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French to English translations [PRO] General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / brand mark
French term or phrase:forme originelle qui dit la vie
Cette ***forme originelle qui dit la vie*** et comprend si bien les courbes féminines, habille avec sensualité le dos d’une chaise et se fait blason pour accueillir le nom de XXXX
where XXXX is a fashion designer the shape in question is an oval
This looks as if it ought to be straightforward but "qui dit la vie" is flummoxing me, and I'd be very grateful for any suggestions - many thanks!
And if anyone is thinking of voting this Non-Pro, please be so kind as to wait until AFTER a few decent answers have been posted! Better still, provide one or two respectable suggestions of your own if you think this is simple! TIA
Explanation: This novel shape, which so readily embraces the female form and embodies the flow of life itself... (I realize that's not exactly what the French means)
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 57 mins (2009-11-18 00:20:22 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
many thanks everyone for your super input! This is really hard to grade as so many of you have posted really helpful suggestions, and I ended up using a combination. However, as I stressed that it was "qui dit la vie" that I was struggling with most, it seems fairer to concentrate on this aspect when awarding points. But I really wish that it were possible to award more than 4 points, and to share them out... 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
The designer's logo has the shape of an oval. I'm not sure whether it frequently sits on the backs of chairs, but I suppose it could go anywhere. No doubt it would look very eyecatching emblazoned on the back of boardroom chairs... But, yes, this is a fashion designer and perfumer, and I think the chair backs are a red herring here. Sorry if I was misleading!
Bourth (X)
Embodies, support for
07:32 Nov 18, 2009
How three-dimensional is this thing? An oval, OK. Little or no "life resemblance" there that I can perceive, unless "oval" can be taken to be "amoeba-shaped". But maybe this oval seat back is padded out, taking on the feminine bulbosity (the word does not exist, but believe me, that's how it would be spelt if it did) of a pregnant belly ... in which case "embody" could be fine.
Hi Carol, I'm not quite clear on what we're talking about: it's a fashion designer, but this is something that dresses the back of a chair and 'se fait blason"... is the oval part of the designer's logo? Sorry if this is obvious... MM
Cath St Clair (X)
Spain
Just unusual usage
00:37 Nov 18, 2009
No justified reason - I don't really believe it is - I left in the comment more for a laugh. It's just the unusual usage of the verb "dire" here that got me wondering why it had been used like that. I would think more typical French usage would be something like "représenter".
However, the more I read it, the more "qui dit la vie" works for me. I guess it just sounds more like spoken than written French to me. In any case, my mental meanderings took me to wondering whether it was a failed attempt at the use of the simple past but as I said, it would be too much of a stretch and the association probably only arose in my mind due to the fact that I speak too much Spanish these days. I'm sure it wouldn't even occur to a native French speaker. Probably shouldn't have made public the tangents of my mind. Need to step away from the computer...
qui dit la vie: which speaks of life or denotes life, no doubt in the sense DocteurPC says, i.e. it references the egg -- just a question of how to phrase it in English
Cath St Clair (X)
Spain
Just a thought...
00:15 Nov 18, 2009
... could it be bad grammar? It's a stretch, but could the intended meaning be "forme originelle qui donna la vie"...? No... that really is too much of a stretch. Would make more sense though ;)
This is definitely NOT a Non-PRO question in any way, shape or form. I would go for something like
"This ***original shape, which embraces life*** and displays the female curves so neatly, sensually dresses the back of a chair and ... ".
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
23 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +2
the original form which represents life
Explanation: The oval is often used to represent life, or the start of life, i.e. the egg. The egg is the original form for many creatures, people, chickens, birds.
In art, an egg in a painting or sculpture often means life.
could it be as simple as that?
If not, maybe it will inspire someone else.
DocteurPC Canada Local time: 04:03 Native speaker of: French, English PRO pts in category: 4
Notes to answerer
Asker: many thanks DocteurPC! Great explanation
Asker: this was extremely helpful, as this hadn't occurred to me in my rush! This was a very hard choice to make
21 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +7
embodies life
Explanation: This novel shape, which so readily embraces the female form and embodies the flow of life itself... (I realize that's not exactly what the French means)
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 57 mins (2009-11-18 00:20:22 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Or how about "is synonymous with life itself"?
John Detre Canada Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 16
Grading comment
many thanks everyone for your super input! This is really hard to grade as so many of you have posted really helpful suggestions, and I ended up using a combination. However, as I stressed that it was "qui dit la vie" that I was struggling with most, it seems fairer to concentrate on this aspect when awarding points. But I really wish that it were possible to award more than 4 points, and to share them out...
peer agreement (net): +2
