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manichéennes

English translation: sees things in black and white


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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:manichéen
English translation:sees things in black and white
Entered by: Kelly Harrison
Options:
- Contribute to this entry
- Include in personal glossary

13:57 Jan 25, 2012
French to English translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
French term or phrase: manichéennes
leprenom et leprenom2 sont des femmes décidées, énergiques et volontaires. Leur vision de la vie et des gens est des plus ***manichéennes***. D'un côté, il y a ceux qui leur plaisent, avec lesquels elles sont charmantes, sympathiques, enjouées... D'un autre, il y a ceux qui leur déplaisent et qu'elles ignorent.

I am a little worried about using "manichean", mostly because it is a word that I have never heard, and since the audience is a very large one I was wondering if it would be understood by most people, and if the meaning is explicitly religious in English.

Otherwise I am considering "see things in black and white", but once again, I am concerned about any racial connotations, especially as the next sentence talks about people... Or am I being paranoid?

Thanks for you light bulbs!
Kelly Harrison
Local time: 13:32
black and white
Explanation:
I like "see things in black and white" in this context.
Selected response from:

cc in nyc
Local time: 07:32
Grading comment
Thanks cc!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +3dualistic
Sébastien GUITTENY
3 +3dualisticColin Rowe
4 +1Manicheanrkillings
4 +1black and whitecc in nyc
4realist
AllegroTrans
4simplistic
kashew
3uncompromising/cut-and-dried/categoricalpolyglot45


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
simplistic


Explanation:
*

kashew
France
Local time: 13:32
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 50
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22 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
uncompromising/cut-and-dried/categorical


Explanation:
try one of these

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 mins (2012-01-25 14:20:40 GMT)
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Add ABSOLUTE

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Note added at 23 mins (2012-01-25 14:21:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Add "absolute"

polyglot45
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 176
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25 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +3
dualistic


Explanation:
Separating things and people into two categories.


    Reference: http://www.wordreference.com
Sébastien GUITTENY
France
Local time: 13:32
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jennifer White
2 mins
  -> thank you
agree  Ingeborg Gowans
19 mins
  -> thank you
agree  Just Opera: seperating people into "good and bad". Manichéen = "Qui analyse les rapports sociaux ou politiques selon un schéma « Le Bien contre Le Mal » @ wiktionnaire.
3 hrs
  -> thank you
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25 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
dualistic


Explanation:
Ought to work here, though I personally would have no problem with "black and white". Just because they are out to get you, it doesn't mean you are paranoid!

Colin Rowe
Germany
Local time: 13:32
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 28

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jennifer White: was just about to post this. Yes, would work fine.
1 min
  -> Thanks!
agree  Agnes Grand Fay
4 mins
  -> Thanks!
agree  Ingeborg Gowans: I wouold agree that black and white would work here as well
20 mins
  -> Thanks!
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
black and white


Explanation:
I like "see things in black and white" in this context.

cc in nyc
Local time: 07:32
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 111
Grading comment
Thanks cc!
Notes to answerer
Asker: It's what first popped into my head - has anyone else ever heard the word manichean by the way?


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Helen Shiner: Yes, I have heard of the word but unless specifically required, your suggestion seems more appropriate from what we have seen of the context.
1 hr
  -> Thank you. And I agree completely with you, Helen.
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Manichean


Explanation:
Never heard the word? Explicitly religious?

You must not read the Guardian or the New York Times. Their opinion columnists love the word. (Don't take my word for it. Google it with site:guardian.co.uk or site:nytimes.com)

And they ain't talking about religion when they use it.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2012-01-25 19:48:10 GMT)
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No other heresy comes so close to being a household word.

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Note added at 9 hrs (2012-01-25 23:45:48 GMT)
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Simon Jenkins, guardian.co.uk, Thursday 1 December 2011 :
"[Dickens'] novella A Christmas Carol depicted a Manichean triumph of good over evil, warmth over coldness, generosity of spirit over meanness."

rkillings
United States
Local time: 04:32
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jennifer White: agree that this is the translation but I've read the Guardian for 30 years and have never come across it. Maybe you're referring to the on-line version?/Must have missed the one you quote......
3 hrs
  -> Simon Jenkins doesn't appear in the dead-tree edition?
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23 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
realist


Explanation:
amother option

AllegroTrans
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:32
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 44
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Voters for reclassification
as
PRO / non-PRO		PRO (3): Colin Rowe, Ingeborg Gowans, Jennifer White


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Changes made by editors
Jan 25 - Changes made by Jennifer White:
LevelNon-PRO => PRO


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