FRE 392: ADVANCED STUDIES IN TRANSLATION UNIT I

THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSLATION

Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction
Course Developer: 2.0 Objectives
Dr. Isaiah Bariki 3.0 A Short History of Translation
Department of French 3.1 The Importance of Translation
University of Ilorin 4.0 Conclusion
Ilorin – Nigeria 5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
Unit Writer: Dr. 7.0 References
Isaiah Bariki
Department of French 1.0 Introduction
University of Ilorin This unit is to further stress the importance of translation.
Ilorin – Nigeria This will be preceded by a short history of translation dating back
to the days of Pharaoh in Egypt. You will read general ideas on the
Programme Leader: relevance of translation. The relevance of translation is not far-
Dr. Olu Akeusola fetched. You observe it in your daily life.
National Open University of Nigeria
Lagos. 2.0. Objectives
On the successful completion of this unit, you should be able
Course Coordinator: to appreciate:
Ms Lucy Jibrin - a brief history of translation
National Open University of Nigeria - the usefulness of translation in general
Lagos. - the usefulness of translation as a tool for teaching
languages
- the role of translation in portraying Nigeria’s literary
greatness
- the role of translation in international conferences and
meetings

3.0 A Short History of Translation

Translation in the form of interpretation is believed to be as
old as man. Its origin dates back to the origin of different
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languages. In the Western world (i.e. Europe and America), the Translation is really experiencing a boost as globalization brings
story of the tower of Babel as told in the Bible (Genesis chapter human beings of different languages closer by the day.
eleven) is used in relating to the genesis or beginning of
translation. That is why you have one of the most important 3.1 The Importance of Translation.
translation journals known as Babel. George Steiner titled his
seminal and very useful book on translation as After Babel. Translation helps in interaction among people of different
Interpreters were well known in Pharaoh’s Egypt. The first known languages. It is an activity you carry out very regularly. Perhaps,
instances of translation (written as opposed to oral) originated from you are not very conscious of the fact that you may have been
the Middle East. Three civilizations in Mesopotamia – Sumer, involved in translation in a practical way. At one time or the other
Babylon and Assyria – successively undertook translation you must have translated from your language into English or vice
activities. At Nineveh, there were 30,000 tablets with inscriptions versa. In this course, the translation involves two European
in three different languages. The Mesopotamian culture was one of languages: English and French. Both languages are of great
translation. It thrived on translation, for in Babylon of Hammurabi, universal importance and should be mastered for effective
the scribes were charged with translating the edicts into many communication and translation. English is the most widely spoken
languages. language in the world. It is also Nigeria’s official language. Its
In today’s world, the vast movement of people for various reasons mastery is therefore an obligation for you. As for French, it is the
such as trade, migration, wars, diplomacy, religion have official language of Nigeria’s neighbours. And very importantly,
encouraged translation. Over the years, biblical translation has you have either opted to have a degree in French or have taken it as
contributed immensely to translation theory and practice. The a course; hence the need for you to write and speak it appreciably
Bible is the most translated book. well.
Eugene Nida (1964), a renown translator and linguist, gave the Very often, communication is grounded to a halt or at least
following reasons among some others to buttress the importance of hindered when people from different linguistic communities have
biblical translation to translation generally: to interact. For successful communication, a translator or
1. Biblical translation involves a great variety of languages and interpreter may be needed when there is no mutual linguistic
cultures. intelligibility in the languages used.
2. The Bible touches on various themes and topics e.g. Translation is a very important course. Translation also offers
proverbs, poetry. an excellent opportunity for the study of foreign languages. In this
3. Bible translators have recourse to a variety of principles, course, you will use translation to study French. When you use
procedures and theories. translation to study a language, you call it pedagogical translation
4. Bible translation usually involves people of different (la traduction pédagogique). As you learnt in FRE 301, there is le
invaluable expertise, thus leading to numerous, healthy and thème and la version. It may be necessary to recall what these
enriching debates. words stand for. Le thème involves the translation of a text or
5. The Bible has the greatest number of volumes of passage from the mother tongue into the foreign language. For
manuscripts. instance, when a Frenchman translates a text from French into
another language (e.g. English), it is le thème (theme). On the
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contrary, when the Frenchman translates from English into French, enjoys the literary greatness of Nigerian authors like Wole Soyinka
it is version (version) and Chinua Achebe. Translation has made us to be proud of our
In our own situation in Nigeria where English and French are cultural and literary legacy. Chinua Achebe’s famous novel Things
both foreign languages, the terms do not really apply. We cannot Fall Apart has been translated into over 30 languages. The French
talk of thème and version as such because both languages are version is Le monde s’effondre. Try and get a copy and read it.
foreign to us. However, Bariki (2000) created the terms “para- Compare it with the original work.
thème” and “para-version”. He used “para-thème” when Nigerian It is also through translation that we know details of
students are translating from English into French. On the other developments in science, technology, medicine and other fields of
hand, he used “para-version” to describe a text that is translated knowledge. Without translation, most of the link with ancient
from French into English. The reasoning is this: For a Nigerian civilizations such as Greece, Egypt and China would have been
student, English has some elements of “version”. That is, the lost.
average Nigerian student is very much at home with English which In the contemporary world, translators and interpreters are in
is his official language. He speaks English very fluently and high demand. They are useful at international meetings and
habitually. English therefore has – remotely though – some traits conferences. Given the diversity of languages, translators and
of mother tongue; hence the term “para-version”. Most students interpreters are indispensable in diplomatic circles. Take for
find it easier to translate from French into English because English instance, various meetings at the United Nations, the African
is the habitual language i.e. a language they use very regularly. Union and ECOWAS. The nations represented in these
The two terms are created in line with terms like international bodies speak different languages. So, the presence of
“paramedical” and “paramilitary”. “Para” means “similar to” and translators and interpreters is indispensable. At the United Nations,
is used with adjectives and nouns. In other words, “paramilitary” French is one of the official languages. The same thing applies to
means, “organized and operating like an army” (Macmillan the African Union and ECOWAS. In fact, at ECOWAS, the French
English Dictionary for Advanced Learners 2007). In the same speaking countries outnumber their English speaking counterparts.
vein, we may say that “para-thème” (para-thème) is similar to English and Portuguese are also spoken at ECOWAS meetings.
“thème" and para-version is similar to “version”.
You can, however, talk of theme and version where the translation 4.0 Conclusion
involves a mother tongue and a foreign language. For instance, it is Translation is needed in many international organizations.
very appropriate to use these terms in an Hausa class where an Translators are needed in such organizations.
Hausa text is translated to English or French. In this unit, you have learnt of the history of translation and
You appreciate the relevance of translation when you keep in the importance of translation. You have known that translation is
view the numerous languages in the world. Experts are not sure of an age-long tool for communication and teaching of foreign
the exact number. Some experts give the number as 4200. Our languages. You appreciate the unavoidable need to master English
world is a multilingual one. That is to say, the world has many and French. In our French classes the terms “thème” and “version”
languages. It is through translation that you can appreciate the are not very appropriate terms. “Para-thème” and “para-version”
literature as well as social and cultural values of people who do not may be considered.
speak your language. For instance, through translation, the world
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5.0 Summary UNIT 2
This unit has equipped you with the significance of SCOPE OF TRANSLATION
translation. The knowledge you have acquired here will inspire you
to work harder on this course. If you desire to be translator or Table of Contents
interpreter, you may pursue courses in these areas later. You also 1.0 Introduction
know the names of a few schools where translation and 2.0 Objectives
interpretation are taught. You may want to go to any of these 3.0 Definition of Scope
schools if you have a flair for the subjects. 3.1 Scope of Translation
3.2 Recall of Procedures of Translation
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment 3.3 Beyond the Dictionary
1. Write a very short history of translation in your own words 3.4 The Importance of Context
2. Give two reasons why translation is important. 3.5 Creativity and Adaptation
3. What is the difference between “thème” and “version”? 3.6 Beyond Bilingualism
4. Why are the terms “para-thème” and “para-version” used for 4.0 Conclusion
translation classes in Nigeria ? 5.0 Summary
5. What is the meaning of paramilitary? 6.1 Tutor-marked Assignment
6. Name two international organizations where interpreters and 7.0 References
translators can work.
7. Name five official languages of the United Nations. 1.0 Introduction
8. Identify three schools where translators and interpreters are In the last unit, you learnt a lot on the importance of
trained. translation and translators. This unit introduces you to a general
9. Do you consider yourself qualified to work as a translator at overview of the requirements in translating. You will learn the
the end of this course? definition of scope. You will also learn a few general notions on
10. Find out the different languages spoken by the different translation.
countries of ECOWAS.
2.0 Objectives
7.0 References As you successfully complete this unit, you should be able to:
- talk about the scope of translation generally.
Bariki, K. O (1999): La traduction appliquée et le français dans les - talk about the usefulness and limits of dictionaries in
universités nigérianes translation.
Ojo, S.A. (2002): A Comprehensive Revision Handbook of French - know the names of some good bilingual and unilingual
Grammar, Ibadan: Signal Educational Services Ltd. languages (langues bilingues et unilingues).
Nida, E (1964): Towards a Science of Translating, Leiden E. J. - discuss the importance of context in translation.
Brill - discuss creativity in translation.

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3.0 Definition of Scope bread. The English translation does not give you a clear idea of the
type of bread. “Baguette” is found in the English dictionary, but if
3.1 Scope of Translation you use it most Nigerians are not likely to understand you.
The word “scope” simply means “the range of things that a “Baguette” is a “long thin loaf of bread made in the French style,
subject, activity, books, etc. deals with.” (Longman Dictionary of soft inside and hard outside” Macmillan English Dictionary for
English 2003:1275). Scope of translation therefore means the Advanced Learners (2007:98).
various aspects or issues translation deals with. There are even instances where you cannot get an equivalent.
Translation means reproducing the meaning in a text from This is common in cultural issues like food, dance, institutions, etc.
one language (known as the source language) into another (the There are no direct equivalents of gari, amala, tuwo, akpu, osun,
target language). The source language in French is langue source gbegiri, afan, etc. in French. You may therefore have recourse to
or langue de départ while the target language is called langue emprunt (borrowing). That means you use the same word. In
cible or langue d’arrivée. A translator must be functionally addition, you may explain the type of food. You put the
bilingual; that is, he must be able to write and speak two different explanation in brackets or at the end of the chapter or book. In
languages. It is, however, not enough to be bilingual. You must other words you may use footnotes. The other way out is for you to
have a good command of the languages. If you do not have a good use the method of adaptation as you have earlier learnt in FRE 301
grasp of the language, you will make many mistakes. That will tell
negatively on your personality just as it can cause communication 3.2 Recall of Procedures of Translation
and/or comprehension problems. Just imagine someone speaking Remember the translation procedures you learnt in FRE 301.
your language badly. How do you feel? Besides, you should be Please, revise the notes. They will be useful. Take, for instance, if
familiar with the subject matter. If you are not familiar with the you have to translate fufu, amala, tuwo and other Nigerian food
subject matter, you may not understand the text you are translating. items into French. You cannot get any French equivalent; you may
That automatically means you will be giving wrong translations. just use the adaptation procedure or explain what the food is like.
In the translation class, you will be given a variety of texts to Alternatively you use the word “pâte”. Similarly, “le beignet” can
translate. This will enable you to acquire words and expressions on be used for doughnut, puff puff, etc. Briefly review your notes on
different aspects of life. You will also be exposed to different traduction littérale, calque, emprunt, transposition,
grammatical structures. modulation, équivalence and adaptation. You treated them in
In order to translate from English to French and vice versa, FRE 301.
you should write good English and French. That is why you should
take this course very seriously. You need also to do a lot of 3.3 Beyond the Dictionary
practice on your own. The saying that “practice makes perfect” is It is necessary to recall the usefulness of dictionaries –
very true in relation to translation. The more you translate texts, bilingual dictionaries (dictionnaires bilingues) and monolingual
the more you sharpen your ability to translate. dictionaries (dictionnaires monolingues). Bilingual dictionaries
While translating, you will observe that you may not get an are written in French and English and monolingual dictionaries are
exact meaning or equivalent in some cases. You simply get to the either wholly French or English. Buy fairly big dictionaries. The
nearest equivalent. Ex. J’ai mangé la baguette – I have eaten smaller ones do not contain enough words.
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 There are different types of dictionaries. Some simple equivalents or synonyms. It is now left for you to choose the
explanations are very good for daily use. Longman Dictionary of appropriate or correct equivalent. It is the context that will tell you
Contemporary English and Macmillan English Dictionary for which word or expression is appropriate. Take for instance, the
Advanced Learners are such good monolingual English following sentences:
Dictionaries. For good monolingual French dictionary, you may The man kicked the bucket yesterday. He is going to be
buy Le Petit Larouse or Le Petit Robert. You can also find the buried today.
following bilingual dictionaries very useful: Collins Robert From the context, it is clear that the man did not physically
French Dictionary and Harraps French/English Dictionary. kick the bucket in the sense of using his leg to strike a bucket. The
Make sure you buy very current editions. The more current the second sentence which talks about burial gives you the clue to the
better. The reason is that the older edition may not have some new contextual meaning. It means “the man died”. In fact “to kick the
or current words in them. Besides, language being very dynamic, bucket” is an idiomatic expression meaning “to die”. In the light of
words change slightly or wholly in meaning over the years. You this, the correct translation is “L’homme est mort hier. Il va être
should have access to many dictionaries in order to compare enterré aujourd’hui”.
definitions. With time you should aspire to have dictionaries Still talking about context, the following sentences have
dedicated to specialized or technical words. different meanings.
Good as dictionaries are, they cannot translate for you. La femme est grosse
Translation is not mechanical. You cannot just look up a word and “Grosse” means either “fat” or “pregnant”. Thus, if you have to
write down the equivalent. If you do that, you will end up with a translate “Cette femme est grosse” out of context, you have two
bad translation. As an example, let us examine and translate the options. You either translate it as “This woman is fat” or “This
following sentence: woman is pregnant”. But in “Cette grosse femme est grosse”, you
I am eating- je mange. are NOT likely to have the two meanings. You may render the
or sentence as “This fat woman is pregnant”. To avoid confusion or
je suis en train de manger possible misunderstanding, you may simple write or say “Cette
If you look up for « eating » separately in the dictionary you may femme est enceinte”. “Enceinte” means pregnant.
write « je suis mangeant ». That would be very wrong. In order to In this last example, there is no room for ambiguity.
translate well, you should have a good grasp of your grammar and Ambiguity means “something that is not clear because it has more
a rich store of vocabulary, not only of French but of English too. than one possible meaning” (Macmillan English Dictionary,
Remember that you will translate some texts from French into 2007:45).
English as well. Moreover, you are in an English-speaking country. A final example may be helpful. How do you translate
You must write and speak very good English. “honey” into French ? In the context of food or a meal, honey is
“le miel”. Honeymoon is “la lune de miel”. But if a man calls his
3.4 The Importance of Context wife “honey”, the correct equivalent will be chérie (The woman
Another crucial thing to remember while translating is will address her husband as chéri).
context. The context will determine the meaning of a word. When
you look up for a word in the dictionary, you may find many
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3.5 Creativity and Adaptation In the case of a Nigerian student of French, the person should
The translator should be creative too. This will be necessary understand the French culture in order to translate well. You see
as you come across words and expressions that you cannot how translation is not limited to words, expressions and grammar.
translate literally. You have learnt of adaptation. Another word for This is another reason why you should take all other French
adaptation is accommodation. There are different types of courses very seriously. The courses are interrelated. If you are
adaptation or accommodation: cultural, political, religious, etc. good in one, it will consciously or unconsciously help you in
You can find elements of accommodation in literary translations. another one.
Look at the titles of the following books and their translations.
Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born - by Ayi Kwei Armah 4.0 Conclusion
L’âge d’or n’est pas pour demain - The literal translation You now have a general idea of the scope of translation. You
of the French version have learnt that translation goes beyond bilingualism and the use of
means « Golden age dictionaries. You have also learnt the importance of context in
is not for tomorrow » translation.
Mission Terminée - by Mongo Beti
5.0 Summary
Mission to Kala - (translated by Peter Green) You have been reminded of translation procedures. You will
Girls at War - by Chinua Achebe now use the dictionary more wisely in translation. You are also
Femmes en guerre - translated by Grandsaigne more adequately equipped to translate words that do not have
The word “girls” is translated as “filles” or “jeunes filles” but direct equivalents. Emprunt and adaptation can be very useful.
the translator opts for “femmes” which means “women”. This
translation can be tolerated because it is literary translation. It is 6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
not rare to find literary translators adopt this approach as you can 1. Define “scope” in English.
see in the examples given above. 2. Write briefly on the importance of dictionaries and context in
translation.
3.6 Beyond Bilingualism 3. What is emprunt? When can it be used?
4. What are the limits of the use of dictionaries in
Bilingualism involves two languages. Someone who is translation?
bilingual is able to speak or write two languages. We have seen 5. What do you understand by the translation procedure called
that it is not enough to be bilingual in order to translate. Language “adaptation”?
involves elements of culture. You cannot understand some aspects 6. What is another word for “adaptation”?
of a language if you do not understand the culture of the people. 7. Look up for the French word “cousin” in your dictionary.
For this reason, a translator should, ideally, be bicultural too. That Make two different sentences in French according to their
means the person should have a good knowledge of the two different meanings.
cultures in question. 8. Why is understanding culture necessary for good translation?
9. Who wrote Arrow of God?
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 10. What is the French translation of Arrow of God? UNIT 3
TYPES OF TRANSLATION (I)

7.0 Reference Table of Contents

Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners (New 1.0 Introduction
Edition) (2007): London: A & C Black Publishers Ltd. 2.0 Objectives
3.0 Types of Translation
3.1 Written Translation
3.2 Oral Translation or Interpretation
3.2.1 Phases of Interpretation
3.2.2 Professional Status or Organization of Interpretation
3.2.3 Simultaneous Interpretation
3.2.4 Consecutive Interpretation
3.2.5 Whispered Interpretation
3.3 Differences between Translation and Interpretation
3.4 Linguistic Requirements in Interpretation
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
7.0 References

1.0 Introduction
You have learnt a lot on translation. The first unit dealt with
the importance of translation, a situation that you observe
practically on a daily basis. You, thereafter, saw the scope of
translation. That means you saw the different areas that are treated
in translation. Now, you will see various types of translations. In
other words, there is not just one type of translation. You will learn
in this unit the difference between interpretation and translation
and the three different phases of interpretation.
You have translated many texts from English to French and
vice versa. You will now learn about the different types of
translation.

