Français-Anglais / French-English

French to English: Cars, Part 2

2010-06-18T20:56:00.004-04:00

If push comes to shove and you have a very technical document to translate that the client needs yesterday, how do you cope - especially when the generous sprinkling of technical terms prevents you from understanding the document? My suggestion: go for "gisting."

Gisting is a process that enables you to get a rough idea of the subject matter. One way to do gisted translation is to submit it to machine translation. The machine will spew out words which, when put together, provide clues on the topic. This way, you'll be able to look up terminology in the proper context.

I have the Systran package and while I would never use it to translate an entire document, I would use it on that rare occasion when I'm at a loss. If, after reading the 5th paragraph, I still don't understand the source language, I simply turn on my Systran software and let the machine do the work. Nine times out of ten I get to discern what is being said.

Another way is to let Google help you. While Google Translate should never be your primary tool, it does give you good gisting possibilities.

There is nothing wrong with Google Translate or machine translation - provided the document is not sent to the client as is. Human intervention is a must. You'd have to clean it up - and clean up you will because you and I already know that machine translation - if not edited - can be atrocious. It will make you chuckle, but I don't think your client will be very amused.

In my next post, I'll give you examples of Google translations, and then do some quality control so that the document reads intelligently.

FRENCH	ENGLISH
témoin de frein antiblocage	ABS service reminder indicator
témoins de feux de direction	turn signal indicator lights
témoin de feux de route	high beam indicator light
témoin de pression d'huile	low oil pressure warning light
témoin de frein de stationnement	parking brake
témoin lumineux du système de charge	charging system warning light
témoin et carillon de porte ouverte	door ajar warning light and alarm
témoin de bas niveau de carburant	low fuel level warning light
lampe témoin d'anomalie moteur	malfunction indicator light
signal lumineux et sonore de ceinture de sécurité	seat belt warning light and chime
témoin de température du liquide de refroidissement	engine coolant temperature warning light
témoin du système d'immobilisation	immobilizer warning light

French to English: Cars, Part 1

2010-06-15T09:34:00.002-04:00

I'm enjoying my new car - that fresh-from-the factory smell, the way it purrs like a kitten and the smooth highway driving tell you that yes, life can be grand with a brand new machine.

I managed to keep my old car (a Toyota Corolla) for 14 years. In the last 2 years, however, I no longer used it for long trips, preferring to rent a car. I was afraid that it might suddenly croak right in the middle of a busy highway. It was running well right up to its 14th year and for sentimental reasons, I wanted to hang on to it for longer; I secretly hoped I could keep it for at least another 3 years.

But one April afternoon before attending mass, the car started to tremble and I got scared. All I did was pray hard we'd get home safely. We did make it home, but that was a sign from above that it was probably time to let go. Why push my luck?

I wasn't ready for a new car, but I didn't want to face another year of expensive repairs either so I bit the bullet and went shopping. With a pint full of dread.

I learned a lesson: don't shop for a new car when your old one shows signs of serious trouble. Two reasons: (a) out of desperation, you could settle for the first offer that comes your way, and (b) the trade-in value is a sorry pittance. You know that old advice to stars about making an exit from the celebrity circuit while they're still hot? The same advice applies to cars, no doubt.

Because I was afraid that my old car would suffer another relapse and leave me with zero mobility, I hurried up the buying process instead of taking my time to compare offers from at least 2 other dealerships. In my rush to close the first deal, I ended up with a cost that was far greater than the cost posted in the papers. What I should have done was to do my own calculations instead of taking the salesman's word and relying on HIS computer to spew out the figures. That was so unintelligent of me! When I drove out of the dealership with my new car, I had this nagging suspicion that I'd been had.

As for the trade-in value, Toyota Corollas have good resale value - but only if they're in good condition. Mine had a lot of rust on the underside. Plus it was 14 years old! If I had sold it on its 7th or 8th birthday, I probably would have received a higher trade-in value.

That's all behind me now. My new car won't give me reason to worry for at least the next 5 years. My sister once said that her own experience shows that cars start showing trouble just when their warranties expire. My brother also told me that I should get rid of that mentality of keeping my car for as long as I can. "Get rid of it when it's past its prime," he said.

And with the kind of Montreal winters we have, I learned another lesson: I'll have my car rust-proofed every year. That way its bottom belly stays well-lubricated!

FRENCH	ENGLISH
levier d'ouverture de capot	hood release lever
interrupteur de phares antibrouillard	fog light switch
bouton de commande de luminosité du tableau	panel brightness control knob
régulateur de vitesse	cruise control
klaxon	horn
sac gonflable	air bag
commutateur de lave/essuie glace	windshield wiper/washer switch
commutateur de feux de détresse	hazard warning light switch
montre à affichage numérique	digital clock
interrupteur de dégivreur de lunette	de-fogger switch
boîte à gants	glove box (compartment)
panneau de commande de chauffage/climatisation	heating/air conditioning control panel

French to English: Countries, Part 3

2010-06-11T12:54:00.001-04:00

I've been swamped with client work, but that's no excuse to be away from my personal blog this long. I have not posted anything since the 20th of May - mea culpa - but much as I love blogging, I gotta put food on the table as well. Ah, the heartaches! Wish I had two brains and one more pair of hands. These extras would allow me to do everything I want to do in a day. But as they say, be careful what you wish for. I don't want to wake up one morning and see how deformed I've become!

As I complete this final series on countries, I have two bits of trivia to share with you: there is no country that begins with the letter "X". If you chance upon an island - unnamed and undiscovered - and you can lay claim to it, why not give it a name that starts with X?

Second bit of trivia: did you know that there's a country called Nieu? I shouldn't say "country", it's really an island and it's just three hours away from New Zealand. On the official web site, it reports that are less than 90 hotel rooms and there are times in the year where there are more whales than humans.

I have never heard of Nieu until I did research for this posting. Nieu is not to be confused with Nieu-Bethesda which is in Africa. The Nieu I discovered is in the South Pacific Ocean and is also known as the Rock of Polynesia. It is bordered by New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga and Cook Island. It associates freely with New Zealand and is somewhat "governed" by New Zealand. I think I'll put this island in my "countries to visit before I die" list. I have always dreamed of visiting Australia and New Zealand anyway so why not do a side trip to Nieu? Maybe it's the best place to "renew" one's energies!

Here is your final batch of French-English country names:

FRENCH	ENGLISH
Nioué	Niue
La Corée du Nord	North Korea
la Papauasie-Nouvelle-Guinée	Papua Nwe Guinea
la Pologne	Poland
la Roumanie	Romania
Sainte-Christophe-et-Nièves (masc.)	Saint Kitts-Nevis
Saint-Marin	San Marino
l'Arabie Saodite	Saudi Arabia
l'Écosse (fem)	Scotland
la Serbie	Serbia
les Seychelles (fem)	Seychelles
l'Espagne	Spain (fem)
la Suède	Sweden
la Suisse	Switzerland
les pays de Galle	Wales

If you're as curious as I am about Nieu, please visit: http://www.niueisland.com/about/
There's a brochure and a map which you can download.

Where are you heading to this summer?

French to English: Countries, Part 2

2010-05-20T21:40:00.002-04:00

Like other professionals, translators have their own tool kits. I obtained the translation of this next set of countries using a simple but useful software called GT4T. More about GT4T below. Let's talk about CATs first.

About 75% of translators I know use computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools. I believe the industry standard is Trados. Other popular CATs include Wordfast, MemoQ and DivX. These aren't machine translation software, they are called terminology memory software and they help facilitate the work of translators who have to translate documents with word counts in the thousands. They help retain the consistency of term usage.

I once tried Wordfast years ago but gave it up after a few weeks. Don't ask me why. I think my discomfort had to do with the interface.

Translators also have machine translation software programs which, we all know, don't do a perfect job. Machine translation has not yet reached its full maturity, and leaves much to be desired. One example of a machine translation software is Systran. I gave it a try. It did a so-so job, and while the user manual said that its memory can be "trained", one word I was never able to teach it was "borough." In Montreal, we say "arrondisement" just like they do in France, but Systran kept returning the word "district" as the English translation even if I kept correcting it and sending it to the memory term base.

So translation tools, I'm afraid, have left a bitter taste on my mouth. Maybe it's my fault for not trying hard enough to decode the configuration. I almost bought MemoQ not too long ago but I've been reading the comments on Yahoo groups and while some of them have been charmed by it, there seems to be a lot of issues. MemoQ, however, has excellent customer support. Users praise their customer support staff to high heavens. But for now I'm staying away from any translation software - whether it's a CAT or machine translation software.

Last week, I came across Dallas Cao's GT4T while I was surfing on ProZ, and it's a clever concoction, without the whistles and bells. It is based on Google's translation base and it does a good job. GT4T stands for "Google Translate for Translators." It works only within Microsoft Word and the operation is fairly straightforward. I'm actually enjoying it. You can find out more by going to http://dallascao.com/en/gt4t/
Oh yes, it's of course limited in functionalities compared toTrados, Wordfast or MemoQ, but when you're pressed for time and don't have time to learn the intricacies of CAT tools, Dallas Cao's GT4T is excellent! After you've translated the document using it, all you need to do is to clean it up and do the required quality control. I used GT4T to do this next set of countries for you, but had to add the "le" or the "la" before the French name (hello Google!)

