Bonjour, Bonzour, Iree

French translation: Bonjour

10:28 Jan 9, 2010
French language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
Marketing - Marketing / Market Research
French term or phrase: Bonjour, Bonzour, Iree
We are working on a project where a character is visiting many different countries in the world. We're introducing the countries with a short line of copy starting with an official greeting of the country - i.e. for France, he'll say "Bonjour I'm in France..."

We are trying to find a generic greeting for France, Republic of Congo, Seychelles / Mauritius, Switzerland, Caribbean – St Lucia & Brussels that is authentic but this seems to be quite open to debate. So we would like the below greeting we've found confirmed accurate or if there is a better suggestions.

France = Bonjour
Republic of Congo = Bonjour
Seychelles / Mauritius = Bonzour
Switzerland = Ciao, bonjour, gutentag
Caribbean – St Lucia = Iree
Brussels = Goeiedag
Madagascar = Salama
Thank you
Melissa Angus
Selected answer:Bonjour
Explanation:
Bonjour is enough I guess. In a country where you have more than 1 official language , it could be misunderstood if you say "Bonjour à tous les francophones". it sounds like you exclude the others.

In your list, all the examples are countries except Brussels. Brussels is the capital of a country that counts 60 % of dutch speakers for 40 % of french speakers. But in Brussels live more or less 90% french speakers for 10% dutch . So it's up to you but the best would be to say "Bonjour" and "Goeiedag".
Sorry for being long but you can't ignore this particularity of this city.
Selected response from:

Bénédicte Decharneux
Local time: 10:04
Grading comment
thank you
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
3 +5Bonjour à tous les francophones !
Laurence BREYSSE-ROSENFELD
4 +1Bonjour
Bénédicte Decharneux
5Bonjour les ami(e)s ...
Jean-Claude Gouin


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Bonjour


Explanation:
Bonjour is enough I guess. In a country where you have more than 1 official language , it could be misunderstood if you say "Bonjour à tous les francophones". it sounds like you exclude the others.

In your list, all the examples are countries except Brussels. Brussels is the capital of a country that counts 60 % of dutch speakers for 40 % of french speakers. But in Brussels live more or less 90% french speakers for 10% dutch . So it's up to you but the best would be to say "Bonjour" and "Goeiedag".
Sorry for being long but you can't ignore this particularity of this city.


Bénédicte Decharneux
Local time: 10:04
Native speaker of: French
Grading comment
thank you

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Patrick (pbtraductions): Bonjour! me paraît en effet plus que suffisant.
1 day 1 hr
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +5
bonjour, bonzour, iree
Bonjour à tous les francophones !


Explanation:
Je propose cette phrase comme introduction pour tous les pays où l'on parle français, même si d'autres langues sont employés comme en Suisse ou certains pays d'Afrique, par exemple.
Ce n'est qu'une simple et première idée...
Laurence

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2010-01-09 14:30:17 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Merci pour votre approbation !

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2010-01-09 14:30:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Merci !

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2010-01-09 15:40:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Je pense qu'en ajoutant "à tous les francophones", le message est plus clair et aussi un peu "chaleureux", dirons-nous, que de dire simplement Bonjour.
Ce n'est que mon avis... et je le partage !
Je plaisante,
Laurence

Laurence BREYSSE-ROSENFELD
France
Local time: 10:04
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Beba Maranz: Oui, Bonjour à tous les francophones (ainsi qu'à ceux qui ne le sont pas)
28 mins
  -> Merci !

agree  Jean-Christophe Vieillard: Si je dis "Bonjour !" tous les francophones comprennent que je m'adresse à eux !
37 mins
  -> Merci !

agree  Angie Garbarino: oui!
44 mins
  -> Merci !

agree  Boris Tsikel (X)
1 hr
  -> Merci !

agree  Beila Goldberg
1 day 3 hrs
  -> Merci, Beila.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

13 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
Bonjour les ami(e)s ...


Explanation:
Bonzour?
En passant, "Bonjour les ami(e)s" c'est le titre de mon info-lettre.
Many receive my newsletter whose name is "Bonjour les ami(e)s" and they're not even francophones.

Jean-Claude Gouin
Canada
Local time: 05:04
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search