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2.0 Objectives habitat leading to a multiplicity of languages is in the eleventh
The objective is to teach you the different types of chapter of Genesis in the Bible. The story or “myth”, as J.R
translation. You will learn the differences between translation Ladmeral (1979) prefers to call it, started when man tried to build
proper and interpretation. You will also learn the following types the tower of Babel. The idea was to prevent the people from
of interpretation: scattering all over the surface of the earth. But God felt that the
- simultaneous interpretation people could do whatever they imagined to do as they all spoke
- consecutive interpretation one language. God therefore decided to confound them and they all
- whispered interpretation or le chuchotage. started speaking different languages. From that period there was
need for interpretation. Of course, interpretation started before
3.0 Types of Translation translation, since speech precedes writing. Interpretation is
Translation is a very rich course. That is why there are many therefore an old profession. Some people consider it to be the
types of translation. MacMillan English Dictionary for Advanced oldest trade or profession on earth.
Learners (2007) defines translation as “spoken or written words
that have been changed into a different language”. The key words 3.2.1 Phases of Interpretation
you should notice in this definition are spoken and written. In
other words, translation can be spoken or written. Let us treat the The term “interpretation” is derived from Latin. It can be
written one first. divided into three main phases:
i) The listening phase. The interpreter listens attentively to the
3.1 Written Translation orator. He then reproduces the same message in a language
Written translation is the translation you see on paper. It is that is different from that of the orator. The target language
the translation that you write. This type differs from oral (TL) is that of the audience.
translation, which is better known as interpretation. The ii) The comprehension phase. The interpreter has to assimilate
similarities and differences will be highlighted as the unit expands. or properly understand the message. He cannot interpret what
he does not understand. He has to understand the message
3.2 Oral Translation or Interpretation correctly. A wrong understanding naturally leads to a wrong
In “oral translation”, the words are spoken, not written. The message.
translation you hear in the church or mosque is oral translation. It iii) The re-expression phase. The message is reproduced
is spoken. The pastor or imam speaks in one language and faithfully, precisely and completely.
someone relays it into another. This type of translation is called
interpretation. The person who does oral translation is called an In history there have been very many cases of infidelity or
interpreter. unfaithfulness in translation or in interpretation. That means he is
As noted earlier, the profession of an interpreter and that of a unfaithful. This old saying is not necessarily true, but it goes to
translator resemble in many varied ways. Both are the stress the importance of faithful translation.
consequences of human language that got diversified in the course The translator has to adequately equip himself or herself
of history. The example often cited for the dispersion of human linguistically. In other words, he should master the two languages
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he/she is working with. Or else, he cannot be a good interpreter. In French, oral translation or interpretation is called
The interpreter is also required to have a rich and wide variety of interprétation. The interpreter is l’interprète. Interpreters are in
knowledge. Speeches made during meetings or conferences high demand in the world. If you study very hard and can interpret
are varied. Some are political, literary or scientific. Others may very well, your opportunities in life are great.
dwell on issues bordering on economics, social life, medicine or There are also different types of interpretation. They are
some other technical areas. simultaneous interpretation, consecutive interpretation and
But do not be scared. If you want to be an interpreter, make whispered interpretation (le chuchotage).
up your mind and be determined to build yourself up through
reading. Have very good dictionaries and books dealing with 3.2.3 Simultaneous Interpretation
different terminologies. Know the terms at the tip of your finger. As the name suggests, in simultaneous interpretation, the
There are good schools for interpretation and translation. If speaker or orator and the interpreter speak almost at the same time.
you have the financial means, you may go to either ESIT or ISIT in As the speaker is talking, the interpreter tries to produce the target
France. ESIT means L’Ecole Supérieure d’Interprètes et de language message immediately. In modern times, simultaneous
Traducteurs and ISIT is Institut Supérieur d’Interprètes et de interpretation started in Nuremberg in 1945/1946 when interpreters
traducteurs. To qualify for admission in these schools, you should did their work in cabins.
have a first degree (i.e. B.A). In ESIT, you are required to master In advanced countries like America, Britain and France,
three European languages. In other words, you will need languages simultaneous interpretation is a very serious business. It requires
like German or Spanish in addition to English and French. highly skilled people. Interpreters generally stay in a booth where
The various training will help the interpreter to acquire the they can work undisturbed. They work on the message, bit by bit,
much needed general culture, openness of spirit or mind, rapidity as the speaker goes on, for the benefit of those who need to wear a
and capacity for adaptation. An interpreter should have an headphone to understand.
insatiable curiosity that will push him/her to further research. What happens in our churches and mosques is quite close to
simultaneous interpretation. However, the interpreters in our
3.2.2 Professional Status or Organization of Interpretation mosques and churches are not in a booth. Moreover, the Nigerian
As a profession, interpreters are either permanent interpreter generally waits for the speaker to finish an idea. The
interpreters (interprètes permanents) or freelance interpreters speaker, in turn, tries to wait for the interpreter to finish his
(interprètes indépendants or interprètes freelance). interpretation before he goes on. In conference setting, interpreters
Permanent interpreters are paid by an organization; they are interpreting simultaneously do not wait till the end of the sentence.
often employees of big organizations like the United Nations or Simultaneous interpretation is l’interprétation simultanée or la
UNESCO. They receive regular salaries. Freelance interpreters are simultanée. Simultaneous interpreters are in high demand. It pays
independent. They are employed for specific assignments in to be one.
international congresses of diverse kinds. The range of interest
covered can be scientific, technical, medical, economic, cultural, 3.2.4. Consecutive Interpretation
diplomatic, etc. In consecutive interpretation, the interpreter waits for the
speaker to finish before he or she starts interpreting. The
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interpreter starts after a good “chunk” of the message is given or 3.4 Linguistic Requirements in Interpretation
waits till the end of the whole message. The waiting interval could It is still pertinent to talk a little more on the issue of the
range from one to fifteen or even thirty minutes. In some very languages used in interpretation. Usually the languages of
formal situations, the speaker is obliged to stop at specific intervals conference interpretation are divided into three categories: A, B
to allow the interpreter to do his/her work. This is to avoid a and C. This is the classification given by L’Association des
situation where the speaker or orator may be carried away and interprètes de conférence – founded in Paris in 1953.
speak for too long. A is the mother tongue or any language the interpreter has
He or she normally writes down salient or important points or aid mastered as much as his mother tongue. The interpreter
memory. In French, consecutive interpretation is known as normally interpretes into the “A” language, i.e. his mother
l’interprétation consécutive or simply la consécutive. tongue or a language he can use deftly and with ease. Every
interpreter must have at least one “A” language. He may have
3.2.3. Whispered Interpretation many languages in the B or C category.
In this case, the interpreter sits by someone who does not B - The B language is not the maternal language but the
understand the language of the speaker. He or she then whispers interpreter has a perfect or near perfect mastery. This may not
into the ear of the person who requires interpretation. This is done be as good as language A.
without gadgets like headphone or microphone. In French, we call C - In language C, the interpreter has a very good passive
this activity le chuchotage. The interpreter may interpret for more knowledge of the language. He understands the language very
than one person. Le chuchotage is midway between simultaneous well, but may not be able to speak it fluently and confidently.
interpretation and consecutive interpretation. The interpreter’s knowledge here is not as active as the “A” or
“B” language. The knowledge to a large extent is passive. The
3.3 Differences between Translation and Interpretation. interpreter can translate from but NOT into this language. The
When you use the word “translation” to mean solely what is reason is clear. He may make avoidable mistakes.
written, you can distinguish it from interpretation. Some of the In Europe and other advanced parts of the world, interpreters
differences are as follows: translate mainly into their language A or B (i.e. mother tongue and
1. The translator may not see the author. a mastered language). This is to ensure spontaneity, lexical
2. The work to be translated is in written form. richness and stylistic ease. But the African interpreter may not
3. In almost all cases, the original work and the translation are have the opportunity of translating into the modern tongue in big
produced at different times. conferences. He can however use his “B” language which may be
On the other hand, the interpreter sees the speaker. He is English, French, Portuguese depending on whether he is
present while the speaker is delivering his message. What is to be Anglophone, Francophone or Lusophone. People who speak
interpreted may not be written. It may be spoken in the original Portuguese are Lusophone.
form and it is also interpreted orally. The translator has time to
consult dictionaries and other documents in the course of his work. 4.0 Conclusion
The interpreters cannot consult while talking. He can only do so You can now see how interesting translation can be. It is very
after the work. rich. It has many parts. You can speak or write in translation. But
22 23
you do not carry out translation proper and interpretation the same UNIT 4
way. One is oral the other is written. TYPES OF TRANSLATION (II)

5.0 Summary Table of Contents

The unit has equipped you to know the different types of 1.0 Introduction
translation. You have also studied the three phases of 2.0 Objectives
interpretation. You also realize that there are differences between 3.0 Types of Translation
written and oral translation (interpretation). Good interpreters are 3.1 Interlingual Translation
in high demand. 3.2 Intralingual Translation
3.3 Intersemiotic Translation
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment 4.0 Conclusion
1. Name the different types of translation. 5.0 Summary
2. Write briefly on the different types of interpretation. 6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
3. What are the differences between oral translation and written
translation?
4. Write on the importance of the different phases of 1.0 Introduction
interpretation. In this unit, you will learn about some other types of
5. What does le chuchotage mean? translation. In the last unit, you saw the differences in terms of
6. Name the languages you speak and group them into A, B, whether a text to be translated is spoken or written, i.e. the
and C. difference between interpretation and translation.
7. Write out some challenges translators and interpreters are This time, the difference is not whether or not it is the spoken
likely to face. word. The types treated here are:
(i) translation involving two different languages.
7.0 Reference (ii) translation within the same language.
Ladmiral, J. C. (1979) : Traduire: Théorèmes pour la traduction, (iii) translation of signs and symbols into human language.
Paris : Petite Bibliothèque Payot The numerous examples on intralingual translation will
Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners (2007), greatly enrich your vocabulary. They will challenge you to use the
United Kingdom, A&C Black Publishers Ltd. dictionary frequently. Besides, they will sensitize you on different
Seleskovitch, D. and Lederer, M. (1986), Interpréter pour traduire, ways of saying the same thing.
Paris: Edition Erudition.
2.0 Objectives
As you successfully complete this unit, you will know the
following types of translation:
- interlingual translation or la traduction interlinguale
- intralingual translation or la traduction intralinguale
24 25
 - intersemiotic translation or la traduction intersémiotique even though they have different subjects. Let us see another
These types of translation were first noted by Roman example.
Jakobson.
1. Le ragoût de ma mère est très fameux
3.0 Types of Translation 2. Le potage de ma mère est très excellent
Roman Jakobson groups translation into the following: 3. La soupe de ma mère est très délicieuse
interlingual translation, intralingual translation and intersemiotic 4. Le potage de ma mère est très appétissant
translation.
These four sentences are saying almost the same thing in
3.1 Interlingual Translation French. “My mother’s soup is very delicious”. The words used for
In interlingual translation (la traduction interlinguale or la “soup” and “delicious” are different. In a way, they are synonyms.
traduction interlinguistique), you translate from one language to Synonyms are different words meaning the same or almost the
another. When you translate from English to French or any other same thing.
language, it is interlingual translation. All the texts we have been We talk of intralingual translation here because the language
translating so far fall into the category of interlingual translation. of communication is entirely French. Another word for la
Let us see a few examples: traduction intralinguale is la reformulation.
I am a student - Je suis étudiant You can remind yourself of the meaning of “interlingual” and
J’arrive - I am coming “intralingual” through the following:
The two examples are interlingual translation. They are Intra-city bus services - buses that ply within the
“interlingual” because they are translated from one language to city or town
another. This type of translation involves two different languages. Inter-city bus services - buses that ply from one city
Some people say this is the real translation or translation proper, la or town to another
traduction proprement dite. Intra- party - within the same party
Inter-party - between two different parties
3.2 Intralingual Translation Intra-campus - within the same campus
In intralingual translation (la traduction intralinguale ou la Inter-campus - between two different campuses
traduction intralinguistique), you change the words in the same
language. The message is the same basically, but the words are In a way, all definitions, summaries and paraphrases are
different. Let us see a few examples: intralingual translation. In other words, when you are defining a
Paul est plus grand que moi word or expression in the same language, what you are doing is
Je suis moins grand que Paul intralingual translation. A speech reported in the same language
You realize that both sentences are in French. The first also has elements of traduction intralinguale.
sentence means literally “Paul is taller than me”. The second one Let us take an interesting examples of interlingual and
means “I am shorter than Paul”. The two mean basically the same intralingual translation together. The original version which is

26 27
taken from Adebowale’s Out of his mind (1987:95) in Ozidi Bariki Intralingual translation is very helpful in enriching one’s
(2001:22--23): vocabulary and expressions. You may wish to try it on your own.
As days rolled by, Alamu sank deeper and deeper Remember also that any time you define a word or you paraphrase
into his private world. So much so that Labake feared or summarize a passage, you are involved in some kind of
that her husband was soon going to go completely intralingual translation.
deaf and dumb – these in addition to the already Very often, intralingual translation brings about nuances or
heavy load of problems he was carrying on his slight differences in meaning. This is because synonyms do not
shoulder. always mean exactly the same thing.
Note the following examples – all of which mean ‘I am
The translation is given thus: eating’:
Je me restaure
Au fil des jours (au fur et à mesure que les jours Je mange
s’écoulaient), Alamu s’ensevelit de plus en plus dans Je bouffe
la solitude. D’autant plus que Labake craignait que Je boulotte
son mari ne devienne complètement sourd-muet. Cela ‘Je me restaure’ is rather high sounding. ‘Je mange’ is the
s’ajoutait au fardeau de problèmes qu’il portait déjà normal day to day usage. ‘Je bouffe’ is colloquial while ‘Je
sur les épaules. boulotte’ is slang. Colloquial and slang expressions and words
should not be used in official gatherings, meetings or situations.
The translator can decide to replace “au fils des jours” with
“au fur et à mesure que les jours s’écoulaient”. They mean the 3.3 Intersemiotic Translation
same thing, but the two can’t be used at the same time, hence the In intersemiotic translation, you translate a text into a sign or
brackets are used to show another possible option. you translate a sign into a written or spoken text. “Semiotics” is the
study of signs. Signs are common in science and mathematics. We
You will be given another version of the same text. The also see them in music. The blind use braille and when what is in
difference is that different words and expressions are used: braille is written or spoken out in conventional language, we say it
is intersemiotic translation.
Comme les jours s’écoulaient, Alamu se Road signs are also intersemiotic translations.
recroquevillait plus profondément dans sa vie privée. Let us use some mathematical examples:
D’autant plus que Labake craignait que son mari ne 2+ 2 = 4
devienne bientôt un sourd-muet – en plus du fardeau Deux plus deux égalent quatre
de problèmes qu’il trimbalait. 2x 3 = 6
Deux fois trois égalent six
As earlier stated, the first translation is what is known as You can also draw a picture to give a message. When the
interlingual translation. It is what is traditionally understood to be drawing is written out, it becomes intersemiotic translation. The
translation. The second French is an intralingual translation.
28 29
French equivalent of intersemiotic translation is la traduction 7. Who uses braille to read?
intersémiotique.
Everyday, we encounter la traduction intersémiotique. The 7.0 References
watch tells you the time using signs. As you translate the time, you Bariki, Ozidi (2001): “Rénover la traduction pédagogique à travers
are having recourse to la traduction intersémiotique. la traduction intralinguale” in Translation Nouvelle série XX
As you go out today or tomorrow, write down the various No 1-2 pp19-27
opportunities of traduction intersémiotique. Use the following to Jakobson, Roman (1963): Essai de linguistique générale, Paris:
help you: Edition de Minuit (traduit en français par Nicolas Ruwet
1. road signs (1974)).
2. your watch
3. various drawings

4.0 Conclusion
Your general knowledge of translation is getting transformed.
You can tell anyone about Roman Jakobson’s three-fold definition
of translation.

