je serais tentée de traduire (pour la France) par un _bungalow préfabriqué_, ou un_ préfabriqué_, peut-être. De plus l'image évoquée par ces mots est bien celle d'un mode de vie assez précaire.

Qu'en pensez-vous ?


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## jann

> "“Mobile home” means a dwelling unit that is placed on a parcel other than the parcel where it is made or assembled, ... *This definition does not include recreational vehicles*."


Et pourtant je vous assure qu'on dit couramment "mobile home" pour parler des caravanes aux USA... à tort, il semblerait, mais il n'y a qu'à regarder les résultats de cette recherche sur google pour confirmer !


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## Nicomon

Gutenberg said:


> *This definition does not include recreational vehicles*."
> Donc ce ne peut être une « caravane », mais bien ce que l'on appelle en Amérique une « maison mobile » (ou une maison transportable).


 
Just like I said above. RV's are motor homes not mobile homes. Mais bien des gens disent mobile home dans le sens de motorisé/*auto*caravane.  
Ce que j'ai compris, c'est qu'une caravane (tout court) - qu'on appelle au Québec une roulotte - est tractée par un véhicule; elle n'est pas motorisée.

egueule, on a aussi au Québec des maisons préfabriquée ou usinées, mais àma (je peux fort bien me tromper) elles sont moins rudimentaires que les maisons mobiles.


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## Keith Bradford

So as I understand it: an American _mobile home_ is someone's home, but it isn't mobile; whereas a _motor home_ is a motor, but it isn't a home...?

Er, right...


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## Cath.S.

Depuis ma dernière participation à ce fil, j'ai remarqué que _mobile home_ (nm) s'emploie, tel quel, de plus en plus souvent en France. 

Exemple tiré du journal Ouest-France :
L'incendie qui s'est déclaré dans la nuit de dimanche à lundi, dans un mobile-home occupé par une famille, serait d'origine accidentelle.

On rencontre aussi l'orthographe (erronée àmha) _mobi*l*-home_ telle que l'avait suggéré Valérie il y a quelques années.


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## mdb

Hi,
Can anyone suggest the best translation for _un mobil home _in the context of the little houses that you find on campsites. I've seen another thread that says _caravan_, which doesn't seem quite right as they can't be driven around as far as I know.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance!
mdb


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## Youbee

They are called mobile homes or static caravans. Sometimes people would shorten that to caravan if the context was obvious.


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## Frances029

In French you can say mobil-home too...     or maybe "chalet". It depends what it look like. There is some chalet in campsites too. But caravane is a trailer, it's smaller.


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## mdb

Again, thanks Frances029 but I want to translate *from *the French, which spoke of un mobil home. I think either mobile home or chalet will do the job in English.


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## Gutenberg

mdb said:


> Again, thanks Frances029 but I want to translate *from *the French, which spoke of un mobil home. I think either mobile home or chalet will do the job in English.



There is no such a thing as ''un mobil home'' in international French.


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## Keith Bradford

Youbee said:


> They are called mobile homes or static caravans. Sometimes people would shorten that to caravan if the context was obvious.





Personally, I go for _*static caravans*_; I can't bring myself to use such a logical impossibility as "mobile" for something that patently isn't.


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## Quaeitur

In the US these are often called _*trailers*_ and are found in trailer parks. (see wiki).


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## ragazzino

A mobile home is simply "une maison mobile" in French.

A "chalet" is a totally different thing and would translate as a "cottage" in most contexts.

You need to refer to Canadian French in this instance - European French is often clueless on North American realities.


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## JeanDeSponde

ragazzino said:


> A mobile home is simply "une maison mobile" in French. [...]
> You need to refer to Canadian French in this instance - European French is often clueless on North American realities.


So the Canadian French for _mobile home_ is_ m__aison mobile_...?


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## ragazzino

The officially approved term for _mobile home_ is _maison mobile_, yes, and I would apply it to all variants of French, not just Canadian French.

Please see this link for confirmation.


