capturer versus capter

I just encountered the word "capter" for the first time. Am I correct in my belief that "capturer" is used in the physical sense -- to capture soldiers -- whereas "capter" is more literal -- "my radio can't pick-up (capture) that station." I also saw the expression "il ne capte pas" which can again mean a device doesn't pick something up, but it can also mean "he doesn't understand." (I assume this is colloquial.) Is this last example used and the rest of my understanding correct?

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Permalink Reply by Neil Coffey on July 29, 2012 at 10:53pm

Yes, that's it: capturer implies "capture by force/against somebody's will", as in "capture a town/criminal/enemy" etc. It implies that the thing or person being captured could have offered 'resistance' in some way.

capter means "collect/pick up/detect/attract" things that could not generally actually offer resistance, e.g. when referring to signals as you suggest, or when 'grabbing/attracting' somebody's attention.

And yes, in colloquial usage, capter can refer to 'picking up' meaning or information, similar to English "gather" or "get".

That said, in technical usage, the two words can have a slightly closer meaning. For example, you could actually use capturer to refer to 'capturing' data (though you could also use saisir). You'll find both words used (though capter is perhaps more common as you might expect) when talking about 'capturing' carbon.

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Permalink Reply by alan gould on July 30, 2012 at 1:19am

great explanation, thanks. i hadn't come across "capter" in the sense of grabbing someone's attention. so, i'm assuming you use "capter" when you try to get the waiter's attention.

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Permalink Reply by Neil Coffey on July 30, 2012 at 4:48am

I was actually thinking more of e.g. when talking about advertising trying to "grab" somebody's attention or a book "grabbing" the attention of the reader. In other words, I think it would usually imply a 'special effort' beyond just a mundane situation such as calling a waiter.

Would be interesting to see what some of the French people here think, though...