FRENCH	ENGLISH
la Hongrie	Hungary
Île Maurice (fem)	Mauritius
le Japon	Japan
la Jordanie	Jordan
le Koweït	Kuwait
la Lettonie	Latvia
la Libye	Libya
Malte (fem)	Malta
le Maroc	Morocco
la Norvège	Norway
l’Ouganda (m)	Uganda
la Nouvelle-Zélande	New Zealand

French to English: Countries, Part 1

2010-05-17T21:04:00.002-04:00

When I was studying translation, one theory that I had down pat was NOT to translate proper nouns. French names of associations and groups shouldn't be translated unless there was an official English equivalent.

I never really got around to asking my professors why the French write the names of countries differently. For example, why would the United States become les États-Unis? What was even more intriguing was some countries were masculine and others were feminine. An academic question gone unanswered! I'll have to dig into my old textbooks and find the explanation.

I'd like to give you the names of some countries in French and English, but I will choose only those countries that are not so obvious owing to the different way they're spelled.
Here's the first 12: (plus 1 bonus)

FRENCH	ENGLISH
l'Andorre (feminine)	Andora
la Barbade (fem)	Barbados
la Biélorussie	Belarus
la Birmanie	Burma
le Cap-Vert	Cape Verde Islands
le Tchad	Chad
les Comores	Comoro Islands
Chypre	Cyprus
le Danemark	Denmark
l'Équateur (fem)	Ecuador
les Fidji	Fiji Islands
la Polynésie française	French Polynesia
l'Allemagne (fem)	Germany

I've been delinquent in posting. I have a good reason though. I was buried in client work and in the last 30 days, I lived around pressing deadlines. That's a good sign, don't you think? Some of us thrive in our work. I like the adrenaline rush when I'm racing against time. The only downside is that I don't get to blog as consistently as I want to.

Adrenalin rush in French - une poussée d'adrénaline or une montée d'adrénaline.
downside - l'inconvénient (as in disadvantage)

French to English: Chocolate, Part 3

2010-04-16T20:16:00.004-04:00

Did you know that you can make truffles at home? I had no idea until I came across some truffle recipes.

This white chocolate truffles recipe is from Ghirardelli's chocolate cookbook. I mentioned this book in my last post when I talked about Domingo Ghirardelli, an Italian who settled in San Francisco and became a successful chocolatier.

I envy people who can make homemade chocolates; next to bread, the smell of chocolates can liven up the atmosphere of any home. Imagine a condo right in the heart of downtown giving off chocolate aromas from the 18th floor! (That might increase the value of your real estate).

The wonderful thing about this recipe is it has only 4 ingredients and the method for making truffles is described in less than 10 sentences!

Here is the recipe for those who want to try their luck with white chocolate truffles (from The Ghirardelli Cookbook, ISBN: 9 781580 088718):

You'll need these ingredients:
* 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
* 1 tbsp unsalted butter
* 8 ounces Ghirardelli white chocolate baking bar, chopped into small pieces
* 1 cup shredded coconut or chopped almonds

Procedure:

1. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Add the butter and stir until melted. Add the white chocolate. Stir until completely melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and pour into a shallow bowl.

2. Cool, cover and refrigerate the mixture until firm, at least 2 hours.

3. Using a mellon baller or small spoon, roll the mixture into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball in the coconut or almonds. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

And voila! That's it - straight from the Ghirardelli company.

Your final batch of chocolate words:

FRENCH	ENGLISH
enrobage	enrobing
certifié équitable	fair trade certified
chocolats fourrés	filled chocolates
framboise	raspberry
gianduja	gianduja
infusion	infusion
massepain	marzipan
poudre de cacao	cocoa powder
graine de cacao décortiquée	cocoa nib
mise en moules	panning
praline	burnt almond
pressurage de la pâte	pressing
torréfaction	roasting

I wasn't sure what gianduja meant so I looked it up. It's a European style chocolate that's made of chocolate and nut paste. Many use hazelnut paste, but almond paste is also popular.

What about ganache? Think of icing, filling or glaze - the one that"crowns" pastries and cakes. It may have started in France or Switzerland. It is made by heating heavy cream (35% and higher) and then pouring it over semi-sweet chocolate pieces which together are blended until smooth. Sometimes, people add liqueurs or a variety of extracts. Chocolate experts say that to make ganache, the usual ratio is 2 parts chocolate to 1 part cream (that will of course depend on the kind of texture you want to obtain).

If your supermarket does not sell Ghirardelli chocolates, I don't see why you can't use any other white chocolate. In fact, those white chocolate chips sold in supermarkets might be good substitutes. Remember, though, that to make excellent chocolate, you have to spend a few extra dollars for good quality ingredients.

French to English: Chocolate, Part 2

2010-04-09T21:02:00.001-04:00

The name Ghirardelli is Italian in origin but say that name out loud and North American chocolate lovers will tell you that it's America's premier chocolate maker.

I was lucky to have stumbled upon The Ghirardelli Chocolate Cookbook (Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, ISBN: 13: 978-1-58008-871-8) because it not only narrates the history of Ghirardelli but it also contains 80 enticing and decadent recipes, some of which are simple to follow.

Domingo Ghirardelli was initiated into the chocolate world by working as an apprentice chocolatier in a small Italian town in Rapallo, Italy. He studied under Signor Romanengo and learned to make premium chocolate delicacies, sugar loaves and Italian fudge candies.

Why would an 11-eleven year old boy spend his time in a chocolate factory when he could be out playing with his friends? It probably had a lot to do with his father's travels to Sumatra and Peru. Listening to his father's exotic tales, his fertile, chocolatey imagination sprung forth!

Barely 20 and already married, he set out with his wife Bettina to Uruguay and then settled in Lima, Peru where they started a small store. But Bettina died and Domingo re-married a widow, Carmen Alvarado. Soon the couple were friends with an American cabinet maker, James Lick, who also had that entrepreneurial bent. Later, they decided to pack their bags and head straight for San Francisco.

At first Domingo tried to participate in the Gold Rush which was at its fever pitch in California, but somehow he always returned to the craft he grew up with and loved most.

Ghirardelli wanted to make his own chocolate so he imported equipment from Switzerland and Peru. It was only natural for the business to thrive: soon, Mr. and Mrs. Ghirardelli opened stores in Oakland, Stockton and Sonora.

Domingo Ghirardelli is credited with the discovery of the Broma process in 1867 and is still used today. This process involves leaving a bag of cocoa beans hanging in a warm room for a long time. When the beans melt, cocoa butter drops to the floor. The bag contains the leftover cocoa which doesn't have any trace of cocoa fat. It now forms the base of the company's Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa.

FRENCH	ENGLISH
chocolat non-sucré	unsweetened chocolate
bain-marie (bain d'eau)	double boiler
mélange	blending
brisures de chocolate	chocolate chips
mousse au chocolate	chocolate mousse
roulé au chocolat	chocolate Swiss roll
chocolat de couverture	chocolate topping
cachuète enrobée de chocolat	chocolate covered peanut
conchage	conching
coulis	coulis
chocolat noir	dark chocolate
désodorisation	deodorization
dragée	dragee (sugar-coated candy, nut or pill)
granulés de chocolat	chocolate cake decorations

French to English: Chocolate, Part 1

2010-04-05T20:15:00.004-04:00

Chocolates must be coming out of your ears, now that Easter weekend is almost over. My brother and I received chocolates and jelly beans from our kind neighbor. To reciprocate, I made chocolate muffins and sent them over with fresh strawberries.

Client work kept me on my toes and away from my blog, and that's the reason I haven't posted anything since the 19th of March. My bad.

I was thinking about what lexicon to give you this week and I decided that since I had just completed some chocolate articles for a client who owns a cookie cutter business and with Easter celebrations in full swing, I thought, why not do a chocolate lexicon?

But first, here's your treat to a chocolate video. I reviewed many chocolate videos and I picked this one especially for you. Ever wondered how those chocolate bunnies are made? Check this out!

Quite an involved process but if you've got the right machines and equipment, you don't need to be bending over hot coals and looking at the timer. Those epoxy sheets are interesting. Would making your own homemade chocolate tickle your fancy?

What comes to mind when someone says "chocolate?" I think of Switzerland, France and Belgium. I love American chocolate (especially Mars), but every now and then I wouldn't mind spending money on fine, European chocolates.

It might surprise you that chocolate didn't originate from Switzerland, France or Belgium. History books tell us that chocolate was first "discovered" among the Aztecs in the 14th century in a place called Tenochtitlán, now known as Mexico City.

It all started when Hernando Cortés went to Monteczuma (Montezuma) to conquer the Aztec empire but instead of stumbling on vast wealth as he had hoped, he discovered the cocoa bean which the natives were very fond of. It was later used as a trading currency. When Cortés presented the bean to the Spanish court, the king and queen didn't like it because of its bitterness.

Many, many years later, Cortés made a cocoa drink which changed the minds of royalty. All of a sudden it was coveted by the upper European classes and only the wealthy could afford it. From then on, the dynamic development of this seductive and mouth-watering delicacy took off.

