Contest : Where does it come from? / Concours : D'ou ca vient?
by joon
Dear bloggers, readers, friends and family...
You are welcome to participate in my contest :
"Where does that expression come from?"
Because living in another country makes me juggling between two languages all the time, at home, at work, with my friends, I am always amazed when I hear an expression in french that I have not heard for a while. All of a suden, it sounds new and I am like:"where the h...is that coming from? this is so weird of an expression"
In English, something different happens. I hear a new word or expression, I ask what it is, track it unconsciously in all conversations. My brain makes a list of situation or ways to use the word or expression and one day out of nowhere, it will get out of my mouth naturally and 90% of the time in its proper use. It is always exciting and often makes people crack up because my accent makes the expression sounds funny sometimes and not natural.
But then, it becomes a part of my vocabulary and everything is normal. I usually overuse it for a while. I guess this is the way my brain accepts it as its own.
So anyway, recently, I used "smarty pants". I have been using this for a while now but I realized again how funny was that expression.
"SMART-Y PANTS"
If you translate that in french, this is the most ridiculous thing you have ever heard: Le pantalon intelligent. Ok, right....! We would say more : " tu te crois intellingent" - so you think you're smart.
So for people non familiar with the expression, it means in an ironic way: So you think you're smart !
So I am asking you : Where do you think it come from?
I am aware of the fact that there is probably any real answer but I am just asking you:
Make it up! Let your imagination create the first time a human being use that expression. Who he-she was, what context?
French side:
"Pour une raison inconnue au bataillon" - Bataillon was how "troops" was called a long time ago. when they were still walking together in line and kneeling in line to fight and shoot their "guns"
"For a reason remained unknown to the troops"
Alors amis et famille, comment et quand pensez-vous que cette expression fut cree et utilisee pour la premiere fois?
Posted on February 11, 2007 | Comments (4)
Perdu dans traduction or lost in translation
by joon
CAUTIONS
All the game chess/gameball/dice contains in this product are objective for game using not candy
Please must keep away from kids biting or eating
This is from a user's guide we got with a chess/backgammon stand table two years ago for christmas. I put this note away and found few months ago. I got it out to show to a friend with whom I am working on offering translation services. I found it fun and wanted to share it with everybody. Don't worry, I will not translate from french to english and I will keep this in mind as a constant reminder that you can easily get lost in translation.
Well, please for the year to come, keep yourself away from kids biting and/or eating!
Attentions
tous les jeux echec/jeux de balle/des contient dans le produit sont objectif pour les jeux utilisant pas des bonbons
S'il vous plait devez garder loin des enfants mordant ou mangeant
Ceci est un extrait d'une notice d'instruction d'une table qui fait table de jeux d'echec/backgammon que nous avions recu pour noel il y a deux ans. Je l'avais gardee de cote et l'ai retrouvee il y a quelques mois. Comme nous travaillons une amie et moi sur un projet d'offre de services de traduction, j'ai trouve amusant de lui montrer et maintenant de partager ce petit tresor avec vous. Pas d'inquietude, je ne traduirais rien du francais vers l'anglais et je ferai en sorte de garder cette petite traduction comme rappel qu'il est facile d'etre "lost in translation"
Oh et pour la nouvelle annee qui vient je voudrais vous mettre en garde contre les enfants qui mordent et /ou mangent.
Posted on December 29, 2006 | Comments (3)
On se desaltere...
by joon
Desalterer.... J'adore ce mot, je viens de redecouvrir ce mot en parlant a Adam et il etait difficile d'expliquer ce que ce mot impliquait.
Se desalterer : apaiser sa soif. C'est vraiment specifique. ce n'est s'hydrater, boire... mais apaiser, calmer un besoin du corps. Ce mot implique aussi la fraicheur. Si tu te desaltere, tu te rafraichis. Il y a cette idee d'eau fraiche coulant dans ta bouche et ton corps. C'est la memoire de mon corps, mon histoire personelle quand j'ai du pour la premiere fois associe ce mot a une realite qui me fait voir quelqu'un boire a une fontaine quand je pense a ce mot.
En anglais, la traduction venue du dictionnaire est "to quench someone's thirst" qui a ma connaissance n'est pas vraiment utilise. Mais je dois faire mon enquete.
Desalterer (with an accent on the first "e") is a word I just rediscovered. We were talking Adam and I and it was hard to explain, describe what this word means because this is really specific.
Se desalterer: calm your thirst. In the dictionary, it says "quench someone's thirst" but it means nothing to me. It is commonly used?
When you use "desalterer" in French, it really gives this idea of getting fresh, of cooling down, it puts in my mouth and body this all pleasure of fresh water (not cold). I really like this word, I see someone drinking directly at a fountain when I say this word. Who knows if it is an association of my body and brain the first time I heard and used this word or a description in a book, or a collective image...
Posted on June 27, 2006 | Comments (1)
De what?
by joon
"De what ?" is my personal way to say "what" and ""de quoi" ! I noticed I was saying that all the time. I am saying the "de" so quick that maybe people never really noticed... not sure about that! I don't do it on purpose, it just get out like that! I like it actually!
