Author Topic: Hey Francophone Phreinds! (Read 5530 times)

Annie Subjunctive · « **on:** October 16, 2008, 01:53:52 PM »

How would you translate this sentence?

Dans cet espace d'intervention pédagogique, aucune interaction n'est garante d'une cohérence entre les intentions de la personne, ses actions et ses résultats.

I'm having a hard time rendering the adjective garante. I thought I'd give you the whole sentence for context.

Jonathon · « **Reply #1 on:** October 16, 2008, 02:00:33 PM »

My French is so rusty that I won't be any help. Is garante even an adjective? Babel Fish is translating it as guarantor.

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #2 on:** October 16, 2008, 02:06:06 PM »

I use wordreference.com - it's the best online dictionary I've found - and it only shows the adjectival version of garant as existing idiomatically. Whatever it means here, it's a smartpeople usage. Dang. Where's my French roommate when I need her? I wonder if they'd let her come to work with me.

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #3 on:** October 16, 2008, 02:11:59 PM »

Within this space of pedagogical intervention, no interaction is

of consistency among a person's intentions, his actions and his results.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #4 on:** October 16, 2008, 03:03:49 PM »

I'm no francophone, but I studied the language in high school and college, and I still read a little.

Seems like "n'est garante" would mean something like "doesn't assure".

Jonathon · « **Reply #5 on:** October 16, 2008, 03:13:48 PM »

That makes sense to me. If garante does mean guarantor, then "no interaction is guarantor of" could also be "no interaction guarantees" or "no interaction assures."

goofy · « **Reply #6 on:** October 16, 2008, 07:12:05 PM »

garant(e) is "guarantor, surety" in my dictionary. It's a noun.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #7 on:** October 16, 2008, 08:41:50 PM »

Well, "no assurance", then.

Sheesh!

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #8 on:** October 16, 2008, 10:23:37 PM »

If it was a noun, it wouldn't be feminine, because we're talking about an abstract concept, not a female person. The only reason it could be garantE would be because it's an adjective modifying intention.

Jonathon · « **Reply #9 on:** October 17, 2008, 07:59:32 AM »

Are abstract concepts always masculine or something?

The Genuine · « **Reply #10 on:** October 17, 2008, 10:10:34 AM »

After poring over my law dictionaries, the best answer I can come up with is:

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #11 on:** October 17, 2008, 12:55:30 PM »

Abstract concepts might be masculine or feminine (espoir - m; conversation - f), but the noun garant(e) is a person, and thus has both a masculine and a feminine form. So the only reason they would use garante would be if they were talking about a female guarantor.

All's well that ends well, though. Hooray for French roommates!

Quote

Oui, c'est un adjectif.
"N'est pas garante" means "does not guarantee"

rivka · « **Reply #12 on:** October 17, 2008, 01:39:56 PM »

French is weird. In the English phrase, that word is a verb.

Jonathon · « **Reply #13 on:** October 17, 2008, 02:22:12 PM »

Translation is not an exact science.

rivka · « **Reply #14 on:** October 17, 2008, 02:24:53 PM »

On another (non-Hatrack) forum, I posted the following, not 5 minutes ago:

Quote

A translation of any work will lack much of the nuance of the original text.

I still think French is weird, though.

Jonathon · « **Reply #15 on:** October 17, 2008, 02:25:46 PM »

Yeah, well, the French just called, and they told me to tell you that you're weird.

rivka · « **Reply #16 on:** October 17, 2008, 02:26:51 PM »

*nod* So they haven't changed their opinion in the last 18 years. Good to know.

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #17 on:** October 18, 2008, 08:41:31 AM »

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French is weird. In the English phrase, that word is a verb.

Asian languages are weirder. If you want something in Japanese, you have to use an adjective.

It's really fun to talk to beginning English students - "That book is wanted."

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #18 on:** October 18, 2008, 05:47:29 PM »

Quote

Quote
Oui, c'est un adjectif.
"N'est pas garante" means "does not guarantee"

That's what I said.

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #19 on:** October 21, 2008, 09:20:04 AM »

Is there a better English word for complimentarity? Going togetherness?

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Pour combler cette lacune, il proposait d'orienter la recherche vers une direction encore inexploitée en retrouvant une complémentarité des éléments faisant partie du système et en proposant une opérationnalisation du processus de choix que les personnes enseignantes font lorsqu'elles intègrent les TIC dans leurs pédagogie en s'appuyant, très précisément, sur la psychologie des construits personnels de Kelly.

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #20 on:** October 21, 2008, 09:24:18 AM »

And is there an English word for "cause to emerge?"

We really need a causative in English.

goofy · « **Reply #21 on:** October 21, 2008, 03:36:34 PM »

Quote

We really need a causative in English.

We had one: -en. dark darken, wide widen, bright brighten, long lengthen, strong strengthen etc.

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #22 on:** October 21, 2008, 04:05:07 PM »

The point of this research was to emergen the connections between...

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #23 on:** October 21, 2008, 04:05:17 PM »

I like it.

Jonathon · « **Reply #24 on:** October 21, 2008, 04:12:08 PM »

There were also some causatives formed by ablaut, like the pairs raise/rise, sit/set, and lay/lie. Of course, neither of these processes is productive anymore (at least, I'm pretty sure -en isn't, and anyway, it only works on adjectives and nouns, not other verbs).