"Date-stamping the passport"

[Anton Shepelev]

Hello, all.

One of the Moscow airports has recently put the following
sign over the window where arriving passengers are to have
their passports stamped with the date of the arrival:

Date-stamping the passport

I think this phrase in isolation does not a work as a sign
and is patent Runglish. Any of the alternatives below are
better in my opinion:

Passport stampage
Passport stamping
Passport date-stamping
Stamping of the passport
Date-stamping of the passport

because a sign needs a more noun-like phrase. Futhermore
/date-stamping/ seems superfluous because /stamping/ alone,
when applied to /passport/, conveys the necessry meaning.
What do you think?

[occam]

Post by Anton Shepelev
Hello, all.
One of the Moscow airports has recently put the following
sign over the window where arriving passengers are to have
Date-stamping the passport
I think this phrase in isolation does not a work as a sign
and is patent Runglish.

I think it works, and is better than the five alternatives you suggest.
(The last one is almost ok, but a bit pedantic as a sign at an airport.)

Post by Anton Shepelev
Any of the alternatives below are
Passport stampage
Passport stamping
Passport date-stamping
Stamping of the passport
Date-stamping of the passport
because a sign needs a more noun-like phrase.

Does it? Since when? (I have yet come across a linguist who refuses to
go the 'Date-stamping the passport' window for a lack of "a more
noun-like phrase"

Post by Anton Shepelev
Futhermore
/date-stamping/ seems superfluous because /stamping/ alone,
when applied to /passport/, conveys the necessry meaning.
What do you think?

Not all stamps have (or need) date information. The last entry visa I
had in my passport had the expiry date added by hand.

[Sam Plusnet]

Post by occam

Post by Anton Shepelev
Hello, all.
One of the Moscow airports has recently put the following
sign over the window where arriving passengers are to have
Date-stamping the passport
I think this phrase in isolation does not a work as a sign
and is patent Runglish.

I think it works, and is better than the five alternatives you suggest.
(The last one is almost ok, but a bit pedantic as a sign at an airport.)

Post by Anton Shepelev
Any of the alternatives below are
Passport stampage
Passport stamping
Passport date-stamping
Stamping of the passport
Date-stamping of the passport
because a sign needs a more noun-like phrase.

Does it? Since when? (I have yet come across a linguist who refuses to
go the 'Date-stamping the passport' window for a lack of "a more
noun-like phrase"

Post by Anton Shepelev
Futhermore
/date-stamping/ seems superfluous because /stamping/ alone,
when applied to /passport/, conveys the necessry meaning.
What do you think?

Not all stamps have (or need) date information. The last entry visa I
had in my passport had the expiry date added by hand.

Don't all passengers arriving on an International flight have to go
through Passport Control? (this may apply to internal flights within
Russia for ought I know).
I don't understand why the 'stamping of passports' needs to be
separately labelled.

[Snidely]

occam suggested that ...

Post by occam

Post by Anton Shepelev
Hello, all.
One of the Moscow airports has recently put the following
sign over the window where arriving passengers are to have
Date-stamping the passport
I think this phrase in isolation does not a work as a sign
and is patent Runglish.

I think it works, and is better than the five alternatives you suggest.
(The last one is almost ok, but a bit pedantic as a sign at an airport.)

Too long for a sign, especially in a busy place you are trying to get
through quickly.

Post by occam

Post by Anton Shepelev
Any of the alternatives below are
Passport stampage

"Stampage" is not a common word.

Post by occam

Post by Anton Shepelev
Passport stamping

Best of Anton's suggestions

Post by occam

Post by Anton Shepelev
Passport date-stamping
Stamping of the passport
Date-stamping of the passport

And back to being too long.

Post by occam

Post by Anton Shepelev
because a sign needs a more noun-like phrase.

Does it? Since when? (I have yet come across a linguist who refuses to
go the 'Date-stamping the passport' window for a lack of "a more
noun-like phrase"

I will mull this over, but brevity is a hall mark of efficient signage.