5.0 Summary
You have learnt la traduction interlinguale, la traduction
intralinguale and la traduction intersémiotique. Use them daily.
You will enjoy them.

6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment

1. What are the types of translation that Roman Jakobson wrote
about?
2. What type of translation is it when you translate from French
into English?
3. What do you understand by la traduction proprement dite?
4. What is la traduction intersémiotique? Give your own
examples to illustrate the meaning?
5. What is the difference between la traduction intralinguale?
6. Use your dictionary and find out the slight differences in the
meanings of the following words, all of which meaning
basically ‘child’ progéniture, héritier, gamin, gosse and
moutard.
30 31
 UNIT 5 The main objective is to teach you translations involving the
TEXT TYPOLOGY IN TRANSLATION following types of texts.
- literary texts
Table of Contents - technical and scientific texts
1.0 Introduction - medical texts
2.0 Objectives You will also learn the following words and their meanings:
3.0 Text Typology in Translation radiographie, somnifère, insomnie, comprimé, retraité,
3.1 Literary Texts rechauffement climatique, pisciculture, séisme, etc.
3.2 Medical Texts
3.3 Translation of a Medical Text 3.0 Text Typology in Translation
3.4 Model Translation “Typology” simply means “a system for arranging things in
3.5 Vocabulary groups…” (Macmillan English Dictionary for advanced Learners
3.6 More Practical Translations (2007)). In this unit, the different texts to be translated are put in
4.0 Conclusion groups. For our purpose, we are going to treat only two groups.
5.0 Summary They are literary texts and technical and scientific texts. Technical
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment and scientific texts are grouped together as one.
7.0 Reference For our slightly technical text, we opt for a medical one. You
will read and translate it later in this unit.
1.0 Introduction
You have learnt of different types of translation. The types of 3.1 Literary texts
translation can be influenced by the type of text you have to Literary texts are texts relating to the kind of words you use
translate. This unit will introduce you to different texts you may in stories and poems. In this group or category, we have in mind
encounter in translation. It will let you realize that all texts are not novels, short stories, poems and plays.
translated the same way. For instance, a literary text (e.g. a novel) Literary texts are written in form of prose, poetry or plays.
cannot be translated the same way as a medical or scientific text. There is a literary language which may not be common in normal
There is more flexibility and freedom in literacy translation than a writing or speech. In poetry, you may talk of rhymes and metres.
technical or scientific text. Medical, technical and scientific texts Some literary writers like Soyinka may deliberately use flowery
demand “high” faithfulness to avoid misunderstanding and language. According to Macmillan English Dictionary for
catastrophe. Advanced Learners, “flowery language or writing uses many
complicated words which are intended to make it more attractive”.
2.0 Objectives This leads us to style. Every author has his own style. Chinua
On successful completion of this unit, you will appreciate Achebe’s style is different from that of Wole Soyinka or Amos
different texts involved in translation. You will know that the Tutuola. The style is not the message. It is the way the message is
different texts often have different approaches in translation. The passed across. Most translators are of the opinion that the message
different texts also have different problems or challenges. is the most important thing in translation. The style is translated
32 33
after the message has been translated. In other words, the message fait des radiographies, mais il n’y a rien d’anormal. Ma femme
takes precedence over the style. This is amply demonstrated in the s’est mise à souffrir dans la région du cœur, mais un spécialiste l’a
definition of translation given by Eugene Nida, a reknown linguist examinée sans trouver quoi que soit de défectueux. Nous sommes
and translator. donc venus chez vous cet après-midi dans l’espoir que vous
La traduction consiste à produire dans la langue puissiez nous aider. »
d’arrivée l’équivalent naturel le plus proche du C’était un couple sympathique, dans les soixante-dix ans,
message de la langue de départ, d’abord, quant à retraités de l’enseignement. Je ne les avais jamais vus auparavant.
la signification, puis au style (quoted in the J’étais surchargé cet après-midi là et je sentais qu’il allait m’être
preface to Mounin 1963:ix). difficile de les aider dans le peu de temps dont je pouvais disposer.
Après que j’eus posé quelques brèves questions à la femme et
What the quotation says is that translation consists of producing in fait un examen superficiel, sans découvrir de trouble quelconque,
the target language, the nearest natural equivalent of the message elle sortit une lettre de sa poche : « Docteur, peut-être allez-vous
in the source language,first in meaning and then in style. penser que je suis stupide, mais nos ennuis paraissent avoir
immédiatement suivi la réception de cette lettre. La voilà, voulez-
3.2 Medical Texts vous la lire ? »
Medical texts are of utmost importance because they have to
do with life. Their translations require accuracy. An unfaithful 3.4 Model Translation : A couple suffers from insomnia
or incorrect translation can cause disaster, a situation which “Doctor, we have driven fifty kilometers by car, my wife and
must be avoided. In translating medical texts, make sure you I to come and consult you. Neither of us had ever been sick for a
have good dictionaries at hand. Do not, however, be scared in single day until these few months when we started suffering from
translating medical texts. They are generally simple. The insomnia. We take sleeping tablets sometimes two or even more
apparently difficult words have the same roots in English and every night, but we don’t think that is the real solution. I started
French. This makes it quite easy to get the equivalents. having pains in my stomach. Xrays were taken, but there is nothing
abnormal. My wife started experiencing pain around her heart, but
Let us translate a text. The terms are very simple. a specialist examined her without finding any defect. We have
therefore come to you this afternoon in the hope that you would be
3.3 Translation of a Medical Text able to help us.
Un couple souffre de l’insomnie It was a nice couple in their seventies. They retired from
« Docteur, nous avons fait cinquante kilomètres en voiture, teaching. I had never seen them before. I was overloaded with
ma femme et moi, pour venir vous consulter. Ni l’un ni l’autre work that afternoon and I was feeling that it would be difficult for
n’avions jamais été malade un seul jour jusqu’à ces derniers mois me to help them within the time at my disposal.
où nous avons commencé à souffrir d’insomnies. Nous prenons des After asking the woman a few brief questions followed by a
somnifères en comprimés quelquefois deux ou même davantage superficial examination, without discovering any problem
par nuit, mais nous ne pensons pas que ce soit là la vraie solution. whatsoever, she brought out a letter from her pocket.
J’ai commencé à avoir des douleurs au creux de l’estomac. On a
34 35
 “Doctor, perhaps you will think that I am stupid, but our Even looking at various titles of translations, you can make
problems seemed to have followed the reception of this letter. Here similar observations:
it is, you will like to read it ?” L’Enfant noir – The African Child by Camara Laye
from Guinea
3.5 Vocabulary Noir is not “African”. It means black.
Note the following vocabulary and expressions : Une vie de boy – House boy by Ferdinand Oyono who
insomnie – insomnia or sleeplessness was a Camerounian.
un comprimé – tablet The idea in une vie is not expressed in
la radiographie – Xray the English title.
anormal – abnormal There are even some where the reader may not be able to
un retraité – a retired person appreciate the original immediately through the translated version,
sympathique – nice unless he/she had known about it. A typical example is L’âge d’or
auparavant – formerly n’est pas pour demain. This is the French version of Beautyful
un ennui – a problem Ones Are Not Yet Born written by Ayikwei Armah, a Ghanaian.
Elle sortit une lettre de sa poche – Another example is Le demagogue whose original version is A
She brought out a letter from her pocket Man of the People by Chinua Achebe. The literal translation of
Nous avons fait cinquante kilometers en voiture – L’âge d’or n’est pas pour demain is “Golden age is not for
We drove fifty kilometres by car. tomorrow”. You must have observed that “beautyful” cannot be
surchargé – overloaded with work adequately translated. In fact the word does not exist in English.
un somnifère – sleeping pill The correct English spelling is “beautiful” but the author chooses
the wrong one for a specific purpose. Similarly, The Palm
3.6 More Practical Translations Drinkard by Amos Tutuola does not have a perfect version in
Many practical translations are not totally faithful to the French. The French version is L’ivrogne meaning The Drunkard.
original in a linguistic sense. The original one is Drinkard, a word that does not exist in English.
There are slight differences. Let us examine a few examples You can observe many of such problems in Une vie de boy
taken from Things Fall Apart and its French equivalent Le monde and House Boy. Une vie de boy was translated by John Reed:
s’effondre, written by Chinua Achebe. 1. Qu’est-ce que c’est?
He is always in a hurry p.49 – Il est toujours plus pressé que Who is it ? (Instead of ‘What is it ?’) (in Ozidi Bariki 2000
le vent p.87 p.46)
This sentence refers to Okonkwo’s way of walking. The 2. C’est ma bouche qui est fatiguée (Une vie de boy)
French adds an image which does not exist in the English original. My mouth is tired (House Boy) (in Ozidi Bariki 2000
Plus pressé que le vent means “more in a hurry than the wind”. p.47) instead of “It is my mouth that is tired”.
The idea of wind and the comparison is not expressed in the You cannot afford these discrepancies in scientific or
original. technological translations. If you do not translate the exact
meaning in a scientific, medical or technology-based translation,
36 37
you may cause serious problems. For instance, translation 7.0 References
involving the weather and a plane in the air at the airport or a Achebe, C. (1958) : Things Fall Apart, London, Heinemann
medical operation has to be very faithful. Or else, it may cause Educational Books Ltd.
disaster and loss of life. Try and learn the following examples of Achebe, C. (1958): Le monde s’effondre, Dakar, Présence
scientific translation: Africaine, translated by Michel Ligny.
fish breeding – la pisciculture Bariki, K.O (1999) : « La traduction appliquée et le français dans
global warming – le réchauffement climatique les universités nigérianes », Ph.d thesis, Department of
sound proofing – l’isolation phonique Modern European Languages, University of Ilorin.
earthquake – le tremblement de terre/le séisme/la Bariki, O (2001) : « Rénover la traduction pédagogique à travers la
secousse tellurique traduction intralinguale » in Translatio No 1-2 Nouvelle
Série xx pp19-27
4.0 Conclusion Bariki, O. (1999): “ La typologie textuelle en traduction” in M.
You have learnt a lot on literary translation. Literary Nnoruka (ed): Cours de langue et de littérature
translation has peculiar problems that you cannot afford to have in françaises, Ilorin pp 48- 59
technical, scientific or medical translation. The latter requires Israel, F. (ed.) (1990) : La liberté en traduction, Paris : Didier
precision. Your vocabulary has been enriched greatly. Erudition.

5.0 Summary
You also have an idea of scientific and technological
translation. You cannot afford the type of liberty or freedom you
have in literary translation. You also know the meaning of the
following words : tremblement de terre, isolation phonique,
insomnie, radiographie, retraité.

6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment

1.What is a literary text?
2.Cite a few cases of inconsistency in literary translation?
3. Why do scientific, medical and technical translations
require accuracy all the time?
4. Give two synonyms of le séisme in French.
5. What is the meaning of le pilule. Look it up in your
dictionary.

38 39
 UNIT 6 In the second text to be translated, the story is similar. The
TENTATIVE DE VOL À MAIN ARMÉE thieves are arrested. The police is congratulated for doing a good
job.
Table of Contents 2.0 Objectives
1.0 Introduction The main objectives of this unit are to help you
2.0 Objectives - translate texts on armed robbery
3.0 Tentative de vol à main armée - increase your vocabulary – fonctionnaires, quartier,
3.1 Vocabulary caissier, pistolet, bandit, malfaiteur, affolant, téléphone
3.2 Grammar portable, policier, prévenir, le commissariat, empêcher de,
3.3 Related Expressions chaleureusement, ordonner à, témoins, gérant, s’emparer
3.4 Model Translation de, ordinateur portable, l’entrée, masqué.
3.5 Félicitons la police ! Read and try to translate the texts on your own. You will get
3.6 Model Translation : Let us congratulate the police ! an explanation of some of the difficult words and expressions later.
4.0 Conclusion Start by looking up the difficult words as you attempt to translate.
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment 3.0 Vol à main armée
7.0 References On venait de payer les salaires des fonctionnaires. Il y avait
donc une foule dans la seule banque. Mais juste une heure après
1.0 Introduction l’ouverture de la banque, il est arrivé quelque chose d’inattendu.
You are going from theory into practical translation. A Des hommes qui s’adressaient calmement à l’un des caissiers de la
translation theory sets guidelines to help you in translating. In banque ont changé subitement de ton et pistolets braqués, ils ont
practical translation, you translate a text from English to French or ordonné à tous les employés et clients de lever les bras. Comment
vice versa. In this unit, you are going to deal with two passages on ces hommes ont-ils sorti des pistolets de leur poche ? Personne ne
armed robbery in a bank (Vol à main armée dans une banque and savait comment ils sont entrés dans la banque avec ces objets. Mais
Félicitons la police!). In the first text, salaries had just been paid une chose était évidente : c’étaient des bandits, des malfaiteurs.
and there was a crowd in the bank. Then, suddenly, armed robbers C’était un moment affolant où les bandits obligeaient les gens
came in and went away with many things. de leur donner de l’argent. Ils ont emporté des sacs de toutes les
Fortunately, they were arrested with the active and quick dames Heureusement, grâce à son téléphone portable, l’un des
response of the police. The courage of the police men were policiers en faction a prévenu ses collègues au commissariat. Les
appreciated. policiers ont réagi immédiatement et ont empêché les voleurs de
You will learn new words relating to robbery as you translate continuer leur méfait. Les bandits ont été arrêtés (appréhendés).
the text. Many of these words are useful to you daily: mobile Toute la ville a remercié très chaleureusement les agents pour leur
telephone, the police, pistol, the cashier, etc. courage.

40 41
3.1 Vocabulary Ordonner à
A knowledge of the following vocabulary will help you to Unlike “empêcher”, ordonner takes the preposition “à”. “Il
translate the passage. You will learn the nouns first: ordonne à ses enfants de venir”. You have seen various interesting
le fonctionnaire – civil servant points in the text. You may now compare your translation with the
le caissier – cashier model translation.
l’employé (masculine) – clerk, employee
le pistolet – pistol 3.3 Related Expressions
le bandit – bandit braquer une arme sur – to point a weapon at
le malfaiteur – evil person un braqueur de banque – a bank robber (male)
affolant – alarming une braqueuse de banque – a bank robber (female)
le commissariat – police station menacer quelqu’un avec une arme – to pull one’s gun on
sortir – to bring out
quelque chose d’inattendu – unexpected thing 3.4 Model Translation
subitement – suddenly Attempted armed robbery
pistolet braqué – pistle pointed at him Salaries of civil servants had just been paid. There was a
crowd in the bank. Barely one hour after opening, something
3.2 Grammar unexpected happened. Some men who were speaking calmly to
Observe the interesting use of « sorti » in the text. This verb one of the cashiers suddenly changed their tone and ordered the
is used very often in the past with the auxiliary “être”. e.g. employees and customers to raise their hands. How did the men
Il est sorti bring out the pistols? No one knew how they entered the bank with
Elle est sortie these objects. One thing was, however, clear: they were robbers,
It is, however, used here in a different sense. You observe the evil people.
use of “ont” and not “sont”. In other words, the auxiliary is It was a terrible moment when the robbers forced people to
“avoir”. Now look at the translation. give them money. They went away with the bags of all the women.
Ces hommes ont sorti les pistolets de leur poche. Luckily, thanks to his mobile phone, one of the policemen called
These men brought out pistols form their pockets. (informed) his colleagues at the police station. The policemen
reacted immediately and prevented the thieves from carrying out
Empêcher de their evil deed. The whole town thanked the policemen very much
You observe also the use of “empêcher”: The verb is for their courage.
followed by “de”. You will therefore say:
Je l’ai empêché de venir le téléphone mobile – mobile phone
I prevented him from coming You may also use the following words to mean “le téléphone
It will be wrong to write: “Je l’ai empêché venir” mobile”: le portable, le mobile, le cellulaire.

