Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Italian term or phrase:
azienda/societa/impresa
English translation:
business/company/firm or entreprise
Added to glossary by
Jenny Cowd
Sep 14, 2007 12:48
17 yrs ago
36 viewers *
Italian term
United Kingdom
Qualified specialist translator
Native in: English 
Works in: Italian to English, French to English
azienda/societa/impresa
Italian to English
Bus/Financial
Business/Commerce (general)
I'm translating a long and complicated legal/business document and these three terms are frequently used throughout. Obviously in Italian there is a clear difference in definition, but in English, according to clear definitions, how would we distinguish between "company", "business", "enterprise", "corporate" etc?
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+6
43 mins
Laszlo Kocsis
Specializes in field
economist,lawyer,physicist 15 years exp
Native in: Hungarian (Variant: Hungary) , Romanian (Variant: Romania)
Works in: English to Hungarian, English to Romanian, Hungarian to English, and 12 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
business/company/firm or entreprise
although it is difficult to make a clear distinction I will try based on my specialist knowledge. Societa would stand for a registered company which can be a public or private limited company by shares or limited liability company-although there are other denominations and types as well. So it is "a for profit association-"- or a society or "commercial society"- which translates into company or if it's bigger a corporation. Azienda would stand for a general business which can be large as a stock company but also small ,having different forms of association including family entreprises-where only family members can be hired, sole propretorships, partnerships. The firm is also a general term entreprise seems to be more often used for smaller firms although denominations like public entreprise are also common.
So I hope the above choice can help you.
So I hope the above choice can help you.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Peter Cox
: enterprise
2 hrs
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thanks that is also my preference for impresa
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| agree |
Marinela Sandoval
: company
6 hrs
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thank you
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| agree |
Grace Anderson
6 hrs
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thank you
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| agree |
Irena Pizzi
18 hrs
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thank you
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| agree |
Rosanna Palermo
2 days 3 hrs
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thank you
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| agree |
halifax
2 days 23 hrs
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thank you
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "thanks everyone, thanks to Jim too - had to choose one and this was the first!"
+3
1 hr
James (Jim) Davis
Seychelles
Seychelles
Native in English
Specializes in field
Seychelles
25 years experience constantly improving
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: Italian to English
Related KudoZ points
:
1888
firm (business) / company / enterprise firm (business)
For an economist (they speak a slightly different dialect from accountants) an azienda is always a firm in the sense your lawyer friend described it, which I would tend to agree with. Historically of course its a farm (swap the a for an i and your there). However in a financial report you could easily call it a a concern or an undertaking or a business (enterprise is not used often). A società is always a company. Maybe US translators might feel happier with corporation, but company is safer as in joint stock company, limited company (srl) public limited company (listed spa). In Italian it is a group of people and in English the company is also a group of people, like a company of actors or blacksmiths, it goes back to medieval times. Impresa is similar in meaning to enterprise, but enterprise and entrepreneur are not used much in financial reports, undertaking or business or concern.
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Note added at 1 hr (2007-09-14 14:32:51 GMT)
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That is undertaking, business or concern are used more for "impresa". very special undetakings like starships and things.
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Note added at 1 hr (2007-09-14 14:32:51 GMT)
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That is undertaking, business or concern are used more for "impresa". very special undetakings like starships and things.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Marinela Sandoval
: company
5 hrs
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| agree |
snatalieg
1 day 15 mins
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| agree |
Gennady Lapardin
1 day 4 hrs
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1 day 4 hrs
Olivia Bisegna
Italy
Italy
Native in Italian
Specializes in field
Italy
Accounting and financial expertise
Native in: Italian
Works in: English to Italian, French to Italian, Italian to English
Related KudoZ points
:
36
business/company/enterprise or business undertaking
I agree with my colleague on "azienda" being translated as business (sometimes business unit , e.g. ramo d'azienda) and società with company as it entails a legal status of some sort. When talking about firm, I personally use the term for partnerships where the partners are jointly and severally liable for the firm's obligations. As far as "impresa" is concerned I would use the suggested terms interchangeably.
Discussion