Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

centre commercial vs. galerie marchande

English translation:

shopping centre vs. shopping arcade

Added to glossary by Ken Fagan (X)
Sep 3, 2008 06:22
16 yrs ago
6 viewers *
French term

centre commercial vs. galerie marchande

French to English Bus/Financial Real Estate shopping centres - comm. lease
"A titre d'exemple, font partie des surfaces communes: les parkings, les voiries etablies dans le Centre Commercial, le mall, ou la galerie marchande, les toilettes publiques, les escaliers ou rampes, aires de dechargement communes, les surfaces plantees, les portes d'acces au Centre Commercial"
Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): writeaway

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Proposed translations

+8
21 mins
Selected

shopping centre vs. shopping arcade

My take on this is that "shopping centre" conveys a bunch of separate shops/supermarkets in the open air, while "arcade" conveys shops linked under a roofed area - and sounds much posher - e.g. Burlington Arcade running north from Picadilly in London. Just a suggestion ... don't know whether your context requires poshness.
Note from asker:
Hi Jenny, Thanks for your suggestion. "Posh" does not apply at all to this particular text.
Peer comment(s):

agree Sheila Wilson : A French shopping centre will typically have a hypermarket with an arcade of shops under the same roof, plus lots of other large stores such as DIY, furniture, IT, petrol station etc
12 mins
agree Emma Paulay : Yes, I agree with the suggestion. I'm not sure 'arcade' is always posher, but I don't think it matters.
24 mins
agree Nedyalka Valcheva (X) : you can also use shoppin passages, although it sounds a bit more techical
32 mins
neutral Tony M : I think the distinction you are making isn't really what is called for in the specific context here.
32 mins
agree Anthony Lines (X)
33 mins
neutral David BUICK : I agree with what Tony M says here, but not with the 'posh/non posh' distinction for this context.
40 mins
agree Clair Pickworth : why not, though am not entirely convinced that an 'arcade' is much posher-sounding. The local arcade in my hometown is far from chic!
2 hrs
agree Carlos Segura
5 hrs
agree Enrique Huber (X)
6 hrs
agree Jack Dunwell
10 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I'm not sure about this one, but since I'm not about to go against 8 peers...:) Thanks, Jenny"
11 mins

shopping centre vs public mall areas

I think "public mall areas" (alternatively "colonnades", but that seems a bit specific) would do for "galerie marchande" and I think "shopping centre" is suitably catch-all to cover everything in the list.
Note from asker:
thank you for your answer:)
Peer comment(s):

neutral writeaway : a centre commercial would be a shopping mall in USA speak
46 mins
yes but I think the point here is to find terms to distinguish the part (the galerie marchande) from the whole (including "voirie", etc).
neutral Emma Paulay : Maybe 'shopping centre v boutique areas'?
1 hr
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-1
13 mins

trade (or commercial) centre vs. shopping galleries (or shopping passages)

that´s how I would call these two terms
Note from asker:
thank you, Ellen:)
Peer comment(s):

disagree Tony M : 1) trade centre would be an inaccurate translation in EN; 2) 'gallery' sounds pretty unnatural in EN, and 'passages' would be completely wrong (unless describing certain quite specific geographic locations)
42 mins
sorry to contradict, but as to part two, _C
neutral Clair Pickworth : Well I have heard the term "trading estate" for big, out-of-town shopping areas but certainly not galleries or passages
2 hrs
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54 mins

shopping center (GB)/shopping mall (Am)

it covers both the hypermarket and the shops which are linked to it, under the same roof

mail (et non mall) ou galerie marchande: to be more precise, I'd say shopping center/shopping mall and the covered walks
Note from asker:
thank you, Swanda:)
Peer comment(s):

neutral writeaway : a galerie marchande can also be a small local shopping centre (UK-US is center). I lived in Versailles in a résidence with a small galerie marchande-a string of shops. nothing to do with a centre commericial like Vélizy 2.
12 mins
in this context there is no specific word for "galerie marchande", which is part of the shopping center. There are hypermarkets and shopping centers/malls which include both the hypermarket and the shops located under the same roof.
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1 hr

shopping center in England/shopping mall in the US versus shopping arcade

Shopping center denotes a group of shops including supermarket, brand name shops, small commerces, often a food court, often a petrol station. In US this is a mall. A shopping arcade denotes a number of shops gathered under one roof - usually a straight passage such as the Burlington Arcade in London - or in Paris is would be the "Passages" in the 9th arrondissement of Paris - cant remember the names right now.
Note from asker:
thank you:)
Peer comment(s):

neutral Tony M : Yes, but what about when the GM forms part of the overall CC?
51 mins
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2 hrs

retail park v shopping centre (walkways)

