CZ -> ENG - daňový doklad

Discussion in 'Vocabulary & Translation Help' started by eso, Aug 10, 2009.

  1. eso

    eso Well-Known Member

    We (our department of company, where I work) bought some software from USA (downloaded by internet, paid with bank order).
    Our accounting department now wants we get document in Czech named "daňový doklad" from US company, which is necessary by Czech tax laws (or at least our accountants want it).

    It's document where is stated, what was bought, how many money was paid and name, address, date of transaction and tax identification informations both about seller and buyer.

    What is correct English term for this document, please?

    Thanks.
     
  2. GlennInFlorida

    GlennInFlorida Well-Known Member

    Usually you would just get a receipt (sounds like risít) - that would have all of the information except tax status information. If your organization is "tax exempt", then a tax exemption number has to be provided by the buyer to the seller in order to waive taxes. Usually government, educational, and not-for-profit organizations are tax exempt.
    If you just downloaded the software, you would either get an on-screen transaction verification that you can print out as your receipt or an e-mail confirmation of the purchase. You can also probably contact the company to get a copy of the receipt. Just explain to them what you need just like you did in your post.
     
  3. wer

    wer Well-Known Member

    Tax certificate? Tax document?

    I think all you need is any kind of invoice.

    The only problem could be with its verifiability. Czech law on e-documents is more strict. But I think you should be OK with an e-mailed invoice or the on-screen information from the web site. You can hardly ask them for a manually signed/stamped invoice, perhaps they could e-mail you a scanned copy of it.
     
  4. eso

    eso Well-Known Member

    Thank you very much, Glen.

    i sent them email.

    Everything is complicated by fact, that it wasn't me, but my boss, who paid this (and he wasn't able to pay it with company card, which is standard procedure here in company).
     
  5. GlennInFlorida

    GlennInFlorida Well-Known Member

    Ah yes, accounting department here would give us a lot of grief too if we didn't use a company card :roll:
     
  6. dzurisova

    dzurisova Well-Known Member

    Don't know if its too late but invoice much better describes what you are looking for that receipt.
     
  7. GlennInFlorida

    GlennInFlorida Well-Known Member

    Well, an invoice shows how much money is owed - it is a detailed list of goods shipped or services rendered, with an account of all costs; an itemized bill.

    A receipt shows how much money was paid - it is a written acknowledgment that a specified article, sum of money, or shipment of merchandise has been received.

    Invoices generally aren't available on-line. Most places just have a "check-out" / "are you sure you want to buy this?" page. Of course, if you think to do so, you can print or screen capture that page at the time of order but it is usually not available after purchase. An order confirmation page is displayed after the purchase and, again you have the opportunity to print or copy it. A receipt, usually in the form of an e-mail, is also generally supplied. If you have a physical object delivered instead of just downloading software, you may also get a packing slip which may or may not have the amount paid (sometimes the amounts are blacked out - I suppose for either security or privacy reasons).

    Anyway some combination of one or all of the above should suffice. :wink:
     
  8. scrimshaw

    scrimshaw Well-Known Member

    receipt...like Glenn said....soft 'c'...emphasis on second syllable..silent 'p'.
    English is kind of odd like that. No standard rules. Unlike Čzech.
    I see 'daňový doklad', according to slovník dictionary, can mean either 'tax document', 'tax certificate' or 'invoice'.

    The word 'money' is uncountable....hence 'how much' instead of 'how many'
    just like 'information'
    uncountable...always singular.

    I got some information for you
    I got a little bit of information....
    I got lots of information.....
     
  9. eso

    eso Well-Known Member

    Thanks, I allways fight with this cocept :)

    Thanks.
     
  10. Sova

    Sova Well-Known Member

    Usually, you can distinguish "much" and "many" in English by the using the same distinction in Czech of using the genitive singular vs. plural.

    E.g.:
    mnoho lásky (gen. sing.) = much love
    mnoho trpělivosti (gen. sing.) = much patience
    mnoho vody (gen. sing.)) = much water
    etc.

    but ...
    mnoho lidí (gen. plur.) = many people
    mnoho aut (gen. plur.)= many cars
    mnoho měst (gen. plur.) = many cities

    Of course, sometimes this doesn't work, as the best translations from Czech into English and vice-versa don't always preserve the countability property scrimshaw mentioned. Case in point:

    mnoho peněz (gen. plur.) = much money

    In this case, of course, "peníz" is a coin, and therefore countable, whereas "money" is an abstract uncountable (i.e., one can't say, "I have 10 moneys").
     
  11. dzurisova

    dzurisova Well-Known Member

    Excellent explanation Glenn, you're right. :)
     
  12. wer

    wer Well-Known Member

    I guess your point is more helpful in the English-to-Czech direction. Czechs have rarely problems with translation of Czech mass nouns (voda, dřevo…) and Czech abstract nouns (trpělivost, láska…). Simply, Czech uncountable words are almost always uncountable in English. The problems are with words which are countable in Czech because time to time they happen to be uncountable in English (money, news, information, cheese).

    And the word “money” is the worse of all – uncountable money has no raison d’être.
     
  13. Sova

    Sova Well-Known Member

    True. Typically, the difference between countable and uncountable nouns is in the discreteness (or lack thereof) what the noun refers to. Water, for example, is a continuous media, yet a pint is a discrete unit.

    But money exists only in discrete units. The only argument that makes sense to me why the word money is uncountable is that it refers to an abstract or general concept, rather than a specific measure, like "crowns" or "dollars," which are inherently countable.
     
  14. scrimshaw

    scrimshaw Well-Known Member

    Maybe that is it Sovo.
    'Money' is a word that represents the values of countable items.
    dollars
    coins
    dimes
    quarters
    koruny
     
  15. wer

    wer Well-Known Member

    Well, in fact in Czech we could construct a word merely for the mass/abstract concept of money, and it is indeed uncountable. The word is “peněživo”.

    And today I came across another English oddity on countability – “ice cream” as opposed to “cream”. :?
     
  16. Eleshar

    Eleshar Well-Known Member

    I think it is fully countable but with different meanings... like "různá peněživa"...
     
  17. Sova

    Sova Well-Known Member

    Actually, in proper English, they are both uncountable. Perhaps, you're referring to the practice of ordering multiple ice cream cones/dishes by saying something along the lines of, "Two ice creams, please." That's not proper English.

    One other possibility to consider that just occurred to me is that uncountable words can be sometimes used as countable, when referring specifically to different types of something.

    E.g.:
    We seeded a lot of grass in our yard.
    We seeded various grasses in our yard.

    He has a lot of currency in his wallet.
    He has various currencies in his wallet.

    I've eaten lots of ice cream in the past.
    I've tried various ice creams (i.e. different brands) in the past, but this is the best.
     
  18. wer

    wer Well-Known Member

    That’s what I always thought until I spotted the countable usage in a British TV series. Of course, that itself means nothing – after all, Bertie Wooster is not know for speaking proper English – but I checked all my dictionaries and they suggest it is countable.

    Yep, that applies for both English and Czech, thereof Eleshar’s note on countability of uncountable “peněživo”.
     
  19. Sova

    Sova Well-Known Member

    Wow, somehow I missed that comment (Sorry, Eleshar!)--yep, exactly the same concept.
     

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