Here's your first set of chocolate terms:

FRENCH	ENGLISH
arrière-goût	after taste
alcanisation	alkalization
chocolat artisanal	artisanal chocolate (home made)
chocolaterie	chocolate-making
beurre de cacao	cocoa butter
thermomètre à sirop de sucre	candy thermometer
lécithine	lecithin
bavarois au chocolat	chocolate bavarian cream
chocolate amer	bitter chocolate
blanchiment gras	bloom
matière grasse butyrique	butterfat
mouleuse à chocolat	chocolate moulding machine
pâte de chocolat	chocolate paste
rapeuse-effileuse de chocolat	chocolate shaver

One intriguing term is "bloom." According to a chocolate book I was reading, bloom is what happens to the surface of the chocolate. It can be in the form of dullness, streaks, graying or discoloration. When bloom occurs, that means that the chocolate was not tempered properly; it can also mean that it was stored in a place where there were fluctuating temperatures or moisture. While it is unattractive, bloom on chocolate is safe to consume.

French to English: Earthquakes, Part 3

2010-03-19T20:00:00.002-04:00

Earthquake terminology is a vast mass of technical and scientific terms. We are familiar with words like intensity, tremor, faults, Richter scale and aftershocks. What we probably don't know are those esoteric terms that only earthquake scientists use when they're doing research, giving a conference, or writing scientific papers.

For example, what's a harmonic tremor? I'm sure it has nothing to do with Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. The USGS defines harmonic tremor as a series of earthquakes that seismographs detect. They may or may not be a prelude to a volcanic eruption.

And what's the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale? The intensity number is usually written as a roman numeral and it measures the severity of an earthquake as it affects the earth's surface and human lives. There are, of course, several intensity scales. In the US, the Modified Mercalli and the Rossi-Forel scales are commonly used.

The Rayleigh wave is a seismic wave that occurs on the surface of the ground, causing the ground to move in elliptical motion. An isoseismal line is a map illustration - usually in the form of a line or contour - showing which areas experienced the same intensity during an earthquake.

Recurrence interval is also called the return period and refers to the period of time of between major earthquakes in a given area.

Here is your third and final set of earthquake terms:

FRENCH	ENGLISH
atténuation	attenuation
réplique (réplique sismique)	aftershock
zone de Benioff	Benioff zone
fluage	creep
plan de faille	fault plane
échelle géochronologique	geologic time scale
tremblement harmonique	harmonic tremor
isoséiste	isoseismal line
pétrographie	lithology
manteau	mantle
échelle de Mercalli modifiée	modified Mercalli intensity scale
pédogénétique	pedogenic (set of processes that alter or transfer soil elements)
intervalle de récurrence	recurrence interval
onde de Rayleigh	Rayleigh wave

Come and visit again. I start a new theme in my next posting! I have not decided which theme I'll tackle next but I'm sure you'll be able to add the terms to your growing vocabulary!

French to English: Earthquakes, Part 2

2010-03-16T20:34:00.001-04:00

You just ate a super bowl size of your favorite ice cream and you're feeling some kind of remorse. You want to dance for a few minutes so the ice cream doesn't go to your waist. You put on the CD and the disco tune starts blasting in your living room. You're "shaking your booty" and you imagine that you and your friends are having a whale of a time in a downtown funky disco.

Something's moving. You're not sure if the movement is coming from your gyrating hips. Three seconds later you ask if you're overdoing it because the living room seems to be spinning slowly. You stop to catch your breath. It's not you.

It's...it's...my goodness...it's an earthquake! You look up the ceiling...you stare at the windows...you go down on your knees, keeping your head close to the ground. The CD sounds funny. You quickly turn it off and unplug the CD player. The whole house is shaking. You're getting dizzy. Should you try to crawl outside or should you stay put?

You find yourself wishing that you had taken a few minutes to read that emergency preparedness report from the government. It dished out guidelines on what you can do when an earthquake strikes.

I don't know if you've heard of Doug Copp who tried to debunk the theory of "drop, cover and hold on." It's bad advice, Copp says, because seeking cover under tables and other similar pieces of furniture entails the risk of getting crushed underneath. He advanced the "triangle of life" concept. He said that when a structure collapses due to an earthquake, the ceiling will fall on objects and furniture, crushing the person hiding under them. His triangle of life theory is based on the idea that the height of the object that remains standing during an earthquake serves as a sort of protective covering over the space or void beside it which will bring about a sloping roof over it. He believed in his theory because he had worked in disaster recue operations before and he noticed the triangle formations in the disaster zone.

While Copp's theory was interesting, it did not hold much water. The US government insists that the best way to protect yourself is still the drop, cover and hold on technique. Here are guidelines from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The FEMA advises against: running outside, standing beside a door or adopting the triangle of life as a survival strategy.

To minimize injury to yourself and to increase your chances of surviving an earthquake, take these steps (source: FEMA: http://www.fema.gov/hazard/earthquake/eq_during.shtm). This is copied verbatim.

What to Do During an Earthquake

Stay as safe as possible during an earthquake. Be aware that some earthquakes are actually foreshocks and a larger earthquake might occur. Minimize your movements to a few steps to a nearby safe place and stay indoors until the shaking has stopped and you are sure exiting is safe.

If indoors

DROP to the ground; take COVER by getting under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture; and HOLD ON until the shaking stops. If there isn’t a table or desk near you, cover your face and head with your arms and crouch in an inside corner of the building.
Stay away from glass, windows, outside doors and walls, and anything that could fall, such as lighting fixtures or furniture.
Stay in bed if you are there when the earthquake strikes. Hold on and protect your head with a pillow, unless you are under a heavy light fixture that could fall. In that case, move to the nearest safe place.
Use a doorway for shelter only if it is in close proximity to you and if you know it is a strongly supported, loadbearing doorway.
Stay inside until the shaking stops and it is safe to go outside. Research has shown that most injuries occur when people inside buildings attempt to move to a different location inside the building or try to leave.
Be aware that the electricity may go out or the sprinkler systems or fire alarms may turn on.
DO NOT use the elevators.

If outdoors

Stay there.
Move away from buildings, streetlights, and utility wires.
Once in the open, stay there until the shaking stops. The greatest danger exists directly outside buildings, at exits and alongside exterior walls. Many of the 120 fatalities from the 1933 Long Beach earthquake occurred when people ran outside of buildings only to be killed by falling debris from collapsing walls. Ground movement during an earthquake is seldom the direct cause of death or injury. Most earthquake-related casualties result from collapsing walls, flying glass, and falling objects.

If in a moving vehicle

Stop as quickly as safety permits and stay in the vehicle. Avoid stopping near or under buildings, trees, overpasses, and utility wires.
Proceed cautiously once the earthquake has stopped. Avoid roads, bridges, or ramps that might have been damaged by the earthquake.

If trapped under debris

Do not light a match.
Do not move about or kick up dust.
Cover your mouth with a handkerchief or clothing.
Tap on a pipe or wall so rescuers can locate you. Use a whistle if one is available. Shout only as a last resort. Shouting can cause you to inhale dangerous amounts of dust.

Make copies of FEMA's advice and pass them on to your friends and loved ones. Better yet, direct them to the FEMA web site.

Here is your 2nd set of earthquake terms:

FRENCH	ENGLISH
cercle de feu	ring of fire (also called the Circum-Pacific Belt). It refers to the earthquake zones surrounding the Pacific Ocean.
fosse océanique	oceanic trench (a linear depression of the sea floor)
alluvion	alluvium (loose gravel, sand or silt)
aséismique	aseismic (a fault where no earthquakes have occurred)
substratum	bedrock
directivité	directivity (according to the USGS, directivity is an "effect of a fault rupturing whereby earthquake ground motion in the direction of rupture propagation is more severe than that in other directions from the earthquake source.")
mécanisme au foyer	focal mechanism
géodésie	geodesy (science of studying the size and shape of the earth)
grande cercle	great circle
mouvement du sol	ground motion
horst	horst (A horst is found together with a graben in an extensional environment. The graben are the downdropped blocks and the horst are the upthrown blocks that lie next to the graben - definition provided by USGS)
interplaque	inter-plate
glissement de terrain	landslide
magnitude	magnitude

French to English: Earthquakes, Part 1

2010-03-11T21:03:00.003-05:00

I frown and complain when it's snowing outside. Snow is merely an irritant, snowstorms and avalanches do not faze me. These natural disasters can dampen my spirits, but they don't provoke fear in me. I don't quiver with dread.

Earthquakes, however, are a different story. They create fear to the point that I can't help but think "end of the world." One earthquake is all it takes. What happens to my psyche when there are several?

The year 2010 woke us from our peaceful and cozy slumber when Haiti got hit by a monstrous quake. The disaster touched some raw nerves. We asked, how can that kind of tragedy happen without warning?

The film footage gnawed at us: piles of bodies strewn here and there, cries from under the debris and starving, crying infants were heart-wrenching. We were jolted out of our complacency, stirring our compassion and sense of philanthropy. Haitians will be scared and scarred forever. This earthquake left painful memories. Weeks after the quake, we're still reeling from the shock.

Then earthquakes in Turkey and Chile were reported last month. Three weeks ago, mild tremors (about 3.0 in the Richter scale) were felt in the north of Quebec. We were much luckier. No damage, no rescue teams were required. Montrealers didn't even feel it.

