Aug 10, 2008 17:24
15 yrs ago
French term
éviter à la jeunesse de mauvaises pensées
French to English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
This is from a short story. I'm looking for a comical way of phrasing the part in quotation marks at the end. I'm sure there's a funny, probably cliched and old-fashioned phrase to express this in English, but I just can't think of it, and I'm under a bit of pressure in terms of time. Any suggestions greatly appreciated...
[Discussing postage stamps]
Collectionner ces petites choses imprimées liant de surcroît les peuples entre eux était non seulement un adorable dada mais il était également instructif et adapté au mieux pour « éviter à la jeunesse de mauvaises pensées ».
[Discussing postage stamps]
Collectionner ces petites choses imprimées liant de surcroît les peuples entre eux était non seulement un adorable dada mais il était également instructif et adapté au mieux pour « éviter à la jeunesse de mauvaises pensées ».
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+9
9 mins
Martin Cassell
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
United Kingdom
25 years as a specialist communicator
Native in: English (Variant: UK)
Works in: French to English
Related KudoZ points
:
43
Selected
guard young persons from unwholesome thoughts
I can't cal la set phrase to mind, but I think "young persons" and "unwholesome" would conjure up the right old-fashioned, moralising kind of tone (actually a character from a wonderful Peter Sellers monologue, 'Setting Fire to the Policeman', keeps springing to mind).
I suppose variations might include "avoid unwh. th. in young persons"; "guide young persons away from unwh. th." ... et ainsi de suite
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Note added at 11 mins (2008-08-10 17:36:02 GMT)
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or perh. "young minds"?
I suppose variations might include "avoid unwh. th. in young persons"; "guide young persons away from unwh. th." ... et ainsi de suite
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Note added at 11 mins (2008-08-10 17:36:02 GMT)
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or perh. "young minds"?
Note from asker:
| Thanks Martin, 'unwholesome' is good. |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Helen Shiner
: This is probably the way to go.
4 mins
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thanks Helen
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| agree |
NancyLynn
: guard young minds from unwholesome thoughts sounds about right, slightly old fashioned as requested
9 mins
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thanks NancyLynn
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| agree |
Richard Benham
: Yes, or "divert young minds from unwholesome thoughts".
17 mins
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thanks Richard
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| agree |
Gacela20
1 hr
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thanks Gacela20
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| agree |
writeaway
: or naughty thoughts
1 hr
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thanks writeaway
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| agree |
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
2 hrs
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thanks BeaRH
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| agree |
myrden
14 hrs
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thanks myrden
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| agree |
Rachel Ward
: with Richard's combination above
14 hrs
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thanks Rachel
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| neutral |
MatthewLaSon
: I think you need to stray from a literal translation. See comments to emiledgear.
23 hrs
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that's not how I read the "brief"; in literary translation the art is often to let what was written speak for itself.
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| agree |
Sandra Petch
: I think this is just the right register. I prefer "young minds" and perhaps Philip's own suggestion of "improper thoughts"?
1 day 15 hrs
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thanks Sandra. Indeed, all kinds of permutations: final choice is down to Philip's ear, I suppose!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I think probably "to divert young minds from unwholesome thoughts" works best for me. Many thanks as always to everyone who contributed."
+2
6 mins
to stop idle hands from doing the devil's work
An adaptation of a well worn adage.
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Note added at 7 mins (2008-08-10 17:32:04 GMT)
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Should be Devil, not devil.
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Note added at 7 mins (2008-08-10 17:32:04 GMT)
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Should be Devil, not devil.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Mohamed Mehenoun
14 mins
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Thank you.
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| agree |
MatthewLaSon
: The idea, I beleive, is to keep kids out of mischief or trouble. I think that one cannot be literal here as it takes away from what we'd naturally say in English and thus loses meaning in the process.
23 hrs
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Merci, exactly.
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+1
11 mins
Helen Shiner
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
United Kingdom
Arts/Academic translator - Art historian
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English
Related KudoZ points
:
44
keeping young people's minds occupied
A couple of suggestions, not very witty.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
liz askew
: Much, much better, without the unnecessary inuendo.
0 min
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Thank you, Liz
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| neutral |
Richard Benham
: This takes away the essential element, the "mauvaises pensées".
38 mins
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Agree, though not sure how essential it is to state this explicitly
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4 mins
avoid young people having bad thoughts
..
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Note added at 10 mins (2008-08-10 17:35:06 GMT)
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Stop young people from getting up to no good.
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Note added at 12 mins (2008-08-10 17:36:34 GMT)
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Well, it has to beat sitting in front of a TV/computer screen for hours on end!
Something old-fashioned is not necessarily a no-no. Beware of easy prejudices!!
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Note added at 10 mins (2008-08-10 17:35:06 GMT)
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Stop young people from getting up to no good.
