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Mar 6, 2014 19:11
10 yrs ago
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French term

housse / étui / coque

French to English Other Telecom(munications) Mobile phones
I'm translating some product descriptions for various smartphone accessories, for sale online. Housse, étui and coque are being used to describe the different phone holders, but I can't seem to see any consistency in the usage. Are these words used interchangeably, or are there subtle differences in the way they are used? In English, I think we tend to use the words cover or case, regardless of the type of cover. Any help greatly appreciated.

Discussion

philgoddard Mar 6, 2014:
I'd go with Gabrielle's suggestions and ask the customer to check that they're appropriate to the products.
Elizabeth Tamblin (asker) Mar 6, 2014:
The pictures aren't much help, I'm afraid, as there's one picture that seems to cover several different items.
philgoddard Mar 6, 2014:
I agree with Gabrielle too - but there are no hard-and-fast rules, which is why you're not finding much in the way of consistency. You just have to make sure that your translations are reasonably accurate descriptions of the products. Do you have pictures of them?
katsy Mar 6, 2014:
I'd agree with Gabrielle, that they're not totally interchangeable. the coque is either rigid or semi-rigid and encloses (usually) the back of the phone, leaving the screen free (and unprotected!). The étui or housse covers the whole thing, and although I'd agree that the étui should be stiffer than the housse, the pictures I've just looked at do not seem to bear this feeling out!
Elizabeth Tamblin (asker) Mar 6, 2014:
Thanks, Gabrielle. I've spent all day researching this. I've studied pictures of the various smartphone covers, but there doesn't seem to be much consistency in the usage of the three terms.
Gabrielle Leyden Mar 6, 2014:
not synonyms In my book, "housse" should be a soft sheath or cover, whereas "etui" is stiff (like eyeglass cases), and a "coque" is the rubbery or plastic shell that surrounds and protects the smartphone. I don't think the terms are totally interchangeable. Take a look on other websites! HTH
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