Comments on: Translating idioms: a dangerous game http://linguisticmystic.com/2007/05/19/translating-idioms-a-dangerous-game/ Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:28:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: GeoffB http://linguisticmystic.com/2007/05/19/translating-idioms-a-dangerous-game/#comment-275 GeoffB Mon, 21 May 2007 02:37:47 +0000 http://linguisticmystic.com/2007/05/19/translating-idioms-a-dangerous-game/#comment-275 In the movie Amélie, her friend verifies the fitness of the prospective boyfriend by citing a variety of truisms like "a stitch in time saves..." and making sure he completes them correctly. It's an odd but effective way to make sure a person has some learning, life exposure and an awareness of the world in which he lives. In French: Speak of the wolf, you'll see his tail (Speak of the devil). When the cat's away, the mice... dance. By the way, in French if you don't give a sh--, you say that you're f---ing yourself over it (je m'en fous). If you don't give a damn, you say je m'en fiche. As far as I know, you use ficher because it also starts with "f" but isn't foutre. So, for your translations: Foutez-moi le camp! - Get the f--- out of here! Fichez-moi le camp! - Get the fudge out of here! Try translating those back! In the movie Amélie, her friend verifies the fitness of the prospective boyfriend by citing a variety of truisms like “a stitch in time saves…” and making sure he completes them correctly. It’s an odd but effective way to make sure a person has some learning, life exposure and an awareness of the world in which he lives.

In French:
Speak of the wolf, you’ll see his tail (Speak of the devil).
When the cat’s away, the mice… dance.

By the way, in French if you don’t give a sh–, you say that you’re f—ing yourself over it (je m’en fous). If you don’t give a damn, you say je m’en fiche. As far as I know, you use ficher because it also starts with “f” but isn’t foutre. So, for your translations:

Foutez-moi le camp! - Get the f— out of here!
Fichez-moi le camp! - Get the fudge out of here!

Try translating those back!

]]>