Cucumis - Free online translation service
. .



Translation - French-English - Tout va décidément très mal dans ...

Current statusTranslation
This text is available in the following languages: FrenchRomanianEnglishGreek

Category Newspapers

Title
Tout va décidément très mal dans ...
Text
Submitted by Francky5591
Source language: French

Tout va décidément très mal dans cette pauvre France, de mal en pis. Nos amis grecs n'ont rien à nous envier, nos salaires sont gelés pour trois ans, les fonctionnaires deviennent corvéables et licenciables à merci. Les statistiques sur le chômage mentent, et la précarité est grande.
Les prisons y sont les pires d'Europe et elles ne désemplissent pas. On a l'impression d'être revenus sous le gouvernement de Vichy.
Remarks about the translation
Voici ce que me disait un ami français il n'y a pas longtemps. Français parlé. Donc, à traduire en grec du même style, mais pas trop cockney quand même pour l'anglais (brit de brit, donc), qu'on arrive à comprendre! ;) :p

Title
The poor France.
Translation
English

Translated by Tzicu-Sem
Target language: English

Really, everything is going poorly in this poor France, from bad to worse. Our Greek friends have nothing to envy us for; our salaries have been frozen for three years, the officials have become subject to unlimited exploitation. The statistics about unemployment are lying and poverty is high.
Prisons here are the worst in Europe and they are never empty. One has the impression that we're back under the government of Vichy .

Validated by Lein - 22 July 2010 11:57





Last messages

Author
Message

8 May 2010 16:05

Tzicu-Sem
Number of messages: 493
I've found that "corvéable à merci" is an expression that means "subject to unlimitted exploatation", which is actually something you are describing. In a word: exploatation.

8 May 2010 16:21

Tzicu-Sem
Number of messages: 493

My translation has been rejected? On what grounds, may I ask? I have given the explanations for my choices and the replies to your comment, and I believe they are quite plausible ones. The issues were just a matter of word choices not grammar or something that makes my translation completely inaccurate.
I'm sorry but I cannot agree with the decision.

8 May 2010 16:25

Francky5591
Number of messages: 12396
Hi Tzicu!

We'll wait until Tantine comes back and checks this translation, I'm not an English native speaker so that I can't tell exactly what is the more suitable term, I just don't agree with the words you used, but I may be wrong.

"insecurity" is in my opinion most of all attached to a lack of security, moreover this is a word that is used precisely by politicians as an argumentation towards people who are afraid to be robbed, hijacked or stolen their goods and or privacy,(these ones are people who live decently) more seldom it is about a lack in being provided at least with the minimum necessary to survive. In this case, precarity is more suitable than insecurity. (but it's only my "not native English speaker's" opinion)

"exploatation"? did you mean "exploitation"? (the "oa" sounds rather Romanian, am I wrong? )




8 May 2010 16:28

Francky5591
Number of messages: 12396
I didn't mean your translation was to be rejected. Lilian may have done it for other reasons than mine, as I was rather in favor to discuss the translation personally.

Lilian, would it be possible to reset this trans to evaluation?

Thanks!

8 May 2010 16:34

Francky5591
Number of messages: 12396
I've reset it to evaluation.
Sorry to interfere with your decision, Lilian, but I was just beginning to argue with Tzicu on some terms he used, about which I did not agree, and I was hoping to reach a consensus at the end.
Anyway, no pressure nor rush with this translation are required (I'm the requester as well)


8 May 2010 16:46

Francky5591
Number of messages: 12396
So, I was saying "insecurity" was a term to avoid here, notably for the reasons I told above, and I would personally prefer "precariousness", or simply "poverty", that are less ambiguous terms.

"Officials" are employees of the state, they used to have a certain safety in their working contracts, before this October 2009 add to the law was accepted at the parliament. They are now feeling like little soldiers, who only have got to do what they are told if they don't want to lose their job.

10 May 2010 12:31

Francky5591
Number of messages: 12396
Hi Tzicu, please could you edit your translation according to my remarks?

Thanks a lot!

Apart from these two terms to be switched with more suitable ones -according to what I said above-, the last sentence is to be improved as well : "under the impression- is correct, but as a bit further one can read "under the government of Vichy", the whole bit doesn't sound very well.

10 May 2010 13:20

Tzicu-Sem
Number of messages: 493
Hello Francky,

How is it now?

10 May 2010 14:44

Francky5591
Number of messages: 12396
Hi! To me it seems fine, it's about the way I would have expressed it myself.

I submitted this translation request just to have an idea about the way an Englishman would say, so if you don't mind, Tzicu, we'll wait until Tantine logs in and tells us whether a native speaker would express in these terms.

Thanks!

10 May 2010 14:54

Tzicu-Sem
Number of messages: 493
Of course, Francky. That will do fine
Thank you.

10 May 2010 15:18

Freya
Number of messages: 1910
Hi!

Sorry to bother, I found smth interesting to read about this subject here.

16 May 2010 15:13

Francky5591
Number of messages: 12396
Thanks Freya!

According to what I could read at the link you posted, a part from this definition of "precarity" has already been posted by Tzicu (8 May 2010 16:01)

Definition :
Precarity is a condition of "existence without predictability or security, affecting material or psychological welfare. The term has been specifically applied to either intermittent work or, more generally, a confluence of intermittent work and precarious existence". So here precisely, the word "precarity can be used rather than "poverty", as it is more explicit and better matches the French version.


9 July 2010 15:07

Lein
Number of messages: 3389
Hi guys,

Tantine has nog logged in for quite a while so I thought I'd pick up this translation.
The one thing that doesn't sound right in English is 'everything is going bad'. My suggestions:

- going badly
or
- going wrong
or
- going poorly

Something which is not wrong but nevertheless not very common is to say about prisons that they 'never empty'. I would suggest something like 'they are always full'.

Any comments?

20 July 2010 16:50

Lein
Number of messages: 3389
Tzicu-Sem? Are you there?

20 July 2010 21:49

Tzicu-Sem
Number of messages: 493
Hello Lein,

Sorry for the delayed reply.
"going bad" is used in collocquial discourse, if I'm not mistaken. But if it is really not the best option then I think "poorly" is good;

What I mean tot say with the prisons is "they are never empty" - I missed the "are."

Thanks Lein,

21 July 2010 10:52

Lein
Number of messages: 3389
Thanks! I've set a poll.

22 July 2010 09:26

Burduf
Number of messages: 238
Je vois que le mot "désemplir" n'a son équivalent en aucune des langues ici, "vider" n'est pas tout à fait le sens recherché, mais bon...faute de grives....

22 July 2010 10:59

Francky5591
Number of messages: 12396
Tu as raison, Michel, la définition de "ne pas désemplir" dans le petit Larousse est "être toujours plein(e)".

Tzicu a intelligemment contourné le problème en traduisant par "n'être jamais vide".

22 July 2010 11:56

Lein
Number of messages: 3389
If I understand correctly, Tzicu has used different words to confer the same meaning so I'll validate. Let me know if you do think something should be changed

22 July 2010 11:59

Francky5591
Number of messages: 12396
That's fine with me!

Thanks Lein!
Read more