Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
home business line
English answer:
(keep in contact with) the (business) office in their home country
Added to glossary by
Yvonne Gallagher
Jul 24, 2014 13:46
10 yrs ago
3 viewers *
English term
home business line
English
Bus/Financial
Human Resources
I'm editing a policy document written by a non-native speaker. It states that during assignments abroad, employees are responsible for maintaining contact with "the home business line" (i.e. in their home country). Is this use of "business line" an established thing? It's not something I'm familiar with, and I'm wondering if it's clear to someone first reading it.
Change log
Jul 30, 2014 21:30: Yvonne Gallagher Created KOG entry
Responses
+1
1 hr
Selected
(keep in contact with) the (business) office in their home country
I think this is a far clearer and more natural way to say it.
or
must maintain direct ongoing contact with the office (business) in their home country when abroad
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2014-07-24 15:27:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I think "office" is enough and that business is not required but you could say "business office/office of the business/company office"
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2014-07-24 15:37:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
sorry of course I forgot to put (...contact) BY TELEPHONE above
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2014-07-24 16:55:43 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
so is this line in business or phone line?
Anyway, in either case, when abroad, the Rep. will be keeping in contact with the office in their home country
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 days (2014-07-30 21:19:04 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
Glad to have helped:-)
or
must maintain direct ongoing contact with the office (business) in their home country when abroad
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2014-07-24 15:27:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I think "office" is enough and that business is not required but you could say "business office/office of the business/company office"
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2014-07-24 15:37:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
sorry of course I forgot to put (...contact) BY TELEPHONE above
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2014-07-24 16:55:43 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
so is this line in business or phone line?
Anyway, in either case, when abroad, the Rep. will be keeping in contact with the office in their home country
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 days (2014-07-30 21:19:04 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
Glad to have helped:-)
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Tony M
: I don't think the 'by telephone' is necessary; I think that is the whole thrust of Asker's question: whether in fact 'line is normal if it DOESN'T mean 'by telephone' — and I think this is in fact the non-native error; I'm not quite sure WHAT line means.
53 mins
|
yes, indeed. It is far more likely"line in business" as David says rather than phone line so best omitted
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "This seemed like by far the most likely and least awkward option, so I went with this in the end. Thanks so much!"
+1
47 mins
keep in (telephone) contact with the national headquarters
Covering all the bases.
Peer comment(s):
neutral |
writeaway
: not necessarily national.
15 mins
|
Quite possibly.
|
|
agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
: Agree with writeaway. Headquarters maybe for a very large company but I would suggest 'home office'.
39 mins
|
Thanks for a constructive comment, Tina.
|
|
disagree |
Yvonne Gallagher
: HQ isn't mentioned so this is over-translation and "national" is incorrect as well//"national" doesn't mean "home country" and "illegible" is also not correct word here
1 hr
|
This is not a translation but an interpretation: the original is illegible. The Asker insisted on home, hone country.
|
|
agree |
acetran
2 hrs
|
Great thanks, acetran.
|
1 hr
English term (edited):
contact with the home business line
telephone contact with the home business
If you maintain contact with a line it means you keep in touch by phone (with that number).
I think this is a much clearer phrasing, though you could of course turn it around to say "contact with the home business by phone" or something similar.
I think this is a much clearer phrasing, though you could of course turn it around to say "contact with the home business by phone" or something similar.
+1
2 hrs
remain in contact with their base
I think everything hinges around just HOW non-native this is; 'keep in contact with the ... business line' is not at all a normal way of saying 'keep in touch by telephone' — you use a 'telephone line' to keep in touch with someone or something.
So is there any specific intention of telephoning here, or not? I remain unconvinced; in which case, the use of 'business line' to mean (say) the office is definitely weird.
So is there any specific intention of telephoning here, or not? I remain unconvinced; in which case, the use of 'business line' to mean (say) the office is definitely weird.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Sheri P
: This seems the safest bet, considering the ambiguity of the ST
10 hrs
|
Thanks, Sheri!
|
Discussion
"Oh, we sell office furniture/prepacked vegetables/second-hand cars/hardware", or anything else you care to suggest. Take care in case THIS is the 'business line' that is meant here - IOW, what goods and services are sold in the company's home country..
It could easily be, and there are so many companies with sales offices abroad these days, I'd say you need to be sure! I am by no means convinced that a "home business line" in this case is a telephone line!!!
BTW, the line could be a line of communications, for example, by e-mail. We are not translating, over or under, but interpreting a cryptic original.