Today, I read on Yahoo that another quake measuring 7.2 hit Chile again.

Let's hope that these earthquakes take a sabbatical; otherwise 2010 will feel like 2012.
Pascal Bernard in Qu'est-ce qui fait trembler la terre? (What makes the earth tremble?) wrote about the earthquakes that occurred all over the world and dissects them, tracing earthquakes to their origins. In Part I of his book, he mentioned the 1755 quake that decimated Lisbon. The destruction was so massive it shocked Voltaire who turned to poetry to express his grief:

Philosophes trompés, qui criez « tout est bien »,
Accourez : contemplez ces ruines affreuses,
Ces debris, ces lambeaux, ces cendres malheureuses.
Ces femmes, ces enfants, l’un sur l’autre entassés
Sous ces marbres rompus, ces members disperses ;
Cent mille infortunés que la terre dévore
Enterrés sous leurs toit, terminent sans secours
Dans l’horreur des tourments leurs lamentable jours ? »

A translator who specializes in literary translation would no doubt come up with a good rendering in English of Voltaire's poem and with skill, capture the philosopher's anguish accurately.

Alas, I did not train in literary translation; I am told it is one of the most difficult fields. I will translate Voltaire in my own barbaric and unschooled way so that you get the gist of his sorrow (I wish now I had taken a literary translation course):

They are mistaken - philosophers who shout "all is well"
Rush over here and look at these atrocious ruins,
These debris, these fragments, these pitiful ashes
Women and children, their bodies piled up one after the other
Underneath these broken marble stones, pieces scattered about;
One hundred thousand unlucky souls that the earth has devoured
Bleeding, torn, their hearts still beating
Buried under their roofs...they die; no help comes
Trapped in the horror of their lamentable days

I gave that my best shot, but if there are literal translators who are reading this post and have a better translation, please feel free to share them!

It's time for this initial batch of earthquake terms:

FRENCH	ENGLISH
tremblement de terre	earthquake
accélérogramme	accelerogram (recording of the acceleration of the ground during an earthquake
asperité	accident (an area on a fault that is stuck)
rejet-pendage	dip slip (occurs when the blocks have shifted vertically).
hypocentre (ou foyer sismique)	hypocenter (point within the earth where an earthquake rupture begins)
cisaillement	shearing
plaque tectonique (ou plate lithosphérique)	tectonic plates (large, thin and rigid plates on the outer surface of the earth that move relative to each other)
inversion géomagnétique	magnetic polarity reversal (when the earth's magnetic field changes to the opposite polarity)
épicentre	epicenter
faille	fault (fracture)
glissement de terrain	landslide
sismogramme	seismogram (earthquake record)

Please drop by again for your next set of earthquake terms!

French to English: Olympic Souvenirs, Part 3

2010-03-07T14:39:00.002-05:00

I've lined up a few more Olympic souvenirs for you. The items have long names only because "Vancouver 2010" appears in most of them. I will abbreviate this to "V2010," just to save space.

FRENCH	ENGLISH
calendrier-agenda V2010 engagement	V2010 calendar planners
V2010 cadre de 15 po (pouces) pour billets de patinage artistique	V2010 15-inch figure skating ticket frame
porte-cartes de visite V2010 nature en métal argenté	V2010 silver plated (nature) business card case
Des plus brillants exploits: Le livre commémoratif officiel des XX1es Jeux olympiques d'hiver et des Xes Jeux paralympiques d'hiver	With Glowing Hears: the official commemorative Book of the V2010 Winter Games
cadre en verre récyclé autochtone V2010 horizontal - gris noir	V2010 Aboriginal picture frame - charcoal
Boîtes à histoire V2010 Survive au déluge - gris noir	V2010 Surviving the Flood story box - charcoal
V2010 - Le jeu vidéo des Jeux olympiques d'hiver pour PlayStation3	Official video game of the V2010 Olympic winter games for PlayStation3
V2010 - Le jeu vidéo des Jeux olympiques d'hiver pour XBOX360	Official video games of the V2010 Olympic winter games for XBOX360
cravate V2010 faite de soie à 100% et ornée du logo répetitif - bleue	V2010 100% silk tie, Blue repeat logo
étiquette de voyage - patinage de vitesse	V2010 travel tag - speed skating
sac fourre-tout V2010 en nylon - bourgogne	V2010 ice nylon tote bad - burgundy
hockey Quatchi coussin de voyage V2010 pour la nuque - moyen	V2010 hockey Quatchi travel neck pillow - medium
porte-monnaie à plis trois sections Quatchi de V2010	V2010 Quatchi tri-fold wallet

Wondering what "Quatchi" is? I had the same question. I looked it up and Google brought me to the Vancouver 2010 web site - for mascots. It is pronounced "kwat-chu" and is described as a legendary symbol used by Aboriginal communities in the Pacific West region. Quatchi is a "sasquatch."

No, sasquatch does not refer to someone who hails from the province of Saskatchewan. Quatchi was adopted as one of the symbols for the Vancouver Olympic games and is introduced as a shy mascot. He comes from the deep and mysterious forests of Canada, travelling across the country to meet and encourage people to discover Canada's hidden wonders and...to invite them to play hockey!

In the real world, however, a sasquatch is a yeti-like animal found in the northwestern regions of North America.

This description in French will charm you and your kids. It is copied from http://www.vancouver2010.com/mascot/en/profile_q.php.

I provide an English translation right after the French descriptions below:
Quote:

"Quatchi est un jeune sasquatch qui vient des forêts mystérieuses du Canada. Quatchi est timide, mais il adore explorer de nouveaux endroits et rencontrer de nouveaux amis."

English: Quatchi is a young sasquatch who comes from the mysterious forests of Canada. Even if Quatchi is shy, he loves to explore new places and to meet new friends.

"Même si Quatchi aime tous les sports d’hiver, il aime surtout le hockey. Il rêve de devenir un gardien de but célèbre de par le monde. En raison de sa grande taille, il est parfois maladroit. Mais personne ne peut remettre en question sa passion. Il sait que s’il travaille fort et qu’il fait toujours de son mieux, il réalisera peut-être un jour son rêve."

English: Even if Quatchi likes all winter sports, he likes hockey in particular. He dreams of becoming a world-class goalie. Because of his large size, he can be awkward at times. No one, however, can question his passion. He knows that if he works hard and does his best, he may one day realise his dream.

Quatchi's story says everything about what the Olympic Games have come to represent for young dreamers!

This ends our series on Olympic souvenirs. Please visit often for more themes.

French to English: Olympic Souvenirs, Part 2

2010-03-02T20:59:00.003-05:00

I opened the paper this morning and there were the noisy and happy headlines - still awash in Sunday night's hockey victory. They're calling Sidney Crosby the new Canadian hero, the kid who worked overtime to take his team to the finish line, snatching the gold away from the Americans. This 22-year old has got it made.

For ordinary mortals like me, 22 was a year that passed unnoticed. No blaring trumpets. No admiring and cheering audience. How many people that age have their future sealed in enviable glory and fame, not to mention the million dollar sponsorship offers that will be pouring into Sidney Crosby's e-mail and cellphone? At this point, I believe he'll need at least five managers to oversee and prioritize his commitments as soon as he returns to Nova Scotia...and of course to make sure that his skates are as sharp as a Swiss army knife.

That was a boisterous party - the Vancouver Olympics. I didn't watch all of it, but caught snippets here and there. The figure-skaters held my attention and the ski jumpers took my breath away. The speed skaters made my knuckles white.

Before I go to the souvenirs, let's take a look at the 15 Olympic winter sports. Note that a few are the same in French and English like curling, luge and bobsleigh.

FRENCH	ENGLISH
ski alpin	alpine skiing
biathlon	biathlon
bobsleigh	bobsleigh
ski de fond	cross country skiing
curling	curling
patinage artistique	figure skating
ski acrobatique	freestyle skiing
hockey sur glace	ice hockey
luge	luge
combiné nordique	Nordic combined
piste courte	short track
skeleton	skeleton
saut à ski	ski jumping
surf des neiges	snowboarding
patinage de vitesse	speed skating

Now, for more Olympic souvenir shopping. While browsing the Vancouver 2010 online Olympic store, I not only learned new French words, but also learned one new English word - lanyards. I had never heard of lanyards so opened my Canadian Oxford dictionary. A lanyard is a rope put around the neck or slung over the shoulder with anything (whistle, key, USB drive, etc) attached to it. I had one to hold my ID card when I was a corporate employee, but didn't know then that it was a lanyard.

Here we go:

FRENCH	ENGLISH
chemises	shirts
casquettes	caps (hats)
mascotte en peluche	plush mascot
port-clès et lanières	keychains and lanyards
epinglettes	pins
bruiteurs des Jeux d'hiver	Winter Games noisemakers
pièces de monnaie	coins
écharpe 100% satin de soie	100% silk satin scarf
mini sac à dos	grind pack
pendentif autochtone Vancouver 2010 en argent sterling	Vancouver 2010 sterling silver Aboriginal round pendant
réplique du flambeau olympique de Vancouver 2010	Vancouver 2010 torch replica
clochette à vache Vancouver 2010	Vancouver 2010 cow bell
breloques à boisson Inukshuk Vancouver 2010 plaquée argent	Vancouver 2010 silver plated Inukshuk drink charms

If you were wondering about "Inukshuk", this is what it looks like. The picture is courtesy of Wikipedia. It means something which acts for or performs the function of a person. Inukshuks are man-made stone landmarks and are used by Aboriginals in the Arctic region of North America.

