My French colleague used the work “finitions”. What could he be mistranslating? We speak Italian as well, so consider mistranslations from Italian too
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The word “finitions” in French could potentially be mistranslated or misunderstood in several ways, especially considering the context of Italian language influence. The term “finitions” does not have a direct translation in English, but it seems to relate to the concept of finishing or final touches, as indicated by its Italian counterpart “rifinitura” and the example “faire les dernières finitions,” which translates to “give the final touches” 1.
In the context of Italian, “rifinitura” is used to describe the act of finishing something, similar to “finitions” in French. This suggests that “finitions” might refer to the process of completing or perfecting something, akin to the final stages of a project or task where all details are addressed and finalized.
Considering the influence of Italian on French, especially in terms of calques (loan translations), it’s possible that “finitions” could be a calque from Italian, where the literal translation might not capture the full meaning or nuance of the term in French. Calques often occur in languages that share a common root or have been heavily influenced by each other, leading to the adoption of words or phrases that retain their original meaning in one language but might have a different connotation or usage in another 4.
Therefore, if your colleague used “finitions” in a context related to finishing or finalizing something, it’s likely they were referring to the process of giving the final touches or completing a task. If the context was different, it might be helpful to ask for clarification to understand exactly what they meant by “finitions.”