Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
les petits Smith
English translation:
the Smith children
Added to glossary by
Tony M
Mar 7, 2010 13:21
14 yrs ago
French term
Not a translator
Les petits Smith
Non-PRO
Homework / test
French to English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Bonjour, la question est sans doute stupide... Je doute de la traduction de "cette femme n'existait qu'en fonction des petits Smith" (qui sont en fait ses enfants).
Little Smith's children ?
Thanks for your help
Little Smith's children ?
Thanks for your help
Proposed translations
(English)
| 5 +5 | the Smith children |
Tony M
|
| 4 +2 | The little Smiths |
Heather Eason
|
| 3 +1 | The junior Smiths |
Sébastien GUITTENY
|
| 4 | the Smith kids |
Jean-Claude Gouin
|
| 4 | the Smith offspring |
Sarah Bessioud
|
Change log
Mar 13, 2010 09:19: Tony M Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+5
45 mins
Selected
the Smith children
This is the commonest way of expressing it, I believe.
Note that there is no possessive involved: these are "the children who are named Smith", subtly different from "the Smiths' children" = "the children belonging to the Smiths" Cf. expressions like "the Kray twins"
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Note added at 48 mins (2010-03-07 14:10:07 GMT)
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Note also that the writer might equally well have written: "She only existed through and for her children" — hence "...through the Smith children" fits well
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Note added at 1 hr (2010-03-07 14:42:02 GMT)
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As John D has pointed out, on the face of it, this expression sits rather oddly in EN; we don't have enough context to know for sure whether this woman is in fact the mother of the children... or not?
If she were, then I think it would be a lot more natural in EN to get completely away from the original formulation in FR and put something like "Mrs Smith only existed for her children".
However, we should perhaps not ignore the possibility that this woman is in fact (for example) a nanny or governess to the Smith's children — in which case is suddenly makes a whole lot more sense!
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Note added at 5 days (2010-03-13 09:18:50 GMT) Post-grading
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I was just thinking about Heather's suggestion of 'little', and musing as to why I don't feel it quite fits here.
I rather think 'petits' is used a lot more often in FR than in EN. We might well say: « Où sont les petits ? », whereas in EN we'd say "Where are the children?" (or "kids" if he regsiter fitted) — to say "the little ones" has a quaint and dated ring about it these days, and could only be used for specific stylistic effect; note too that when used alone, we can't say 'the littles', so (as so often with FR adjectives used as nouns) we have to add something rather unsatisfactory like 'ones'.
All in all, I think I'd steer clear of the literal solution in this particular instance.
Note that there is no possessive involved: these are "the children who are named Smith", subtly different from "the Smiths' children" = "the children belonging to the Smiths" Cf. expressions like "the Kray twins"
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 48 mins (2010-03-07 14:10:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Note also that the writer might equally well have written: "She only existed through and for her children" — hence "...through the Smith children" fits well
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2010-03-07 14:42:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
As John D has pointed out, on the face of it, this expression sits rather oddly in EN; we don't have enough context to know for sure whether this woman is in fact the mother of the children... or not?
If she were, then I think it would be a lot more natural in EN to get completely away from the original formulation in FR and put something like "Mrs Smith only existed for her children".
However, we should perhaps not ignore the possibility that this woman is in fact (for example) a nanny or governess to the Smith's children — in which case is suddenly makes a whole lot more sense!
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 days (2010-03-13 09:18:50 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
I was just thinking about Heather's suggestion of 'little', and musing as to why I don't feel it quite fits here.
I rather think 'petits' is used a lot more often in FR than in EN. We might well say: « Où sont les petits ? », whereas in EN we'd say "Where are the children?" (or "kids" if he regsiter fitted) — to say "the little ones" has a quaint and dated ring about it these days, and could only be used for specific stylistic effect; note too that when used alone, we can't say 'the littles', so (as so often with FR adjectives used as nouns) we have to add something rather unsatisfactory like 'ones'.
All in all, I think I'd steer clear of the literal solution in this particular instance.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
John Detre
: This is indeed the most common way of saying it in English but somehow it sounds odd to me when referring to a person's own children; I would be more inclined to use it to talk about someone else's children. Not sure why.
10 mins
|
|
Thanks, John! Indeed, that would seem to be the implication (and indeed, might be the case here, we don't actually know from the context given...) Please see added note above.
|
|
| agree |
Chris Hall
27 mins
|
|
Thanks Chris!
|
|
| agree |
Jonathan MacKerron
: for the foul-mannered, snotty-nosed, impertinent Smith brats - OK, so I embellished a bit...
