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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

déconfinement

English translation:

lifting lockdown / easing/lifting of restrictions

Added to glossary by Tony M
May 11, 2020 15:12
4 yrs ago
101 viewers *
French term

déconfinement

Non-PRO French to English Medical Medical (general) Covid-19 related restrictions
I'm amazed this hasn't been asked already given what's happening today! I'm translating a set of guidelines from a company for employees returning to the office as lockdown measures are eased. "Déconfinement" is the title of the document, used on its own as the front page, so I'd like something that isn't too wordy. So far I've got "Lockdown Lifting" but I'm not entirely happy with it and wonder if anyone has a better equivalent.

Thanks in advance for your help!

(I wasn't quite sure how to label the 'field' as it's very much a general everyday reality right now and didn't seem to fit any of the specific categories!)
Proposed translations (English)
4 +6 lifting lockdown
5 +3 Deconfinement
3 +4 Returning to work after lockdown
4 +2 Lifting of lockdown
4 +2 easing of lockdown restrictions
3 +2 lifting of restrictions
4 +1 Easing the lockdown
4 +1 unlockdown
4 Lifting lockdown
4 Lifting lockdown
3 easing of COVID-19 restrictions // easing of restrictions
2 recovery
Change log

May 11, 2020 20:19: Daryo changed "Field" from "Other" to "Medical" , "Field (write-in)" from "Covid-19 life during the epidemic" to "Covid-19 related restrictions"

May 25, 2020 06:12: Tony M Created KOG entry

Discussion

Yvonne Gallagher May 12, 2020:
@ Asker Hot off the press here (might help with your translation?)
COVID-19 Specific National Protocol for
Employers and Workers
The Return to Work Safely Protocol supports employers in putting in measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in their workplace when they open back up.

The Protocol helps employers adapt their workplace procedures and practices to comply fully with Covid-19 related health measures and sets out in clear terms the steps that need to be taken for a business to open back up.

The Protocol helps business owners in:

Developing their Covid-19 Response Plan
Developing policies and procedures to promptly identify and isolate potential Covid-19 cases in the workplace
Implementing Covid-19 prevention and control measures to reduce risk to workers
Issues related to hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, physical distancing, worker role and customer-facing roles
Developing, consulting, communicating and implementing these changes
Tony M May 12, 2020:
@ SafeTex et al Yes, confinement / deconfinement used in EN is clearly a direct calque of the terms used in FR — and it's important perhaps to remember that there probably isn't an elegant FR term available for 'lockdown'? On the other hand, 'confinement' in FR recalls the well-known term 'consignement à domicile', with which most lay people will be familiar.
I think 'confinement' may also have been chosen in FR as it more accurately represents the reality of the situation imposed over here, which is not 'literally' lockdown' in the original US sense of the word, with which we have sadly become all too familiar in recent years — but does connote a much more restrictive form of confinement. I think most modestly-educated EN speakers would be familair with the term 'solitary confinement', and so it wouldn't be either puzzling or inexplicable to them.
I'm sure EN people here in France use the term because it is (almost) the same as the FR term being used, therefore easy to assimilate.
SafeTex May 12, 2020:
Unlockdown and deconfinement Hello
Another interesting point is that when people started to use "lockdown" which sounds quite modern and cool, they obviously were not thinking of the opposite term which we now need.
"Unlockdown" sounds crap IMHO whereas the "confinement/deconfinement" pair work well.

I saw as someone said that "confinement" is used in physics but for the vast majority of us, it's associated more with "being confined to your quarters" which pretty much describes what happened.

I've just checked Australian newspapers and they too use deconfinement in speech marks when talking about France so it's like it's a French word but they know what it means. Interesting
Michael Grabczan-Grabowski May 11, 2020:
@Drmanu49 Exactly. It's a term made up by the English press in Québec or by some French-speaking Quebeckers, without realizing that they're talking about a phase of matter in physics. But because it's now probably widespread in Québec, the English-speaking population will have contextualized the term "deconfinement" to refer to the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

English speakers outside of Québec won't know what you're on about unless you happen to be speaking to someone who majored in physics. ;-)

I'll concede that languages constantly evolve and terms can vary between regions. However, in that case, a more descriptive translation approach should be used to appeal to a much wider audience.
Drmanu49 May 11, 2020:
None of my native English speaking friends/doctors use deconfinement.
SafeTex May 11, 2020:
Deconfinement I did check and it is used in some UK/US articles, albeit sometimes with speech marks.

