dit , dite + adjectif

[squeaksoup]

Quels éléments de l’anamnèse font penser à une lombalgie dite inflammatoire?

What components in the health history make you think of what is called?? inflammatory lower back pain?

What is the meaning of dite in this sentence? Must it be translated? Thanks!

 

[harrythelm]

Would this work:
What aspects of a patient's medical history might suggest so-called inflammatory lumbar pain?

 

[hunternet]

--> defined as "inflammatory back pain"

 

[Arioch]

The problem in translating this sentence is that you only apply "dite" to "inflammatoire". So, we have to find a way to say it is a lower back pain, and then add further details to explain it is inflammatory.

How about "What components in the health history make you think it is a lower back pain, and an inflammatory one?"

(anamnèse? this word exist? )

 

[wildan1]

...might suggest lumbar pain known as inflammatory

 

[alisonp]

I think your original suggestion is good, although possibly a little involved. Certainly, I think in this type of case "dite" doesn't necessarily need to be rendered in English. What about putting the "inflammatory" in inverted commas, thus separating it from the rest of the term? Or possibly what is known as "inflammatory" lower back pain?

Do exert caution with "so-called", though: in English it has a connotation of "well, it may be called that, but that's not really what it is" which is absent in the French.

 

[Arioch]

Do exert caution with "so-called", though: in English it has a connotation of "well, it may be called that, but that's not really what it is" which is absent in the French.

I agree with you but don't you have the same effect with the inverted commas?

 

[alisonp]

Not necessarily. I've known it be used on a number of occasions to indicate that, while a phrase is used, it's not really yet become a set phrase (or the author doesn't think it has).

 

[Keith Bradford]

I agree with you but don't you have the same effect with the inverted commas?

The inverted commas merely make it clear that it's someone else's opinion (e.g. a quotation). But so-called always throws doubt.

I'd suggest, as a general rule for dite, "what is known as...".

(PS: You have the same problem in German with "sogennant" which almost never translates as so-called.)