42 43
3.5 Félicitons la police ! You have translated a text on armed robbery. You have learnt
Lundi matin, la Banque du Nigéria était la cible d’une attaque another meaning and use of “sortir”. Try and recall some of the
à main armée. Dix hommes et trois femmes masqués ont forcé expressions used in the text any time you hear or read of robbery.
l’entrée de la banque. Il ne restait que les grands gérants de la
banque et certaines caissières. Les braqueurs se sont emparés de 5.0 Summary
beaucoup d’argent, d’ordinateurs potables et d’une voiture qu’ils You have learnt many new words like téléphone mobile,
abandonneront plus tard. affolant, commissariat, caissier, caissière, s’emparer de,
La police arrive deux heures après le vol, lance un avis de braqueur de banque, braqueuse de banque.
recherche et un appel à témoins. La police trouve de nombreuses
empreintes qui leur seraient utiles pour les enquêtes. 6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
Deux jours après, les braqueurs sont arrêtés. Les autorités de Translate the following sentences into French.
la banque étaient tellement contentes qu’ils ont organisé une 1. I took a pencil out of my pocket.
grande fête pour dire merci aux employés et à la police. 2. They are armed robbers
3. She prevented me from going.
s'emparer de – to grab 4. They ordered us to raise up our hands.
un caissier – a male cashier 5. Look at the mobile telephone.
une caissière – a female cashier 6. My salary has just been paid.
7. They were evil people.
3.6 Model Translation : Let us congratulate the police ! 8. The people thanked the police men.
On Monday morning, the Bank of Nigeria, was the target of 9. The armed robbers went away with all the handbags.
an attack by armed robbers. Two men and three women all of 10. The community organized a feast for the police
whom were masked forced their way through the entrance of the
bank. There were only the big bank managers and some female 7.0 Reference
cashiers. The robbers went away with a lot of money, laptops and a Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners New Edition
car which they were to abandon later. 2007, London: A & C Black Publishers.
The police arrived two hours after the raid, embarked on a Mounin, G (196): Les problèmes théoriques de la traduction,
search and an appeal for witnesses. The police saw many footprints Paris : Gallimard.
which were useful for the interrogations. Vinay, J. P. et Darbelnet, J. (1977) : Stylistique comparée du
Two days later, the robbers were arrested. The authorities of français et de l’anglais, Paris : Didier Erudition.
the bank were so happy that they organized a big feast to thank the
clerks and police.

4.0 Conclusion

44 45
 UNIT 7 Read the text and translate, using all available means of help at
UN PETIT DRAME your disposal

Table of contents 3.0 Un petit drame

1.0 Introduction C’était un vendredi. Mme Lansani, une veuve travailleuse, et
2.0 Objectives ses enfants ont décidé de pique-niquer à la campagne. Il fallait
3.0 Un petit drame acheter des casse-croûtes pour le pique-nique. Mme Lansani est
3.1 Vocabulary donc sortie très tôt le matin pour en acheter.
3.2 Expressions Elle se demandait si ses enfants pourraient vite faire le
3.3 Points of Grammar ménage avant le départ. Mais, les enfants avaient tous dit : “Mama,
3.4 Model Translation ne vous en faites pas, nous aurons fait le ménage avant votre
3.5 Colloquialism retour”.
4.0 Conclusion Mme Lansani est donc partie. A son retour, elle a découvert
5.0 Summary que les enfants n’ont pas tenu leur promesse. Voici le petit drame
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment qui a suivi.
7.0 References Mme Lansani – Vous vous querellez, vous n’avez pas tenu
votre promesse, vous voulez renoncer à ce
1.0 Introduction pique-nique ?
In unit 6, it was the translation of a text on armed robbery. Les enfants – Mais non !
But, here you are in a family setting. The family is planning to Mme Lansani – Qu’est-ce que vous faites alors ?
travel and there is a little quarrel that follows. It deals with the Shade – C’est la faute de Tounde. Tiens, il se repose
usual quarrels among children in the home. As you translate it, au lieu de travailler.
your knowledge of French will improve. Tounde – Maman, c’est pas vrai. Moi, j’ai bien
travaillé, j’ai fini de laver la voiture, j’ai
2.0 Objectives nettoyé les fauteuils. J’ai fait la vaisselle.
It is hoped that you will be able to increase your vocabulary J’ai même tondu le gazon. Je suis en
and expression through the translation of the text. train de me détendre un peu devant la télé.
The following words should be of interest to you: Shade – Menteur ! Maman, tu vois combien il est
• le pique-nique, casse-croûte, la télé, veuve, fainéant, se paresseux. C’est un fainéant. Il se détend à
détendre, têtu, frotter. 10 heures du matin !
There are expressions too : casser la tête à quelqu’un, Dites Tounde – Mais pourquoi pas ? J’ai fait mon travail.
donc, en voilà assez, faire le ménage, tondre le gazon, J’ai travaillé toute la nuit. En effet, j’ai brûlé
brûler la chandelle, rater le train, je reviens à mon dire la chandelle. Et puis, je me suis déjà lavé,
• Some grammatical points relating to the parts of the body habillé et coiffé.
among others will be highlighted. (En s’adressant à Shade, il dit)
46 47
 Toi, tu n’es jamais prête. Toujours 3.2 Expressions
paresseuse. Et même têtue aussi ! Know the following expressions
Shade – Et alors ? faire le ménage – to do the house work
Tounde – J’ai même frotté le plancher avec une brosse tondre le gazon – cut the grass
dur. Tu ne fais rien. Je reviens à mon dire : “Le gazon” refers mainly to “grass that is fore and short”. It can
tu es d’une paresse incurable. also mean “lawn”.
Shade – Maman, tu vois, il m’insulte. Je vais lui casser la tête à quelqu’un – to crack someone’s skull
casser la tête. brûler la chandelle par les deux bouts – to burn the candle at
Mme Lansani – Dites donc, ça suffit ! Courez tous les deux both ends
au magasin me chercher du lait. On quitte ici rater le train – to miss the train
dans une vingtaine de minutes. Que tout le Dites donc, ça suffit ! – Look here, I say that’s
monde soit prêt. enough!
Dépêchons-nous, sinon on risque de rater le Je reviens à mon dire – I reaffirm what I have said
train.
Ces dernières paroles de Mme Lansani ont marqué la fin de la 3.3 Points of Grammar
querelle comme les deux enfants ne voulaient pas rater cette Casser la tête à quelqu’un
merveilleuse occasion de pique-niquer. The expression means to “break someone’s skull”
Je vais lui casser la tête means “I am going to break his/her skull”.
3.1 Vocabulary The pronoun is lui and not le or la because of the preposition à –
Below are some of the words that could be a source of problem casser la tête à quelqu’un.
to you Note also this important fact:
le casse-croûte – snack You use the definite article to represent the possessive adjective
la télé – TV, the ‘telly’ (Colloquial) when you are referring to parts of the body. Hence you will say:
“La télé” is a colloquial form of ‘la télévision’ i.e. a television set. J’ai mal au pied – My leg is hurting
“Television” also has a tinge of colloquialism when it is used to Elle se lave le visage – She is washing her face
mean “television set”. “Le téléviseur” is more appropriate when we In a similar vein, you must have observed that you cannot say: “Je
want to talk of a television set. vais casser ta tête” to mean “I am going to break your head/skull”.
une veuve – a widow You will say “Je vais te casser la tête” to mean “I will break your
un fainéant – idler, sluggard head/skull”.
se détendre – to relax While English requires the use of a possessive adjective, French
têtu – stubborn requires a personal pronoun or a reflexive pronoun and an article.
frotter le plancher avec une brosse dur – to scrub the floor Hence the following sentences:
Il s’est cassé la tête – He broke his head/skull
Not: Il a cassé sa tête

48 49
Le coiffeur me coupe les cheveux – The barber is cutting/cuts Tutoiement and vouvoiement are the noun forms of the
my hair verbs “tutoyer” and “vouvoyer”.
Not : Le coiffeur a coupé mes cheveux
3.4 Model Translation
Un vendredi A Little Drama
Remember the simple rule that the indefinite article indicates an It was a Friday. Mrs. Lansani, the hardworking widow, and
unspecified “Friday”. However, if the definite article le were used, her children decided to go on a picnic in the countryside. They
it will mean “Fridays”, thereby implying repetition. Examine the needed to buy snacks for the picnic. Thus, Mrs. Lansani went out
following sentences: very early in the morning to buy them.
On se verra lundi – We shall see on Monday She wondered if her children could quickly take care of the
On se voit le lundi – We see/meet on Mondays household chores before their departure. But, all the children said:
“Mum, don’t worry; we will have done the household chores
Tutoyer/vouvoyer before leaving”.
In French, “tutoyer” means the use of “tu” when addressing So Mrs. Lansani left. On her return, she discovered that the
someone. “Tutoyer quelqu’un” means to use “tu” when speaking to children had not kept their promise. Below is the little drama that
someone. You use it for familiar people. In French, children use followed.
“tu” and not “vous” for their parents. “Vouvoyer quelqu’un” is to
address somebody as “vous”. Mrs. Lansani – You are quarrelling, you haven’t kept your
Read what Collins Robert French Dictionary Concise Edition word, do you want to forgo the picnic?
(2005: 550) says: The children Of course not!
There are no hard-and-fast rules about when Mrs. Lansani – What are you doing then?
to use “tu” and “vous” to address people. Shade – It is the fault of Tunde. Look at him, he’s
Small children can be addressed as “tu”, and resting instead of working.
will often reply using the “tu” form as well. Tunde – Mum, it’s not true. I have been working
In formal contexts among young people of hard, I have finished washing the car, I
the same age, “tu” is often used even at first cleaned the armchairs. I
meeting. washed the plates. I even cut the grass. I am
Among the older generation, “vous” is relaxing a little in front of the television.
standard until people know each other well. Shade – A liar! Mum, you see how lazy he is. He’s
As a general rule for non-native speakers, an idler! He’s relaxing at 10am!
“vous” should always be used to address Tunde – Why not? I have done my work. I worked all
adults until the other person uses “tu” or night. In fact, I burnt the midnight oil. And
asks permission to do so. here I am again, I have already taken my
bath, I am dressed up. I have combed my
hair.
50 51
 (Talking to Shade, he says) 5.0 Summary
As for you, you’re never ready. Always The numerous new words and grammar will assist you
lazy. And even stubborn! greatly. Study them and use them constantly.
Shade – And so what?
Tunde – I even scrubbed the floor. You don’t do 6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
anything. I’ll say it again: your laziness is A. Translate the following into French
incurable. (You are incurably lazy). 1. He broke his arm.
Shade – Mum, you see? He is insulting me. I will 2. Shade sprained her ankles.
break his head. 3. My mother cut my nails.
Mrs. Lansani – Look here, I say that’s enough. Run, both of 4. I washed my hair this afternoon.
you, to the shop to look for milk. We’re 5. She broke her arm.
leaving here in twenty minutes. Let B. 1. Write out situations where you think you will be free to use
everyone get ready. Let’s hurry “tu” while addressing someone.
up, otherwise we stand the risk of missing 2. Make a clear difference between tutoiement and
the train. vouvoiement.
The last words of Mrs. Lansani marked the end of the quarrel as
both children did not want to miss the wonderful opportunity to 7.0 References
picnic (to have a picnic). Collins French Dictionary (2006), Williams Collins Sons and Co.
Ltd. and Dictionaires Le Robert 1981, 1990, Harper Collins
3.5 Colloquialism Publishers and Dictionnaires Le Robert 1996, 2000 2003,
Did you observe the use of colloquial language in the English 2006.
translation? Expressions like “we’re”, “don’t”, “let’s”, “that’s”, Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners (2007)
“he’s” are all colloquial expressions you use with people that are Malaysia A&C Black Publishers Ltd, Macmillan Publishers
very familiar to you. You can use these expressions among family Ltd 2007 and Martin Shovel 2007.
members (as you can see in the translation) and among friends. Vinay, J. P. et Darbelnet, J. (1977) : Stylistique comparée du
You cannot use them in formal circumstances like interviews for français et de l’anglais, Paris : Didier Erudition.
jobs and letters of application.
The French do not have many expressions of this type. The
only one you can see clearly in the text is “c’est pas vrai” instead
of “ce n’est pas vrai”. You use “c’est pas vrai” in informal speech.

4.0 Conclusion
You have learnt very many expressions, words and
grammatical points through the translation of the text. You know
more about the very crucial used of “tu” and “vous”.
52 53
 UNIT 8 3.0 Read the text on “Un compte courant ou un compte
UN COMPTE COURANT OU UN COMPTE D’ÉPARGNE? d’épargne?”
Je viens d’être embauchée par une société internationale.
Table of Contents C’est l’une des meilleures sociétés en Afrique de l’Ouest, même
1.0 Introduction dans toute l’Afrique. Dans quelques semaines, je toucherai mon
2.0 Objectives premier salaire. J’ai besoin d’ouvrir un compte. J’ai un choix, soit
3.0 Un compte courant ou un compte d’épargne ? d’ouvrir un compte courant ou un compte d’épargne. Entretemps
3.1 Vocabulary j’ouvrirai un compte d’épargne puisqu’on nous demande de faire
3.2 Venir de des économies.
3.3 Chercher à La plupart des mes compatriotes ne veulent pas ouvrir le
3.4 Other Related Words or Expressions compte d’épargne parce que l’épargne est souvent grignotée par
3.5 Model Translation l’inflation. Mais, il y a une vérité incontestable qu’il ne faut pas
4.0 Conclusion oublier. Il faut mettre de l’argent de côté. Ce n’est pas sage d’être
5.0 Summary toujours au rouge. Tout le monde doit organiser sa vie et garder
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment une poire pour la soif.
7.0 References
3.1 Vocabulary
1.0 Introduction Before you translate the text, get to know some of the words
Unit 7 dealt with a little drama in the home. In this unit, you which may pose problem to you.
are being introduced to some useful words and expressions relating la société – a company (In this context, ‘la société’
to money and banking. The title is “A current account or a savings does not mean ‘society’)
account?” In this text société and compagnie are synonyms; they have
the same meaning.
2.0 Objectives être embauché – to be employed (The author of this text
On successful completion of this chapter, the student should is female, so she uses ‘embauchée’).
be able to: un compte – a bank account
• enrich his/her vocabulary: être embauché, société, un compte d’épargne – a savings account
toucher, compte bancaire, compte courant, compte un compte courant – a current account
d’épargne, grignoter grignoter – to erode gradually
• know more expressions such as : être dans le rouge, avoir L’épargne est souvent grignotée par l’inflation means
de l’argent de côté, garder une poire pour la soif “Savings are often eroded by inflation”.
• identify some grammatical points in the passage avoir de l’argent de côté – to save up money
être au rouge – to be in the red
When your account is in the red, it means you have spent
more money than is available.
54 55
garder une poire pour la soif – to have something for a Just like venir de, chercher à is followed by the infinitive
rainy day (l’infinitif).
This is an example of equivalence. Remember equivalence A few sentences should be useful.
deals with stock expressions like idiomatic expressions and
proverbs. A few examples are given you. You may commit Il cherche à atteindre son objectif – He is trying to attain his
them to memory and use them at the appropriate time. objective
There could still be some difficult words for you. If that is so, look Nous cherchons à finir le devoir – We are trying to finish
them up in your dictionary before you embark on the translation the assignment
exercise.
3.4 Other Related Words or Expressions
3.2 venir de You may further enrich your knowledge of banking terms
Venir de expresses the past recent (le passé récent). It and expressions. Try and use them in your daily life. Try and recall
expresses an action that has just taken place. Read the following them any time you have reason to go to the bank.
examples as you appreciate its use: banking – les opérations de banque, les affaires de banque
Je viens d’être embauché – I have just been employed banker – banquier
Je viens d’être agressé – I have just been mugged faire des études bancaires – to study banking
La femme vient d’être promue – The woman has just been avoir un compte en banque – to have a bank account
promoted les guichets de la banque – the cashier’s desk
You must have observed the use of the passive voice (le relevé de compte – bank statement
passif ou la voix passive) in all the examples. Do not be misled to Depending on the context, to “save” could be gagner or
think that venir de must always be followed by ‘être’ and then the économiser e.g. He saved petrol – Il a économisé du carburant
participe passé Going by plane will save you ten hours – Vous gagnerez dix
What is worth observing and retaining is that venir de is heures en avion
always followed by the infinitive as is evidenced in the use of être Talking about a computer file, sauvegarder is the appropriate word
in the examples above. Read the following examples: for “save”.
Mon ami vient de partir. – My friend has just
left. You have known most of the difficult words and expressions.
Nous venons de commencer le travail. – We have just started Now translate the text.
the work.
Je viens d’apprendre la nouvelle. – I have just heard the 3.5 Model Translation
news. A current account or a savings account?
I have just been employed by an international company. It is
3.3 Chercher à one of the best companies in West Africa and even in the whole of
Chercher à faire quelque chose – to try to do something. A Africa. In a few weeks, I will earn my first salary. I need to open a
synonym of chercher à in this context is essayer de. bank account. I have a choice: either to open a current account or a
56 57
savings account. In the meantime, I will open a savings account as Hervey, S. and Higgins, I. (1992): Thinking Translation. A course
the government is trying to encourage savings. in Translation Method. French to English, London and New
Most of my compatriots do not want to open savings account York: Routledge.
as savings are often eroded by inflation. But there is an undeniable Ojo, S.A. (2002): A Comprehensive Revision Handbook of French
truth which must not be forgotten. One must save some money. It Grammar, Ibadan: Signal Educational Services Ltd.
is not wise to be always in the red. Everyone has to plan his life Vercollier, A. ; Vercollier, C. and Bourlier, K. (2006) : Difficultés
and keep something for the rainy day. expliquées du français, for English Speakers, Ibadan : Clé &
Spectrum.
4.0 Conclusion
You have learnt a lot of words and expressions on money.
Try to recall them each time you enter a bank. You may write
them in a piece of paper and glance through them in the bank.