31 mins
|
|
Thanks, Jonathan! Almost certainly justified, though... ;-)
|
|
| agree |
Bourth (X)
: With JMcK - see discussion
36 mins
|
|
Thanks, Alex!
|
|
| agree |
Stephanie Ezrol
: those little things which dominate the bigger one
1 hr
|
|
Thanks, Stephanie!
|
|
| agree |
Verginia Ophof
5 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Verginia!
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks !"
+2
22 mins
Heather Eason
Native in English
Works in field
Integrity, flexibility, speed
Native in: English 
, Esperanto
Works in: French to English, Esperanto to English, English to Esperanto, and 1 more.
The little Smiths
In English we would usually say "the little Smiths" or, more formally "the little Smith children".
Use "little" if the children are very young - up to about 5 years old. Otherwise it may be more appropriate to say "the young Smiths" or "the young Smith children".
Use "little" if the children are very young - up to about 5 years old. Otherwise it may be more appropriate to say "the young Smiths" or "the young Smith children".
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
John Detre
31 mins
|
| agree |
Ben Lenthall
: I see this as just a touch familiar (otherwise one might indeed expect 'les enfants Smith') so feel this or junior Smiths has a similar tone
3 hrs
|
+1
25 mins
Sébastien GUITTENY
France
France
Native in French
Works in field
France
Tempus fugit sic carpe diem
Native in: French
Works in: French to English, English to French
Related KudoZ points
:
8
The junior Smiths
Just another suggestion
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Tony M
: Not really terribly idiomatic in EN; we might talk about 'Smith junior/senior' to refer to 'le fils/père Smith'.
21 mins
|
| agree |
John Detre
: I think "the junior Smiths" works fine in English if you're going for a slightly jocular tone
27 mins
|
|
thank you
|
3 hrs
Jean-Claude Gouin
Canada
Canada
Native in French
Canada
Subscribe to my newsletter ...
Native in: French
Works in: French to English, English to French, French, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
16
the Smith kids
Dans ce contexte ...
3 hrs
Sarah Bessioud
Germany
Germany
Native in English
Works in field
Germany
A way with words
Native in: English (Variants: British, UK, US) 
Works in: German to English, French to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
38
the Smith offspring
I agree with Tony that the most common way of saying this in English is the Smith children. However, it seems strange using it to refer to ones own children. I think the word offspring puts more of an emphasis on the children being the descendants of Mrs Smith and her late husband.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/offspring
off·spring (ôfsprng, f-)
n. pl. offspring
1. The progeny or descendants of a person, animal, or plant considered as a group.
2. A child of particular parentage.
3. A result; a product.
Whilst looking for a definition on the net, I also stumbled across one or two relevant sites!
http://wyattview.com/default.aspx (see the photo!)
http://www.cinematical.com/tag/willow smith/
Amulet is a graphic novel that focuses on a brother and sister who move into their late great-grandfather's house with their mother after their father dies. It's not a particularly safe move, because they have to "use his amulet to rescue their widowed mother from a beast who lures her into an underground world."
Should this adaptation be successful, I'd get ready to see a lot more of the Smith offspring.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1253448/LORRAINE-C...
Help! New technology means our offspring will NEVER leave home
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/offspring
off·spring (ôfsprng, f-)
n. pl. offspring
1. The progeny or descendants of a person, animal, or plant considered as a group.
2. A child of particular parentage.
3. A result; a product.
Whilst looking for a definition on the net, I also stumbled across one or two relevant sites!
http://wyattview.com/default.aspx (see the photo!)
http://www.cinematical.com/tag/willow smith/
Amulet is a graphic novel that focuses on a brother and sister who move into their late great-grandfather's house with their mother after their father dies. It's not a particularly safe move, because they have to "use his amulet to rescue their widowed mother from a beast who lures her into an underground world."
Should this adaptation be successful, I'd get ready to see a lot more of the Smith offspring.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1253448/LORRAINE-C...
Help! New technology means our offspring will NEVER leave home
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Tony M
: Not sure if this would quite work, depending on the exact register; it has a very definite humorous tone to it, and also emphasizes the progenitory aspect, which may or not be required here...
5 days
|
Discussion
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/french_to_english/general_conversa...
Or has she remarried and has two sets of children, and exists for only one of them? (happens, a lot).
If she is Mrs Smith, I wonder if petit Smith is a euphemism for, as Jonathan embellished, "snotty-nosed little brats"; any reason for a play on petits Suisses?
What is her relationship with her husband, or the father of these children? That might explain something too ...