After 25 years, I don't recall what the signage was on my trip to
Europe, and I didn't take any souvenir pictures at the ports of entry.
Sam's suggestion would work, but I'm not entirely comfortable with it.

"Passport Check-In" would work.

Post by occam

Post by Anton Shepelev
Futhermore
/date-stamping/ seems superfluous because /stamping/ alone,
when applied to /passport/, conveys the necessry meaning.
What do you think?

Not all stamps have (or need) date information. The last entry visa I
had in my passport had the expiry date added by hand.

Procedures vary by country, and sometimes by the size of the port of
entry.

/dps

[Bertel Lund Hansen]

Post by Snidely
I will mull this over, but brevity is a hall mark of efficient signage.
After 25 years, I don't recall what the signage was on my trip to
Europe, and I didn't take any souvenir pictures at the ports of entry.
Sam's suggestion would work, but I'm not entirely comfortable with it.
"Passport Check-In" would work.

A Danish sign in Kastrup (CPH):

Loading Image...

[Anton Shepelev]

Post by Bertel Lund Hansen
Loading Image...

Thanks for the standard phrase in action.

[Hibou]

Post by Anton Shepelev
Hello, all.
One of the Moscow airports has recently put the following
sign over the window where arriving passengers are to have
Date-stamping the passport
I think this phrase in isolation does not a work as a sign
and is patent Runglish. Any of the alternatives below are
Passport stampage
Passport stamping
Passport date-stamping
Stamping of the passport
Date-stamping of the passport
because a sign needs a more noun-like phrase. Futhermore
/date-stamping/ seems superfluous because /stamping/ alone,
when applied to /passport/, conveys the necessry meaning.
What do you think?

I think the usual phrase is 'passport control'. Passports are checked,
and stamped not only with the date, but also with the place of entry.

[occam]

Post by Hibou

Post by Anton Shepelev
Hello, all.
One of the Moscow airports has recently put the following
sign over the window where arriving passengers are to have
                  Date-stamping the passport
I think this phrase in isolation does not a work as a sign
and is patent Runglish.  Any of the alternatives below are
                Passport stampage
                Passport stamping
                Passport date-stamping
                Stamping of the passport
                Date-stamping of the passport
because a sign needs a more noun-like phrase.  Futhermore
/date-stamping/ seems superfluous because /stamping/ alone,
when applied to /passport/, conveys the necessry meaning.
What do you think?

I think the usual phrase is 'passport control'.

Yes, in an anglophone environment, that is the most common expression.
'Control' makes sense in English (and in French). However the word may
have other overtones in Russian.

Post by Hibou
Passports are checked,
and stamped not only with the date, but also with the place of entry.

[Blueshirt]

Post by Anton Shepelev
Hello, all.
One of the Moscow airports has recently put the following
sign over the window where arriving passengers are to have
Date-stamping the passport

And? It might be a bit clunky but it makes sense.

It does what it says on the tin!

Post by Anton Shepelev
I think this phrase in isolation does not a work as a sign
and is patent Runglish. Any of the alternatives below are
Passport stampage
Passport stamping
Passport date-stamping
Stamping of the passport
Date-stamping of the passport

Out of those alternatives I think I prefer the original.

[Richard Tobin]

Post by Anton Shepelev
Date-stamping the passport
I think this phrase in isolation does not a work as a sign
and is patent Runglish.

It is certainly not what a native speaker would put on a sign.

Post by Anton Shepelev
Any of the alternatives below are
Passport stampage

If "stampage" is a word at all, it means something like "postage", not
the act of stamping a document.

Post by Anton Shepelev
Passport stamping
Passport date-stamping

These are reasonable.

Post by Anton Shepelev
Stamping of the passport
Date-stamping of the passport

The use of "the" is not idiomatic. If you really wanted this form, it
would have to be "stamping of passports".