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Note added at 12 mins (2008-08-10 17:36:34 GMT)
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Well, it has to beat sitting in front of a TV/computer screen for hours on end!
Something old-fashioned is not necessarily a no-no. Beware of easy prejudices!!
-2
25 mins
avoid youth bad thoughts
Να αποφεύγει κανείς τις κακές σκέψεις της νεότητας.(του νεαρού) της ηλικίας
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Martin Cassell
: Sorry, but I'm afraid this is not idomatic English at all, and does not attempt to capture the stylistic elements which the asker requested. (Nor can we read your explanation, either, unfortunately.)
3 mins
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| disagree |
Richard Benham
: Are you sure your native language is Creek?! It looks Greek to me!! That aside, the answer is simply not English, and the explanation should be.
27 mins
|
+3
40 mins
Richard Benham
France
France
Native in English
France
When quality counts
Native in: English 
Works in: German to English, French to English, English
divert young minds from evil thoughts
My attempt to capture the tone and register of the original.
I am grateful to liz askew for pointing out the typo in my original posting, which I am hiding.
I am grateful to liz askew for pointing out the typo in my original posting, which I am hiding.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
1 hr
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Thanks.
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| agree |
Enrique Huber (X)
2 hrs
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Thanks.
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| agree |
myrden
13 hrs
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Thanks.
|
2 hrs
margaret caulfield
Native in English
Accurate, natural and very hard-working
Native in: English 
, Spanish
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish, French to English, and 3 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
prevent youngsters from having bad thoughts (in mind)
Just my opinion. I hope I am not overly criticised as other answerers have been!! We are all only trying to help! A little bit more respect is due here. This is beginning to look like a boxing match!!! (and I could say more!)
12 hrs
to keep young kids from mischief/out of trouble
Hello,
I just think that "mauvaises pensées" is referring to "bad thoughts" in the sense of thinking of bad things and thus getting into mischief or trouble on its account.
Collecting these little things, which also helped bring people together , was not only an lovely hobby but it was also educational and best suited for keeping young kids from mischief/out of trouble.
I hope this helps.
I just think that "mauvaises pensées" is referring to "bad thoughts" in the sense of thinking of bad things and thus getting into mischief or trouble on its account.
Collecting these little things, which also helped bring people together , was not only an lovely hobby but it was also educational and best suited for keeping young kids from mischief/out of trouble.
I hope this helps.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Martin Cassell
: Matthew, I think you may be (a) exceeding the brief by reading so much into the term; let the phrase speak for itself: (b) using far too modern language and style for the asker's requirements // that's what it's supposed to be about! cheers Matthew.
11 hrs
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I get your point, but I'm not convinced. Thanks for discussing.
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+1
22 hrs
keep young minds on the straight and narrow
another idea with the inversion from negative to positive construction
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Helen Shiner
: To my mind, this is the best suggestion to date, not so heavy handed with the moralising and thus more naturally English.
1 day 6 hrs
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thanks Helen, much appreciated!
|
-1
5 hrs
write-off/excuse the bad thoughts as youthfulness
this is it
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Note added at 6 hrs (2008-08-10 23:55:29 GMT)
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to shed light on my answer, inspired by Martin's insightful comment, I was going primarily for adequate saying rather then translating from French. Also, I am not so convinced the sentence refers to youth, since dada means adults mimicking youth, and we all know that stamps collecting isn't the fun of choice for the young.
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Note added at 22 hrs (2008-08-11 16:22:45 GMT)
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No wonder they are so stuck up!@ How about collecting toilette paper, was that another advert way of eliminating bad thought?
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Note added at 6 hrs (2008-08-10 23:55:29 GMT)
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to shed light on my answer, inspired by Martin's insightful comment, I was going primarily for adequate saying rather then translating from French. Also, I am not so convinced the sentence refers to youth, since dada means adults mimicking youth, and we all know that stamps collecting isn't the fun of choice for the young.
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Note added at 22 hrs (2008-08-11 16:22:45 GMT)
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No wonder they are so stuck up!@ How about collecting toilette paper, was that another advert way of eliminating bad thought?
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Martin Cassell
: forgive me, I really don't think that's what it means; «éviter qqch à qqn» is "spare/save smb smthg", i.e. "prevent smb from experiencing smthg"//dada=hobby/pastime; old-fashioned now, but children used to be encouraged to collect stamps as "educational"
26 mins
|
| disagree |
Richard Benham
: This is not what it means at all.
15 hrs
|
1 day 4 hrs
to keep young people away from bad thoughts
It's an understandable message, but the presence of the verbe "éviter" doesn't make the english phrase sound natural, in my opinion.
1 day 4 hrs
protect young minds from sinful thoughts
another suggestion! protect doesn't quite translate "eviter, but conveys the old-fashioned idea and the paternalistic undercurrent...
Discussion