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Help with a translation?

  • 23-08-2010 1:17pm
    #1
    Michellenman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,195 ✭✭✭✭Michellenman


    I've been learning to speak french since I was about 7 and I've just finished 2nd year college level french and I'm about to go on Erasmus to Rennes. My uncle has written me a Bon Voyage card and wrote a passage in it that for the life of me I can't understand. My grasp of the language is quite good but this just doesn't make sense. Now, I don't know if this is because what he has written isn't correct, or if it's because what he has written is a phrase or poem or something.

    The thing is, I can't even get a general idea of what it means! Care to help me out?

    The message reads:

    Un Petit d'un petit
    s'Endre un foille
    Un Petit d'un petit
    As d'un grais foille

    That is exactly as he has written it... there is a rhyme and rhythm which is why I think it may be a poem or passage. I tried google translate (which is crap, obviously, but I thought it might throw up something I'd missed) but it was no use, I also just googled the whole thing but no song lyrics or anything came up.

    I'm at my wits end at this stage!


Comments

  • #2
    Kassandra Salty String
    Posts: 0 ✭ Kassandra Salty String


    It looks like a Oulipian translation to me, where the poet tries to reproduce sounds in one language in another language, so that phonetically, it sounds very similar, but makes little or no sense in the other language. It looks very much like it's supposed to be Humpty Dumpty read in a French accent to me, although some of the sounds are off.


    Un Petit d'un petit = Humpty Dumpty
    s'Endre un foille = Sat on a wall?
    Un Petit d'un petit = Humpty Dumpty
    As d'un grais foille = Had a great fall?

    Lines 2 and 4 don't work (especially 'foille', the phonetics are totally off) so perhaps I'm totally wrong, but I can't see what else he could be trying to do, since they don't make any sense, either. Is your uncle French? If not, perhaps he was going for this kind of Oulipian translation but messed it up a bit.


  • #3
    BKtje
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,081 ✭✭✭BKtje


    According to my swiss girlfriend (Swiss Romande) it makes zero sense. Infact most aren't even words.


  • #4
    Michellenman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,195 ✭✭✭✭Michellenman


    BKtje wrote: »
    According to my swiss girlfriend (Swiss Romande) it makes zero sense. Infact most aren't even words.

    That's what I was thinking.
    Kassandra Salty String wrote: »
    It looks like a Oulipian translation to me, where the poet tries to reproduce sounds in one language in another language, so that phonetically, it sounds very similar, but makes little or no sense in the other language. It looks very much like it's supposed to be Humpty Dumpty read in a French accent to me, although some of the sounds are off.


    Un Petit d'un petit = Humpty Dumpty
    s'Endre un foille = Sat on a wall?
    Un Petit d'un petit = Humpty Dumpty
    As d'un grais foille = Had a great fall?

    Lines 2 and 4 don't work (especially 'foille', the phonetics are totally off) so perhaps I'm totally wrong, but I can't see what else he could be trying to do, since they don't make any sense, either. Is your uncle French? If not, perhaps he was going for this kind of Oulipian translation but messed it up a bit.



    Reading it as you've said, it does sound like somebody reading humpty dumpty but in a french accent! Thank you!


  • #5
    Kassandra Salty String
    Posts: 0 ✭ Kassandra Salty String


    Michellenman wrote: »
    Reading it as you've said, it does sound like somebody reading humpty dumpty but in a french accent! Thank you!

    I'm 99% sure that this was the intention. Are you going to ask your uncle about it? I'm wondering why he chose the words he did. It's normal for the lines not to make any real sense in this type of translation but I'm not sure if you're actually meant to invent words!


  • #6
    tolosenc
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,889 ✭✭✭tolosenc


    My French teacher back in school did this once, and as people tapsed in late, he had them read it out and then asked them what it meant.


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  • #7
    Michellenman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,195 ✭✭✭✭Michellenman


    Kassandra Salty String wrote: »
    I'm 99% sure that this was the intention. Are you going to ask your uncle about it? I'm wondering why he chose the words he did. It's normal for the lines not to make any real sense in this type of translation but I'm not sure if you're actually meant to invent words!


    It's been clarified! That's what he was trying to do all along haha

    You're right, he didn't mean to make up words, put he doesn't speak french so he chose words that sounded how he wanted them to and looked french haha :D

    Cheers for the help lads. Just moved to France there about 2 weeks ago so I'm sure I'll be back for more help eventually :pac:


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