I like "deconfinement" for practical reasons as it's Latin based and it would be very helpful for European countries if it were adopted in the future in its local forms

Therefore, does anyone happen to know what "deconfinement" is in other European languages?

In Swedish, they seem to use "släppa på karantänen" which is literally "release on quarantine".
Sarah Day (asker) May 11, 2020:
Looking at Libby's answer above, and all the agreements, I'm wondering whether "deconfinement" is indeed what English speakers living and working in France might be using, even though it isn't what we're using here in the UK. The document I'm translating is specifically for workers returning to French offices...
Drmanu49 May 11, 2020:
The field would be medicine IMHO.

Proposed translations

+6
7 mins
Selected

lifting lockdown

If you want to use your own suggestion, I'd certainly consider changing it from a noun 'lifting' qualified by 'lockdwon' (a typically FR construction!) and instead change it into a verb + noun construction (often more elegant in EN.

Otherwise, why not 'release from lockdown'? The use of 'lock' seems to invite 'release'.
Bear in mind that what we have been going through is not, strictly speaking, a 'lockdown', but more literally 'confinement' as used in FR; hence a few writers have been using 'deconfinement', which does have brevity in its favour, at least.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 mins (2020-05-11 15:28:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I think Jennifer's suggesting of 'easing' is best of all — since in truth, there are still certain restrictions, so it hasn't been 'lifted' entirely.
Likewise, I prefer Barbara"s use of 'restrictions', far less colourful and dramatic than the sensationalist (and now over-used) US term 'lockdown'.
Note from asker:
Ooh yes I like "lifting lockdown"! I was wondering whether to use "deconfinement" to try to make it as close as possible to the French situation, but I wasn't sure if this sounded a bit too translated as people here in the UK are using "lockdown" rather than "confinement" to talk about the current situation.
Peer comment(s):
agree katsy
1 hr
Thanks, Katsy!
agree Reuben Wright : This is also an equally good option for "deconfinement". I agree, "unlockdown" sounds ugly and incorrect and, in print, looks even more like a grammatical mistranslation. https://www.bbc.com/news/explainers-52575313
4 hrs
Thanks, Reuben!
agree Daryo : yes, it's got to be gone completely, otherwise it would be wrong to use the prefix "dé"// from what I read the "lockdown" in UK was kid's play compared to how it was done in FR - for s.o. living in FR "lockdown" will resonate.
4 hrs
Thanks, Daryo!
agree Yvonne Gallagher : Lifting lockdown and/or easing restrictions are 2 most common ways of saying this
10 hrs
Thanks, Yvonne!
agree erwan-l
17 hrs
Merci, Erwan !
agree Lyle Translations : Yes, 'lifting lockdown' and/or 'easing lockdown' are the most natural-sounding.
2 days 6 mins
Thanks, Lyle!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+2
7 mins

Lifting of lockdown

That's the phrase being used at the moment, or "relaxation of lockdown" is also possible
Note from asker:
Yes, my current working title is "Lockdown Lifting" based on what I'm used to hearing in the British press etc. but I still don't love it as a title! I think we just don't have a pithy one word way of saying it.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : I prefer 'relaxation', but I would try to avoid any construction using 'of', which almost always reeks of garlic ;-) I think Jennifer's 'easing' is also better still.
1 min
agree Jennifer White : either suggestion - or "easing" maybe.https://www.businesswest.co.uk/blog/will-prime-minister-anno...
2 mins
agree Paulina Sobelman : Lifting if it's complete or easing if it's in phases.
13 mins
Something went wrong...
+2
5 mins

lifting of restrictions

Not very literal, but that's what they're talking about.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 11 mins (2020-05-11 15:23:33 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

https://www.startribune.com/restrictions-could-be-lifted-on-...
Note from asker:
Yes indeed - I actually use this in the body of the translation, I just wondered if there was something better to use in the title, to make it less wordy.
Peer comment(s):
agree Tony M : I prefer 'restrictions' to any mention of 'lockdown', which seems a particularly sensationalist US term. Again, though, I prefer to try and get away from a too-French construction with 'of', by and large unnecessary. Jennifer's 'easing' is best of all.
5 mins
agree Alexandre Tissot
6 mins
Something went wrong...
25 mins

