English translation: an arch that leads to the options
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14:26 May 20, 2011
French to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / sculpture
French term or phrase:arche entre deux amorces
"Le pont, c‘est un symbole – l‘arche entre deux amorces d‘une route."
Given the longer citation and the larger context it provides (very helpful), it sounds (to me) as if the concept of connection is more important than the description of the curbed arch. So perhaps this bridge is a link between two segments of a single journey, the connection between the present and the future...
Commentary on a sculpture entitled "Le gardien du pont":
Le pont, c‘est un symbole – l‘arche entre deux amorces d‘une route.
C‘est la jonction entre le temps présent et le futur,
Entre ce que nous avons et ce que nous désirons avoir peut-être,
Entre la quiétude et l‘incertitude.
Le gardien du pont ne décide pas qui à la permission de le traverser,
Mais il est le dernier qui puisse nous arrêter par une question posée,
Si nous fuyons ou si nous avons envie de découvrir,
Si nous sommes résolus et prêts pour le danger, le bonheur et le malheur.
i.e. the bridge as 'helix arch' and amorce = primer.
Each starting point of the road as the starting point of a molecular matrix.
Amorce (génétique)
Courte séquence d'ARN ou d'ADN, complémentaire du début d'une matrice, servant de point de départ à la synthèse du brin complémentaire de cette dernière par une ADN polymérase.
Explanation: I think I would go for an architectural term here - gives it a bit more poetry. Bit of a play on words - arc/arch - the start of an arch is called the springing point:
an arch between two roads setting off in different directions
Explanation: Since we are in the realms of symbolism here.
Hard to be sure without sight of the rest of the text but is it not making the point that a bridge can be seen as an arch between two roads setting off away from each other.
Be nice to know more about the sculpture concerned.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 15 hrs (2011-05-21 06:00:04 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Given the rest of the context, I wonder whether "an arch between two points in a road" might work better, because there is a continuum between the past and the future. The arch of the bridge marks a place in this continuum - the present.
Gilla Evans Local time: 14:15 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 48
1 day33 mins confidence:
an arch between two points of departure
Explanation: Points of departure can be physical or symbolic/metaphorical.
B D Finch France Local time: 15:15 Works in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 19
Explanation: Or perhaps "gateway linking two legs of a single journey." The two "amorces" do not diverge (like "two roads diverged in a wood"); instead, as the bridge is crossed, they become a continuum.
IMO the concept of bridge as a the link between the two "amorces" is more important than the visual image of the arc/arch and road.
[Posted after kashew provided additional context in the Discussion.]
cc in nyc Local time: 09:15 Works in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 8
Reference: different interpretations of " arche" route"amorces"
Reference information: Ce qui sert d'appui, de soutien, ou de communication entre deux concepts, deux tendances ;
Où trébuche un instant le voyageur mortel,
N'est qu'une ARCHE du pont qui nous conduit au ciel.
21. Sur un grand nombre de sujets, il [Barrès] avait des enveloppes, des chemises jaunes, vertes ou rouges, contenant des brouillons, des AMORCES de développements, une page à demi rédigée...
Itinéraire, direction vers un point donné. Chercher, trouver la route; être sur la bonne, la mauvaise route.
Ligne de conduite, orientation donnée à l'existence visant à atteindre un but déterminé (projet, idéal). Chercher, continuer, ouvrir, trouver sa route; nos routes se croisent, se rencontrent, se séparent.
The translation workplace 