If you recall, the Inukshuk was adopted by the Vancouver Olympics as part of its official logo.
If you're interested in more Olympic souvenirs, you can visit the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Store at: http://www.vancouver2010.com/ and then click on the Olympic Store tab. You can switch languages by simply clicking on "French" or "English" right at the very top!

French to English: Olympic Souvenirs, Part 1

2010-02-26T20:58:00.001-05:00

The Winter Olympics is close to ending - I believe closing ceremonies will be this Sunday - and we've had extensive coverage about winners and losers, victories and tragedies and phenomenal artistry and showmanship. Canada did a good job, despite a few hiccups, and support for the athletes was - to use a teen term - "awesome."

I went to the online edition of Paris Match magazine and I found a survey it carried out among 1,907 readers on their views of the Olympic Games.
I'll reproduce it here:

Quote:

Pour vous, les Jeux Olympiques sont...

38% - l'illustration du pire du sport business.
33% - un grand évènement sportif à suivre à la télévision.
29% - un beau rendez-vous humain et fraternel.

Unquote
(source: www.ParisMatch.com, February 13, 2010)

Translating that, we have:

In your opinion, the Olympic Games are:
(a) an illustration of the worst in the business of sports - 38%
(b) a great athletic event to watch on television - 33%
(c) a beautiful, human, and fraternal union of people - 29%

Notice that the French version has the percentage first while the English has it at the end. That's just my personal preference. There is no translation rule that states where the percentages should appear.

Pretend you're in Vancouver's Olympic Village and you received a gift certificate to spend it any way you like. You go into a store that sells a variety of Olympic paraphernalia. You carry on a conversation with the sales clerk who happens to be a bilingual Canadian.

Your conversation would probably go something like this (you're "X" and the sales clerk is "Y":)

X: Bonjour, je cherche des souvenirs olympiques.	Hello, I’m looking for some Olympic souvenirs.
Y: Nous avons toute une collection. Désirez-vous regarder ce que nous avons?	We’ve got quite a collection. Would you like to see what we have?
X: Non, ça va. Je vais juste regarder autour du magasin, si cela ne vous dérange pas.	No, that’s okay. I’ll just look around the store if you don’t mind.
Y: Pas du tout. Faites-moi savoir si vous avez des questions.	Not at all. Let me know if you have any questions.
X: Est-ce que ce chandail est lavable en machine?	Is this sweater machine-washable?
Y: Non, il est fait de laine à 80 %. Le nettoyage-à-sec est donc recommandé.	No. It is made with 80% wool so dry-cleaning is recommended.
X: Oh, j’adore cette affiche!	Oh, I love that poster!
Y: Tout le monde l’aime bien. J’ai vendu plus de 50 dans la première semaine.	Everyone loves it. I sold more than 50 in the first week.
X: Combien est-elle?	How much is it?
Y: L’affiche pour les jeux paralympiques coûte 150 $ et celle des jeux olympiques et paralympiques coûte 289 $.	The Paralympic poster costs $150.00 and that of the Paralympic and Olympic Games costs $289.00.
X: Je prendrai deux affiches paralympiques et cette collection de cuillère en étain.	I’ll take two Paralympic posters and this pewter spoon collection set.
Y: Souhaitez-vous les envoyer par la poste? Nous vous offrons un service de courrier.	Would you like these items mailed? We offer mailing services.
X: Non, merci, je vais les prendre avec moi dans l’avion. Nous partons demain	No, thank you. I’ll take them with me on the plane. We’re leaving tomorrow.
Y: Très bien, madame. Donnez-moi quelques minutes et je vais les emballer pour vous.	Very well madam. Give me a few minutes and I’ll wrap them for you.
X: Merci.	Thank you.

For our next post, we'll take a look at some more Olympic souvenirs!

French to English: Store Flyers, Part 3

2010-02-23T19:21:00.003-05:00

"Advertising helps raise the standard of living by raising the standard of longing."

I saw that quote from a jokes web site and wondered how I would translate that into French. How about this: La publicité aide à améliorer la qualité de vie en faisant monter le niveau de désir. I'm not sure if that works well, so if anyone reading this can think of a better translation, please...I look forward to your comments!

For this last series on store ads, I picked up eight more expressions - this time from Bureau en Gros (parent company is Staples) and Centre Hi-Fi. Bureau en Gros is the name used in French Canada while in the other provinces it is called Staples. Selling office and school supplies, they have a wide inventory of computers, printers and office and home furniture. They also have a copy centre which I like, especially when it's tax time and I need multiple copies of receipts and tax documents.

Centre Hi-Fi, as you might have guessed, sells electronic appliances - TVs, home sound systems and stereos. I have never bought anything from them but they seem to do brisk business. Now that prices have come down for luxury items like large-screen and high definition TVs, the store regularly releases flyers announcing sales and specials.

Here are the eight catch phrases which I "harvested" from Staples and Centre Hi-Fi:

Catch phrase # 3: rapide, parfait... I think there was no need to include the word "made". Quick, perfect and on time - all the time would suffice, because it was clear in the flyer that this refers to the store's print and photocopy centre.

Catch phrase 6: visez, enregistrez et téléversez...I learned something new. The French "téléverser" means to upload, according to the Grande dictionnaire of the Office de la langue française - OLF. I was familiar with "télécharger" which means to download, but had never heard of "téléverser."

The OLF explains it further. To upload, you can also use télécharger but you'll need to add, vers l'amont. Hence, you have two possible translations for upload: téléverser or télécharger vers l'amont.

To download in French is simply télécharger or télécharger vers le serveur (your server or computer).

Catch phrase # 7: l'audio cinéma maison à son meilleur should have been translated as home audio cinema at its best. The flyer's translation puzzles me.

Let's look at what Staples and Centre Hi Fi are selling these days:

déchiqueteuse à coupe en fragments 6 feuilles	6-sheet cross-cut shredder
fauteil de direction en cuir	leather manager's chair
papier photo glacé évolué	advanced gloss photo paper
tablette autocollante pour chevalet	self-stick tabletop easel pad
logiciel d'impôt	tax software
souris sans fil	wireless mouse
haut-parleurs	speakers
haut-parleur portatif pour iPod	portable speaker for iPod
caméscope ultra-compact	ultra-compact camcorder
caméra numérique	digital camera
support mural	fixed wall mount
écouteurs sans fil	wireless headphone

And now a bonus for you. I found this on YouTube. It was published by http://www.imagiers.net/, and it's on advertising! It gives those words frequently used by "Mad Men." Have a listen!

French to English: Store Flyers, Part 2

2010-02-19T20:48:00.000-05:00

This time I'll pick up some advertising lines from Canadian Tire, a huge retail outlet that doesn't sell only tires. To Canadians, this store is a sacred tradition and very much a part of their lives. It's been around for decades and its product line has been expanded to include home, garden, and kitchen merchandise as well as electronics and banking. It started out selling car accessories and offering car repair services. They're also famous for their "Canadian Tire money"; every time you buy from them, you get these colorful bills in varying denominations which you can use for your next purchase. Don't throw them away - they're NOT Mickey Mouse currency!

If you're looking for a "solid" company, Canadian Tire ranks up there. Its stock - both on the shelves and in the stock market - is healthy.

I kept this Canadian Tire flyer because it has common advertising "come-ons" that you may have come across. Add them to your terminology base. You'll never know when they'll come in handy. Let's take a look:

The first box where it says "premiers arrivés" - you're familiar with the saying "first come first served." The French equivalent is "premier arrivé premier servi." But notice how it was translated to "door crashers." The intention was probably to convey the idea that shoppers ought to be standing by the door when the store opens in the morning - to give the impression that the slashed prices will attract throngs of eager shoppers.

I'm not too happy with the second advert. The French uses the noun form; i.e. achat gros and grosses économies (bulk purchases and huge savings). The English translation should have been consistent with the French by keeping the noun form as well, but it used the verb form (buy in bulk and save big). A better translation would have been: bulk purchases and huge savings.

The rest are fine.

Next, why don't we go inside the store and see what we can put into our shopping carts?

friteuse numérique	digital deep fryer
scie à seau pour carreaux	wet tile saw
pulvérisateur électrique	electric pressure washer
nettoyant d'injecteurs	fuel injector cleaner
lave-glace avec dégrivant	washer fluid with de-icer
scelleuse	food sealer
bouilloire sans fil	cordless kettle
meuble audio-vidéo	multimedia storage
robinet - 1 manette	single-handle faucet
foyer électrique	electric fireplace
armoire/placard, fini érable	maple-finish storage cabinet/pantry
extincteur	fire extinguisher
pièces de rechange universelles durables pour toilette	long-life universal replacement parts for toilets

Final note:

économies - savings

rabais - discount (as in je l'ai acheté au rabais - I bought it at a discount) but on lui a fait une remise -she got a discount. Also: le magasin fait une réduction de 5 % sur les jouets is translated as: the store is currently offering a 5% discount - or a 5% reduction - on toys.

escompte - the English word is also discount. An escompte de banque is a bank discount. We also say 50 % d'escompte sur toute la marchandise - 50% discount on all goods.

