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  3. General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

la ville rayonne de ce supplément d’âme français

English translation: turn sentence around

11:32 May 2, 2008
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / flowery descriptions!
French term or phrase: la ville rayonne de ce supplément d’âme français
la ville rayonne de ce supplément d’âme français insufflé aux réalisations qui en émanent

Come on you Prozians, you all love a nice arty one!
I am currently looking at different ways to express this and improve upon what I currently have (shown below - criticisms more than welcome).

Here is the entire sentence:

Paris est en effet depuis toujours un territoire de savoir-faire réunissant le meilleur de notre pays et de nos artisans, et la ville rayonne de ce supplément d’âme français insufflé aux réalisations qui en émanent.

In fact Paris has always been a hotbed of savoir-faire and home to the best of our country and its craftsmen; the city glows with the extra spirit of Frenchness instilled in the creations it produces....
French2English
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:31
English translation:turn sentence around
Explanation:
Sorry, will have to have a go at the whole sentence, which won't fit in the box above:
Flowery... like the original..
"The works created in Paris imbue the city with the spirit of every corner of France, and make it sparkle/glow"
(or you put "here" for "in Paris" and then put "Paris" instead of "it" at the end).
Seems to me that what the text is saying is that as there are people and savoir-faire from all over France in Paris, then what is created represents not only Paris but all the regions of France.
and that is what the "supplément d'âme" is....

Selected response from:

katsy
Local time: 14:31
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +4extra bit of French flair
Conor McAuley
3 +5turn sentence around
katsy
2 +2a city with an extra dollop of French je-ne-sais-quoi
Jonathan MacKerron
3the city and everything that comes out it dazzle with frencher than French attitude
Amy Cheshire


  

Answers


21 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +2
a city with an extra dollop of French je-ne-sais-quoi


Explanation:
the city that best embodies the Gallic soul

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 24 mins (2008-05-02 11:57:52 GMT)
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where the French soul sparkles most brightly, breathing life into all that it touches

Jonathan MacKerron
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 32

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  David Vaughn: Yes, it might be best to go this way, since translating literally will only insult the rest of the planet, with their lack of soul.
3 mins
  -> with so much going for them, you'd think the RATP would be able to get rid of that awful sewer stink from the Chatelet RER station....
agree  Conor McAuley: In fact it's an insult to the rest of France too, the implication is that Paris is "Frencher" (if of course Frenchness is a condition to be aspired to ;-)))) )
12 mins
  -> ain't it the truth!
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35 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
extra bit of French flair


Explanation:
Rugby clichés -- Irish fighting spirit, English grit, French flair

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Note added at 36 mins (2008-05-02 12:09:44 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

...the creations it sends out into the world (émaner)

The creations are not necessarily located in Paris, is my understanding. Creations is a good, fairly vague translation here, good work

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-05-02 13:07:33 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

extra nuance

Conor McAuley
France
Local time: 14:31
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 47

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Clair Pickworth: i like the French flair idea and agree for the "émaner" idea
38 mins
  -> Thanks, Clair!
agree  Emma Paulay: With 'flair', but not with the 'émaner' comment: 'qui en émanent'= which come from it (literally, of course). It being 'la ville', of Paris.
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Emma! I think the creations can be either in Paris or outside, the essential meaning being that they are created there
agree  jean-jacques alexandre: nice !!
5 hrs
  -> Thanks, J-J!
agree  Gacela20
23 hrs
  -> Thanks Gacela!
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
the city and everything that comes out it dazzle with frencher than French attitude


Explanation:
an idea...

or

the city dazzles with its frencher than French creations.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2008-05-02 15:37:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

sorry, 'out of it'

Amy Cheshire
France
Local time: 14:31
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +5
turn sentence around


Explanation:
Sorry, will have to have a go at the whole sentence, which won't fit in the box above:
Flowery... like the original..
"The works created in Paris imbue the city with the spirit of every corner of France, and make it sparkle/glow"
(or you put "here" for "in Paris" and then put "Paris" instead of "it" at the end).
Seems to me that what the text is saying is that as there are people and savoir-faire from all over France in Paris, then what is created represents not only Paris but all the regions of France.
and that is what the "supplément d'âme" is....



katsy
Local time: 14:31
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 40
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Anne de Freyman (X): That's exactly the meaning. More than just the soul of Paris. Nothing to do with being better than the rest of France. On the contrary.
1 hr
  -> Thanks Anne - Glad you see it that way too :-)
agree  B D Finch: Yes, the capital as bringing together all that is best in France; a metropolitan fix beckons soon.
2 hrs
  -> Yes, indeed, and the previous sentence makes that "all that is best in France" very clear. Thanks BD :-)
agree  CMJ_Trans (X): I agree with the spirit and - probably - the letter
2 hrs
  -> Thanks CMJ ;-)
neutral  Conor McAuley: Over-intrepreting, the phrase is about Frenchness, the French soul (if, in these cosmopolitan days, and all joking aside, any country whatsoever can be said to have a single "soul", apart from in the minds of ivory tower intellos)
14 hrs
  -> Not sure I understand yr comment Conor - yes, it's about French soul, and the fact that Paris gets that "extra" bit of soul from the contributions of 'provinciaux'. I honestly don't think I'm interpreting at all - let alone over-interpreting :-)
agree  mill2
21 hrs
  -> Thanks mill :-)
agree  emiledgar: Absolument!!!
1 day 7 hrs
  -> Merci emiledgar :-)
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