accepter que toutes choses ne soient pas forcément explicables (it goes without saying?)
English translation: not everything can necessarily be explained.
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13:07 Apr 21, 2009
French to English translations [Non-PRO] Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / memories
French term or phrase:accepter que toutes choses ne soient pas forcément explicables (it goes without saying?)
Hello!
Is it possible to use this expression in the context:
This body-and-mind training was going to last until the moment when I become a real dancer working on the tightrope between Mr Z and Mr Y that was getting thinner step by step, which I accepted as an inexplicable thing *that went without saying*.
The original text in French:
Cette gymnastique de corps et d'esprit allait durer jusqu'à me transformer en véritable équilibriste évoluant sur un fil tendu entre Mr Z et Mr Y qui s'amincissait au fur et à mesure que j'acceptais que toutes choses ne soient pas forcément explicables.
Explanation: To me, it goes without saying sounds like a translation of "il va sans le dire", which is not quite what your ST is saying, rather more something like: as I began to accept (or understand) that not everything can necessarily be explained OR not everything necessarily has an explanation.
I think it would sound more natural to say that: there are many things which do not necessarily have an explanation, but that is a slight deviation from your text.
By the by, for "allait durer" I would try: would last OR continued (until I...)
I think that I should give some information about the text. The author sometimes translates herself some parts of her story. It's up to her to translate her own text. And to convince her to change something I must have proofs. Thank you very much for your comments!
I'd advise against "step by step". Yes, it CAN translate "au fur et à mesure", but here the image is of the tightrope walker's steps, when it's "..; gradually got thinner AS/EACH TIME I accepted that ..." "Gymnastique" is a "balancing act" here, I think, not "training".
Your English version gives me the impression of an actual tightrope walker, the French version a metaphorical sense of a fine balancing act between 2 men. So would agree with the other contributors that it needs totally changing.
No your translation does not fit. That part of the sentence is saying that the (metaphorical) tightrope the narrator is walking is shrinking as s/he keeps accepting (= resigns him/herself to) the fact that not everything can always be explained.
As W/A has said, not only does it not mean at all the same thing as the source text, but there are several other wrong translations in the rest of your proposed solution
The English you are using doesn't mean the same thing as the French. In fact there are a number of mistranslations in the excerpt.
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Answers
15 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): -2
it goes without saying
which defies the laws of rhetoric
Explanation: salut! il ne faut même pas ajouter cette expression "it goes without saying". Ce n'est pas necessaire ni peut-être une expression appropriée pour l'occasion.
On peut dire sans doute "which defies the laws of rhetoric" c.a.d ce qui ne peut pas être expliqué facilement. Donc - a partir du mot "which" dans ta phrase originale, tu peux utiliser ma suggestion si tu veux :-)
Finalement, "advance" est écrit ainsi. Bonne chance!
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 27 mins (2009-04-21 13:34:39 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
In the first instance, your own credibility for an answer is questionable by the erroneous usage of the expression "wrong translations". Extremism is never helpful, you make lots of criticisms in not only my suggestion, but also that of the person posting, but not once do you offer an inkling of anything practical or useful...just a useless piece of criticism on my part, sorry.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 28 mins (2009-04-21 13:35:23 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Sorry, last post for Tony M
Dalene West Local time: 05:54 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English, Afrikaans
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you Dalene!
Thank you for your comments! They help me!
28 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +8
it goes without saying
not everything can necessarily be explained.
Explanation: To me, it goes without saying sounds like a translation of "il va sans le dire", which is not quite what your ST is saying, rather more something like: as I began to accept (or understand) that not everything can necessarily be explained OR not everything necessarily has an explanation.
I think it would sound more natural to say that: there are many things which do not necessarily have an explanation, but that is a slight deviation from your text.
By the by, for "allait durer" I would try: would last OR continued (until I...)
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): -2
peer agreement (net): +8