I think it is because it sounds the same in french
de what = wat= kwa= quoi = de quoi?
I actually said one time at school : "kwat?"= quoi +what
Following are some others things I overheard or say :
"on a vu des sealion" = We saw sealions
"c'est a peu pres accurate" = This is pretty accurate
"tu peux me donner la glue" = Give me the glue
"voici les markers/marqueurs" = the markers are here
"De what" est ma facon personnelle de demander en anglais a quelqu'un : "de quoi". Je devrais dire simplement "what"
Je dis ca tres souvent. je dis le "de" tellement vite que je pense que personne n'a jamais vraiment realise! enfin je crois!
Je pense que ca se passe parce que les deux ont quelques peu les memes sons.
de what = wat= kwa= quoi = de quoi?
Un jour j'ai meme dit "kwat?"= quoi +what
Quelques situations franglaises ci-dessus entendues ou dites par moi:
"on a vu des sealion" = otaries
"c'est a peu pres accurate" = precis/plus proche de la verite, de la realite
"tu peux me donner la glue" = colle en general
"voici les markers/marqueurs" = gros feutres pour enfants
Posted on April 25, 2006 | Comments (5)
Ah, english....
by joon
English is so amazing. There is a word for everything!
I learned recently the word "to frown", that I would translate by "faire la moue". So as usual, french needs at least three words to describe something. And even it is not quite right.
Also, how on earth would you describe the world "fluffy"? I still can't find anything in french which describes "fluffy". Especially because you can talk about food or animals, or scarf even...
It is interesting how language describe different reality. As people "inuit" have 50 ways to describe different kind of snow, we have a different way to use languages according to different reality. Don't ask me why "fluffy" is so used here and in so many circumstances...but keep using this word, because it is so awesome!
Also today I said: "Je pars dans deux minutes, il faut que je "grab" mon dejeuner." I realize after all. "to grab" is again a very precise thing to do. And that was totally describing what I was gonna do. The french here failed to give me a better and well, quicker way to express myself. I should have said " Je dois "passer prendre" mon dejeuner". (I have to grab my lunch) Brain choose what is quicker and closer to the reality of the actions....
Finally after witing this entry I got my dictionary out to look at some translations...ahaha:
To frown: froncer les sourcils (3 words - seems very close together but we still need three words to precise, though we will reused the verb "froncer" in other situation.)
Fluffy: duveteux - pelucheux...never, never used in a normal casual conversation.
La langue anglaise est tout de meme incroyable. Il existe un mot pour tout. J'ai appris un nouveau mot recemment "to frown" que je traduirai comme ca sans dictionnaire par "faire la moue", ce qui necessite encore une fois au moins trois mots en francais. Et c'est pas vraiment ca. En fait je suis finalement aller voir la traduction dans le dictionnaire: "froncer les sourcils ". Encore trois mots.... La racine du mot est peut etre la meme quand meme.
Autre mot : "fluffy", ah, "fluffy" Utilise a toutes les sauces ici. Du gateau a la pate "fluffy" a l'echarpe que tu as tricote avec de la "fluffy" laine jusqu'au petit animal qui est mignon parce qu'il est "fluffy".
Alors la, dans le dictionnaire on trouve "duveteux, pelucheux". Ah, bref, ce mot decrit une realite qu'on a pas en France, c'est "fluffy", non?
D'ailleurs en parlant de realite... aujourd'hui j'en ai fait une belle phrase franco anglaise :
"Je pars dans deux minutes, il faut que je "grab" mon dejeuner."
"to grab" est une facon de prendre les choses, c'est un peu attraper a la volee, en passant! Mais la desolee, le francais n'a pas semble m'offrir la meilleure facon de m'exprimer de facon rapide et precise!
Posted on April 4, 2006 | Comments (6)
Getting rid of it...
by joon
I love this .... It's so useful!
Se debarrasser de quelque chose : to get rid of something
Posted on February 6, 2005 | Comments (2)
ob-gyn and Star wars/ Ob-Gyn et la guerre des etoiles
by joon
Il y a quelques semaines, je devais aller voir un docteur a Kaiser (le centre medical auquel je suis affiliee). Et ils me demandent si je suis allee voir "OB-GYN", comme je ne connaissais pas ce mot le temps d'une seconde j'ai cru qu'ils me parlaient du copain d'Obi wan kanobi dans la guerre des etoiles et je me suis demande quel pouvait bien etre le rapport avec ma sante. J'ai demande de repeter et il se trouve que c'est "obstretricien-gynecologue". J'ai alors pris un rendez vous avec le cousin d'obi wan kanobi, et je n'ai pas voulu m'imaginer comment la seance allait se passer jusqu'a je sois la bas.
Few weeks ago, I had to go to Kaiser to see a doctor. She asked me if I already saw a OB-Gyn.