Lifting lockdown

Regardez les articles de la presse britannique concernant le déconfinement.
"Lifting lockdowns does not signal the end of COVID-19: WHO chief" source https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1062172

Reference:

https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1062172

Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : I did already suggest this some time earlier.
22 mins
neutral Yvonne Gallagher : Why duplicate?
10 hrs
Something went wrong...
26 mins

Lifting lockdown

Regardez les articles de la presse britannique sur ce sujet.
Reference:

https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1062172

Peer comment(s):
neutral writeaway : why post the same answer twice? And it was already posted earlier by someone else.
11 mins
Sorry for answering twice, but when I have submitted the first time, my answer didn't appear next to the other answers, so I've tried again. I think I have the right to give the same answer as another person. In fact there are 3 identical answers.
neutral Jennifer White : Roscsana - you should "agree" rather than post an identical answer. Proz etiquette!
46 mins
neutral Daryo : you know that you can delete the repeated answer posted by mistake? (or possibly both ...)
4 hrs
Something went wrong...
+2
24 mins

easing of lockdown restrictions

Not quite 'lifting', more like 'relaxing'...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 33 mins (2020-05-11 15:45:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Sorry, didn't see Jennifer's suggestion in the comments...
Reference:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-11/boris-johnson-announces-new-uk-coronavirus-lockdown-restrictions/12230824

Peer comment(s):
agree Tony M : Yes, I agree: 'easing ... restrictions' dilutes the use of 'lockdown'; still not too happy about including the often unnecessary 'of' though.
22 mins
Thanks!
agree writeaway
24 mins
Thanks!
disagree Drmanu49 : No, there is no longer any lockdown which is different IMO. AS Tony said lockdown is an absolute: on or off
31 mins
Yes, Johnson and Macron are struggling with that idea, too.
neutral Rocsana Guignaudeau : For me there is a difference between "easing of lockdown restrictions" and "lifting the lockdown". "Lifting...." has a larger sense than "Easing the restrictions of..."
34 mins
Yes, I agree. Not quite 'lifting', more like 'relaxing'...
disagree Daryo : "easing of" is simply "a bit less of it" NOT "it's gone for good" - as confirmed by the recent "easing" in UK
4 hrs
And yet, we talk here in France of déconfinement, and it is nowhere near completely gone.
agree Michael Grabczan-Grabowski : Would be easily understood by all. Suits the purpose of the text. A lockdown can have various stages of intensity, and the text refers to the intensity of the lockdown is going down a notch (i.e. not entirely.) Daryo: https://cnn.it/3coQY9T - Прочитајте
4 hrs
Thanks!
agree Yvonne Gallagher : Yes, to ease lockdown restrictions (no "of). ///But no, a lockdown is a lockdown. As for (de/)confinement, not seen in UK English other than within quotation marks
10 hrs
The entry is ‘easing lockdown restrictions´ for that reason. But in fact you can ease a lockdown.
Something went wrong...
+1
36 mins

Easing the lockdown

Perhaps one option...!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 43 mins (2020-05-11 15:55:24 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Alternatively: "Lockdown easing" (I prefer this way round).

"The First Minister earlier confirmed England's LOCKDOWN EASING does NOT apply in Scotland"
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/5545666/...
Example sentence:

"Boris Johnson speech: PM announces first EASING OF LOCKDOWN and sets out three-step plan"

"Boris Johnson's plan to EASE THE CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN"

Reference:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/boris-johnson-speech-live-end-lockdown-watch-coronavirus-address/

https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/boris-johnson-plan-ease-coronavirus-lockdown

Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : By its nature (and the reason it is the wrong term for what has been happening here) is that lockdown is an absolute: on or off; thus it cannot be 'eased' (whence the advantage of using 'restrictions')
13 mins
agree Michael Grabczan-Grabowski : I like this one, because you've added some poetic flair to it. "Easing the lockdown," i.e. making it easier for employees, not just easing the restrictions. Corporate communication is normally bland as plain rice, so some might object to the tone...
3 hrs
Thank you.
disagree Daryo : maybe when you select a meaning for "easing" that suits your purpose. The way the "easing of the lockdown" just REALLY happened in UK it definitely wasn't the end ot it - far from that. It's only a different dose of the same "cure", NOT quitting the cure.
4 hrs
neutral Yvonne Gallagher : You can't ease a lockdown
9 hrs
So maybe you should tell that to the British government and the UK National press. I didn't make the term up.
agree Lyle Translations : I've read quite a few news stories about this and 'easing' seems most common in the UK. The Financial Times uses it.
1 day 23 hrs
Thank you.
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+1
2 mins