The percentage sign (%) in French is written after a space, like this: 50 %; 2 %, 10 %. There's always a space between the number and the percentage. In English, the % is written without a space as in 50%, 2% and 10%.

French to English: Store Flyers, Part 1

2010-02-16T21:34:00.006-05:00

When I moved to Montreal, I was astonished at the number of store flyers that landed in our mailboxes. Not only are they placed in individual mailboxes, they are also displayed on wooden or metallic stands at the entrance of every apartment building. These store flyers are kept neatly in one plastic bag called a Publi-Sac. I've been living here for over 20 years and guess what? These publi-sacs are still around.

Store flyers are the "literature" you browse while you're having your morning cup of coffee or taking a lunch break. I devoured them when I was a student at McGill and learning translation. They're the ideal vocabulary builder, but they also serve another purpose: some of the ads are translated in imaginative ways. Depending on how ads are worded, they can be translated literally (without losing anything in the translation) or translated with a wee-bit stretch of the imagination.

That's why I love translation. When you're translating a document on civil engineering, there isn't much room to be creative; you have to use the appropriate terminology that civil engineers use. Advertising is different. It's one field where translators are allowed to let their creative juices flow - as long as the translation is not off-tangent.

Let me give you your baker's dozen of terms first. After that, we'll look at some of these catchy lines.

This first set comes from supermarket flyers:

So, what kinds of adverts hook your attention? The ones with 50% off, free delivery, 2-for-1, or those that offer discount coupons? I hardly use coupons (they're cumbersome to insert into your wallet), but I wouldn't mind reduced prices. Some people buy only recognized brands; I tend to go for no-name brands especially when there's no discernible difference in quality.

How about those store flyer adverts? I took these from two of my favorite supermarkets: Mourelatos and Loblaws. Most of the adverts below are from the recent flyer of Loblaws where they featured their "Blue Menu" products.

If you read some of the lines, you'll notice that the translator exercised her "editorial" privileges.

Take "le vrai bon goût du gruau": an inexperienced translator who does not have copywriting skills would have translated that as "the true and good taste of oatmeal." In this case, "the way oatmeal should taste" is much better. It captures the spirit of the original.

Next, read how the translator rendered "une salade débordante de couleurs et de saveurs" into "valuable heirlooms by the tub." That's a good one! Another translator would probably say "a salad rich in color and flavor" which is also correct and probably more faithful to the original, but "valuable heirlooms by the tub" shows the translator's creativity and imagination. Not all clients will probably approve this translation because they prefer to preserve the "flavor and color" concepts.

My friendly reminder: translation - while it needs to reflect the meaning of the original - is very subjective, particularly in fields like advertising, music and the arts. Translation's been called a science and an art. There are documents that have to be translated the way the original reads, but sometimes, you'll get a document that calls on another part of your brain - the creative side.

My advice? Go with what your clients want!

French to English: The Press, Part 3

2010-02-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

This is our last series for newspaper terms. I'm going to take another extract from Le Devoir, the Quebec newspaper with an intellectual, conservative leaning.

This extract is written by Jean-Robert Sansfaçon and was published on February 1, 2010 in the economics section.

Mr. Sansfaçon says:

Quote:

Consultations prébudgétaires - D'abord les dépenses!

Le deuxième «fascicule» produit par le comité consultatif sur l'économie et les finances publiques coprésidé par l'économiste Robert Gagné et par le ministre de Finances, Raymond Bachand, montre du doigt la façon de dépenser du gouvernement et le manque d'efficacité des sociétés d'État comme Hydro-Québec. Il confirme une impression généralisée que nous n'en avons pas pour notre argent.

Unquote

Two points I'd like to tackle here before I translate this passage: "fascicule" is a term that used to confuse me. Think of it as a book with chapters, a report with sections, or a manuscript divided into specific instalments. "Fascicule" therefore means that which is a part or section of a document. In Mr. Sansfaçon's sentence, he's referring to a part of the document produced by the advisory committee on Economics and Public Finance.

The second one is "montre du doigt". It is the same as in English - point a finger or put the blame on something or someone.

Translating that paragraph as, we have:

Pre-budgetary consultations: first, the expenses!

The second issue raised by the advisory committee on the economy and on public finance co-presided by economist Robert Gagné and by Finance Minister Raymond Bachand, points a finger on the way the government spends and on the lack of efficiency of Crown corporations like Hydro-Quebec. It confirms the general impression that we're not getting our money's worth.

We use "Crown corporations" in Canada because government entities are said to belong to the Crown (Her Majesty).

"Co-presided" is common usage, but you can also say "jointly presided."

Here is your final series of newspaper terms:

FRENCH	ENGLISH
article nécrologique	obituary
pagination	pagination
correcteur d'épreuves	proofreader
casier	rack
bobines	reels
reporteur	reporter
revue	review
reporteur local	stringer
agence de presse	syndicate
tabloïde	tabloid
agence de transmission	wire service
éditeur de journal	publisher

Before the end of 2009, I read that La Presse might have to fold owing to a dwindling readership and anemic circulation. It got salvaged - to everyone's relief. La Presse is a Montreal institution. It wouldn't look too good if La Presse stopped publishing.

Newspapers that close for business isn't a good sign. It's not because people read less, but a point made by Jeff Jarvis was enlightening. He makes suggestions on how newspapers can survive; read about it here: http://seekingalpha.com/article/112316-10-ideas-for-newspaper-survival.

The two suggestions that struck a chord were to adapt to the digital age and to engage readers. He says that readers want to know they're part of the news. He says: “The explosion of blogging and social media Web sites has created a culture in which consumers of news expect to be included in the news publishing process….”

Good point!

Technorati Tags: newspaper French to English terms,translation,Le Devoir

French to English: The Press, Part 2

2010-02-10T16:43:00.000-05:00

Deadlines, deadlines! Ah, that's the life of a freelancer, but despite it all, I don't think I'd want to go back to corporate life.

That's my way of saying that I'm late for this post, I'm not blogging as regularly as I want to. I make the effort because this blog has been running for close to nine months and for that amount of time, it would be self-defeating to throw in the towel (which I was tempted to do on occasion).

In my last blog, I translated a passage from Lysiane Gagnon's column in La Presse. This time, I'll take an extract from Joseph Facal's column in Journal de Montréal, and translate it. Then I'll give you the next set of terms used by the newspaper industry.

Joseph Facal says:

Quote:

Pauline Marois vient de reconnaître que les demandes syndicales étaient «un peu élevées».

C'est le moins qu'on puisse dire. Dans le contexte actuel, ces demandes sont presque choquantes pour les non-syndiqués, ce qui ne veut pas dire que les syndiqués du secteur public sont les enfants gâtés qu'on dénonce trop facilement. Mais il s'agit évidemment d'une position de négociation.

Unquote

English translation:

Pauline Marois just acknowledged that the demands of the union were "a little high." It's the least that can be said. In the present context, these demands are almost offensive to non-unionized workers. It does not mean, however, that unionized workers in the public sector are spoiled children who we denounce too quickly, but their demands clearly put them in a negotiating position.

In the first line, the word reconnaître means "recognize" in English. But if you use "recognize" in the translation, it would seem a little awkward. For example, you can't recognize that union demands were a little high; you can, however, say "acknowledge" which blends better with the rest of the sentence. You can also translate it "became aware".

The phrase vient de means "just" as in elle vient de manger (she just ate, she had just eaten); ils viennent de constater (they just noticed).

The French expression, c'est le moins qu'on puisse dire. You might ask, why "puisse" and not "peut". The answer is that it takes the subjunctive form of the verb (a tense that presents some difficulties to new learners). The subjunctive form of the verb (subjonctif) is used when the expressions convey doubt, emotion, desire, necessity, insistence, indefinite antecedents, superlatives and others. An easy to understand explanation is given by Stephen Ohlhaut here: http://www.orbilat.com/Languages/French/Grammar/Syntax/Moods/French-Syntax-Moods-Subjunctive.html.

Let's deal with those newspaper terms:

FRENCH	ENGLISH
légende inserée dans une illustration	cutline
date et lieu d'origine	dateline
échéance	deadline
publicité par grande annonce	display advertising
rédacteur (éditeur is also used)	editor
bouche-trou	filler
lézarde	gutter
style de la pyramide inversée	inverted pyramid
mise en page	layout
lead	lead
cartouche de titre	masthead
papier à journal	newsprint
maculage	offset
salle de presse	press room

French to English: The Press, Part 1

2010-02-05T20:29:00.001-05:00

Which section of the paper do you read first? Or which one don't you bother to read?

I get to read whatever my brother has finished reading. It's my subscription, but brothers are special that way. They're the ones who have the privilege of reading the papers before their siblings do, siblings who pay for the subscription. What do you think he'll tell me if I ask him to split the subscription fee with me?

He won't answer, he'll just give me that are you nuts look.