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## Youbee

They are called mobile homes because you can put them on a truck and take them to another caravan park. We send used old ones to the continent for immigrant housing. Un mobil home sounds like an anglicisim?  A chalet would be something like a small wooden structure and would not be used in the context you are talking about here.


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## JeanDeSponde

ragazzino said:


> The officially approved term for _mobile home_ is _maison mobile_, yes, and I would apply it to all variants of French, not just Canadian French.


My question was rather "is _maison mobile_ commonly used in everyday speech in Canada", not "what is the official term".
_Mobil(e) home_ is not recommended by the Académie, but this is how we say it in France.
The Académie, always efficient and accurate, actually gives the same recommendation ("autocaravane") for two different animals, _camping-car_ and _mobile home_. No wonder nobody listens to what they say...
As for me, I see no evil with _mobil(e) home_ in French. Anglicisms may be questioned when the same concept already exists with a French name, but _mobile homes_ things having been borrowed, why not borrow the name as well...?


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## ragazzino

Yes, _maison mobile_ is used in everyday speech in Canada, no one in their right mind would think to use _un mobile home_, it is a ludicrous and unjustified anglicism. The Académie has stopped being effective in protecting the French language a long time ago.

And be careful, again a sign that European French is often clueless on North American realities, _autocaravane_ and _maison mobile _are not the same thing. People take their _autocaravane_ with them on trips (and you can drive them), _maisons mobiles_ stay in one place for years or forever, but are mobile in the sense that they can be moved, if need be - they do not have foundations to the ground, unlike a regular home. You do not drive _maisons mobiles _and would need a heavy weight truck to tow them.

Please google both terms in Google Images.


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## John Butters

Selon COLLINS French/English dictionary c'est "Un mobile Home"


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## Moon Palace

[...] 
_Une maison mobile _may make sense in Canada, but it doesn't in French. If I heard _maison mobile, _I would think of a home that moves, not one that somebody may move. The thing is that dictionaries try to protect languages, but people speak and use the words they want. It is therefore a losing battle to go against the grain: many French authors have used the word _mobile-home_ in their novels, and I don't think the Académie or anybody can fight against this trend. It may not be gold, but at least it makes sense.


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## JeanDeSponde

[...]
Gutenberg gives us a valuable insight on _maison mobile_ in Canada. But, like it or not, what he said is not true (=applied, the norm, etc.) in France.

As the Engineer per my profile, I find _maison mobile_ rather misleading (see e.g. Keith's entries), and would rather say _maison transportable_ — lovers of precise words could argue that the Canadian option is _calquing_ the English down to its errors...


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## ragazzino

A mobile home isn't used for travelling, it is a home where people can live for years on end without ever moving, only it has no foundations to the ground, so it _can_ be moved, if need be, but you would need a crane or heavy equipment to do it. A mobile home is not like an autocaravane, only bigger, it is a house that is simply not built into the ground. There can be whole neighbourhoods of _maisons mobiles_ with streets and mail boxes, registered addresses and the like. It is _not_ a travelling vehicle. 

[...]

In this case, a _maison mobile_, as to reflect the North American sense of _mobile home__, _should be used.


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## CarlosRapido

Une maison préfabriquée (une 'prefab' dans l'usage courant) est une construction modulaire, produite en usine  pour être assemblée sur un site permanent et, au final, impossible à distinguer d'une maison construite de la manière traditionnelle.  Donc 'prefab' est 'out' pour traduire mobile home qui en France est bien une caravane et une maison mobile au Canada.

[...]


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## Moon Palace

ragazzino said:


> In this case, a _maison mobile_, as to reflect the North American sense of _mobile home__, _should be used.


[...] I have personally seen people buying this kind of accomodation (a house that is not supposed to be moved but can be if necessary, there is no fondation.... blablabla... ) as a holiday accomodation, because it is less expensive than a real house, and offers more comfort than a caravan. Interestingly, the manufacturers are ... American, and they sell "_des mobil-homes". 

_[...]


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