5.0 Summary
The text is very useful. You can now translate some texts
involving finance.

6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment

Translate the following sentences into French

1. You save a thousand naira if you buy a dozen shirts

2. We have just eaten.
3. My bank account is in the red.
4. He has money in the bank.
5. The hospital has a blood bank.
6. I drive very slowly in order to save fuel.
7. My father is a banker.
8. I am studying banking in the University.
9. I want to open a savings account.
10. I have a current account.

6.0 References

Coffman, M. E. (1973): French Grammar, New York: McGraw-

Hill Book Company.
58 59
 UNIT 9 Read and translate the text. Make use of your dictionaries and
UNE EXPÉRIENCE EXTRÊMEMENT PÉNIBLE grammar books. Consult your friends who are students of
French or your French teacher if the need arises.
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction 3.0 Une expérience extrêmement pénible
2.0 Objectives Gagou souffre d’insomnie depuis une quinzaine de jours.
3.0 Une expérience extrêmement pénible C’est la suite d’une expérience extrêmement pénible qui s’est
3.1 Vocabulary produite tout récemment. Il s’agit d’un accident de la route dont
3.2 Model Translation elle a été témoin lors d’un voyage.
3.3 Other Related Vocabulary C’était un lundi. L’avion de Gagou venait d’atterrir dans la
4.0 Conclusion capitale nigérienne et elle allait en ville dans une voiture quand un
5.0 Summary accident mortel a eu lieu. Deux mercedes étaient entrées en
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment collision. D’après les témoins oculaires, l’incident a été provoqué
7.0 References par la route fort accidentée. L’un des chauffeurs voulait éviter un
nid-de-poule. Et les victimes ? Il y en avait trois, mais un jeune
1.0 Introduction homme a succombé à ses blessures.
This unit has to do with the translation of a painful Les deux autres étaient pratiquement indemnes sauf une
experience. The text deals with an accident on the road. The écorchure au bras pour Lata. C’était vraiment un moment pénible.
accident was very bad. The accident victims were taken to a Les passants ont tout fait pour aider les victimes. On a emmené les
University Teaching Hospital by passers-by. A lawyer who had victimes au Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, plus précisément au
just been called to the bar died, thus causing much sorrow to his service d’urgence où elles étaient hospitalisées. Mais les efforts
village. désespérés n’ont rien changé. Le jeune homme décédé était bien
bâti, beau et portant une barbe. Sa mort fut une mauvaise nouvelle
2.0 Objectives pour son village où il était le seul avocat. Il s’est inscrit au barreau
This chapter proposes to further expand your vocabulary and il y avait à peine trois mois. Les villageois disaient même que son
knowledge of grammar through translation. As you carefully study sort était pareil à celui de son cadet – un médecin qui avait péri,
it, you should be able to: brûlé vif dans un accident d’avion !
• acquire the following vocabulary: insomnie, une dizaine, Quel malheur ! Le bruit court que cette famille était bel et
cadet, indemne, malédiction, rumeurs. bien victime d’une malédiction dont la source reste inconnue.
• acquire new expressions: inscrire au barreau, être brûlé
vif, porter une barbe, succomber à 3.1 Vocabulary
• identify some grammatical elements in the passage Une expérience extrêmement pénible – harrowing experience
• acquire other words and expressions related to the theme Le bruit court que – Rumour has it that
of the text la suite – sequel, follow-up
être témoin de – to witness
60 61
les victimes de l’accident – the accident victims porter une barbe – to have a beard
indemne – unhurt s’inscrire au barreau – to be called to the bar
cadet – younger brother succomber à – to die from
le sort – the fate We have characteristically avoided explaining some of the
(Note that ‘le sort’ is a noun and differs from the third person difficult words, expressions and grammatical points. The idea here
singular of the verb ‘sortir’) is to encourage you to master the use of your dictionaries and
la malédiction – curse, spell grammar books on your own.
les efforts désepérés (m) – frantic efforts Dictionaries are invaluable assets in translation in particular
la route accidentée – the unevenness of the and in your studies as a whole. Make them your good companions.
ground Note: You need dictionaries and not just a dictionary. Do your best
accident mortel – fatal accident to procure a minimum of three dictionaries: a bilingual
“Fatal accident” means death was recorded. It does not means French/English dictionary (un dictionnaire bilingue), an entirely
“ghastly accident”. French dictionary (un dictionnaire unilingue français) and an
La capitale nigérienne – The Nigerien capital. entirely English dictionary (un dictionnaire unilingue anglais).
Note that the adjective here refers to the country called Niger Do not underestimate the importance of your English
and NOT Nigeria. If it referred to Nigeria, the author would have dictionary. If you do not understand an English word, the French
said La capitale nigériane. equivalent may mean nothing to you. Taking our text as an
Note also nigérienne (féminine) has two n, but nigériane has just example, look at “insomnia” in the English dictionary, if you do
one. In the masculine form, both have just one ‘n’: not know its meaning.
L’homme nigérien Now attempt the translations and then compare your
L’homme nigérian translation with the model translation.
Une mercedes – car are feminine because the generic term “la Do not be discouraged if you make many mistakes.
voiture” is feminine. Thus one would say ‘une peugeot’, ‘une Remember the French proverb which says Petit à petit l’oiseau fait
toyota’, etc. son nid. This means literarily “little by little a bird makes its nest”.
Quinzaine In actual fact, it means “slow and steady wins the race”.
Quinzaine means fifteen or about fifteen. Quinzaine de jours Another useful expression is En forgeant, on devient
means “a fortnight” or “about two weeks”. In French two weeks is forgeron – Practice makes perfect.
fifteen days, hence quinze jours. Similarly, a week is NOT seven Yet another very important thing you must always bear in
days as in English but eight days – huit jours: mind is this: there are many different possible translations of a
On se verra dans huit jours – We shall see in a week’s time particular text. Two good translators are likely to use different
Les victimes – The word is feminine, hence “ells étaient words to convey the same meaning of a text.
hospitalisées”. The accord of gender and number must be Where you are absolutely in doubt or at crossroads, seek help
respected. from a colleague or teacher of French
Expressions
brûlé vif – burnt to death
62 63
3.2 Model Translation accident de la circulation
A harrowing experience – road accident
Gagou has been suffering from insomnia for about two accident de la route
weeks. It is as a result of a harrowing experience which took place accidents domestiques – domestic accidents i.e.
very recently. She saw a road accident in one of her numerous accidents in the home
journeys. It was a Monday. Gagou’s plane had just landed in the sa cadette – his/her younger sister
Nigerien capital, and she was on her way to town in a car when a L’homme portait une barbe – L’homme était barbu – The
fatal accident occurred. It involved two Mercedes Benz that man had a beard. The man
collided. was bearded.
The accident victims? There were three of them, but a young
man died from serious wounds. The others two were virtually The following words should be of interest to you:
unhurt except for Lata who had graze in her arm. Écorcher = égratigner = to graze.
It was a very painful moment. Passers-by did all they could Elle s’est écorchée les genoux = She grazed her knees
to help the accident victims. They took the casualties to the
University Teaching Hospital, the Emergency Unit to be precise. 4.0 Conclusion
But the frantic efforts did nothing. The young dead man was You have learnt a lot of expressions and words. Study them
solidly built, handsome and wore a beard. His death was bad news very hard and use them regularly.
for his village where he was the only lawyer. He was called to bar
barely three months ago. The villagers were even saying that his 5.0 Summary
fate was like that of his younger brother – a medical doctor who The numerous words and expressions will help you immensely.
was burnt to death in a plane crash. Recall some of them: succomber à, écorcher, expérience pénible.
What a misfortune! Rumor had it that the family was a victim
of a spell whose source was unknown. 6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
Translate
3.3 Other Related Vocabulary 1. We met about ten days ago
Il est mort accidentellement – He died in an accident 2. I had just arrived at school
This an example of transposition. Refer to FRE 301. It is a 3. He died of hunger
transposition because ‘accidentellement’ is an adverb and 4. The potbellied man eats too much
‘accident’ is a noun. 5. Accident insurance is a necessity
Transposition means that a word changes its grammatical 6. The rumours of a coup are rife
category or part of speech in the course of translation. 7. There were many casualties during the accidents
8. I took her to the Casualty Department
avoir un accident – to have an accident 9. Tyndale, a well-known translator, was burnt to death.
assurance (f) accidents – accident insurance 10. She grazed her elbows.

64 65
7.0 References UNIT 10
Coffman, M. E. (1973): French Grammar, New York: McGraw- COUPÉE DE LA RÉALITÉ? (I)
Hill Book Company.
Hatim, B. and Mason, I. (1990): Discourse and the Translator, Table of Contents
New York: Longman. 1.0 Introduction
Ojo, S.A. (2002): A Comprehensive Revision Handbook of French 2.0 Objectives
Grammar, Ibadan: Signal Educational Services Ltd. 3.0 Coupée de la réalité (I)
Vercollier, A. ; Vercollier, C. and Bourlier, K. (2006) : Difficultés 3.1 Vocabulary
expliquées du français, for English Speakers, Ibadan : Clé & 3.2 Grammar
Spectrum. 3.3 Conseiller à, renoncer à,
3.4 Tenir de
3.5 Celui-ci
3.6 Model Translation
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
7.0 References

1.0 Introduction
This unit introduces you to the translation of a very
interesting short story. It deals with a young girl, Okuboere, whose
dogged ambition paid off. She was inspired by the laudable work
her father did as a doctor. She was not without her moments of
confusion and discouragement. But this is just part I.

2.0 Objectives
This unit is particularly rich with new words and expressions.
On successful completion of this unit, you should be able to know:
• a variety of new words e.g géniteur, défi, optique,
retentissant, pédiatre, épargner, celui-ci.
• more new expressions such as tenir de, tantôt … tantôt,
courbé par l’âge.
• the use of conseiller à, renoncer à.

66 67
Read the text entitled “Coupée de la réalité ? (I)”. This is the first 3.2 Grammar
part of the story. Make sure your dictionaries are very close by. 3.3 Conseiller à, renoncer à
Conseiller à means ‘to advise’ or ‘to recommend to’. Note the
3.0 Coupée de la réalité? (I) use of the preposition ‘à’. Thus, I advise Tunde to come will be
Okuboere avait son rêve comme toute autre jeune fille – translated as Je conseille à Tunde de venir.
celui de devenir pédiatre un jour. Elle voulait tenir de son géniteur. As a result of the preposition à, I advise him to come will be Je
Son père est un homme intelligent. Il est très vieux maintenant, lui conseille de venir. It will be very wrong to say Je le conseille
courbé par l’âge. Mais Okuboere s’est inspirée des efforts louables de venir.
de celui-ci qui traitait les malades. Mais il existait d’innombrables In the same vein, to renounce or to give up is renoncer à
défis à relever. Ce désir pourrait-il se transformer en réalité ? La J’ai renoncé au mariage – I have given up the idea of
question s’imposait, car les échecs des années passées avaient déjà marriage
retardé de cinq ans la réalisation de son ambition. J’ai renoncé au tabac – I have given up smoking
Inquiets, les parents ont conseillé à Okuboere de changer The use of ‘au’ is necessitated by the masculine article ‘le’ that
d’optique. On lui a proposé d’être infirmière. Mais c’était un refus should precede mariage and tabac.
total, un non retentissant de sa part. Elle était bien décidée à Remember: à + le = au
poursuivre son unique rêve. Néanmoins, des moments de You should recall the following verbs too:
confusion ne l’ont pas épargnée. Elle se laissait tantôt décourager obéir à – to obey
tantôt encourager par son environnement. I obey my father – J’obéis à mon père
I obey him – Je lui obéis
3.1 Vocabulary pardoner à – to pardon
Some of the difficult words will be explained here. Learn and I forgive my mother – Je pardonne à ma mère
keep them at your finger tips. Make use of them at the slightest I pardon her – Je lui pardonne
opportunity. Some of them are particularly useful when you are in
a hospital. 3.4 tenir de
le géniteur – father Tenir de means to ‘take after’ referring to a parent.
le défi – challenge Il tient de son père – He takes after his father.
l’optique (f) – perspective A synonym will be ressembler à
le pédiatre – paediatrician. The American spelling is If there are still words and expressions you do not understand,
“pediatrician”. Similarly, “paediatrics” look them up in your dictionary.
is British spelling, while “pediatrics”
American. 3.5 Celui-ci
retentissant – resounding Celui-ci means the latter. Celui-là means the former. In the
distraire – to distract sense used in this context, they – i.e. celui-ci and celui-là – refer to
tantôt ….. tantôt – sometimes ….. sometimes the persons mentioned earlier. They follow an order. In that order,
celui-ci is the person just mentioned or mentioned second while
68 69
celui-là had been mentioned earlier. They are both compound question was necessary, for the failures of the previous years had
forms of demonstrative pronouns. They are said to be compound slowed down the realization of this ambition by five years.
because two different words are joined together. Worried, the parents have advised Okuboere to change her
The feminine forms are celle-ci and celle-là perspective. She was advised to be a nurse. But she refused totally
Observe the following sentences : with a resounding no. She had firmly made up her mind to pursue
Lequel des romans aimez-vous ? the only dream she had. However, she was not spared some
Which of the novels do you like? moments of confusion. Sometimes she would be discouraged by
J’ai mieux celui-ci, mais celui-là est intéressant aussi. the environment, but some other times she would be encouraged
I prefer this one, but that one there is also interesting. by it.
Alice et Aishat sont des sœurs. Celle-là (Alice) est
chrétienne ; celle-ci(Aishat) est musulmane. 4.0 Conclusion
Alice and Aishat are sisters. The former (Alice) is a You have learnt many expressions and words like
Christian; the latter (Aishat) is a Muslim. retentissant, tantôt … tantôt, le pédiatre, épargner, tenir de, défi.
Note: You have also learnt the meanings of celui-ci, celui-là, celle-ci,
Elle est chrétienne – She is a Christian celle-là. You know how to use them also.
Elle est musulmane – She is a Muslim
It is wrong to write: 5.0 Summary
Elle est une chrétienne You certainly can make correct sentences with obéir à,
Elle est une musulmane. pardoner à, tenir de, renoncer à.
However, you can write: You must go through this passage. Hold tenaciously to those
Elle est une bonne chrétienne. great ideas you have. Work very hard on them to attain success.
Elle est une bonne musulmane.
The indefinite article ‘une’ is necessary because of the adjective 6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
‘bonne’. Translate the following sentences
Now translate the text. 1. My mother has always advised her children to work hard.
2. Sometimes, I feel like dancing, and sometimes I simply feel
3.6 Model translation like listening to music.
Cut off from reality? (I) 3. I have decided not to travel.
Okuboere had her dream just like any other girl. She wanted 4. She was advised to be a teacher.
to be a paeditrician one day. She wanted to take after her father. 5. Write a short story involving two people. Use celui-ci and
Her father is an intelligent man. He is very old now, bowed with celui-là as the occasional demands.
age. But Okuboere was inspired by the laudable efforts of the latter
who treated sick people. But there were uncountable challenges to
overcome. Could this desire be transformed into reality? The

70 71
7.0 References UNIT 11
Coffman, M. E. (1973): French Grammar, New York: McGraw- COUPÉE DE LA RÉALITÉ? (II)
Hill Book Company.
Ojo, S.A. (2002): A Comprehensive Revision Handbook of French Table of Contents
Grammar, Ibadan: Signal Educational Services Ltd. 1.0 Introduction
Van Hoof, H. (1989) : Traduire de l’anglais, théorie et pratique, 2.0 Objectives
Paris : Editions Duculot. 3.0 Coupée de la réalité (II)
Vercollier, A. ; Vercollier, C. and Bourlier, K. (2006) : Difficultés 3.1 Vocabulary
expliquées du français for English Speakers, Ibadan : Clé & 3.2 Medical Terms
Spectrum. 3.3. Expressions
3.4 Related Words/Expressions
3.5 Model Translation
3.6 Translation Procedures
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
7.0 References

1.0 Introduction

This is the concluding part of “Coupée de la réalité ?” which

you translated in Unit 10. The text is rich in ideas and language.
The unit also recalls Translations procedures generally.
Equivalence is singled out for further explanations.

