{"id":3056,"date":"2017-09-07T16:31:41","date_gmt":"2017-09-07T20:31:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anglocomprod.wpengine.com\/?p=3056\/"},"modified":"2018-09-06T15:58:46","modified_gmt":"2018-09-06T19:58:46","slug":"french-words-that-are-hard-to-translate-into-english-iii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anglocom.com\/en\/french-words-that-are-hard-to-translate-into-english-iii\/","title":{"rendered":"French Words That Are Hard to Translate into English (III)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t\t
Some relatively common French words are surprisingly hard to translate into English. It\u2019s almost as if the very concept doesn\u2019t exist in English. Words that could convey the exact same idea remain on the tip of the tongue, so to speak. This post presents a few of the most problematic words, along with possible solutions.<\/div><\/div>\n

Forces vives<\/h2>\n

Forces vives<\/em> is an evocative, albeit overused, expression that has no exact equivalent in English. Sometimes you can simply say \u201cpeople\u201d (Les forces vives de la r\u00e9gion<\/em>\/The people of the region) or \u201ceveryone\u201d (On doit faire participer l\u2019ensemble des forces vives de la nation<\/em>\/We have to involve everyone in the country). If the notion of \u201cstrength\u201d or \u201cvitality\u201d is important, you can be more explicit (L\u2019ensemble des forces vives de la France appuient la demarche<\/em>\/Everyone who matters in France or\u00a0The consensus in France).<\/p>\n

Incontournable<\/h2>\n

This adjective is found everywhere in French, but is rarely easy to translate. Some equivalents are obvious: fait incontournable<\/em> is \u201cincontrovertible fact\u201d and\u00a0conclusion incontournable<\/em> is\u00a0\u201cinescapable conclusion.\u201d Others are less so: industrie incontournable<\/em>\u00a0(essential industry),\u00a0apport incontournable<\/em>\u00a0(indispensable contribution), and\u00a0acteur incontournable<\/em>\u00a0(key player). Sometimes you need to paraphrase: C\u2019est incontournable<\/em> (There\u2019s no way around it;\u00a0There is no other way;\u00a0It\u2019s here to stay). In some cases, you need to specify that the thing in question cannot be ignored or denied: La torture est une r\u00e9alit\u00e9 incontournable <\/em>(Torture is a reality that we cannot deny). In other cases, you can eliminate the modifier: un jalon incontournable dans l\u2019industrie<\/em> (a milestone in the industry).<\/p>\n

In\u00e9dit<\/h2>\n

The purely literal meaning of in\u00e9dit<\/em> is \u201cunpublished.\u201d But when it means that something is \u201cnew,\u201d you need to look elsewhere: entirely new,\u00a0unique,\u00a0novel,\u00a0never before seen,\u00a0unprecedented. Here are a few other solutions:<\/p>\n

Cela n\u2019a rien d\u2019in\u00e9dit.
\nIt is not a new idea<\/em> (Ce n\u2019est pas une id\u00e9e nouvelle); It is not unheard of<\/em> (On n\u2019est pas sans en avoir entendu parler).<\/p>\n

Je vais essayer quelque chose d\u2019in\u00e9dit pour moi.
\nI\u2019m going to try something I\u2019ve never done before<\/em> (Je vais essayer quelque chose que je n\u2019ai jamais fait auparavant).<\/p>\n

Le meurtre \u00e9tait quelque chose d\u2019in\u00e9dit pour une ville paisible comme Plymouth.
\nMurder was foreign to a peaceful community like Plymouth<\/em> (\u2026 quelque chose d\u2019inconnu\u2026).<\/p>\n

En annon\u00e7ant son projet, Repentigny donnait le coup d\u2019envoi \u00e0 un programme in\u00e9dit dans le monde municipal canadien.
\n\u2026 Repentigny set a precedent among Canadian municipalities<\/em> (\u2026 a cr\u00e9\u00e9 un pr\u00e9c\u00e9dent).<\/p>\n

Ouvert sur le monde<\/h2>\n

To be clear, you can safely translate\u00a0ouvert sur le monde<\/em>\u00a0as\u00a0<\/em>\u201copen to the world.\u201d However, there are other, more natural-sounding options available that it would be a shame to overlook.<\/p>\n

La France est un pays ouvert sur le monde.
\nFrance is a tolerant and open-minded country<\/em> (\u2026 un pays de tol\u00e9rance et d\u2019ouverture d\u2019esprit).<\/p>\n

Nous devons rester ouverts sur le monde.
\nWe must remain outward looking<\/em> (\u2026 le regard tourn\u00e9 vers l\u2019ext\u00e9rieur).<\/p>\n

Il est important de lire pour garder un esprit ouvert sur le monde.
\nIt is important to read to be aware of what goes on in the world<\/em> (\u2026 se tenir au courant de ce qui se passe dans le monde).<\/p>\n