Of course not, Why icould see a cousin or friend of obi wan kanobi...honnestly!
Before answering that, I asked again what was that... and she answered "gynecologist" aaaaaahhhhhh, thank god, a word I know.... no never , I mean here, no. uuuh I need to, yes he is not going to wear any weird sword or anything?
No, good. I was afraid to be in star wars....
Posted on January 17, 2005 | Comments (1)
Resistance et walk / work
by joon
I have talked in french for five whole days.
I hope my english is not gonna be victim of that.
Actually I don't think, I realized wednesday that I reached a good "level"
Wednesday, we had CPR classes/ first aid and it was in english and the afternoon we had a training to recognize a child's abuse or neglect case.
I understood 95 % of what was saying. And I could listen not absolutely carefully. Like My brain sometimes was thinking about something else annd I was able to come back and understandif it was a different subject or no. When I tell you that, it seems like I didn't pay attention but it happenned three times maybe that my brain went on vacation for few seconds.
However, I still can't saying "walk" and "work" correctly. Ihear the difference and I think I pronounce it correctly but no.
When I say "walk" people understands "work" and the opposite of course...
Fortunately, often the context of the situation or of the subject makes the difference.
Last time, I said to Freddy: "it walks for me" instead of "it works for me" but also I realized that maybe the mistake of pronounciation didn't come only because my tongue, and lips and throat (damn it) are french! But my brain came to make some confusion ... In french, we say "Ca marche pour moi" or "ca marche" which have the same meaning that " it works for me" but the verb "marcher" have two different meanings. It can be:
- to walk
- something is working, it functions.
So it's tricky. If I translate litterally "it works for me", it makes sense but it's ridiculous..." ca travaille pour moi" Ok d'accord!
Depuis cinq jours, je ne parle presque qu'en francais et j'espere que mon anglais ne va pas en patir.
En fait je ne crois pas, car mercredi j'ai remarque que j'avais atteint un niveau duquel il est difficile de regresser.
Toute la journee de mercredi a ete des conferences et des cours en anglais. Le premier etait comment donner les premiers secours et les premiers soins et lle deuxieme comment reconnaitre un enfant maltraite que ce soit physiquement, moralement, sexuellement ou medicalement (malnutrition...ca arrive frequemment aussi dans nos pays occidentaux et juste par negligence)
Bref, j'ai compris 95 % de tout et je pouvais partir dans mes pensees et recuperer le fil sans etre completement perdue.
Malgre tout il y a des trucs que je ne peux toujours pas prononce...je n'arrive pas a faire la difference quand je parle entre "walk" et "work". J'entends la difference et je crois la faire et puis non.
Les gens comprennent l'oppose de ce que je veux dire heureusement que le contexte aide.
Une fois, je dis a jessica: "it works for me " et en fait j'ai dit "it walks for me" ce qui ne veut rien dire en anglais. Mais je crois que mon cerveau a voulu traduire litteralement. "stupid french brain."
En effet, en francais le mot "marcher" a differentes significations. En meme temps ils sont couillons de dire " ca travaille pour moi", c'est ridicule!
Posted on September 4, 2004 | Comments (3)
Stupid (e)
by joon
My word I have used for one week........
"stupid"
Instead of trying to use new word, I keep saying "stupid". Everything is stupid, even the food. I could use " not tasty" ... but no.
"God, what haaaapppppennnnned?"
I think I am in my phase of "regression", you know when you talk a foreignn language, your brain at a moment you didn't chose stop to get more informations. He is on strike (french brain, always on strike!); It's his way to say "ooh, I am tired to use a new language, so I give you one word and you do what you want with it, I don't contol the situation anymore, uuuuuuh "stupid" is a good one, have fun!" and after a while, you realize you use the same words for totally different situation.
Help, I want new words, this stupid one is so stupid. (I used it again!)
I really have to look for new words, as if I had only that to do, I work now!
Ok tomorrow but today I need to get my "back to school" stuff (a new skirt, my note books and my "ashley and mary kate olsen commercial twins perfume!", hey, I am stupid!)
Le mot que j'utilise en anglais depuis une semaine... "stupide".
Je suppose que mon cerveau est en pleine phase de regression, il s'est mis en greve, sacre cerveau francais, et il m'a choisi comme mot d'alerte, le mot stupide. Merci, merci bien, c'est classe. Maintenant meme la nourriture que je mange et que je ne trouve pas geniale, je la trouve "stupide", ce qui ne veut rien dire.
Il faut que je cherche du vocabulaire, super, comme si j'avais que ca a faire, je suis une femme qui travaille moi, enfin demain, mais aujjourd'hui il faut que j'aille faire mes courses de la rentree...une jupe, mes cahiers, et mon parfum de ashley et mary-kate olsen, les jumelles commerciales. Vous vous rappelez de michelle dans la serie " la fete a la maison", bon c'etait des jumelles et maintenant elles ont 17 ans et elles y vont dans le marketing. STUPIDE!
Posted on August 29, 2004 | Comments (0)