appartement de fonction - the apartment which he held ex officio within the confines of Versailles ( translation glossary) architecture,History,

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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

French term or phrase:	appartement de fonction
English translation:	the apartment which he held ex officio within the confines of Versailles
Entered by:	coquis

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12:45am Jul 16, 2007

French to English translations [PRO]
History / architecture

French term or phrase: appartement de fonction

"Petite fille d'un architecte X (23 août 1767 – 1er octobre 1821), ancien vérificateur des Bâtiments de la Couronne qui avait son appartement de fonction dans le domaine de Versailles,"

coquis

KudoZ activity
Questions: 76 (1 open)
Answers: 2

the apartment which he held ex officio within the confines of Versailles

Explanation:
As the OED citation demonstrates, Phillippe has the U.K. term, but it is unknown in the U.S. (at least to me).

Being a perk of his office, he had this convenient accomodation "ex officio," which is a term in current American usage.

It's a bit akward, but I can't think of anything else which works in the U.S.

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Note added at 15 hrs (2007-07-16 16:04:43 GMT) Post-grading
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Versailles is an interesting town, which I've only visited once, during a winter, so that there weren't all that many tourists. As best I can recall, there are 17th-18th c. government buildings across the street from the palace and the appartment of our "vérificateur des Bâtiments" might have been there.

Or, there is a very delightful little 17th c. "place" (near the cathedral, I believe) which might have been built to house such higher level functionaries.

In any event, something like these areas are what I had in mind when translating the vague "domaine de Versailles" by the equally vague "confines of Versailles."

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Note added at 15 hrs (2007-07-16 16:25:13 GMT) Post-grading
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Definitely not my field of expertise, but I can't recall seeing any administrative buildings on the "grounds" of the Chateau, just those buildings across the street (one of which housed the Archives in the '80s). But the gouvernment was, after all, somewhat centered at the palace, so it would be logical to have the upper level functionaries of the state somewhat nearby, if possible.

What the "domaine de Versailles" might have meant in this historical and topographical context requires a level of knowledge which is quite beyond my pay grade.

Selected response from:

Christopher Crockett
United States

Note from asker to answerer

thanks!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

3 +3

grace and favour appartment/flat

Philippe Boucry

the apartment which he held ex officio within the confines of Versailles

Christopher Crockett

4 -2

official residence

SwissTell

Answers

4 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): -2

official residence

Explanation:
apartment for official functions

SwissTell
United States
Native speaker of:

German

6 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

grace and favour appartment/flat

Explanation:
This came to mind when I saw your question, given the time and place mentioned in your context.
I know the phrase is used in the UK, but I don't know about the US (where you appear to be).
News | Telegraph- [ Traduire cette page ]He will also have to move out of his grace and favour flat in the 18th century Admiralty House, which he has occupied since 1999 when he became Defence ...
www.telegraph.co.uk/.../news/2006/05/25/nblair25.xml&sSheet... - 37k - En cache - Pages

OED:

grace and favour
n adjective British denoting accommodation occupied by permission of a sovereign or government.

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Note added at 6 hrs (2007-07-16 06:53:44 GMT)
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Sorry: please read 'apartment'

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Note added at 10 hrs (2007-07-16 11:20:38 GMT)
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I take Tony's point below that we don't actually know the nature of the accommodation. I just used 'flat/appartment' because the context mentions 'appartement' (rather than, for example, 'logement de fonction'). If your text makes it clear what the actual nature of the place is, then feel free to adapt my suggestion accordingly.

Philippe Boucry
France
Works in field
Native speaker of:

French
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Tony M: Sounds ideal for me, at least in a European context; given the period, I might even be tempted to say 'lodgings', since of course we don't know if it mightn't have been a cottage, house, etc.

4 mins

-> Quite. Thanks. Please see above (lack of space here)

agree

writeaway: good solution for this historical context

9 mins

-> Thanks

disagree

Richard Nice: But "grace and favour" is by definition not directly tied to doing a job that requires one's presence in the vicinity (cf. school caretakers, lighthouse keepers...) (ie EITHER fonction or grace & favour).

1 hr

-> Not sure I understand your objection, but thanks for your contribution.

agree

B D Finch: As this was on the Versailles estate, it seems absolutely appropriate. It is far more likely that the home was granted as a matter of status rather than to enable him to be living close to his work.

1 hr

-> Thanks

agree

Christopher Crockett: This works fine for U.K. English, but is unknown in the U.S., even if "favor" is spelled correctly.

5 hrs

-> Thanks for this - as mentioned above, wasn't sure whether my suggestion could be used in the US.

11 hrs confidence:

the apartment which he held ex officio within the confines of Versailles

Explanation:
As the OED citation demonstrates, Phillippe has the U.K. term, but it is unknown in the U.S. (at least to me).

Being a perk of his office, he had this convenient accomodation "ex officio," which is a term in current American usage.

It's a bit akward, but I can't think of anything else which works in the U.S.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 hrs (2007-07-16 16:04:43 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Versailles is an interesting town, which I've only visited once, during a winter, so that there weren't all that many tourists. As best I can recall, there are 17th-18th c. government buildings across the street from the palace and the appartment of our "vérificateur des Bâtiments" might have been there.

Or, there is a very delightful little 17th c. "place" (near the cathedral, I believe) which might have been built to house such higher level functionaries.

In any event, something like these areas are what I had in mind when translating the vague "domaine de Versailles" by the equally vague "confines of Versailles."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 hrs (2007-07-16 16:25:13 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Definitely not my field of expertise, but I can't recall seeing any administrative buildings on the "grounds" of the Chateau, just those buildings across the street (one of which housed the Archives in the '80s). But the gouvernment was, after all, somewhat centered at the palace, so it would be logical to have the upper level functionaries of the state somewhat nearby, if possible.

What the "domaine de Versailles" might have meant in this historical and topographical context requires a level of knowledge which is quite beyond my pay grade.

Christopher Crockett
United States
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 92

Note from asker to answerer

thanks!

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French: appartement de fonction

English translation: the apartment which he held ex officio within the confines of Versailles