On Saturday mornings - my favorite day of the week - the first section I read (if my brother's done with it) is the Gazette's Home Section. I enjoy the articles written by the Gazette writers when they visit homes and chat with tenants and homeowners. It's in the form of a question and answer, so it is easy reading. Those who are interviewed show an area of their apartment or house and they tell readers why they chose the apartment or the location and what's special about the neighborhood. If they have an interesting piece of art, they talk about that too.

I also like the business section. It's a good way to rev up your financial education at your own pace.

This three-part French to English lexicon will focus on newspapers. I'll give you some terms and I'll translate short paragraphs from columnists of LaPresse, Le Journal de Montréal and Le Devoir - three newspapers with a wide circulation in Montreal.

La Presse is read by Montreal's Francophone community (I'm sure many Anglophones read it too) and is the French equivalent of the Montreal Gazette. Le Journal de Montréal is a popular newspaper, with a slight bent for the sensational. Le Devoir is - ehem - more high-brow and read by the intelligentsia. It's a conservative newspaper; if you want to refine your French vocabulary, and learn the art of sophisticated journalism, read Le Devoir everyday.

When I was first learning French, I had to keep my bilingual dictionary close by when reading Le Devoir. There were many words I could not understand. If I read LeDevoir today, I bet I'll still be looking up some words!

For today's blog, I'll start with Lysiane Gagnon of LaPresse. This paragraph refers to the United States which seemed to be in free fall judging from last year's recession. She uses the word "declin" (decline), and mentions Denys Arcand, a Quebec film producer who made the beautiful film, Declin de l'empire américain.

Quote:

Denys Arcand avait trouvé un titre prémonitoire. Le fait marquant de la décennie est en effet le déclin de l'empire américain.
Déclin tout relatif, cela va de soi. Les États-Unis restent la puissance la plus riche, la plus avancée scientifiquement, la plus forte militairement, et celle dont la culture est le plus innovatrice. Mais déclin il y a.

Unquote

Ms Gagnon uses the word "premonitoire" (think "premonition"). "Cela va de soi" is an expression you might be familiar with. It means "it goes without saying."

Here's the English translation:

Denys Arcand may have chosen a title that hinted at a premonition because the most significant event of the decade was in fact the decline of the American empire.

But it goes without saying that the word "decline" is relative. The United States remains the wealthiest, most scientifically advanced, and the strongest military power with a culture described as the most innovative. But yes, it's on a decline.

You'll notice that I translated Ms Gagnon's paragraph by adding or subtracting words where it was necessary to do so. These translation theories are to étoffer (to beef up with more words) and to supprimer (to cut out or take out words) and they are techniques used by translators to make the translation more fluid and more natural.

Our translation professors always used to say not to produce a translation that reads like a translation; it has to read like it was the original. As you can see, my translation isn't literal. For example, premonitoire is "premonitory" in English, but who uses premonitory these days? I chose instead, "that hinted at a premonition." I also connected sentences 1 and 2 by adding the word "because" to make a more natural transition of ideas. I have done the same with the rest of the translation.

Writers make use of what's called "editorial licence". For translators, editorial licence is an inevitable practice, especially when literal translations are to be avoided.

Your first set of newspaper terms:

FRENCH	ENGLISH
manchette	lead story
corps du texte	body copy
boldface	caractère gras
journal grand format	broadsheet
signature	byline
rubrique	caption
diffusion	circulation
bureau des informations locales	city desk
classified advertising	annonces classées
chronique, reportage	column
pouce-colonne	column inch
chroniqueur (chroniqueuse)	columnist (female columnist)
secrétariat de rédaction	copy desk
réviseur(e)	copy editor (female copy editor)
droit d'auteur	copyright
correspondant(e)	correspondent (female correspondent)

French to English: Business Letters, Part 3

2010-02-01T20:19:00.001-05:00

Have you ever requested a recommendation letter from a past employer, co-worker or family friend only to wait days and days for it? You're imagining how your prospective employer is interpreting this delay.

Is she unable to get a recommendation letter because none of her previous employers thought she was a good employee?

Want advice? Make life easier for the people you request recommendation letters from. Suggest that you write the letter yourself and send it to them for editing.

Here is what Joyce Lain Kennedy and Alain Dumesnil say in their book, Les lettres d'accompagnement (covering letters), published by Éditions Générales First, France, ISBN: 2-87691-652-5. Their advice is written in three paragraphs; let's take one paragraph at a time.

First paragraph:

French: Vous attendiez une réponse impatiemment et vous venez de recevoir un e-mail de votre employeur potentiel vous demandant de lui envoyer plusieurs lettres de recommendation.

English translation: You've been waiting impatiently for a response and then you receive an e-mail from your potential employer requesting you to send him several letters of recommendation.

Second paragraph:

French: Pas de panique - rédigez vous-même vos lettres de recommandation ! N'oubliez pas que les personnes susceptibles de vous recommander (anciens employeurs, professeurs, responsables d'associations ou de clubs) sont aussi débordées que vous. Si elles sont prêtes à faire votre éloge, proposez-leur d'écrire un brouillon qu'elles n'auront plus qu'à peaufiner.

English translation: Don't panic - write the letters of recommendation yourself! Don't forget that the people who can recommend you (former employers, professors, association or club officials) are as busy as you are. If they are willing to recommend you, offer to draft a letter so all they need to do is polish (or edit) it.

Third paragraph:

French: Pour plus de commodité, identifiez le traitement de texte utilisé par chacune de vos références et saisissez votre brouillon sous le même logiciel. Envoyez votre letter par e-mail en fichier joint ou bien enregistrez-la sur une disquette que vous acheminerez par La Poste ou remettrez en main propre avec une version paper.

English translation: So it's more convenient, find out what word processor each of your contacts uses and type the draft using the same software. E-mail your contacts with the letter attached, or save it on a CD which you will send by mail or submit a hard copy personally.

That's good advice. If someone were to ask you for a letter of recommendation, and you're not exactly a letter-writer, you'd be ill at ease. It's not because you don't think highly of the person's skills or experience, but the thought of writing a letter - something that takes you hours, even days - is an encroachment on your time.

But if the same person requesting a recommendation offers to write it herself, you'd be more open to the idea!

Let's face it: not many people are comfortable writing letters. The words don't come that easily. I even heard of one case where a person was requested and it took him three weeks to produce one, because he agonised over what to say and how to say it.

These days, this is no longer a problem. There are two solutions: the first one is to search the Net for an example of a letter of recommendation, and the second solution is to ask the person requesting a recommendation to write it himself. If you agree with what's written, all what's left is for you to sign it.

Just for fun, I googled "examples of recommendation letters", and I got over 9.2 million results. Assuming half of those are bogus or poor quality sites, your chances of finding the perfect letter that you can tweak are still very good.

So you see, you have no excuse. Do a good deed and write that letter pronto!

Your bonus lesson: some French phrases to avoid, how to say them better, and their English translations:

Don't say	Say	English
année académique	année scolaire	school year
engager du personnel additionnel	engager du personnel supplémentaire, complémentaire	hire additional staff
l'agenda de la réunion	l'ordre du jour de la réunion	meeting agenda
code régional	indicatif régional	area code
compléter un formulaire	remplir un formulaire	fill out a form
nom corporatif	nom de société, raison sociale	corporate name, head office
paie de vacances	indemnité de congé	vacation pay
plan d'assurance	régime d'assurance	insurance plan
faire du surtemps	faire des heures supplémentaires	do overtime
tentativement	à titre d'essai; provisoirement	tentatively

French to English: Business Letters, Part 2

2010-01-29T10:00:00.001-05:00

In my last blog, I gave examples of closing sentences in French business letters which can't be translated into English literally.

Today, I'd like to mention some opening lines commonly used in French business correspondence. I'm afraid you won't see anything that closely resembles "Hey Dude". We're talking business letters, remember?

Occasionally, however, when two business people happen to be also good friends or golf buddies, the "Cher Monsieur" is crossed out manually, and replaced by "Salut Jean" or "Mon Cher Jean."

This is the same practice in English. At least in the companies I worked, it was customary for my boss to strike out the "Dear Mr. Jones" to replace it with a more personal greeting like "Dear John."

I'll translate a handful of French letter opening lines into English and will dispense with the table format this time.

French: En réponse a votre lettre du 8 juillet 2008...
English: In response to your letter of July 8, 2008...

French: À la suite de l'annonce publié dans le journal...
English: Following the announcement published in the paper...

French: Nous avons reçu votre candidature pour le poste d'adjointe administrative...
English: We received your application for the position of administrative assistant...

French: C'est avec grand plaisir que nous avons appris votre nomination...
English: It gave us great pleasure to learn of your appointment...Alternately, you can also translate this as: We were delighted to hear of your appointment...

French: C'est avec regret que nous vous faisons part de...
English: We regret to inform you that...

French: Nous sommes actuellement dans l'impossibilité de...
English: It is presently impossible for us to...

French: Nous avons pris connaissance du document que vous nous avez fait parvenir...
English: We received the document you have sent us...

When I started my translation courses at McGill University, I was afraid to "deviate" from the French and fell into the trap of translating literally. The outcome left much to be desired. When you're starting out as a translator, you may feel this same hesitation. Go with your instincts. Ask: does this sentence sound awkward? Can this sentence be further improved without altering the meaning of the original?

