Glossary entry

Dutch term or phrase:

stijlformule

English translation:

unfounded statement

Added to glossary by Emma Cox
May 13, 2005 11:15
19 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Dutch term

stijlformule

Dutch to English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
The text reads:

Uw uitnodiging de schade te begroten begrijp ik als een stijlformule aangezien de volledige zg. "Finger Zuid" waarvan jetway 341 beschadigt werd reeds jaren gebruik is en afgebroken word.

Can anyone help with "stijlformule"?
Change log

May 13, 2005 13:58: Laurens Landkroon changed "Level" from "Non-PRO" to "PRO"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

PRO (2): edith1, Laurens Landkroon

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Discussion

Non-ProZ.com May 13, 2005:
yes, once again I was typing faster than I was thinking...

but typos aside, can anyone come up with anything likely to be used in legal correspondence?
writeaway May 13, 2005:
Voor alle duidelijkheid?
Non-ProZ.com May 13, 2005:
A further piece of text (a letter responding to the previous sentence I posted) contains the following:

Voor alle duidelijk vermelden wij dat wij onze brieven niet vullen met stijlformules
Non-ProZ.com May 13, 2005:
Thanks Kenneth - I was typing without looking at what I'd written! It should say "buiten gebruik"

Ken Cox May 13, 2005:
Does (or should) that read '...buiten gebruik is...'?

Proposed translations

1 day 14 hrs
Selected

unfounded statement

Een "ongefundeerde / ongegronde verklaring of klacht".



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Note added at 1 day 14 hrs 37 mins (2005-05-15 01:53:45 GMT)
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Een voorbeeld van een zin, afkomstig van een Belgische ruimtelijke ordening website:
\"2. Een weerlegging met een stijlformule (b.v. het plan dient behouden te blijven), volstaat niet\".
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you, I think this definitely fits in best with the context."
2 hrs

stijlfiguur

De hele zin zou naar mijn mening anders moeten; bijv. kun je van een uitnodiging spreken in deze context? En "stijlformule"is ook al zoiets waar je niet mee kunt.............. (en als de schrijver een "stijlfiguur" bedoelt, waarom zegt hij/zij dan niet gewoon om welke het gaat ? )
Something went wrong...
+2
20 mins

token gesture

ie just going through the motions
my initial reaction.

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Note added at 5 hrs 56 mins (2005-05-13 17:12:43 GMT)
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token gestures, meaningless/empty gestures??? Admit it would be easier if one could see more text, but of course I understand that is not possible.

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Note added at 6 hrs 24 mins (2005-05-13 17:40:38 GMT)
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A stijlfiguur is a figure of speech. Could this have something to do with figures of speech or rhetorical devices? (I looked up stijlfiguur in the big Nl-Nl Van Dale and it seems to lead in that direction. (and so does Somerset\'s explanation).

figure of speech

A figure of speech, sometimes termed a rhetorical figure or device, or elocution, is a word or phrase that departs from straightforward, literal language. Figures of speech are often used and crafted for emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity. However, clarity may also suffer from their use.
http://www.answers.com/topic/figure-of-speech

Peer comment(s):

agree Ken Cox : Sounds reasonable; something along the lines of a polite but empty formality -- I suspect that the question is how much sarcasm should be dripping from the expression (and how elegantly)
2 hrs
agree Tina Vonhof (X)
4 hrs
Something went wrong...
1 day 1 hr

comment (not for points)

Judging from the only google hit for 'Finger Zuid', which relates to Zaventem Airport, the text is most likely Belgian, and so it shouldn't be surprising that the author uses 'stijlformule', which sounds very much like a literal translation of the French 'formule du style'.

I leave it up to Prozians with a better understanding of French to suggest an appropriate translation.

However, you could probably use 'figure of speech' (stijlfiguur). The other possiblities that occur to me are 'rhetorical expression' or 'something said only for the sake of form'. In any case, it seems clear that the first author is suggesting that the 'uitnodiging' was not to be understood literally and/or taken seriously, and the second author is denying this suggestion.

ref (FWIW):

l'épreuve écrite au bac
... Votre lettre aura la forme complète d'une lettre classique : elle commence par une formule du style "cher ami" et termine par une formule de politesse ...
www.vaucanson.org/espagnol/metodo/expression_ecrit.html
Peer comment(s):

neutral writeaway : this time I really think they are using the NL sense. a figure of speech is figure de rhétorique in French. A figure de style in French is a stylistic device. Imho, the NL 'stijlfiguur' combines them.....
20 hrs
Something went wrong...
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