There doesn't seem to be a clear-cut solution. However, as Eutychus rightly points out, the CC includes 'voirie' here, so it might be better to move away from 'shopping centre' for that part. I presume that the ref to GM in the question is essentially the upkeep of the walkways so it might be best to say 'shopping centre walkways'.
Note from asker:
thank you, Emma:)
Peer comment(s):

neutral Tony M : But 'retail park' rather suggests an estate with several 'warehouse-style' large stores, which could be confusing here, if not downright misleading; that would be more a 'zone commerciale', for example
9 mins
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+1
1 hr

shopping centre [UK] / mall [US] vs. parade of shops

It's important not to lose sight of the fact that these terms mean different things according to how they are being used, so most of the answers on this page (with one notable exception!) could be right in different situations.

Here, I feel sure the distinction is being made between the shopping centre / mall as a whole, and the collection of usually slightly smaller shops / stores within it clsutering round the main hypermarket or whatever.

Do note, though, that (as has already been pointed out), the GM is sometimes used to refer to a simple parade of neighbourhood shops (i.e. independent of any one many store), which may also however be referred to as a 'centre commercial' without actually possessing any single 'main' store.

I don't believe in this instance there is any specific intention to refer to a 'shopping arcade' as in the Burlington Arcade etc., though of course that term GM is indeed sometimes used for such facilities.

I don't think there is any harm in saying 'parade of shops' even if it is within larger premises, though the term 'arcade' as suggested by Jenny may well be more natural-sounding.

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Note added at 2 hrs (2008-09-03 08:56:07 GMT)
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While 'tradING estate' is indeed sometimes used in the UK for what is perhaps more currently known as a 'retail park', 'tradE centre' simply won't do here, since in UK EN a specific distinction is made between 'trade' (i.e. professional suppliers, wholesalers, etc.) and 'retail' (i.e. intended for the general public) — the latter idea being what is intended by 'centre commercial' in FR.

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Note added at 2 hrs (2008-09-03 08:59:10 GMT)
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Re-reading Ken's question, I now feel that centre commercial / mall / galérie marchande are in fact referring to items regarded as equivalents in the list; the US term 'mall' seems to be coming into fashion over here for a shopping centre (without any specific distinction I can discern), and in this case, I think Clair's suggestion of 'shopping precinct' may well be the best solution.
Note from asker:
thanks, Tony:) I caved in to peer pressure (8 people agreed on an answer)
Peer comment(s):

agree Clair Pickworth : Yes, I agree with all that you're saying... shopping centre/mall certainly for the whole complex, although after it's a matter of choice - parade/arcade/precinct ... for the smaller cluster of shops
50 mins
Thanks, Clair! I am slightly wary of 'precinct' if it were used for the GM within a larger mall, but I don't believe that's the case here. You should post this as an answer!
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3 hrs

shopping centre vs. mall

These are not mutually exclusive because a shopping centre (property) may contain a covered galerie marchande (= 'mall') as well as free-standing stores.
It is true that 'mall' is now *almost* synonymous with 'shopping center' in the US, but only because most of this country has cold winters or hot summers or both, and so retail has moved indoors. Generally, 'mall' still implies a roof overhead -- with the signal exception of "strip mall", which is a good equivalent for French "retail park".

Note from asker:
thank you, RK!
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3 hrs

shopping centre, mall or precinct

On Tony's suggestion, I'm posting this suggestion.
I agree with Tony that the three terms given ("Centre Commercial, le mall, OU la galerie marchande") could well be refering to equivalents.
Ken, you no doubt have more information as to the exact nature of the complex in your document.

Just for reference, other terms and definitions included in this article:

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Shopping-centre

Note from asker:
thank you, Clair:)
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Reference comments

43 mins
Reference:

According to these definitions, a centre commercial includes a hypermarket or large specialised store whereas a galérie marchande doesn't necessarily. A centre commercial is covered whereas a galérie might not be. In my experience a CC is a much bigger affair than a galérie.
Peer comments on this reference comment:

agree writeaway : living and/or shopping in France is a help. Everyday terms.
11 mins
neutral David BUICK : if you look at the list in the question, isn't the point here that the "CC" covers the whole thing, superstore, car park and all, whereas the "GM" part covers just the indoor public shopping areas?
15 mins
Yes, you're absolutely right. Here, the GM is a part of the CC.
neutral Tony M : Not entirely; for one thing, a lot of little local shopping parades are referred to as CC, while the GM may well form part of the larger CC
41 mins
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