unlockdown

• Chart: Unlockdown in Europe | Statista
www.statista.com › chart › dates-of-...
Traduire cette page
Unlockdown in Europe. by. Katharina Buchholz,. May 5, 2020. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Since mid-April, some Western European countries ...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 minutes (2020-05-11 15:14:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Coronavirus: 'Unlockdown' lessons from Ground Zero - world ...
www.hindustantimes.com › unlockd...
Traduire cette page
12 avr. 2020 - Coronavirus: 'Unlockdown' lessons from Ground Zero. Covid-19: Wuhan's reopening, starting April 8, is being watched by other countries for ...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 minutes (2020-05-11 15:27:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

This is the term we were told to use for the Infectious Diseases Dpt

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 59 minutes (2020-05-11 16:11:00 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

ExplainSpeaking: The big decision on the unlockdown, its ...
indianexpress.com › Explained
Traduire cette page
28 avr. 2020 - ExplainSpeaking: The big decision on the unlockdown, its scope and reach. The PM-CMs meeting will give broad indications of the future course ...
Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : Notwithstanding the fact that some people appear to be using it, I hate this ugly expression and don't think we should encourage it!
10 mins
I understand Tony but that is what we were told to use for the Infectious Diseases Dpt.
agree philgoddard : Tony may not like this, but I think it's about to become a part of our everyday vocabulary. Boris Johnson is using it, and it's starting to appear in the media. You heard it here first!
33 mins
Thank you Phil.
neutral writeaway : Cutesy-poo word invented by Boris: https://www.stylist.co.uk/life/boris-johnson-end-lockdown-tw... anything it sounds like non-native EuroSpeak and the downward spiral of the English language
45 mins
Definitely not invented by Boris and definitely the word we were instructed to use. You may not like it but it is the term you will have to bear with..
neutral Jennifer White : Haven't heard it used here in the UK and doubt it will become widely used. Awful.//No thanks. His bumbling drives me up the wall......
4 hrs
Listen to Boris Johnson.
neutral Reuben Wright : I am also not a fan of this coined term; despite usage it looks incorrect, especially in print. Note the use of quotes for "unlockdown": https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/06/keir-starmer-c...
4 hrs
neutral Keith Jackson : A new one to me. Reminds me of unbirthdays from AIWL.
5 hrs
neutral Daryo : maybe technically correct, but really sounds awful.
5 hrs
Yep but that's the term our editor told us to use.
neutral SafeTex : Very unlikely to become the right expression so it's a bit like flogging a dead horse if we use it (and no one wants to use it either) Nothing personal, I'm talking about the word and in general
8 hrs
neutral Yvonne Gallagher : No, no, no. That's awful. And we don't "have to bear with it at all". Haven't heard anyone use it, nor do I want to.
10 hrs
Something went wrong...
+4
1 hr

Returning to work after lockdown

Maybe I am going a bit far from the source but would it be possible to use something like this as the title of the document considering the context?
I would definitely translate this as lifting or easing of lockdown/restrictions/lockdown measures in other contexts but as I have understood it, the document is less about the lifting of measures as such and more about what measures the company is going to take now that the country is entering the process of 'déconfinement' and employees are coming back to work. I wonder if we might focus more on the return to work if naming this document in English?
Note from asker:
I think this is actually a very good idea in the context of my document. Thanks Eloise.
Peer comment(s):
agree Wolf Draeger : Spot on—or "Coming back to work" or even just "Back to work". Otherwise "easing/lifting" are the way to go, as you say.
5 hrs
agree Michael Grabczan-Grabowski : This is a very good option, considering the context. A title like déconfinement certainly necessitates going away from the source a bit.
6 hrs
agree Yvonne Gallagher : Yes, return to work as heading
9 hrs
agree Verginia Ophof
10 hrs
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1 hr

recovery

A slightly different option.

The title of the document published by the UK government this afternoon is
OUR PLAN TO REBUILD:
The UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy

Covid-19 : Des tests groupés pour un déconfinement plus rapide
https://www.polytechnique.edu/fr/content/covid-19-des-tests-...
Covid-19 : Group testing, key for a faster recovery
https://www.polytechnique.edu/en/content/covid-19-group-test...



