Maybe I'm unique in this but where French is translated into English, ie as in La Guingette, I find it difficult to follow when the transaltion is not literal. There is a certain way of saying things in french ie the word order, the 'turn of phrase' that is different from English. When the English translation uses different phrasing - ie to make it sound more English, This only makes the French harder to comprehend.
This is not the perfect example but the emphasis is on showing how the French is constructed rather than using a 'perfect' English phrasing and choice of words. This is a different form of translation from that used ordinarily.
Thank you for that feedback. It is a hard line for us to draw between respecting the structure of the French and achieving a smooth flowing translation.
I think as you say, Paul, the ideal for a site for non-native speakers (rather than say a translation for publication) is to err towards being "literal" rather than elegant, but other views are welcome. We'll do our best to respect this principle in the future.
The other difficulty that no doubt readers have noticed is that in the interviews, the interviewees don't always speak in particularly well-formed sentences themselves. We don't always edit out badly formed replies - because this is a reflection of how people really speak so it's good to get used to it - but it does make the call between literalness and comprehensibility even harder to make...
Last edited on Fri Oct 5th, 2007 02:27 pm by visiteur
I do not normally read the English unless I am having trouble understanding the French. However then I find that having an accurate translation into the equivalent English is useful as it tells me that if I want to express this idea as expressed in English, then here is the French equivalent.
Another way to look at it, is that the English is a convenience for the reader, and if I want to read the article quickly, then I can skip the French and read it 10 times more quickly in English! As I usually study the articles when travelling, the English is useful when the train is getting close to the station!
In a perfect world -- one with unlimited time and resources -- we could have both! A word-by-word translation for those that need/want it, with the corresponding natural English phrases interspersed. For example, I'm reading an article now with the French phrase "un chaud partisan" -- a 'hot partisan'...I understand that, but I would normally say "a strong supporter".