Post by Anton Shepelev
Futhermore /date-stamping/ seems superfluous because /stamping/
alone, when applied to /passport/, conveys the necessry meaning.

In fact date-stamping or over-specific. The stamp conveys other
information.

Is there really a window where nothing happens apart from stamping?
Rather than also looking you up in the FSB database?

-- Richard

[Anton Shepelev]

Post by Richard Tobin

Post by Anton Shepelev
Passport stampage

If "stampage" is a word at all, it means something like
"postage", not the act of stamping a document.

It /is/ a word, according to OED:

/Stampage/ is a noun derived from /stamp/, meaning the
act of stamping or a stamp impression.

Post by Richard Tobin

Post by Anton Shepelev
Stamping of the passport
Date-stamping of the passport

The use of "the" is not idiomatic. If you really wanted
this form, it would have to be "stamping of passports".

This was my original idea, but a colleauge persuaded me that
the definite article was right, because of all the possible
"passports" a passenger may have, only one is
eligible -- the international passport, under which he or
she travels. In Russia, it is separate from the internal
passport, Therefore, I understand the plural in, say
/Balancing of wheels/ or /Polishing of shoes/ (clusly as
they are).

Post by Richard Tobin
In fact date-stamping or over-specific. The stamp conveys
other information.

Right, but I was criticising the translation rather than the
message.

Post by Richard Tobin
Is there really a window where nothing happens apart from
stamping? Rather than also looking you up in the FSB
database?

I don't know about that. In the airports of Cannes,
however, they returned my passport so quickly that I doubt
any database check was performed, although it should have
been. Perhaps it is as fast as putting the open passport on
a scanner for second or two.

[Richard Tobin]

Post by Anton Shepelev

Post by Richard Tobin

Post by Anton Shepelev
Passport stampage

If "stampage" is a word at all, it means something like
"postage", not the act of stamping a document.

/Stampage/ is a noun derived from /stamp/, meaning the
act of stamping or a stamp impression.

That's odd. When I look it up, the OED gives three meanings:

1. The crushing (of tin-ore).
2. A copy or impression (of an inscription) made by stamping.
3. The amount charged or paid for the stamp or stamps of a postal
packet; postage.

None of them is the act of stamping in the sense we are discussing.


-- Richard

[Anton Shepelev]

Post by Richard Tobin

Post by Anton Shepelev
/Stampage/ is a noun derived from /stamp/, meaning the
act of stamping or a stamp impression.

That's odd. When I look it up, the OED gives three
1. The crushing (of tin-ore).
2. A copy or impression (of an inscription) made by
stamping.
3. The amount charged or paid for the stamp or stamps
of a postal packet; postage.
None of them is the act of stamping in the sense we are
discussing.

OED content being behind a paywall, I quoted the piece the
search engine showed me. I hope it was not generated by an
LLM, because such disservice is not like DuckDuckGo at all.

[Anton Shepelev]

/Stampage/ is a noun derived from /stamp/, meaning the act
of stamping or a stamp impression.

I think I misunderstood that sentence as explaining the
meaning of /stampage/ rather than of /stamp/.

[Anton Shepelev]

Post by Richard Tobin
Is there really a window where nothing happens apart from
stamping? Rather than also looking you up in the FSB
database?

An Lo! -- new tidings to behold:
That date-stamping is exactly what it says: a entirely
optional procudure after the automated passport-control in a
special unmanned booth my company has developed. In some
situations, this stamp is needed for reports, to claim
business-trip payments, &c.

[jerryfriedman]

Post by Anton Shepelev

Post by Richard Tobin
Is there really a window where nothing happens apart from
stamping? Rather than also looking you up in the FSB
database?

That date-stamping is exactly what it says: a entirely
optional procudure after the automated passport-control in a
special unmanned booth my company has developed. In some
situations, this stamp is needed for reports, to claim
business-trip payments, &c.

If I were in charge of the signs, the one I'd put on
that booth would say "passport stamp" or "passport
stamping", and I'd consider adding "(optional)".