Notre jeunesse est ouverte sur le monde.
\nOur young people have a broad outlook on life<\/em> (\u2026 voient la vie selon une perspective tr\u00e8s large).<\/p>\n

Montr\u00e9al, ville ouverte sur le monde.
\nMontreal, a global city<\/em> (\u2026 ville du monde).<\/p>\n

Rassembleur<\/h2>\n

This word, which conveys the notion of bringing people together, unfortunately has no exact English equivalent. Here are a few options to fill the gap:<\/p>\n

Le plan a un effet rassembleur.
\nThe plan has met with general approval<\/em> (Le plan jouit de l\u2019approbation g\u00e9n\u00e9rale).<\/p>\n

Ce projet de loi a un caract\u00e8re rassembleur.
\nThis legislation is inclusive in nature<\/em> (\u2026 a un caract\u00e8re inclusif).<\/p>\n

La France pourrait jouer un r\u00f4le de rassembleur.
\nFrance could play a unifying role<\/em> (\u2026 un r\u00f4le unificateur) ; \u2026 the role of facilitator<\/em> (\u2026 le r\u00f4le de m\u00e9diateur, de conciliateur).<\/p>\n

Je crois en sa qualit\u00e9 de rassembleur.
\nI believe in his ability to inspire and motivate people<\/em> (\u2026 en sa capacit\u00e9 d\u2019inspirer et de mobiliser les gens).<\/p>\n

Le maire est un grand rassembleur.
\nThe mayor knows how to bring people together<\/em> (Le maire sait rassembler les gens); The mayor is a great consensus builder<\/em> (Le maire a le don de cr\u00e9er le
\nconsensus).<\/p>\n

Rel\u00e8ve<\/h2>\n

Rel\u00e8ve<\/em>\u00a0in the sense of\u00a0\u201csomeone who replaces someone else\u201d\u00a0is arguably too abstract for English, which prefers more descriptive words.<\/p>\n

Soucieux de la rel\u00e8ve agricole, les producteurs ont r\u00e9clam\u00e9 l\u2019intervention du gouvernement.
\nThe farmers were concerned about the future of agriculture and demanded the government take action<\/em> (Soucieux de l\u2019avenir de l\u2019industrie agricole\u2026).<\/p>\n

Quels seront les effets de cette crise sur la rel\u00e8ve ?
\nWhat will the impact of this crisis be on the next generation?<\/em> (\u2026 sur la g\u00e9n\u00e9ration montante).<\/p>\n

Il a \u00e0 coeur l\u2019\u00e9panouissement et le rayonnement de la rel\u00e8ve.
\nHe believes strongly in developing and encouraging new talent<\/em> (\u2026 le rayonnement des jeunes talents).<\/p>\n

Les magnifiques performances livr\u00e9es jusqu\u2019\u00e0 ce jour sont le gage d\u2019une rel\u00e8ve olympique d\u2019un haut niveau.
\nThe magnificent performances so far all point to excellent results at the next Olympics<\/em> (\u2026 le gage d\u2019excellents r\u00e9sultats aux prochains Jeux olympiques).<\/p>\n

Si on veut avoir une rel\u00e8ve dans l\u2019industrie, il est important d\u2019accorder une exemption fiscale.
\nIf we want to encourage people to continue in the industry, it is important we grant a tax exemption<\/em> (\u2026 encourager les gens \u00e0 continuer dans l\u2019industrie\u2026).<\/p>\n

Structurant<\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s one last word that French bureaucrats are particularly fond of. It\u2019s actually quite useful, so translators have a habit of writing \u201cstructuring\u201d\u00a0in English. But watch out! Other words may be more appropriate:<\/p>\n

Le nouveau plan de gestion est appel\u00e9 \u00e0 jouer un r\u00f4le structurant dans le projet de relance de l\u2019entreprise.
\nThe new management plan should lay the groundwork for the company\u2019s turnaround<\/em> (\u2026 doit jeter les bases du projet de relance\u2026 ).<\/p>\n

Il s\u2019agit de d\u00e9penses structurantes.
\nThese expenditures will spur growth<\/em> (Ces d\u00e9penses stimuleront le d\u00e9veloppement).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t
Thus ends our foray into French words that give anglophones a hard time\u2014and make the passage from French to English such a challenge!<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Translated excerpt from Les trucs d’anglais qu’on a oubli\u00e9 de vous enseigner (Stuff about English they forgot to teach you), by Anglocom president, Grant Hamilton<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","content-type":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-translator-toolbox"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMore solutions for hard-to-translate French words<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The third in a series of excerpts from the book Les trucs d'anglais qu'on a oubli\u00e9 de vous 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