frappée dans sa descendance

English translation: grief stricken at the loss of one of her descendants

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:frappée dans sa descendance
English translation:grief stricken at the loss of one of her descendants
Entered by: Lisa Jane

11:51 Feb 14, 2016
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / In An Autobiography
French term or phrase: frappée dans sa descendance
Contexte (Mamie Repokino's great-grandson has drowned and has just washed up on the beach, at the same time that someone she has been watching over has come out of a coma, after 8 days):

Faillait que quelqu'un meure pour que tu reviennes à la vie? Faillait-il servir à tout prix une victime à la mort? Et pour cette offrande quelle puissance avait sacrifié un enfant pour t'épargner? Mamie Repokino, frappée dans sa descendance, n'a jamais répondu à ces questions.

Merci,

Barbara
Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 15:55
grief stricken at the loss of one of her descendants
Explanation:
to echo frappée I would use grief stricken as it is a common way to say suffering due to a loss

or suffering (from) the blow to her (family) stock

I think it's important here not to lose the meaning of 'descendence' as I think the author wants to portray the fact the woman is not only grieving for the loss of that individual person (her grandson) but also, being an older person herself, the fact that she will have one less descendant-this is a reminder of her own mortality. The whole passage is about her reflecting on life and death, it's her questioning how someone is brought into the world and taken from it and if and how the two are connected. To not translate descendence or to translate it generally with 'family' is to lose this depth of philosophical and emotional reflection IMO. The writer would not have chosen such an expression if they just wanted to say 'loss' for someone who has died.
Selected response from:

Lisa Jane
Italy
Local time: 20:55
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +2bruised/ overwhelmed by grief at her loss
AllegroTrans
4grief stricken at the loss of one of her descendants
Lisa Jane
3struck by the loss of her descendant
Julius Ngwa
3devastated by the immense personal loss
MAHESH K
4 -3hit in her progeny
tharcisse Seminega
3 -3struck dumb in her shot-down state
Andrew Bramhall


  

Answers


22 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -3
struck dumb in her shot-down state


Explanation:
Difficult to be definitive, it's rather open to interpretation, and less-than-literal translation:
"Mamie Repokino, struck dumb in her shot-down state, had never answered these questions";

All I can say for definite is that it needs to include 'down' somewhere!

Andrew Bramhall
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:55
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  AllegroTrans: I cannot agree with "dumb" - nothing in the source text suggests this; and "shot-down" makes little sense for somebody in grief
12 hrs

disagree  Victoria Britten: cf. AllegroTrans, and where (on earth) do you get the necessity for "down" from?
21 hrs

disagree  ormiston: I fear the idea of 'down' is from the 'descend' bit (!)
1 day 18 mins
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
struck by the loss of her descendant


Explanation:
the phrase refers to the death of the grandchild

Julius Ngwa
Canada
Local time: 15:55
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 7

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Andrew Bramhall: Fair enough, but to be 'struck by' doesn't work here; you get ' struck by' impressions of visual and conceptual ideas; here' it's the emotions which are in meltdown.
56 mins
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13 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
bruised/ overwhelmed by grief at her loss


Explanation:
I cannot get to any meaningful phrase using "descendant" or any similar word.
Maybe best to try another formula?

AllegroTrans
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:55
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 115

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Laura Kingdon
2 hrs
  -> tx

agree  ormiston: grieving the loss of a member of her family" would cover it better than offspring, but ...of a loved one might sound nicer
9 hrs
  -> tx
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14 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -3
hit in her progeny


Explanation:

descendance can be rendered by progeny or offspirng or descendants and frappée may be translated as struck or hit or affected

tharcisse Seminega
Canada
Local time: 15:55
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Victoria Britten: Well, yes, but that doesn't make this a meaningful expression.
7 hrs

disagree  ormiston: this is not English
8 hrs

disagree  AllegroTrans: but it is the grandchild's progeny, not hers
18 hrs
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21 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
devastated by the immense personal loss


Explanation:
...

MAHESH K
India
Local time: 01:25
Native speaker of: Native in TamilTamil
PRO pts in category: 4
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1 day 4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
grief stricken at the loss of one of her descendants


Explanation:
to echo frappée I would use grief stricken as it is a common way to say suffering due to a loss

or suffering (from) the blow to her (family) stock

I think it's important here not to lose the meaning of 'descendence' as I think the author wants to portray the fact the woman is not only grieving for the loss of that individual person (her grandson) but also, being an older person herself, the fact that she will have one less descendant-this is a reminder of her own mortality. The whole passage is about her reflecting on life and death, it's her questioning how someone is brought into the world and taken from it and if and how the two are connected. To not translate descendence or to translate it generally with 'family' is to lose this depth of philosophical and emotional reflection IMO. The writer would not have chosen such an expression if they just wanted to say 'loss' for someone who has died.

Lisa Jane
Italy
Local time: 20:55
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in category: 28
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