...l'obstination du témoignage...

English translation: there is no better way to prevent the terrible recurrence of this crime than to keep on remembering

10:40 Dec 3, 2013

French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / camus quote

French term or phrase: ...l'obstination du témoignage...

« Qui répondrait en ce monde à la terrible obstination du crime, si ce n’est l’obstination du témoignage ? »
Albert Camus, Actuelles II.

I need the whole quote, but I have only included a few words in the term box due to the Kudoz restriction on the number of words.

This quote is used in reference to a WWII memorial in France. The web brings up varying versions of this in French.

I am having a terrible time finding a "standard" existing translation. I think I will leave the original with translation in brackets. As far as I can tell, Actuelles II has not been translated.

Maybe someone out there with better search skills can help me find an existing translation? I am unfortunately on a tight deadline (EOB today).

In the meantime, I have worked this out: Only the persistence of remembrance can counter the persistence of crime. Does that sound good? Any suggestions for improvement?

Lori Cirefice KudoZ activity Questions: 65 (none open) (4 closed without grading) Answers: 117 France
Local time: 17:37

English translation:there is no better way to prevent the terrible recurrence of this crime than to keep on remembering

Explanation:
recurrence, repetition, ...etc

This is NOT an official translation, but is my interpretation. Given the context you provide, I'm assuming that "le crime" is that of WWII, and that only by not forgetting the carnage (through the memorial) can we prevent another similar war. It's about the importance of remembering or never forgetting both the act of war and the dead...

Btw, I ran out of words, but you could (optionally) add "it" at the end , and of course rephrase the whole thing if you're looking for something neater. Here, I was aiming for a translation that replicated all the elements of the ST

Selected response from:

Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:37

Grading comment

Thanks Carol, I really like your take on it!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

3 +1

there is no better way to prevent the terrible recurrence of this crime than to keep on remembering

Carol Gullidge

steadfast in protest

kashew

resolute testimony, persistant/persistance of witnessing

Helen Shiner

stubbornness of the testimony

Lorraine Dubuc

...obstinacy for testimony...

GuillaumeT (X)

Discussion entries: 16

Lori Cirefice

France

ASKER

@philgoddard

10:47 Dec 8, 2013

I know, but when there is an existing, well-known translation, I like to use it! For this kind of quote, I always search first.

kashew

France

Camus writings, for next time:

11:14 Dec 4, 2013

http://classiques.uqac.ca/classiques/camus_albert/actuelles_...
Sorry, I don't have time to find the passage you suffered with.

philgoddard

United States

Lori

18:39 Dec 3, 2013

There's no need to find someone else's translation to copy. There is no definitive, set-in-stone version, so you can make up your own.

Lori Cirefice

France

ASKER

many thanks for the VERY helpful

16:57 Dec 3, 2013

comments and discussion. I wish I had had more time to think about it, but the job had to be delivered and I went with "What better response to the dreadful persistence of crime, than the persistence of remembrance"

Lorraine Dubuc

Canada

15:56 Dec 3, 2013

Je trouve que la phrase de Carol rend très bien l'idée de se souvenir....la persistance du témoignage que la mémoire entretient dans le temps...

Helen Shiner

United Kingdom

@ormiston

15:49 Dec 3, 2013

Ok, then I'm reading it slightly differently to you. I think it is calling for witnesses to be persistent in their witnessing, not that their witness statements persist over time.

ormiston

Helen

15:44 Dec 3, 2013

It's the (rhetorical) 'qui' + 'obstination du témoignage' that flummoxes me. The witness(es) are not themselves persistent, rather their account.

Helen Shiner

United Kingdom

@Lorraine

15:17 Dec 3, 2013

that formulation in EN does not exclude the witness being many witnesses. It is just more elegant in the singular (in my view).

Helen Shiner

United Kingdom

@ormiston

15:16 Dec 3, 2013

Difficult to know how to encompass the 'who' otherwise since it presupposes a person. But witness testimony can be recorded in many ways and thus can 'live' on.

Lorraine Dubuc

Canada

15:15 Dec 3, 2013

'Who will respond to the dreadful persistence of crime, if not the persistent witness?'

why not then witnesses?

ormiston is right...maybe replacing witness by memory or testimony would give it a better meaning.

ormiston

that does sound good

15:14 Dec 3, 2013

although witnesses die off and it is the telling that lives on

Helen Shiner

United Kingdom

@ormiston

15:08 Dec 3, 2013

Who will respond to the dreadful persistence of crime, if not the persistent witness?

ormiston

although the translation cited gives 'who'

15:06 Dec 3, 2013

'qui' here = 'qu'est-ce qui'.

Lorraine Dubuc

Canada

14:49 Dec 3, 2013

persistant is indeed the right idea
@Sheri: very good reference! (link)

Sheri P

United States

@Lori I think your entire translation is good

14:36 Dec 3, 2013

I also like Helen's "persistence of witnessing." Here's a fairly literal translation I found:
Who will answer in this world to the terrible persistence of crime if there is no persistence of witnessing?
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/justiceon...

ormiston

I think your 'persistence' is good

14:20 Dec 3, 2013

with its connotations of the 'persistence of memory'

Answers

23 mins confidence:

...obstinacy for testimony...

Explanation:
This is one of two possibilities I've found, but I like your translation better!

Example sentence(s):

"What would answer in this world to the terrible obstinacy for crime ; if not obstinacy for testimony ?"

Reference: http://www.musicora.ch/detail.asp?artid=72826

GuillaumeT (X)
Ireland
Local time: 16:37
Native speaker of:

French

43 mins confidence:

steadfast in protest

Explanation:
As in; http://fidh-omct.org/human-rights-defenders/reports-and-publ...

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Note added at 44 minutes (2013-12-03 11:25:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"obstination" is to be avoided, having a negative sense often.

kashew
France
Local time: 17:37
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 8

56 mins confidence:

resolute testimony, persistant/persistance of witnessing

Explanation:
I think 'witnessing' is very fitting for Camus's take on the world: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=htFug5WlN3kC&pg=PA114&lpg...

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Note added at 57 mins (2013-12-03 11:38:25 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

That'll be persistence NOT persistAnce, of course. Excuse typo.

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Note added at 58 mins (2013-12-03 11:39:09 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

And persistEnt - horror!! Not enough coffee.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2013-12-03 11:41:48 GMT)
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Other suggestions: tenaciousness of crime/tenacious witnessing?

Helen Shiner
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:37
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 72

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

there is no better way to prevent the terrible recurrence of this crime than to keep on remembering

Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:37
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 80

Grading comment

Thanks Carol, I really like your take on it!

3 hrs confidence:

stubbornness of the testimony

Explanation:
obstination au sens d'acharnement en français

une idée

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 heures (2013-12-03 15:55:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

le témoignage qui perdure dans le temps, que les gens perpétuent et gardent vivant, je crois que c'est ça l'idée.

Lorraine Dubuc
Canada
Local time: 11:37
Native speaker of:

French

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...l'obstination du témoignage...

English translation: there is no better way to prevent the terrible recurrence of this crime than to keep on remembering

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