--
Jerry Friedman

--

[Anton Shepelev]

Post by Anton Shepelev
That date-stamping is exactly what it says: a entirely
optional procudure after the automated passport-control
in a special unmanned booth my company has developed.
In some situations, this stamp is needed for reports, to
claim business-trip payments, &c.

If I were in charge of the signs, the one I'd put on that
booth would say "passport stamp" or "passport stamping",
and I'd consider adding "(optional)".

Thanks.
PASSPORT STAMP (optional)
Have arrival/departure date
stampted into your passport

I wonder if the definite article modifying /date/ may be
omitted.

[jerryfriedman]

Post by Anton Shepelev

Post by Anton Shepelev
That date-stamping is exactly what it says: a entirely
optional procudure after the automated passport-control
in a special unmanned booth my company has developed.
In some situations, this stamp is needed for reports, to
claim business-trip payments, &c.

If I were in charge of the signs, the one I'd put on that
booth would say "passport stamp" or "passport stamping",
and I'd consider adding "(optional)".

Thanks.
PASSPORT STAMP (optional)
Have arrival/departure date
stampted into your passport

"Stamped onto" or "stamped on". Otherwise good,
in my opinion.

Post by Anton Shepelev
I wonder if the definite article modifying /date/ may be
omitted.

Yes, on a sign. If you wanted to include it,
"your" might be at least as good.

--
Jerry Friedman

--

[Mark Brader]

Post by jerryfriedman

Post by Anton Shepelev
PASSPORT STAMP (optional)
Have arrival/departure date
stampted into your passport

"Stamped onto" or "stamped on".

To me, either of those forms suggests that the *cover* of the passport
will be stamped! Since they'd actually stamp an inside page, "stamped
in" is best.

[Peter Moylan]

Post by Anton Shepelev
Hello, all.
One of the Moscow airports has recently put the following
sign over the window where arriving passengers are to have
Date-stamping the passport
I think this phrase in isolation does not a work as a sign
and is patent Runglish. Any of the alternatives below are
Passport stampage
Passport stamping
Passport date-stamping
Stamping of the passport
Date-stamping of the passport
because a sign needs a more noun-like phrase. Futhermore
/date-stamping/ seems superfluous because /stamping/ alone,
when applied to /passport/, conveys the necessry meaning.
What do you think?

If I were making the sign I would just write "Passports".

[Steve Hayes]

Post by Peter Moylan

Post by Anton Shepelev
Hello, all.
One of the Moscow airports has recently put the following
sign over the window where arriving passengers are to have
Date-stamping the passport
I think this phrase in isolation does not a work as a sign
and is patent Runglish. Any of the alternatives below are
Passport stampage
Passport stamping
Passport date-stamping
Stamping of the passport
Date-stamping of the passport
because a sign needs a more noun-like phrase. Futhermore
/date-stamping/ seems superfluous because /stamping/ alone,
when applied to /passport/, conveys the necessry meaning.
What do you think?

If I were making the sign I would just write "Passports".

Better still:

"Show your passport here"
or
"Get your passport stamped here".

[Snidely]

Post by Steve Hayes

Post by Peter Moylan

Post by Anton Shepelev
Hello, all.
One of the Moscow airports has recently put the following
sign over the window where arriving passengers are to have
Date-stamping the passport
I think this phrase in isolation does not a work as a sign
and is patent Runglish. Any of the alternatives below are
Passport stampage
Passport stamping
Passport date-stamping
Stamping of the passport
Date-stamping of the passport
because a sign needs a more noun-like phrase. Futhermore
/date-stamping/ seems superfluous because /stamping/ alone,
when applied to /passport/, conveys the necessry meaning.
What do you think?

If I were making the sign I would just write "Passports".

"Show your passport here"
or
"Get your passport stamped here".

Too long. That would work on a secondary sign, but when you're in a
crowded hall or room, you want a sign you can read quickly from a
distance.

/dps