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Glossary entry

Swedish term or phrase:

Tala med bönder på bönders vis.

English translation:

Speak the same language (as/with) (other people).

Added to glossary by Patricia Nilsson
Nov 11, 2012 19:39
11 yrs ago
3 viewers *
Swedish term

Tala med bönder på bönders vis.

Swedish to English Marketing Business/Commerce (general) Idiom
I used "speak to people on/at their own level" but the customer wants an idiom. Any ideas? I searched the internet already.

Thx.
Proposed translations (English)
3 Speak the same language (as/with) (other people).
4 when in Rome, do as the Romans do
4 speak the customer's language
3 Speak (in plain) English, please
2 +1 Straight talker
3 in layman's terms
2 Select your language to suit the audience
2 (show you can ) see things from the other person´s perspective
2 Talk Farmer to farmers

Discussion

Yngve Roennike Nov 22, 2012:
Common vernacular?
Patricia Nilsson (asker) Nov 11, 2012:
Context: text for the idiom Profile of a cross-disciplinary: a networker, trend expert, initiator, multi-talented artist, fearless, visionary, "tala med bönder på bönders vis", process manager, etc.
JaneD Nov 11, 2012:
Context? Can you give us a bit of a clue about the context this comes in? I'm thinking something about "the man in the street", but I can't tell whether that would fit!

Proposed translations

4 hrs
Selected

Speak the same language (as/with) (other people).

Could fit here, although there is a risk it is understood in the literal sense (which on the other hand also goes for the Swedish idiom and any other idiom).

"On/at their own level" risks sounding pejorative, I believe. The Swedish idiom, anyway, has no pejorative meaning. It only means that you adapt the speaking to the way the audience speaks (whether farmers, lawyers. system technicians, architects etc.)

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Note added at 4 hrs (2012-11-12 00:36:41 GMT)
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In this particular context, I would probably do:
Ability to speak the same language as other people.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "The customer preferred this. Thank you"
3 mins

when in Rome, do as the Romans do

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9 mins

Select your language to suit the audience

The entire proverb is "tala med bönder på bönders vis och med lärde män på latin."
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13 mins

Speak (in plain) English, please

Totally depends on the context. Just a suggestion and not a very idiomatic one, although often used as a response when someone is uses too technical language: "Speak English please!"
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+1
27 mins

Straight talker

I think the problem is that there isn't really an idiom in English that expresses this particular thing in only a few words. The closest in meaning is possibly something like "Set a thief to catch a thief", but obviously that's not usable here.

"Straight talker" doesn't really express the same thing, but is perhaps a reasonable substitute. Given the farming context of the original I was quite taken with "Talk turkey", but I can't imagine how you could fit it into the sentence, nor does it mean quite the right thing!

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Note added at 31 mins (2012-11-11 20:10:07 GMT)
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I meant to suggest that you replace one of the other items in the list with an idiom so that the client gets an idiom as requested even if it's not for this phrase...
Peer comment(s):
agree Deane Goltermann : Agree on this one!
1 hr
Thanks Deane
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13 hrs

(show you can ) see things from the other person´s perspective

This sounds completely different, but if something about speaking the same language is hard to work in, this might be a way around it.

The deeply underlying idea is similar.
Some languages have an idiom about wearing the other person´s shoes, but not English.

Show you are coming from the same direction?
That is not a true idiom, but I have heard it used.

I am not sure this is better than the other answers!

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Note added at 13 hrs (2012-11-12 09:31:32 GMT)
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Seeing eye to eye with other people is what I am looking for...
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2 days 1 hr

speak the customer's language

This is a commonly used idiom and often appears in business communications. See the link for examples.
Reference:

http://tinyurl.com/a7bq4a9

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14 hrs

Talk Farmer to farmers

I am aware it is a non-exisiting idiom, but I believe it gets the message through.

http://www.grit.com/Community/How-to-Talk-Farmer.aspx

http://basicinstructions.net/basic-instructions/2008/4/14/ho... ;-))

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Note added at 5 dagen (2012-11-17 14:56:46 GMT)
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talk Farm to famers
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6 days

in layman's terms

The concept of describing something in layman's terms has come into wide use in the English-speaking world. To put something in layman's terms is to describe a complex or technical issue using words and terms that the average individual (someone without professional training in the subject area) can understand, so that they may comprehend the issue to some degree

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Note added at 6 dagar (2012-11-18 05:05:22 GMT)
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http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/in_layman's_terms
Example sentence:

let me explain this in layman's terms

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