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Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

pan-United States

English answer:

United States, also: across the United States, all over the United States

Added to glossary by María Teresa Taylor Oliver
Jun 19, 2006 18:42
17 yrs ago
English term

pan-United States

English Social Sciences Geography
I'm working with a document in English that was translated from Japanese. I usually know, more or less, how to interpret strange turns of phrases, i.e., I'm used to working from so-called Engrish.

But now I've found this phrase that I've never seen before, and I'm not sure what to make of it (I'm assuming it's an error).

The document is a service bulletin regarding printers.

==============
2. Destination
Japan, Europe, the pan-United States, Australia, (excluding Asia)
=============

Could "pan-United States" be interpreted as "the continental US"?

Because, certainly, pan-American is not the case, as this would mean all of the Americas, and not just the US.

Does anyone know what it means?

Thanks.
Responses
4 +3 United States, also: across the United States, all over the United States
4 +11 on the contrary
2 +6 the United States
2 The Americas or just North America
4 -3 There is no pan-United States. It is confused with Pan-Americanism

Discussion

María Teresa Taylor Oliver (asker) Jun 19, 2006:
About "pan" I had also thought of the meaning of the prefix "pan", but it struck me as odd to use it to mean "the entire US", since, from what I've seen, it's customary to just indicate "the US" vs. "the continental US" (when you want to stress the fact that you're excluding Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, etc.). Hmm... It's hard to know exactly what was the original phrase. I find bizarre expressions all the time, in these Jap to Eng translations, I'm afraid :( It's gotten to the point that I doubt everything I read... *sigh*

Anyway, I think the best thing to do would be to follow Alexander's option. Thanks, everybody :)

Responses

+3
30 mins
Selected

United States, also: across the United States, all over the United States

I am a Japanese>English translator. I think the likelihood is very high that the source text said 全米 (zenbei), which means "the United States", "across the United States", or "all over the United States", depending on the context. Therefore, it does include Alaska and Hawaii: "zenbei" means all the United States ("continental US" would be wrong).

It sounds like somebody did a weird J>E translation on this: I agree with the others that "pan-United States" doesn't exist.



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 32 mins (2006-06-19 19:14:18 GMT)
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I think this is the most likely explanation, although even in Japanese this sounds a bit odd.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 32 mins (2006-06-19 19:14:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"Zen" means "all" and "bei" means "United States".
Note from asker:
Ohh, thanks a lot! I was going to ask Can what he meant by "zenbei" in his note to Jonathan's question, because I don't know any Japanese at all! :) I'm translating from English into Spanish. I wish I knew a bit of Japanese, if only to understand where these weird translations come from ;)
Peer comment(s):
agree humbird : Yes, the original Japanese is most likely "Zen-Bei", namely Continental US + Alaska and Hawaii, and Territories.
1 hr
Thanks Susan!
agree Asghar Bhatti
2 hrs
Thanks!
agree Can Altinbay : As I said. :-)
9 hrs
Thanks!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks, everyone! I'm choosing this answer because it gave me the key about the original Japanese word. Sometimes I think learning Japanese would solve most of my problems at work [a Japanese corporation] heh ;) Your help, as usual, is invaluable =) Have a great day!"
+11
6 mins

on the contrary

I've never seen "pan-united states" but from the general meaning of "pan-" I don't think it's "continental" (just 48 states) but at least "all 50 states" and quite possibly "with territories" (like Puerto Rico)
Peer comment(s):
agree Richard Benham : "Pan" is Greek (neuter) for "all" (as I'm sure you know); so it's all the United States, not just the conterminous (48 states) or "continental" (which strictly includes Alaska too, but not Hawaii).
8 mins
Thanks, Richard.
agree JaneTranslates
19 mins
Thanks, Jane.
agree Alaa Zeineldine : Being this is translated from Japanese, the translator may have been influenced by the commonly used term "Pan Asian".
20 mins
Thanks, Alaa.
agree Walter Landesman : "all 50 states" and quite possibly "with territories" (like Puerto Rico)
29 mins
Thanks, Walter.
agree jccantrell : Yeah, I would go with this, because you often see here"Offer not valid in Alaska or Hawaii."
31 mins
Thanks, jccantrell.
agree Jack Doughty
1 hr
Thanks, Jack.
agree Michael Barnett : "Contiguous" United States is the term used in North America for the 48 states.
1 hr
Right, "contiguous". Thanks, Michael.
agree Empty Whiskey Glass
2 hrs
Thanks, Empty!
agree Balasubramaniam L. : Probably US + Iraq!
7 hrs
Thank you.
agree Tsogt Gombosuren
11 hrs
Thanks, Tsogt.
agree Alison Jenner
13 hrs
Thanks, Alison.
Something went wrong...
+6
5 mins

the United States

which implies inclusion of Alaska and Hawaii; or it's a major grammatical mistake and they actually mean "the Americas"?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 mins (2006-06-19 18:50:33 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"the entire United States"
Peer comment(s):
agree DarekS : the United States as a whole
5 mins
thx
agree David Moore (X)
9 mins
thx
agree Alaa Zeineldine
21 mins
thx
agree BrigitteHilgner : Yes - the whole.
25 mins
thx
agree Can Altinbay : I suspect it is a mistranslation of zenbei (all rice - asker will know what I mean), which would mean all of the (the entire) United States.
27 mins
thx, wish I knew some Japanese
agree Alfa Trans (X)
23 hrs
Something went wrong...
-3
5 mins

There is no pan-United States. It is confused with Pan-Americanism

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Pan-Americanism

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 mins (2006-06-19 18:48:24 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

That's from the encyclopedia

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 41 mins (2006-06-19 19:23:55 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I don't know why I'm wasting my time but we say Pan American and the following link will explain what this covers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-American_Highway
Peer comment(s):
disagree David Moore (X) : According to Chambers, the word "pan" can also mean "entire", hence my agreeing with Jonanthan. It's unusual - possibly non-ENS usage, it's true, but the mere fact that it's unusual doesn't necessarily make it wrong.
6 mins
disagree Richard Benham : It's not idiomatic English, but I think the prefix "pan-" (="all") is productive.
10 mins
disagree Can Altinbay : How do you get that from this context?
28 mins
Something went wrong...
12 hrs

The Americas or just North America

Hello,

Although I'm not a Jp-En translator at all, judging from the other entities next to your "pan-US" (especially Europe), I wonder if this was perhaps meant to be the Americas (i.e. North and South America) or perhaps more likely just North America.

Just another idea and the first thing that came to mind when I saw the question. In any case I would check with your client if possible!

Good luck,
Jocelyne
Peer comment(s):
neutral NancyLynn : United States does not mean North America//Ah, an ex-pat! Been there, done that! That's why I did not want to propagate this misinformation ;-)
9 hrs
No kidding, NancyLynn. As a Canadian living abroad, I can assure you that many are those (esp in the UK) who speak of "America" when referring to N. Amercia. My idea was that the translator might have mistakenly translated (North)America as United States.
Something went wrong...
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