My advice is to translate sentences in business letters the way they're normally written in English. Let's take the last example above. "Nous avons pris connaissance du document que vous nous avez fait parvenir."

The phrase "pris connaissance" (infinitive: prendre connaissance) is literally "to recognize" or "to learn about." However, we can't begin a formal business letter by saying that "we recognize the document" or "we learned about your document."

The correct translation would be: "We read the document you sent us." But if I were to translate that, I would write it this way: "Thank you for sending the document which we have read."

Given that English tends to use fewer words, try to be as brief as possible while still reflecting the essence of the original - or source - language.

Note: "Faire parvenir" - this is a phrase you will encounter often in French correspondence. It means "to send." In less formal correspondence like in e-mails, the French would simply say "envoyer" or "transmettre" as in "envoyer une lettre à quelqun (to send somebody a letter), or "je peux te transmettre les documents" (I can transmit the documents to you).

Pick up a book that contains examples of French business letters and try translating them for fun!

Technorati Tags: French letters,translating French business letters to English,common opening lines in French business letters

French to English: Business Letters, Part 1

2010-01-26T14:08:00.003-05:00

Starting today, I'll be taking a different approach for this blog. You will still get your lexicons, but there may be fewer terms in certain posts in exchange for more translations of phrases and sentences.

As I start this new theme on business letters, I'll take common paragraphs used in various types of business correspondence and then translate them into English.

You may have read business letters in French and thought, "the French write in a different manner." That observation is accurate. They write the address and dates differently, they don't capitalize days and months of the year, and their closing lines are a tad more elaborate, unlike the more direct and brief English business letter. There's an engaging tone in their closing lines that can be described as "flowery", but that's the charm of the French. Didn't someone say that French was the language of diplomacy?

Here's an example of a closing line in French:

"Vous remerciant à l'avance de l'attention que vous porterez à ce document, je vous prie d'agréer, Madame la Directrice, mes salutations distinguées."
(source: Office de la langue française, Le français au bureau, 1996)

English translation: Thank you for taking the time to read this document. I look forward to hearing from you."

You're going to say that's a wrong translation. It is. It isn't an accurate reflection of the French message. But while it is a wrong translation, it is the right way to express it in English.

Which takes us to the theory that says that literal translations will not work. If we were to translate this closing line literally, it would read like this:

"Thanking you in advance for the attention you will give to this document, I sincerely offer you, Madame Director, my distinguished sentiments."

Sounds awkward, doesn't it? It may have been perfect in the days of King Henry VIII, but today, we subscribe to the notion that business letters should be brief, to the point, and devoid of clutter.

I still receive letters written in French that close this way. That's fine. I'm not going to argue against tradition, but when translating a French letter into English, we should translate it in the most appropriate manner possible.

If you need more convincing, my Harrap's Shorter dictionary (2006) translates "je vous prie de croire à mes sentiments distingués" as simply "sincerely" or "yours sincerely."
This is one reason I love translation. It's like having two brains, forcing you to absorb the nuances of language and culture of two different worlds.

Types of business letters:

FRENCH	ENGLISH
réponse à une offre d'emploi	letter of application (in response to a posted job announcement)
lettre de présentation accompagnant un curriculum vitae	covering letter (to a CV)
convocation à une entrevue	notice of interview
demande d'emploi	job application letter
réponse défavorable à une demande d'emploi	rejection letter (to a job application)
démission	letter of resignation
première lettre de recouvrement	first collection notice (to an account that's past due)
félicitations	congratulatory letter
recommandation	letter of recommendation
demande de renseignements ou d'information	letter to request information

Here is another sentence commonly found in acknowledgement letters:
"Nous accusons reception de votre lettre du 8 juillet 2009 et vous demandons de fournir les informations supplémentaires suivantes..."

English translation: We acknowledge receipt of your letter dated July 8, 2009 and request that you provide the following additional information...

That's a good translation. A better one, however, is:

Thank you for your letter of July 8, 2009. We request that you provide additional information listed below...

"Acknowledge receipt" - even if still used - sounds stiff and too formal, so my preference is to simply thank the sender for his letter!

French to English: Gym Equipment, Part 3

2010-01-23T13:32:00.003-05:00

I can't blame people for abandoning their gym memberships. Let's face it: doing repetitive exercises over time is like eating spaghetti five days a week (which I used to do back in the days when I was a poor student).

But when spring draws to an end and we're feeling heady about the warm days of summer, two things hit us: wearing sleeveless shirts and wondering if last year's bikini ought to be replaced by a one-piece bathing suit, complete with a pleated skirt running across the whole abdominal area. We look at our arms in the mirror - swing them sideways and upwards and we don't like what we see. Our abdominals are looking more like slack and wet dough instead of a 6-pack. Oh me, oh my!

The solution: head back to the gym!

Two of my favorite exercises are those that work the triceps and tone the abdominals. I have a harder time with my biceps and have not been able to increase loads despite all these years of gym exercises. The triceps machines, however, are a doozy! Comparing the muscles in my forearms, I'd say my triceps are much stronger - and better toned - than my biceps.

And yet...

A few personal trainers have said that the triceps are one of the more difficult muscles for women to work on. The word "triceps" means there are three heads - or triceps brachii - long head, lateral head and medial head.

So why are women finding it difficult to work their triceps? The short answer: estrogen.
The long answer: it is caused by what science has called the gynoid pattern of fat distribution or women's tendency to store fat, giving them a pear shape. Female fat is most obvious in the thighs, hips and triceps. Males, on the other hand, who are not in shape, tend to have bodies that show an "apple" shape, so a lot of that unwanted excess flesh appears on their bellies.

I like the abdominal machines in my gym, reason why I've gravitated towards them instead of lying down and doing abs exercises sans machines. Doing crunches are more manageable with equipment designed for certain movements, instead of sitting and lurching forward with your hands at the back of the head and your abs constricted - ouch!

Looking at this last series of French and English terms for gym equipment, you'll notice that the French terms are almost the same; the difference being the type of position adopted (indicated in brackets): sitting, lying down, rotating, or adjustable. I'll give you the abdominal machines first and then a handful of triceps machines:

FRENCH	ENGLISH
LES ABDOMINAUX	THE ABDOMINALS
appareil abdominal (poids libres)	lying crunch - plate loaded
banc abdominal (incliné)	sit-up machine
appareil abdominal (double action)	dual seated crunch
appareil abdominal (couché)	lying abdominal
appareil abdominal (rotation)	abdominal rotation
banc abdominal (redressement)	crunch board
appareil abdominal (assis)	seated crunch
TRICEPS	TRICEPS
appareil pour triceps (indépendant)	triceps isolator
appareil pour triceps	triceps pushdown
appareil pour triceps (vertical)	overhead triceps
appui pour triceps (assis)	triceps extension curl
banc pour triceps	triceps bench

I know there are women who don't like working with machines, so here's a youtube exercise for your triceps using dumb bells, courtesy of Curtis Penner.

Technorati Tags: gym equipment for abdominals and triceps,youtube tricep exercises using dumb bells

French to English: Gym Equipment, Part 2

2010-01-17T22:03:00.001-05:00

I read somewhere that most cases of back pain is caused by strain in the lumbar area (chronic or acute), irritated nerves, disc damage, a condition called "bony encroachment" and bone and joint problems.

Strain in the lumbar area covers mostly the lower back and occurs when the tendons, muscles and ligaments are injured. You get low back pain when you overuse or improperly use back muscles, or if you subject your back to trauma.

Irritated nerves can also cause low back pain. Irritated nerves occur either because of disease or a mechanical jolt. Damage to the discs - caused by degeneration of the outer rings of the discs or trauma - also contributes to lumbar pain.

A slew of tissue and bone problems that also produce low back pain in varying intensities include those conditions that are congenital (e.g. scoliosis and spina bifida), arthritis, weakening bone cartilage, and injuries and fractures.

The back has several muscles which surround the spine. They facilitate movement between the vertebrae and also facilitate movements that use the back and shoulders.

Unless back pain is caused by a congenital disease, back problems are usually corrected with the correct exercises and with a good dose of discipline.

I used to suffer from back pain about three to four times a year but when I started going to the gym and worked with weights and machines, those flare-ups have disappeared. My back pain would last a week, and getting in and out of the car was excruciating. I was told, "don't overdo the resting in bed bit. Get up and walk...walk a lot."

The number of machines for exercising the back has grown and some of them are designed to target specific areas of the back. You can choose not to work with machines and simply use dumbbells or the exercise balls. A physiotherapist can teach you some movements that if done consistently, will help relieve some of your symptoms.

What are some of the machines for exercising the back?

Take a peek!

FRENCH	ENGLISH
appareil vertical	rotary pulldown
poulie verticale	lat pulldown
poulie 45°	incline row
rameur vertical	vertical row
banc lombaire	hyperextension
banc lombaire, fessiers et ischio-jambiers	deadlift and rowing platform
rameur	diverging row
appareil en "T" incliné	incline T bar row
appareil lombaire	lower back extension
poulie horizontale	low row
appareil pour trapèzes	shrug and deadlift machine

If you're not into machines, here's a video showing you how to exercise your upper back with weights and balls.

Technorati Tags: gym equipment in french and english,lower back pain,weights,machines for the back