Note from asker:
Thanks Alison for this hot off the press! Definitely useful to bear in mind for future translations although I don't think it fits the context of my document since it's specifically about the measures implemented for employees to return to work in their offices, so not about recovery as such. I'm actually thinking about simply using "Returning to Work" as my title.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Yvonne Gallagher : I thought recovery was about getting the economy going again?
9 hrs
Something went wrong...
+3
1 hr

Deconfinement

Perhaps this is region-specific, but here in Canada, this is the official term used by federal and provincial governments, as well as major media outlets.
Note from asker:
Here in the UK we haven't been using "confinement" so I guess this would work for Canada but maybe not in the European context. My dilemma is that I'm writing in British English but for a French company, so I need the word to refer to the French context but sound right for speakers of British English. It's a tough one!
I'm now starting to ask myself whether English speakers living and working in France (my audience) are likely to be using "confinement"/"deconfinement" even though this is not what's being used here in the UK...
Peer comment(s):
agree Tony M : And yes, I'd say it's very definitely being used by English-speakers around me here in France.
2 mins
Thank you.
agree SafeTex
18 mins
Thank you.
agree Reuben Wright
22 mins
Thank you.
agree John ANTHONY : It might not be as "academic" as required, but if under lockdown restrictions means £confined", then "deconfinement" gets my vote... We are just living through the experience today in France...!
49 mins
Thanks. Same here in Montreal. Worst region in all of Canada for number of cases.
neutral Michael Grabczan-Grabowski : It does appear to be region-specific. They opted to directly translate déconfinement in Québec. However, in English, it is a physics-related term. In Alberta, we say "easing of restrictions." // In reference to Québec only, yes. Not used in AB.
2 hrs
Check CBC, National Post, Globe and Mail. All nation-wide outlets.
disagree Yvonne Gallagher : It's a calque. Confinement has a different meaning in English than in its French use and hasn't been used to describe the Covid lockdown this side of the pond//I haven't seen it without quotation marks apart from French and Canadian news
17 hrs
I guess The Guardian is no longer a "(European) English" news source, then! "Deconfinement" is used in major new stories there as recently as today (4 hours ago) as well as on April 28, April 20, and April 2, 2020.
Something went wrong...
4 hrs

easing of COVID-19 restrictions // easing of restrictions

I was hesitant to add yet another suggestion to this long list, but it's fascinating to see how many different terms have come out in different parts of the world. It really is hot off the press.

Due to the context of the document being aimed at a company's employees, I would be a bit more descriptive and say "Easing of COVID-19 restrictions." As others have commented, terms can be very regional (i.e. "deconfinement," "unlockdown," etc.), but stating the essence of the meaning plainly and descriptively is probably your best bet. You want people to immediately understand what the topic is about and not leave people scratching their heads on the latest neologism.

I particularly want to take issue with "deconfinement," because it's not a word used in English, except in the context of physics. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deconfinement. After all, "lockdown" or "COVID-19 restrictions" haven't normally been referred to as "confinement." Also, I'd be wary of relying on what the media has been circulating around, as authors of articles aren't necessarily translators, and they readily adopt false friends (like in Québec with déconfinement/deconfinement.) English news outlets now refer to the process of easing restrictions in Québec as "deconfinement," which is such an obvious adoption of the word using a direct translation. However, it's a false friend. A French-ism, if you will. The opposite of an anglicism.

If you walked down the street in a town in England and you asked someone randomly, "What do you think of deconfinement?" Do you think they'd know right away what you're referring to? How about "What do you think of the easing of COVID-19 restrictions?" ;-)
Peer comment(s):
disagree Daryo : that would STILL be "confinement", just not at the same level / same intensity / same dose. // After yesterday's "easing" in UK there are still plenty of restrictions of all kind that haven't been lifted yet.
45 mins
Да, Дарио. An "easing" entails lifting restrictions in stages, not all at once. I recommend carefully understanding the words in English. Also, nobody in the English-speaking world refers to the restrictions as "confinement." Хвала вам.
agree Keith Jackson
59 mins
Thanks, Keith! I like your suggestion too, actually, but I forgot to 'agree' on it. They refer to it as the easing of "lockdown" or "COVID-19 restrictions" here in Alberta, Canada.
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