2.0 Objectives
This unit has very useful words and expressions. As you
successfully translate the text and study the notes, you should
know:
• a variety of new words : distraire, sobriquet, affubler,
aiguillonner, imminence, paupières, surnom, ce dernier,
celui-ci, épineux
• more new expressions such as brûler la chandelle par les
deux bouts, en son for intérieur, décrocher une mention,
affubler quelqu’un d’un sobriquet
72 73
 • a few medical terms e.g. ausculter, palper 3.2 Medical Terms
ausculter – to feel the breathing (of a patient). This is a
3.0 Coupée de la réalité? (II) medical term.
Pour réaliser son désir, elle a choisi le chemin de l’honneur. Le médecin m’a ausculté – The doctor listened to my heart
Le chemin d’honneur n’est pas toujours facile. C’est souvent un beat.
chemin épineux. Okuboere a travaillé avec plus d’ardeur que examiner – to feel. ‘Palpate’ is another medical term meaning
jamais, brûlant la chandelle par les deux bouts dès le début de “to examine part of the body by touching”.
l’année scolaire jusqu’à la fin. Cette fois-ci, elle s’est laissée
entièrement dévorer pas les flammes de son rêve. 3.3 Expressions:
C’était la médecine ou rien. Elle a donc renoncé à tout plaisir affubler quelqu’un d’un sobriquet – to attach a nickname
qui pourrait la distraire de son ambition. Cette attitude a été to someone
condamnée par ses amis. On l’a donc affublée du sobriquet en son for intérieur – in his heart of hearts
“coupée de la réalité”. en mon for intérieur – in my heart of hearts
Mais Okuboere connaissait une joie certaine en son for décrocher une mention – to get a distinction
intérieur. Elle assimilait mieux le cours. Et l’approche des
examens, l’espoir d’entamer le voyage vers la médecine la 3.4 Related Words/Expressions
galvanisait. Quand les résultats sont sortis, elle a décroché une Mention in the university or secondary school means ‘grade’.
mention très bien. Enfin, la fortune lui souriait, et on commençait à mention très honorable – with distinction (used for Ph.D.
chanter ses louanges. candidates)
Quant à Okuboere, elle vivait déjà dans l’avenir. Elle mention très bien – A or A+; First Class Honours
s’imaginait dans un hôpital pour examiner les malades, pour mention bien – B+ or A (in the secondary school)
ausculter et retourner les paupières des malades tout en prenant les second class upper (in the
pouls. Le surnom – “ coupée de la réalité” – est resté, mais university)
Okuboere est adulée. mention assez bien – second class lower
mention passable – pass
3.1 Vocabulary Mon enfant a très bien fait à l’examen, il est reçu avec mention
le sobriquet – nickname – My son did very well at the examination, he passed with
le surnom – nickname distinction.
Le ‘surnom' and ‘surname’ are typical examples of faux amis. Mon enfant est reçu sans mention – My son got a pass
Don’t be misled by the physical appearance! “Faux amis”
means ‘false friends’. In English, you may talk of ‘cognate’. 3.5 Model Translation
l’imminence (f) – imminence Cut off from reality? (II)
galvaniser – to spur on To accomplish her desire, she opted for a honourable way.
épineux – thorny The hounourable way is not always easy. It is often a thorny way.
Thus Okoboere worked harder than ever, burning the midnight oil
74 75
from the beginning of the academic year till the end. This time she Equivalence, in translation, involves idiomatic expressions,
was completely consumed by the flames of her dream. It was proverbs and other stock expressions which are generally not
medicine or nothing! She therefore gave up all pleasures which translated word for word. Let us learn two new expressions which
could distract her from her ambition. This attitude was condemned are examples of equivalence.
by her friends. She was then nicknamed ‘Cut off from reality’. C’est toujours la même chanson.
But Okuboere experienced some joy in her heart of hearts. It is the same old story.
She understood the lectures better. As the examinations Courir sur l’haricot à quelqu’un.
approached, the hope of embarking in her journey towards To get on someone’s nerves
medicine spurred her on. When the results were released, she There are a few other interesting observations :
obtained “A”. At last, luck smiled on her. People started then to La médicine la galvanisait
sing her praises. Medicine spurred her on
As for Okuboere, she lived in the future. She imagined ‘Galvaniser’ means ‘to give new life to’. But the option ‘spurred
herself in a hospital palpating the sick, listening to their chests, her on’gives the message in a beautiful way.
turning their eyelids and feeling their pulse. The nickname – ‘Cut Okuboere est adulée
off from reality’ – stuck, but the praises of Okuboere are sung. The praises of Okuboere are sung
Okuboere est adulée can be translated simply as ‘Okuboere
3.6 Translation Procedures is praised’. That will be a literal or word for word translated.
Let us recall the seven procedures for translated as However, the option chosen in the text brings out a kind of beauty
formulated by J. P. Vinay and J. Darbelnet in their famous book La in the language.
stylistique comparée du français et de l’anglais written in 1958.
The procedures are literal translation, calque, borrowing, 4.0 Conclusion
transposition, modulation, equivalence and adaptation. You have learnt numerous new words and expressions. Use
There are at least two examples of equivalence in the them as often as possible. Some of the words are épineux, le
translation. They first one is: surnom and le chemin. You can also recall briefly the seven
… brûlant la chandelle par les deux bouts translation procedures: traduction littérale, emprunt, calque,
… burning the midnight oil. transposition, modulation, équivalence and adaptation.
or
… burning the candle at both ends. 5.0 Summary
The second option – burning the candle at both ends – is a You have learnt the following expressions and many others:
literal translation. When we opt for the first translation – burning galvaniser, ausculter, examiner, affubler quelqu’un d’un sobriquet.
the midnight oil – the translation becomes equivalence. Both are 6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
correct. Translate the following sentences
The other example is : 1. I have given up drinking for two years running
en son for intérieur 2. Good parents always forgive their children
in her heart of hearts 3. I am listening to the teacher.
76 77
 4. Efua’s surname is Mensah. UNIT 12
5. The brilliant student passed out with a first class. MORT D’UNE CRISE CARDIAQUE
6. To pass my examinations, I had to burn the midnight oil.
7. The way of success can be very thorny. Table of Contents
8. She worked hard in order to accomplish her ambitions. 1.0 Introduction
9. She was nicknamed ‘intelligent’. 2.0 Objectives
10. Imagine your future ambition. Write a short essay of six 3.0 Mort d’une crise cardiaque
lines to describe it. 3.1 Model Translation
3.2 Vocabulary
7.0 References 3.3 Grammar
Coffman, M. E. (1973): French Grammar, New York: McGraw- 4.0 Conclusion
Hill Book Company. 5.0 Summary
Ojo, S.A. (2002): A Comprehensive Revision Handbook of French 6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
Grammar, Ibadan: Signal Educational Services Ltd. 7.0 References
Vercollier, A. ; Vercollier, C. and Bourlier, K. (2006) : Difficultés
expliquées du français for English Speakers, Ibadan : Clé & 1.0 Introduction
Spectrum. In unit 11, you translated the story of Okuboere whose
Vinay, J. P. et Darbelnet, J. (1977) : Stylistique comparée du dogged determination to be a doctor was fulfilled. This unit
français et de l’anglais, Paris : Didier Erudition. introduces you to a text on heart attack (crise cardiaque). The
words, expressions and constructions will be very useful to you.
Know the new words and use them as often as you can.

2.0 Objectives
The primary objective is to guide you to translate the text on
heart attack (crise cardiaque) from French into English. In the
process, you will fulfil the following objectives too:
Increasing your vocabulary:
crise cardiaque, puissant, anesthésiant, médicament,
hospitalier, insomnie, homicide involontaire, à
plusieurs reprises, répréhensible, entre-temps,
perquisitionner, deuil, héritiers.
Read, enjoy and translate the text. Let your bilingual and
monolingual dictionaries be handy. You will need them.

78 79
3.0 Translate the text into English using your dictionaries where You have attempted to translate. You can now improve on
necessary. your knowledge of the text. Study the vocabulary and grammar.
Mort d’une crise cardiaque You will understand and enjoy the text better.
Le “roi du pop” est mort d’une crise cardiaque, sa mort
annoncée il y a quelques jours. Le grand chanteur n’est plus ! Son 3.2 Vocabulary
médecin lui a administré un puissant anesthésiant, un médicament puissant - powerful
habituellement réservé à l’usage hospitalier. L’anesthésiant, un anesthésiant - anaesthetic (British spelling),
procuré dans une pharmacie, s’employait pour combattre anesthetic
l’insomnie. Malheureusement le chanteur est mort et son docteur (American spelling)
est accusé d’avoir commis l’homicide involontaire. L’homicide l’insomnie (feminine) - insomnia (inability to sleep)
involontaire se différencie de l’homicide volontaire. Interrogé par usage hospitalier - hospital use
les médias, l’avocat du médecin a réaffirmé à plusieurs reprises homicide involontaire - manslaughter
que son client n’avait rien fait de répréhensible. Entre-temps, le répréhensible - reprehensible
domicile du chanteur et la pharmacie dans laquelle le médicament un médicament - drug
a été procuré ont été perquisitionnés les dernières semaines. Le perquisitionner - to carry out a search (This is a
monde pleure sa mort. Sa mort fut un deuil. Ce riche chanteur legal language)
n’avait que deux héritiers. Enfants heureux ou malheureux ? A entretemps - meanwhile
vous de juger. You can also spell entretemps in the flowing way: entre-temps
(Texte adapté de lepoint.fr, mardi 1er septembre 2009) Il n’est plus – He is dead. Literally, he is no more.
L’homicide involontaire
3.1 Model translation manslaughter (through
Died of heart attack L’homicide par l’imprudence negligence)
The “king of pop” died of heart attack. His death was Le deuil – mourning
announced a few days ago. The great singer is no more! His doctor
gave him a powerful anesthetic, a drug normally reserved for 3.3 Grammar
hospital use. The anesthetic bought from a chemist’s shop was The use of the Passive voice.
used to combat insomnia. Unfortunately, the singer died and his You observe again the use of Passive voice (la voix passive
doctor is accused of manslaughter. Manslaugher is different from or le passif). There are three examples in the text:
murder. Interrogated by the media, the doctor’s lawyer has Son docteur est accusé d’homicide involontaire.
reaffirmed many times that his client did nothing reprehensible. His doctor is accused of manslaughter.
Meanwhile, in the last few weeks, a search has been carried out in Interrogé par les médias - interrogated by the media
the singer’s home and the pharmacy shop where the drug was Le domicile du chanteur et la pharmacie ont été
bought. The world is mourning his death. His perquisitionnés
death was universally mourned. This The home of the singer and the pharmacy shop were
rich singer had only two heirs. searched. (A search
Fortunate or unfortunate children? The judgment is yours.
81
80
 was carried out on the singer’s home and pharmacy shop). 5. The man died of malaria
Always, remember the use of “être” as the auxiliary for 6. The media interrogated the lawyer
expressing the passive voice (la voix passive) in a complete 7. The man’s house was searched by the police
sentence. Notice also the different uses of être” – “est” and “ont 8. The king of music has just died
été” – according to the tense required in the text. “Le docteur est 9. The judgment is ours
accusé” is in the present tense. The use of “ont été” is passé 10. The rich man had just a child
composé of “être”.
When you use la voix passive ou le passif, you should 7.0 References
remember to ensure agreement of person and number: lepoint.fr , mardi 1er septembre 2009
1. La femme est accusée par son mari. Van Hoof, H. (1989) : Traduire de l’anglais, théorie et pratique,
2. Les femmes sont accusées par leurs maris. Paris : Editions Duculot.
3. Le domicile du chanteur et la pharmacie ont été Vinay, J. P. et Darbelnet, J. (1977) : Stylistique comparée du
perquisitionnés français et de l’anglais, Paris : Didier Erudition.
Note that the subject is plural. We have “le domicile du Seleskovitch, D. and Lederer, M. (1986), Interpréter pour traduire,
chanteur” and “la pharmacie” as subject. That is why Paris: Edition Erudition.
“perquisitionnés” is in the plural.

4.0 Conclusion
The text is short but very rich in vocabulary. You have learnt
the following new words among many others: anesthésiant, usage
hospitalier, homicide involontaire, perquisitionner.

5.0 Summary
Your vocabulary and grammar have further expanded. You
have been reminded of le passif also. L’homicide involontaire and
l’homicide par l’imprundence are synonyms. They mean the same
thing.

6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment

Translate the following sentences into French.
1. The woman is accused of stealing
2. The man is combating insomnia
3. He is interrogated by the media
4. The doctor committed manslaughter
82 83
 UNIT 13 3.0 Le monde vote Obama (I)
LE MONDE VOTE OBAMA (I) Read the text
Ayant conquis le Sénateur Hilary Clinton, ancienne première
Table of Contents dame de l’Amérique et la favorite initiale de divers sondages par
1.0 Introduction rapport à la course vers la Maison Blanche, Barack Husein Obama
2.0 Objectives de l’Illinois dont le père était kenyan et la mère américaine
3.0 Le monde vote Obama (I) blanche, a reçu l’investiture du parti démocrate. Au niveau de son
3.1 Vocabulary parti, ce n’était qu’une étoile montante. Son discours prononcé en
3.2 Points of Grammar 2004 a électrifié l’assistance. A part son charisme et son don
3.3 Model Translation d’éloquence rare, il a vite convaincu les Américains du besoin de
3.4 A few more points or comments rassemblement et du changement dans la politique américaine.
3.5 Day and Months in French Lisons ses propres mots : “il n’y a pas une Amérique rouge des
3.6 The media Républicains et une Amérique bleue des Démocrates. On prie aussi
3.7 Le Net dans les Etats bleus et on a aussi des amis homesexuels dans les
4.0 Conclusion Etats rouges”.
5.0 Summary Et face à son concurrent républicain John McCain, il a eu une
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment victoire éclatante, remportant avec 56% des suffrages exprimés le
7.0 References 4 novembre 2008. Est-ce un miracle ? Pour bien des Africains, la
réponse est “oui”. Barack veut dire ‘béni des dieux’ en swahili,
1.0 Introduction langue communément parlée en Afrique de l’Est.
The text should sound very familiar to you. It tells the story C’est presque incroyable : en six ans, il est devenu une star
of Obama’s victory at the Democratic Party’s primaries and exceptionnelle et le chouchou des médias et du Net. Les médias
later at the Presidential election. It ends by showing Obama’s non américains eux aussi, se rallient au clan Obama ! “Un vent
world wide popularity. This text introduces you to a lot of d’engouement s’est levé autour du jeune sénateur et les médias
useful words such as the French equivalents of “the rising star”, l’ont nommé : l’Obamania”.
charisma, opinion poll, the pet or favourite, etc. The text also
widens your general knowledge and political horizon. Our text in this unit has very many words that should be of
great interest to you. Some of them are as follows: le sondage, la
2.0 Objectives course, le charisme, le suffrage, le chouchou.
On successful completion of this text, you will have learnt There are other words and expressions : a reçu l’investiture,
the following words and expressions: le suffrage, les suffrages étoile montante, victoire éclatante.
exprimés, l’étoile montante, électrifier, assistance, charisme, don
d’éloquence, concurrent, victoire éclatante, le chouchou. Get acquainted with some of the difficult words before you
start translating.

84 85
3.1 Vocabulary Note: ce sénateur dont le père était kenyan
Le sondage – poll Not : ce sénateur dont son père était kenyan
Le sondage d’opinion – opinion poll Similarly you should write :
We could also say l’enquête d’opinion “la femme dont les enfants travaillent bien …”
La course – race (i.e. competition) “les enfants dont la mère est très travailleuse …”.
Le charisme – charisma Note : Les points de suspension (…) are used here to show that the
Le suffrage – vote (used in politics) sentences are incomplete.
Les suffrages exprimés – valid votes Bleus
Le chouchou – the pet, favourite Note the plural form of bleu. It ends with an ‘s’, NOT ‘x’.
Recevoir l’investiture – to be endorsed by one’s party Compare other words and their plural forms:
Investiture de candidat means “nomination”. le cheveu – les cheveux
Example: En 2007, Yar’adua a reçu l’investiture de son parti le cheval – les chevaux
politique. le caillou (stone) – les cailloux
L’étoile montante (f) – rising star It will also interest you to know the following:
Sometimes the word ‘star’ is used in French. It is feminine le bal (dance) – les bals
because the original French equivalent ‘étoile’ is also feminine. le chandail (candle) – les chandails
Obama est une star de la politique le travail (work) – les travaux
Obama is a big star in politics
Okocha était une star de l’équipe Green Eagles 3.3. Model Translation
Okocha was a top football player of Green Eagles Now compare your translation with the model provided.
Note that l’équipe means team. But it certainly refers to a
footballer in this context. A footballer or football player can be The world votes for Obama I
translated literally as un un footballeur. The translation given in Having defeated Senator Hilary Clinton, former first lady of
the above sentence is therefore an example of modulation, that is America and the initial favourite of various opinion polls regarding
translation where words or elements are viewed form different the race to the While House, Barrack Hussein Obama, the Senator
points of view in two languages. L’équipe is the whole team, but a from Illinois whose father was Kenyan and mother white
football player is just a member of the team. American, was endorsed by his Democratic party. At the party
Victoire éclatante – resounding victory level, he was only a rising star. His speech delivered in 2004
Attempt to translate the text now. Continue to encourage electrified the audience. Apart from his charisma and his rare gift
yourself even if you make many mistakes. Know that you are of eloquence, he convinced Americans of the need for unity and
improving on your knowledge as you continue to translate. change in American politics. Hear him: “There is no red America
of the Republicans and no blue America belonging to the
3.2 Points Grammar Democrats. The blue states also pray just as there are homosexuals
dont - is a complement of a noun indicating possession or quality. in the red states”.
It means ‘whose’.
86 87
 He won a resounding victory over John McCain, winning a plural or singular verb’ Macmillan English Dictionary
56% of the valid votes on 4th November, 2008. Is it a miracle? For (2007:935).
many Africans, the answer is “yes”. Barrack means ‘blessed by the
gods’ in Swahili, a language commonly spoken in East Africa. 3.7 Le Net is a shortened form of L’Internet. The word –
It is almost unbelievable that he has become an exceptional L’internet – is the same in English.
star of the media and the internet within six years. The non-
American media also rally round Obama. “A new fad has risen 4.0 Conclusion
around the young Senator and the media call it Obamania”. The text is full of words and expressions designed to improve
your knowledge. Recall some of these words and expressions: le
3.4 A few more points or comments sondage, l’étoile montante, le chouchou. The expressions and
East Africa words are very useful. Use them to talk about your favorite
East Africa is either L’Afrique de l’Est or L’Afrique Orientale. political model or any person you admire very much.
Similarly, West Africa is L’Afrique Occidentale or L’Afrique
de l’Ouest. 5.0 Summary
Obamania is neither a French word nor an English word. It is Your knowledge of French has greatly improved. Recall
simply formed out of Obama. Obamania is used to express the these words any time you face similar situations.
enthusiasm Obama’s name and personality create in people, that is
the people’s love for him. 6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
Translate the following sentences into English
3.5 Days and Months in French 1. La Maison Blanche est le siège du président américain.
Remember that in French, the initial letters of the days of the 2. Voici mon ami dont les parents sont nigériens.
week and the months of the year are written in small letters. The 3. Le discours du président a électrifié le pays.
days of the week are lundi, mardi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi, 4. La victoire éclatante a été facilitée par son don
samedi, dimanche. In English, we have: Monday, Tuesday, d’éloquence.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 5. Gani Fawehinmi était le chouchou des médias nigérians.
The months are janvier, février, mars, avril, mai, juin, juillet, 6. Write the ordinals from first to tenth
août, septembre, octobre, novembre, décembre. On the other 7. Write the equivalents of the following in French: 1st
hand, they are all written in capital in English : January, November, 2nd November, and 3rd November.
February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, 8. Today is 5th June.
October, November, December. 9. He is the pet of his parents
10. I love Obama, I like him.
3.6 The media
‘The media stands for ‘radio, television, newspapers, the
Internet and magazines’, considered as a group: can be followed by

