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...correspond à la précision sur la mesure tolérée sur le système pH mètrique
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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

exactions d’une soldatesque souvent aux services d’intérêts économiques externes

English translation:

abuse of powers by rogue soldiers in the pockets of foreign economic interests

Added to glossary by Yolanda Broad
Mar 28, 2002 14:49
22 yrs ago
French term

exactions d’une soldatesque souvent aux services d’intérêts économiques externes

French to English Other
A titre d’exemple je cite la région des Grands Lacs en Afrique centrale où le génocide au Rwanda de 1994 et les guerres fratricides au Burundi ont déstabilisé en fin de compte à peu près un quart du sol africain, de Kinshasa à Kampala, où les populations doivent subir les exactions d’une soldatesque souvent aux services d’intérêts économiques externes, où les droits de l’homme sont bafoués constamment, où un traitement anti-SIDA est hors de portée des individus atteints par cette maladie.
Proposed translations (English)
3 +4 abuse of powers by rogue soldiers in the pockets of foreign economic interests
5 +1 the exactions of quasi-soldiers often in the employ
4 +2 the excesses of a soldiery often in the employ of foreign interests
4 +1 the atrocities committed by a soldiery often serving external
4 +1 exactions (or extortion) of renegade militias who are often serving external economic interests
5 taxation / tarifs / toll ( as in take their toll)
4 maltreatment, etc.
4 must endure the misdeeds of military forces/militias often in the employ of external foreign interes

Proposed translations

+4
56 mins
Selected

abuse of powers by rogue soldiers in the pockets of foreign economic interests

Termium gives "abuse of power" for "exaction," defined as follows:

DEF – The wrongful act of an officer
or other person in compelling
payment of a fee or reward for his
services, under color of his official
authority, where no payment is due.

I propose "rogue soldiers" as a level of semantic color equivalent to "-esque." The same goes for "in the pockets of" (a less colorful version would be "in the hire of" or simply "serving")
Reference:

Termium

Peer comment(s):
agree markmx : would keep 'abuse of power' in the singular
59 mins
Yes, the singular is definitely the more common phrase.
neutral Steven Geller : "soldiers in the pockets of foreign economic interests" is too colloquial for such a dissertation. They are soldiers serving the economic interests of external parties.
1 hr
agree GILLES MEUNIER : yes
1 hr
agree Nikki Scott-Despaigne : Yes, abuse of power/acts of violence - "exactions" in the plural - R&C
4 hrs
agree GerardP : agree with power instead of powers
15 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks"
12 mins

maltreatment, etc.

the populations must suffer maltreatment from looting troops often at the service of foreign economic interests...

Peer comment(s):
neutral Jane Lamb-Ruiz (X) : tenses:had to..
2 mins
Something went wrong...
+1
13 mins

the exactions of quasi-soldiers often in the employ

of external economic interests
Peer comment(s):
agree markmx
1 hr
neutral Nikki Scott-Despaigne : One of two possible interpretations of the word "exaction". Hwvr, the FR is in the plural, thus "abuse of power / acts of violence" preferred: R&C 2000, p356 "exactions [2] pl."
4 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
29 mins

the atrocities committed by a soldiery often serving external

interests

the barbaric acts of a soldiery...

la soldatesque is a derogatory collective term for soldiers (like the militias in the former Yugoslavia)
Reference:

French native speaker

Peer comment(s):
agree markmx : or, perhaps: 'often in the service of...'
1 hr
disagree Steven Geller : I am sorry, but exactions does not mean atrocities, it means extortion, i.e; something "exacted" such as a tax or fee.
1 hr
agree GILLES MEUNIER
2 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
2 hrs

exactions (or extortion) of renegade militias who are often serving external economic interests

[exactions / extortion / extortionate demands]

As an example, I cite the Great Lakes region in central Africa where the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and the fratricidal wars in Burundi wound up destablising approximately one-fourth of African lands, from Kinshasa to Kampala, where populations must undergo the exactions (or extortion) of renegade militias who are often serving external economic interests, where human rights are constantly flouted, and where AIDS treatment is beyond the reach of the individuals stricken by this disease.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2002-03-28 17:09:11 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Termium gives this for exaction :

Anglais :Infractions

exaction s CORRECT


DEF - The wrongful act of an officer or other person in compelling payment of a fee or reward for his services, under color of his official authority, where no payment is due. s

1990-03-06
Peer comment(s):
neutral Nikki Scott-Despaigne : One of two possible interpretations of the word "exaction". Hwvr, the FR is in the plural, thus "abuse of power / acts of violence" preferred: R&C 2000, p356 "exactions [2] pl."
2 hrs
What is going on in the area has been covered in major newspapers for years. The renegade militia who are looting the area of diamonds, gold, and other precious natural resources, purloin crops, livestock, lodging and other possessions of local citizenry.
agree Dr. Chrys Chrystello
8 hrs
neutral zaphod : real heavy phrasing
15 hrs
Not nearly as heavy as the French - but I am delighted to know that all you could find to disagree with was the "weight" of the phrasing.
Something went wrong...
+2
2 hrs

the excesses of a soldiery often in the employ of foreign interests

Agreeing with elements in the translation suggestions of the other correspondents.
My 'agree' to Jane's proposal was a slip of the key - I added that I thought 'exacted' in a verb construction could work better than the noun 'exactions', and that 'in the employ' was a good phrase, but that 'quasi-soldiers' was a bit dodgy. For some reason my follow-up qualification wasn't registered.
I should simply have typed 'neutral', I suppose.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2002-03-28 17:54:05 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

or: \'...in the pay of foreign interests\'
Peer comment(s):
agree Yolanda Broad : Nice phrasing
10 mins
agree GILLES MEUNIER
50 mins
Something went wrong...
8 hrs

must endure the misdeeds of military forces/militias often in the employ of external foreign interes

my rendering
Something went wrong...
17 hrs

taxation / tarifs / toll ( as in take their toll)

try this with the other part of the phrase. While Exact is correct, it doesn't always have a negative connotation, punishment or praise can be exacted depending on circumstance. In this context I suspect the exaction is either monetary, sexual or alimentary. In any event it is a tarif imposed by an alien interest.
Something went wrong...
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