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Russian to English translations [PRO] Manufacturing / description of industrial spaces
Russian term or phrase:бытовые помещения
An industrial building contains production facilities, office spaces, engineering spaces, storage facilities, and бытовые помещения. I gather that these are things like locker rooms, break rooms, etc. - but what do we call them in English?
@El oso: He's right about being able to use utility room in an industrial context - but it means basically some type of mechanical room, rather than the бытовые stuff I'm looking for. P.S. We use utility room in US English, too - it's generally a combo of the laundry and the mechanical stuff like the water heater and the furnace (there's one in my house!).
@Alexander Teplitsky A utility room is generally the area where laundry is done, and is the descendant of the scullery. Utility room is more commonly used in British English (!), while North American and Australian English generally refer to this room as a laundry room (c)
Unfortunately, I don't think there is a good term in English that covers specifically this собирательное представление, though I was hoping someone could find one. For further context, here is the sentence in which the phrase appears: В здании расположены производственные помещения, отдел контроля качества, складские, технические, бытовые и административные помещения. From this list, and from some online sources e.g. http://arx.novosibdom.ru/node/75, I figured out that we are talking about things like locker rooms and restrooms. Those types of spaces we would not refer to collectively as utility rooms. Alas, we don't have a good equivalent for быт/бытовой in English.
"бытовые помещения" - собирательное наименование. Специальные наименования тоже существуют: "электросиловая", "раздевалка" и т.п. Но если вы переводите имя собирательное - то надо бы использовать аналогичную форму Английского языка. (ИМХО)
Another technique I find useful is to do a Google image search to see what it comes up with. I tried "utility room" and all I get are photos of residential laundry rooms..."utility room" + "factory" gets me that plus some photos of mechanical rooms. But enough info from me...perhaps our other colleagues will chime in.
Since you cited Wikipedia, you might find its article on "utility room" useful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_room I have never heard "utility room" used to describe a break room, bathroom, locker room, changing room, etc. - only more for mechanical rooms.
I was working in factory environment in both US and Russia for many years. And everywhere it meant what fits this definition. Just out of curiosity, I'd like to see the place where it is not.
The word "utility" is indeed broad, but "utility room" is not as broad and does not mean "any room that can be used for something" - it specifically conjures up visions of the physical plant, as you mention - electrical, pneumatic lines, etc.
Alexander, thanks. You are no doubt correct about the use of "utility room" in a factory - what you describes makes sense - but that phrase will not work for my context, in which we are talking about things like break rooms, locker rooms, wash rooms, etc.
you are in US. Ask any factory worker, any room: electrical, pneumatic lines, etc., etc., all of them are utility rooms. There is a definition of the word "utility" (from Wikipedia) - Utility, or usefulness, is the (perceived) ability of something to satisfy needs or wants, with such a broad definition there is no reason to use anything else, unless it is something specific.
Hi folks, thanks much for your suggestions thus far. Here are my thoughts. Utility room in a residence is a place for washer, dryer, water heater, furnace. (Most definitely associated with laundry! Do a Google Image search on the term and you'll see that.) The term doesn't seem to be used in a factory setting, but I think in a factory a utility room would be more like a janitorial space (mops, large sink)...or a space for furnace, water heater, etc. It would definitely not cover locker rooms, break rooms, etc. Welfare facilities...my client is European, so this does not carry the US connotations. The link Gaskell posted is spot on. I ended up calling it "rooms for...employee welfare", since I had to turn the translation in already. Amenity space seems more used in residential development. I do like James McVay's "amenity facilities", though "employee amenity facilities" seems to imply fancy digs like child care and wellness centers and so on. But for a US document, I'd definitely go with that. Domestic premises - nothing domestic about this, it's a factory. Domestic implies residence and household.
most Soviet-style industrial buildings will have a sepate canteen, so coffee rooms are scarce, and break rooms and showers come in a package with a locker room
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utility rooms
Explanation: a room equipped with appliances for washing and other domestic work.
"Behind the dining room are the utility room and family bathroom, both with tiled floors."
Alexander Teplitsky Local time: 08:48 Specializes in field Native speaker of: Russian PRO pts in category: 8