88 89
7.0 Référence UNIT 14
http://www.afrik.com/article11052.html consulted on 20th LE MONDE VOTE OBAMA (II)
November, 2008.
Lederer, M. (1994) : La traduction aujourd’hui : le modèle Table of Contents
interprétatif, Lille : Presse Universitaire de Lille. 1.0 Introduction
Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners (2007): 2.0 Objectives
Second Edition, London: A&C Black Publishers Ltd. 3.0 Le monde vote Obama (II)
3.1 Vocabulary
3.2 Points of Grammar (se vouloir, Noir, les Kennedy)
3.3 General Knowledge
3.4 Model Translation
3.5 A Few More Points
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
7.0 References

1.0 Introduction
This unit is a continuation of the last unit topic on Obama. As
you study it, you will enrich your vocabulary and general
knowledge tremendously. That will in turn make you adequately
prepared for the task of translating.

2.0 Objectives
This unit will help you in:
• enriching your vocabulary
• improving your grammar
• broadening your horizon

3.0 Read the text “Le monde vote Obama (II)”

Partout, on dit que Obama est noir. Est-ce vrai ? Etant métis,
il est plutôt bronzé !
Grâce à ses efforts infatigables, Obama a transcendé non
seulement les stéréotypes socioculturels mais aussi les clivages
partisans anciens favorisés également par les indépendants. Les
90 91
banlieues blanches l’ont voté. Il en était de même dans les quartiers surnommé – nicknamed
noirs. Le vent Obamania a touché de nombreuses personnalités This is an example of a ‘faux ami’ or false friend. Faux amis
américaines, notamment l’animatrice Oparah Winfrey, Colin are deceptive words that resemble each other in appearance.
Powell et les Kennedy. Obama a même été surnommé “le John Having understood the words explained above, you should also
Kennedy noir”. De même, Michelle, la femme d’Obama est know the following words so that the task of translating will be
comparée à Mme Kennedy d’où l’interrogation : Michelle Obama : easier.
la “Black Jacky Kennedy” ? menaces (f) d’assassinat – threats of assassination
Mais est-ce que cette star fait l’unanimité partout ? Mais non. le dispositif de sécurité – security presence
Personne n’est aimé de tous ! Des menaces d’assassinat ont obligé renforcer le dispositif de sécurité – reinforce or increase the
Washington à renforcer le dispositif de sécurité autour de lui. Au presence of security agents
moins ce que dit le FBI se veut très rassurant. and operations
le Net – abridged form of l’Internet (m)
* Adapté de Barrack Obama : l’homme qui pourrait être le premier One more explanation before you translate. The word ‘voter’
président noir des Etats-Unis, means of course ‘to vote’. You could say le monde vote Obama
http://www.afrik.com/article11052.html consulté le 11/20/2008 or le monde vote pour Obama. They mean the same thing.
7.36 du soir
How was your translation? As usual do not get discouraged if
Our text in this unit has very many words that should be of you did translate some things wrongly. The important thing is: be
great interest to you. Some of them are as follows: l’engouement determined, translate as many texts as you can. The more you
(m), bronzé, l’animatrice (f), métis, surnommé. translate, the more interested you become in the art and the better
There are other words and expressions : menaces you are.
d’assassinat, le dispositif de sécurité. The following issues of grammar and general knowledge will
be useful to you: November (Note the comma also!), Independent
3.1 Vocabulary voters, the Kennedys, FBI.
You will find here most of the difficult words. The
explanations serve as a guide to make the work easier. 3.2 Points of Grammar
l’engouement (masculine) – fad Se vouloir
bronzé – tanned Ce que dit le FBI se veut très rassurant.
animateur (m) – presenter (of cultural show) What the FBI says is meant to be very reassuring
animatrice (f) – presenter (of cultural show) Le journal se veut objectif – The journal claims to be
animateur de radio (masc.) – radio presenter unbiased, objective
animatrice de radio (fem.) – radio presenter
métis – a person of mixed race
(Note that the ‘s’ is pronounced. We say /metis/ and not /meti/!)
You could also use “mulato” or “half cast”.
92 93
The use of ‘On’ Republican party are the two major parties in America. The colour
You have met the word ‘on’ many times. It is an important ‘red’ refers to Republicans and ‘blue’ to Democrats.
word. You learnt in FRE 301 that ‘on’ means one of the following:
someone, you, on, we, they. The context determines its meaning. 3.4 Model Translation
In this passage, ‘on’ is used in translating the passive The world votes for Obama II
construction ‘it is said’: Everywhere it is said that Obama is black. Is it true? Being a
On dit que Obama est noir – It is said that Obama is black mulato, he is rather tanned!
(They say Obama is black) Due to his indefatigable efforts, Obama broke and
(People say Obama is black) transcended not only sociocultural stereotypes but also partisan
Note that the que in French meaning ‘that’ may or may not be division in America favoured equally by independent voters. The
translated in English. It is optional in English, but compulsory in white suburbs voted for him. So did the black areas. The wind of
French. Remember its use when you translate a sentence like: Obamania has touched many American personalities, notably the
He says he is coming – Il dit qu’il vient presenter Oprah Winfrey, the black Republican Colin Powell and
The absence of que makes your French very faulty and therefore the Kennedys. Obama was even nicknamed “The black John
unacceptable. It will also betray your Anglophone background. Kennedy”. In the same way, Michelle, Obama’s better half was
compared to Mrs Kennedy, hence the question: Michelle Obama:
November “The black Jackie Kennedy”?
The days of the month are written with an initial capital letter But does this star enjoy unanimity everywhere? Of course
in English, but the reverse is the case in French. It is also worth not. No one is loved by all. Threats of assassination have forced
knowing that there is no comma after the French novembre. The the FBI to increase its security presence around him.
English version needs it.
The original version was adapted form the Internet entitled ‘Barack
The Kennedys Obama: l’homme qui pourrait être le premier président noir des
In French, it is les Kennedy, les Ajiboye, les Clark. Etats-Unis’, http://www.afrik.com/article11052.html (Consulted on
November 20, 2008 at 7 :36pm).
3.3. General Knowledge
Jacqueline (Jackie) Kennedy was the wife of John Kennedy. The 3.5 A few more comments
Kennedys are a very popular and well-established American Independent voters are people who do not vote according to party
family. affiliation. For instance, in America there are two major parties –
FBI = Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is a US government The Republican Party and the Democratic Party. An independent
department which deals with criminal cases that cut across states in voter is one who does not belong to any party.
America. It is not translated because it is a well known department
just like the CIA – Central Intelligence Agency.
Independent voters in America are those who are neither pro 4.0 Conclusion
Democrat nor pro-Republican. The Democratic Party and the
94 95
 You have learnt a lot in this extremely rich passage. You UNIT 15
should be able to recall the following words with ease: métis, TWO SIAMESE TWINS
bronzé, banlieu and dispositif de sécurité.
Table of Contents
5.0 Summary 1.0 Introduction
With your improved vocabulary and grammar, you can 2.0 Objectives
readily translate similar texts. Remember the use of se vouloir and 3.0 Two Siamese twins
other points of grammar. 3.1 Vocabulary
3.2 Related Vocabulary
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment 3.3 Points of Grammar
Translate the following sentences into French 3.4 Model Translation
1. He says you are right 3.5 The successful separation of two Siamese babies
2. She told me that she saw you 3.6 La séparation réussie de deux bébés siamois
3. Obama is a halfcast 4.0 Conclusion
4. The assassins are there 5.0 Summary
5. The Jonathans are here with us 6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
7.0 References
7.0 References
Coffman, M. E. (1973): French Grammar, New York: McGraw- 1.0 Introduction
Hill Book Company. This unit treats a topic titled “two Siamese twins”. It is a
Ojo, S.A. (2002): A Comprehensive Revision Handbook of French short passage that introduces you to new vocabulary.
Grammar, Ibadan: Signal Educational Services Ltd.
Van Hoof, H. (1989) : Traduire de l’anglais, théorie et pratique, 2.0 Objectives
Paris : Editions Duculot. The translation text will help expand your knowledge of
Vercollier, A. ; Vercollier, C. and Bourlier, K. (2006) : Difficultés French vocabulary. You will know the French equivalent of the
expliquées du français for English Speakers, Ibadan : Clé & following words: Siamese twins, figurative meaning, faithfulness,
Spectrum. beefy, Don Juan, lanky.

Sitographie 3.0 Read the following short text. Translate it. Use your three
http://www.afrik.com/article11052.html consulted on 20th dictionaries – dictionnaire unilingue anglais, dictionnaire unilingue
November 2008. français, dictionnaire bilingue (anglais/français) to help you. Try to
translate the text on your own before referring to the Model
Sitographie here stands for references taken from the internet. Translation.
Two Siamese twins

96 97
 Laide and Mohammed are two Siamese twins. Siamese twins ‘Don Juan’ has its origin in the 19th century from the name of
are twin brothers or sisters who are joined together on the same a legendary Spanish noble man with an immoral character.
parts of their bodies. But Laide and Mohammed are not Siamese
twins in the literal sense. In fact, they are not from the same
country. Laide is a Ghanaian mulato while Mohammed is an 3.2 Related vocabulary
African American. Both are tanned. The term ‘Siamese’ is used in female Siamese twins – sœurs siamoises
this case in a figurative sense to mean that they are two inseparable Siamese sisters – sœurs siamoises
friends. They are friends whose faithfulness is absolute. What is jumelles – twin sisters
interesting is their physical differences. Laide is short and beefy, au figuré – figuratively, in a figurative sens
while Mohammed is tall and lanky. Perhaps what unites them most
is that they are both Don Juan. 3.3. Point of Grammar
Laide is preparing for career in the diplomatic service. Like Dont
his Siamese brother, he works very hard, having completed his Dont in French is a relative pronoun. It means whose.
studies in History, he boasts of having acquired an admirable and Ce sont des amies dont la fidélité est absolue –
profound knowledge of human sociology. They are friends whose faithfulness is absolute (complete).
As for Mohammed, he has just finished his studies in law. He Read the following sentences. See how dont is used. Make
will be called to bar in two weeks time. He is intelligent, a bit sentences on your own using dont.
talkative and very likeable. His friends accuse him of just one Voilà le monsieur dont je connais la fille
thing; he is a chain smoker: yes an addicted smoker. That is the gentleman whose daughter I know.
They dress always or almost the same way. During the week,
they wear checked shirt and jeans. But the weekend, especially Tu connais l’homme dont l’enfant est malade?
Saturday is reserved for a striped T-Shirt or trainers. One Do you know the man whose child is sick?
understands therefore why they are nicknamed “Siamese twins”
C’est le professeur dont les examens sont toujours difficiles.
Try to translate the text. It is the teacher whose examinations are always difficult.

3.1 Vocabulary 3.4 Model Translation

twins (male) – les jumeaux Deux frères siamois
Siamese twins (male) – frères siamois Laide et Mohammed sont des frères siamois. Les frères
figurative meaning – le sens figuratif siamois sont des jumeaux unis l’un à l’autre par deux parties
figuratively – au sens figuré homologues de leur corps. Mais Laide et Mohammed ne sont pas
beefy – costaud des frères siamois dans ce sens littéral. En effet, ils n’ont pas la
faithfulness – la fidélité même nationalité. Le terme ‘siamois’ s’emploie ici dans un sens
lanky – maigre figuré pour signifier que ce sont des amis dont la fidélité est
Don Juan – Don Juan, a seducer of women absolue. Ce qui est intéressant est leurs différences physiques.
98 99
Laide est petit et costaud, tandis que Mohammed est grand et In fact, Siamese children are twins who are joined together in
maigre. Peut-être que ce qui les unit, c’est qu’ils sont tous deux des one part of their bodies. This malformation is due to an embryonic
Don Juan. anomaly or other complications during pregnancy. In general, it
Laide s’oriente vers une carrière du service diplomatique. would have to do with the incomplete division of the egg, but in
Comme son frère siamois, il travaille tres dur. Ayant fini ses études some other more rare cases, it could also be due to a partial fusion
en histoire, il se vante d’avoir acquis une connaissance admirable of two eggs that were distinct (different) from the beginning. This
et approfondie de la sociologie humaine. happens in one pregnancy out of a 100, 000. This type of birth is
Quant à Mohammed, il vient de terminer ses études en droit, getting reduced more and more in developed countries due to the
il s’inscrira au barreau dans quinze jours. Il est très intelligent, un increase in ultrasound scan leading to the suggestion of possible
peu bavard et très aimable. Ses amis lui reprochent d’une seule abortion. Another fact: in 90% of the cases, girls are involved.
chose : il est un fumeur de cigarette à la file, c’est un fumeur Among the extraordinary cases recently registered, one can
invétéré. cite the cases of Abigeal and Britanny Hansel, two American
Ils s’habillent toujours ou presque toujours de la même façon. Siamese sisters from Minnesota. They were born on 7th March,
Au cours de la semaine, ils portent des chemises à carreaux et des 1990, have two heads, two vertebral columns joined to the pelvis,
jeans. Mais le weekend en particulier le samedi, est réservé pour have two stomachs, four lungs, two hands, a ribcage, a bladder,
un tee-shirt à rayures (striped T-shirt), un jean ou un short (shorts) one reproductory organ and two legs. The two sisters aged 18 years
ou des tennis (trainers Uk, sneakers US). On comprend alors still live joined together; they take part in sports, piano, computer,
pourquoi on les affable « les frères siamois » etc. They do not have the same interests and have been the source
of many documentaries.
Ils n’ont pas la même nationalité Vocabulary
They are not from the same country. échographie = ultrasound; ultrasound scan, sonogram (US)
Another way of translating this sentence is “Ils sont des pays passer une échographie = to have an ultrasound
différents” “They are form different countries”. This last échographie is a technical term. In day to day language, one may
translation will be a kind of modulation. use ‘ultrasons’ (masc. plural).
la cage thoracique = ribcage
3.5 The successful separation of two Siamese babies la vessie = bladder
Let us translate another text – a case of Siamese twins les colonnes vertébrales = spine
The successful separation of two Siamese twins from
Madagascar made headline in the newspapers. The children were 3.6 La séparation réussie de deux bébés siamois
joined in the thorax and abdomen with a common liver. About La séparation réussie de deux bébés siamois originaires de
twenty professionals were mobilized for the operation which lasted Madagascar a fait la une des journaux. Les enfants étaient reliés
almost six years. par le thorax et l’abdomen avec un foie en commun. L’opération
The word “Siamese babies” originated form the birth of two qui a duré près de six ans a mobilisé une vingtaine de
brothers in Siam in 1811. professionnels.

