EDC de Londres

15:35 Jan 4 

... to see that the Asker picked a sensible solution. There is nothing "defeatist" about recognizing that the context was insufficient to produce a more reliable translation . Making up meaning out of no context is a "risk" that she clearly understands. As I said earlier, a poor original begets a poor translation. it's not the translator's job to infer meaning when context is almost nil. This is widely taught in any good translation program.

14:36 Jan 4 

Thank you for your help, everyone. I think I'll close this one without grading as we're all just guessing and there's really no context to go on. I asked the client as well and they didn't know either so we've gone with the unsatisfying "EDC of London". It could be a data centre but I didn't want to risk that if unsure

13:37 Jan 4 

The asker is clearly considering potential solutions other than "skipping the challenge", so to say. She wouldn't have reached out to KudoZ otherwise. So, what problem is there in attempting to help a peer solve a tricky issue? The context is obviously scarce, the asker has already confirmed that there isn't much else to go on, and we're all just making an honest effort to help her find the best approach.

13:11 Jan 4 

That's a bit defeatist - of course there's meaning, and some of us enjoy trying to find it.

Turning garbage into garbage isn't a very fulfilling way to spend your days - I prefer turning garbage into usable prose.

23:10 Jan 3 

In the absence of context, the most commonsense approach is to translate the term phrase literally: EDC of London (with no explanation whatsoever). Translators should not be expected to have a crystal ball to figure the meaning of obscure abbreviations/acronyms. Simply put, a poor/incomplete original begets poor translation. I am marveled at my colleagues' creativity and desire to find meaning where clearly there is none.

16:20 Jan 3 

Is 'EDC de Londres' preprinted on the certificate, or has it been added later?
Could it be the agency or other body requesting the certificate?
Do you know what the certificate is for?
Does the person live in the UK?
Why do you say 'I assume it has to be an address'?

I think it's more likely to be English than Portuguese.

15:20 Jan 3 

Unfortunately there really isn't much else. It's at the top of a box on its own, with the Portuguese Ministry of Justice logo above and below the details of the person in question

14:07 Jan 3 

can you give a little more info? What comes before, and what comes after.