Glossary entry

Italian term or phrase:

mercificazione

English translation:

commodification / commoditization

Added to glossary by Adele Oliveri
Oct 20, 2009 17:37
14 yrs ago
3 viewers *
Italian term

mercificazione

Italian to English Tech/Engineering Architecture Book on what is happeingi in architecture.
Anybody got anything better ideas than commercialisation or commoditisation or should I compromise with one of these?
This is the context:
In questo quadro sempre più spesso prevalgono le specificità tecnico-impiantistiche, che relegano le determinazioni culturali e d’uso in una condizione di generica flessibilità – funzionale alle logiche di occupazione instabile dello spazio – e le componenti formali in una condizione di mera produttività di immagini prive di capacità correlative con i luoghi – coerenti e subalterne ai processi di **mercificazione** dell’architettura soggiogata dalle logiche di mercato e ridotta a simulacro virtuale."

Obviously the sense is that architects like prostitutes are being sold just like goods:
http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=desk...

La mercificazione della donna. Violenze e discriminazioni contro le donne nel mondo contemporaneo di Antonella Randazzo per www.disinformazione.it ...
Change log

Oct 20, 2009 17:39: Adele Oliveri changed "Language pair" from "English to Italian" to "Italian to English"

Oct 25, 2009 11:10: Adele Oliveri Created KOG entry

Discussion

James (Jim) Davis (asker) Oct 21, 2009:
Working links http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&num=100&q= women...
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&num=100&q=mercif...
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&num=100&q=commod...
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&num=100&q=commod...

Without the inverted commas around merchandization Google throws up hits for “merchandise” and close examination shows that it is merchandise in support of anti-violence protests and campaigns.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&num=100&q="merch...

I’ll leave it up for a few days yet.
P.s. nobody want to try and translate the sentence, just to put the term in its proper context of course?

Proposed translations

+3
4 mins
Selected

commodification / commoditization

I'd say commodification or commoditization, not commercialization.

http://it.stlawu.edu/~global/pagescapital/commodification.ht...

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Note added at 4 days (2009-10-25 11:08:56 GMT) Post-grading
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Pleasure!
Note from asker:
Thanks Adele, this is the word that was on the tip of my tongue, or rather the tips of my fingers but wouldn’t type out. However I did test it against all the other suggestions. The Google of mercificazione clearly shows the strong associations with the exploitation of women so I Googled each post together with the words women sexual violence (without inverted commas): http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&num=100&q=+women+violence+sexual&aq=f&oq=&aqi= http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&num=100&q=mercification+women+violence+sexual&aq=f&oq=&aqi= http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&num=100&q=commodification+women+violence+sexual&aq=f&oq=&aqi= http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&num=100&q=commoditization+women+violence+sexual&aq=f&oq=&aqi= Without the inverted commas around merchandization Google throws up hits for “merchandise” and close examination shows that it is merchandise in support of anti-violence protests and campaigns. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&num=100&q=%22merchandization%22+women+violence+discrimination&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi= I’ll leave it up for a few days yet. P.s. Nobody want to try and translate the sentence, just to put the term in its proper context of course?
See discussion for working links.
Peer comment(s):

agree Sylvia Gilbertson : I'd use commodification - nice Marxist touch there :-)
26 mins
thank you Sylvia ;-)
agree Tom in London : actually I think this is better than my own suggestion
16 hrs
Thank you Tom, very nice of you to say that :-)
agree nimopaz
2 days 3 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks Adele"
+2
4 mins

merchandisation

try this
Note from asker:
I feel that merchandising is too specific too connected to piggy-backing on a brand name Tom as football clubs do.
Thank you Tom
Peer comment(s):

agree Rachael Alexander : exactly, but maybe the verb, merchandising? That's what they are doing in effect
3 hrs
agree cynthiatesser
12 hrs
Something went wrong...
8 mins

commercialisation/commodification

I think it's going to have to be one of these
Note from asker:
Thank you Anne
Something went wrong...
37 mins

mercification

feel like I am inventing a word while we speak but no, it does exist and even in the architectural context of commodities....

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Note added at 16 hrs (2009-10-21 10:15:57 GMT)
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thanks - I was quite amazed to; i confused the meaning of merci with the religion...
Note from asker:
I didn't think to Google this one, but you're right it does exist and needs consideration.
Thank you Earnest
Something went wrong...
1 day 12 hrs

the treatment of architecture as a commodity

Jim, I'm suggesting this as a translation of the words: i processi di mercificazione dell’architettura

Clearly, as you have the words " soggiogata dalle logiche di mercato e ridotta a simulacro virtuale" qualifying the word architettura, the structure would be something like:

"the treatment of architecture - [qualifier] - as a commodity"
Note from asker:
Thanks John. In the end I actually used commodify, but I think Adele really deserves the points with commodification.
Something went wrong...
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