French to English: The Press, Part 3

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

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

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)