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08:23 Dec 23, 2011
French to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / expression
French term or phrase:les poules et les lapins
Voici les phrases extraits du roman 'Maigret' par Simenon.
...Il etait seul a son ancienne place, au fond de la 'Chope du Pont-Neuf'. Et il etait trop tard pour se demander s'il avait eu raison ou tort d'y venir. Tout le monde l'avait vu. Le patron lui avait serre la main.
"Ca va, les poules et les lapins?"
C'est sure que ces 'poules et lapins' ont le sens figuratif ici....
Qu'est-ce que ca veut dire cet expression?
Explanation: poules et lapins = animaux de basse-cour
>> How's it going/How are things down on the farm/in the farmyard?
meaning simply how are things going.
Maybe "how are things at the zoo? would work better in English.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 2 hrs (2011-12-23 10:47:50 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
If it's indeed a retired colleague and he's not actually raising poultry and rabbits > so, how's retirement treating you?
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 7 hrs (2011-12-23 15:44:25 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Ainsi donc... the man in the bar is Maigret, who has retired. And he does indeed have hens and rabbits in his backyard. So a literal translation will fit the bill perfectly.
Il (Maigret) était seul à son ancienne place, au fond de la Chope-du-Pont-Neuf. Et il était trop tard pour se demander s’il avait eu raison ou tort d’y venir. Tout le monde l’avait vu. Le patron lui avait serré la main.
— Ça va, les poules et les lapins ?
Maigret était près de la fenêtre, et il apercevait le Pont-Neuf tout rose de soleil, le grand escalier du Palais de Justice, la porte du Dépôt. Une serviette blanche sous le bras, le visage épanoui, le patron de la brasserie croyait se faire aimable en ajoutant :
— Alors, content, quoi ! On est venu faire un tour pour revoir les camarades !
............... then towards the end:
Il n’était pas en tenue de soirée mais portait un complet gris sombre aussi mal coupé que celui de Maigret. Il n’était même pas rasé de frais et ses joues étaient envahies d’une barbe grisâtre.
This scene is in Paris, which is where the famous "Chope du Pont-Neuf" is, but Maigret has retired to the country (Meung-sur-Loire - very nice town it is too). So he's back in his favourite bar, and the owner asks him about his chickens and rabbits. Facetiously, perhaps. But the chickens and rabbits don't need to be in Paris for the bar owner to refer to them.
Notons encore au passage que Maigret possède lui-même un chat... mais seulement une fois qu'il est à la retraite: à côté des poules, des lapins et de la chèvre de Mme Maigret, on voit rôder un chat dans le jardin de Meung-sur-Loire
In that case, the person in question has retired from the police force? So "poules et lapins" refers to the occupation of a retiree? Maybe he is literally raising poultry and rabbits. Anyone actually read the book right through? One might expect Asker to have done so, before embarking on the translation...
It has some aggressive meaning as the patron then tries to soften it by saying "Alors, content, quoi ! On est venu faire un tour pour revoir les camarades !"
That suggests to me that he's saying initially that Maigret is there looking for "les poules et les lapins" i.e. hunting for someone (to slaughter metaphorically).
jasonwkingsley France Local time: 15:16 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English
1 hr confidence: peer agreement (net): +5
= farmyard animals
Explanation: poules et lapins = animaux de basse-cour
>> How's it going/How are things down on the farm/in the farmyard?
meaning simply how are things going.
Maybe "how are things at the zoo? would work better in English.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 2 hrs (2011-12-23 10:47:50 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
If it's indeed a retired colleague and he's not actually raising poultry and rabbits > so, how's retirement treating you?
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 7 hrs (2011-12-23 15:44:25 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Ainsi donc... the man in the bar is Maigret, who has retired. And he does indeed have hens and rabbits in his backyard. So a literal translation will fit the bill perfectly.
How are the hens/chickens and rabbits?
BTW I presume the "patron" is the bar owner.
SJLD Local time: 15:16 Works in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 20
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +2