100 101
 Les mots “bébés siamois” viennent de la naissance de deux 6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
frères nés au Siam en 1811. Ils étaient accolés et faisaient la belle Translate the following sentences
part des spectacles de cirque. 1. Sade and Bilikis are Siamese sisters
En fait, des enfants siamois sont des jumeaux qui sont soudés 2. They come from the same country
l’un à l’autre par une partie du corps. Cette malformation est, soit 3. They are friends whose love is sincere
due à une anomalie embryonnaire, soit à une complication dans le 4. My friend is a football addict.
cas de grossesse gémellaires. En général, il s’agirait d’une division
incomplète de l’œuf unique mais dans d’autres cas plus rares, il 7.0 References
pourrait aussi s’agir d’une fusion partielle de deux ébauches The Concise Oxford Dictionary, Oxford New York: Oxford
d’embryons qui étaient bien distinctes au départ. Une grossesse sur University Press.
100 000 serait concernée. Ce type de naissance dans les pays Newmark, P. (1980): About Translation, Clevdon: Multilingual
développés est de plus en plus rare grâce à la multiplication des Matters International
échographies et dans ce cas, des interruptions de grossesse sont
proposées. Autre indication : cette malformation touche les filles Sitographie
dans 90% des cas. http://www.web-libre-org/breves/bebes-siamois.4151.html
Parmi les cas extraordinaires recensés, l’on peut citer celui downlaoded on 24th July, 2010. The article was posted online on
d’Abigeal et de Britanny Hensel, deux sœurs siamoises 9th February, 2009.
américaines bicéphales vivant dans le Minnesota. Elles sont nées le
7 mars 1990, ont deux têtes, deux colonnes vertébrales jointes au
pelvis, ont deux estomacs, quatre poumons, deux bras, une cage
thoracique, une vessie, un appareil reproducteur et deux jambes.
Les deux sœurs âgées de 18ans, vivent toujours collées, pratiquent
des sports, le piano, l’ordinateur, etc. elles n’ont pas les mêmes
goûts et ont fait l’objet de plusieurs documentaires.
(tiré de http://www.web-libre-org/breves/bebes-siamois.4151.html
téléchargé le 24 juillet 2010, article posté le 9 février 2009).

4.0 Conclusion
This short and challenging translation has further expanded
your knowledge of French. You now know more words: maigre,
Don Juan, siamois, fidélité and so on.

5.0 Summary
Your knowledge of vocabulary and grammar has increased.

102 103
 UNIT 16 • You will acquire the following vocabulary: le calcul,
INTERSEMIOTIC TRANSLATION les numéros impairs, les numéros pairs, les
mathématiques, le scientifique, Ah bon!, les
Table of Contents machines à calculer, la calculatrice, impeccable.
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objective
3.0 Intersemiotic translation 3.0 Intersemiotic Translation
3.1 Addition You will recall that we treated intersemiotic translation or
3.2 Division traduction intersémiotique in Unit 4. Another word for
3.3 Multiplication intersemiotic translation is transmutation.
3.4 Subtraction Intersemiotic translation involves the use of signs.
3.5 Les numéros impairs/Les numéros pairs Intersemiotic translation or transmutation can be defined as the
3.6 Aimes-tu les mathématiques ? interpretation of verbal signs (i.e. words) by means of nonverbal
3.7 Model Translation signs and vice versa. In this unit, you will learn to translate the
4.0 Conclusion mathematical signs into French.
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment 3.1 Addition
7.0 References 100 + 100 = 200
Cent plus cent égalent deux cents.
1.0 Introduction 40 + 41 = 81
This unit introduces you to intersemiotic translation with Quarante plus quarante et un égalent quatre vingt un
particular reference to elementary mathematical signs. You will Note that 81 is quatre-vingt un NOT quatre-vingt et un.
recall that in unit 4, we studied intersemiotic translation as one of
the types of translation. Intersemiotic translation involves the use 3.2 Division
of signs. Transmutation is another word for intersemiotic 15 ÷ 3 = 5
translation. There is also a very short passage for translation. Your Quinze divisé par trois égale cinq
vocabulary will be further enriched. 410 ÷ 2 = 205
Quatre cent dix divisés par deux égale deux cent cinq
2.0 Objectives The ‘cent’ in quatre cent dix and deux cent cinq are without
The objectives are to teach you the: ‘s’because of the dix and cinq that follow them. Thus, you will
• addition or plus sign + write quatre cents, deux cents, etc.
• division sign ÷
• substraction or minus sign –
• multiplication sign x

104 105
3.3 Multiplication Even numbers are divided by two e.g. 2, 4, 10, 50
The word for multiplication in French is also
multiplication. Of course, the two languages pronounce 3.6 Aimes-tu les mathématiques
them differently. Paul : Aimes-tu les mathématiques ?
See how multiplication is expressed in French. Observe the Moustapha : Oui, je les aime très bien.
alternatives and the use of different verbs depending on the Paul : Ah bon! Comme tu as de la chance !
figure involved. Moustapha : Comment ? J’aime les mathématiques. Je suis fort
2x 6 = deux fois six en mathématiques. Pour être scientifique, il faut
3 x 10 = trois fois dix aimer le calcul.
4x 9 = quatre fois neuf Paul : Moi, je suis très faible en mathématiques.
5x 3 = cinq fois trois Moustapha : C’est pas un problème. Tu veux être un grand
4x 6 = quatre fois six écrivain. Tu écris bien. Ton français est
3 x 10 = trois fois dix impeccable.
5 x 100 = cinq fois cent Paul : Merci, chacun a son goût. Je n’ai jamais aimé le
You can say or write the examples above differently : calcul. Heureusement pour moi, il y a des
2x 6 = doublez six machines à calculer et des calculatrices !
3 x 10 = triplez dix
4x 9 = quadruplez neuf 3.7 Model Translation
5x 3 = quintuplez trois Do you like Mathematics ?
4x 6 = sextuplez quatre Paul : Do you like Mathematics ?
3 x 10 = décuplez trois Mustapha : Yes, I love it.
5 x 100 = centuplez cinq Paul : How lucky you are !
Mustapha : How ? I love Mathematics. I am good at
3.4 Subtraction Mathematics. To be a scientist, you have to like
Subtraction is “la soustraction”. calculation.
14 – 12 = 2 Paul : As for me, I am weak in Mathematics.
Quatorze moins douze reste deux. Mustapha : That’s not a problem. You want to be a great
or writer. You write very well. Your French is
Quatorze moins douze fait deux. impeccable.
Paul : I don’t like calculation (Arithmetic). Luckily for
3.5 Les numéros impairs/Les numéros pairs me, there are calculating machines and
Les numéros impairs – odd numbers calculators!
Odd numbers cannot be divided by 2 without having a Note: The French and English spellings of Moustapha/Mustapha.
remainder, eg. 3, 5, 7, 9. Other similar examples are Youssuf/Yusuf, Moussa/Musa,
Les numéros pairs – even numbers Tiamiyou/Tiamiyu.
106 107
A scientist – un scientifique UNIT 17
Ah bon! – It is an expression of surprise. IN A SHOP
Table of Contents
4.0 Conclusion 1.0 Introduction
You have recourse to intersemiotic translation everyday. It is 2.0 Objectives
thus only proper that you remember the relevant words and 3.0 In a shop
expressions. Some of the useful words are scientifique, calcul, 3.1 Vocabulary
calculatrice, numéros impairs, numéros pairs. 3.2 Model Translation
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary 5.0 Summary
Your knowledge of la traduction intersémiotique or la 6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
transmutation and the appropriate words will be very useful to 7.0 References
you.
1.0 Introduction
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment From intersemiotic translation, you are back to interlingual
Translate the following mathematical signs into French translation. You will recall that in interlingual translation, you
1. 8 x 202 translate from one language to another, e.g. English into French. In
2. 4 x 4 x 4 = 64 this unit, you will translate a short and simple dialogue in a shop.
3. 10 ÷ 2 = 5
4. 6 – 5 = 1 2.0 Objectives
5. 5 + 6 = 11 As you successfully translate the text, you will acquire the
Translate the following sentences to mathematical signs following words and expressions: tailleur-pantalon, s’acheter
1. Triplez trois quelque chose, vous désirez, payer par chèque.
2. Dix divisé par deux fait cinq
3. Dix divisé par deux reste cinq 3.0 Read and Translate this text into French
4. Multipliez deux par dix In a shop
5. Trois et trois font six One day, Tounji bought a wrist-watch for himself. He also
bought a trouser suit for his wife. Here is the discussion that
7.0 Reference ensued between him and the shop assistant.
Grellet, F. (1991): Apprendre à traduire. Typologie d’exercices de Shop assistant: What can I do for you?
traduction. Nancy, Presses Universitaires de Nancy. Jakobson, Tounji: A trouser suit for my wife. I would also buy a
Roman (1963) : Essai de linguistique générale, Paris, watch of very good quality for myself if you have
Edition de minuit. one. If not, I go elsewhere. I am in a hurry.
Ojo, S.A. (2002): A Comprehensive Revision Handbook of French Shop assistant: A trouser suit? I have many of them. Please make
Grammar, Ibadan: Signal Educational Services Ltd.
108 109
 your choice. There are very beautiful watches I’ll let you have it cheap – Je vous fais un prix
over there. There are also beautiful belts or Je vous fais un prix d’ami.
Tounji: That’s what I want (pointing to it with his finger). You will observe that “Quel est votre prix ?” has two different
Belts? No, I have a lot of them. I have too many translations depending on who is speaking. In “I’ll let you have it
of them. cheap?”, you may or may not add d’ami. The meaning is the same.
Shop assistant: That will be 15 thousand naira only for the trouser 3.2 Model Translation
suit and 12 for the watch. Dans un magasin
Tounji: But, that’s too expensive. What’s the lowest Un jour Tounji s’est acheté une montre. Il a acheté également
you’ll go? des tailleurs-pantalons à un vendeur pour sa femme. Voilà
Shop assistant: 25 thousand for the two. l’entretien qui a eu lieu entre lui et le vendeur.
Tounji: It’s too expensive. Vendeur : Vous désirez ?
Shop assistant: Don’t forget that you want something of good Tounji : Un tailleur pantalon pour ma femme. J’aimerais
quality. m’acheter aussi une montre de très bonne qualité si
Tounji: I don’t, but … vous en avez. Sinon, je vais ailleurs. Je suis pressé.
Shop assistant: Ok, I understand. I’ll let you have it cheap. Pay 23 Vendeur : Un tailleur pantalon ? J’en ai beaucoup ici. Faites votre
thousand. choix! Il y a de belles montres là-bas. Il y a aussi de
Tounji: 23 thousand! And you say you’ll let me have it belles ceintures.
cheap? Tounji : Voilà ce que je veux (le démontrant du doigt). Des
Shop assistant: Of course, Ok., tell me, what’s your final offer? ceintures ? Non, je n’en ai pas besoin. J’en ai trop !
Tounji: 20 thousand. Vendeur : Vous payez 15 mille naira seulement pour le tailleur
Shop assistant: Ok, pay. pantalon et 12 mille la montre.
Tounji: But I am going to pay by cheque. Tounji : Mais, ça coûte trop cher ! Quel est votre dernier prix ?
Shop assistant: No problem Vendeur : 25 mille pour les deux.
Tounji : C’est trop cher !
3.1 Vocabulary Vendeur : N’oubliez pas que vous voulez quelque chose de bon.
Note the following words, expressions and their meanings in Tounji : Je n’oublie pas, mais ….
French. Vendeur : Ok, je comprends. Je vous fais un prix d’ami. Payez 23
s'acheter quelque chose – to buy something for mille.
oneself Tounji : 23 mille ! Et vous me faites un prix d’ami ?
s’acheter une montre – to buy a watch for oneself Vendeur : Mais oui ! Ok, dites-moi, quel est votre dernier prix ?
trouser suit – un pantalon-tailleur Tounji : 20 mille.
What can I do for you? – Vous désirez? or Que Vendeur : D’accord, payez.
désirez-vous? Tounji : Mais je vais payer par chèque.
What’s your final offer? – Quel est votre dernier prix? Vendeur : Pas de problème.
What’s the lowest you’ll go? – Quel est votre dernier prix ?
110 111
NOTE: Do you observe that the French too say OK? You may say UNIT 18
d’accord instead of OK. OK is a kind of emprunt (borrowing). A NEW ERA BEGINS

4.0 Conclusion Table of Contents

Do your best to retain the words whenever you enter a shop. 1.0 Introduction
Know the following expressions and words to the extent that you 2.0 Objectives
can readily recall them for use when necessary : vous désirez?, un 3.0 A new era begins
tailleur pantaloon, je vous fais un prix, quel est votre dernier 3.1 Vocabulary
prix? 3.2 Points of Grammar
3.3 Model Translation
5.0 Summary 4.0 Conclusion
This translation has helped to widen your vocabulary and 5.0 Summary
ability to translate. You have learnt the following words and 6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
expressions: l’entretien, magasin, je vous fais un prix d’ami, 7.0 References
etc.
1.0 Introduction
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment The last unit dealt with the short dialogue in a shop. This unit
Translate into English is devoted to the translation of a text on modern science and
1. De nos jours, les voitures coûtent très cher. technology. Specifically, you are to translate a text on mobile
2. Je vais m’acheter un bon tailleur-pantalon. phones and related ideas.
3. Il vend des montres modernes.
4. Il s’achète une belle voiture. 2.0 Objectives
Translate into French On successful completion of this unit, you should:
5. I will pay in cash • acquire more vocabulary: le mobile, le cellulaire,
6. My cheque booklet is not here novatrice, ci-après, les indicatifs, virement bancaire,
7. My wife loves trouser suit. en un clin d’œil.
8. It is rather cheap • be able to translate the text
9. There are beautiful flowers over there
10. Don’t forget that quality means more money!
7.0 Reference 3.0 A new era begins
Collins Robert French Dictionary Concise Edition (2006), Great Science and technology have done a lot for man. They
Britain: Le Robert. continue to do so. Through a mobile phone, one can send and
Grellet, Françoise (1991): Apprendre à traduire. Typologie receive written and oral messages. Certainly, an innovative and
d’exercices de traduction. Nancy, Presses Universitaires de modern touch has found itself in the use of mobile telephone.
Nancy.
112 113
 You will find below the dialing codes of some Francophone The verbs used in this kind of construction are known as
countries. pronominal verbs – les verbes pronominaux. Let us see a few
Benin – 229 other examples: se battre, se quereller, s’évader, s’évanouir, se
Guinea – 224 suicider.
Burkina Faso – 226
Togo – 228 3.3 Model Translation
Côte d’Ivoire – 225 Une nouvelle ère s’ouvre.
You do not have to subscribe to telephone lines anymore. La science et la technologie ont tant fait pour l’homme. Elles
You simply go to a supermarket or elsewhere and buy a mobile en font toujours. Avec le mobile, on peut envoyer et recevoir des
phone and a recharge card. Telephone directories have messages écrits et oraux. Certes, une touche novatrice et moderne a
disappeared. été apportée au téléphone par l’usage du mobile.
You can also embark on bank transfer form one country to Vous trouverez ci-après la liste des indicatifs téléphoniques de
another. The transfer is done in a twinkling of an eye. certains pays francophones.
Le Bénin – 229
3.1 Vocabulary La Guinée – 224
mobile telephone – le mobile (téléphone mobile), le Le Burkina Faso – 226
cellulaire, le portable. Le Togo – 228
innovative – novateur (masc.) novatrice (fem) La Côte d’Ivoire – 225
dialing code – l’indicatif (indicatif téléphonique) Il n’est plus question d’abonnement à une ligne téléphonique.
(masc.) Il suffit d’aller au supermarché ou ailleurs pour acheter un portable
subscribe to – s’abonner à et une carte de recharge.
recharge card – la carte de recharge On peut également entreprendre le virement bancaire d’un pays à
bank transfer – virement bancaire un autre. Le virement (transfert) d’argent est fait en un clin d’œil.
a twinkling of an eye – un clin d’œil
How was your translation? Many mistakes? If not,
3.2 Point of Grammar congratulations! If yes, you have no cause to worry. Simply learn
s’ouvrir – to open the words and expressions fast. Try to recall and use them in your
La porte s’ouvre – The door opens daily encounter with mobile telephone!
In a more literal way, it may be translated as “the door opens
itself”. That is the way the French language expresses the idea.
Such ideas are expressed also in the following: 4.0 Conclusion
Il se lave – He is taking his bath This text is very practical. You see or use mobile phones
(Literally, he is washing himself) everyday. Use the expressions. If there is no one to speak to in
Il s’habille – He is getting dressed up French, try and recall them just on your own.
(Literally, he is dressing himself up).
114 115
5.0 Summary UNIT 19
This is a very practical passage. Write down the new words. A BRITISH COUPLE CELEBRATES ITS 81ST YEAR OF
Use them. MARRIAGE: A RECORD

6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment Table of Contents

Translate the following sentences into English 1.0 Introduction
1. La technologie a contribué énormément au développement de 2.0 Objectives
l’homme 3.0 A British Couple Celebrates its 81st Year of Marriage: A
2. Le portable est aujourd’hui indispensable. Record
3. A travers les cellulaires, on peut envoyer des textes oraux et 3.1 Vocabulary
écrits. 3.2 Points of Grammar
3.3 Model Translation
7.0 References 3.4 Mixed Race
Collins Robert French Dictionary Concise Edition (2006), Great 3.5 Un couple de noirs fait un enfant... blanc ! Regardez
Britain: Le Robert. 3.6 Model Translation
Vercollier, A. ; Vercollier, C. and Bourlier, K. (2006) : Difficultés 4.0 Conclusion
expliquées du français for English Speakers, Ibadan : Clé & 5.0 Summary
Spectrum. 6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
7.0 References

1.0 Introduction
From mobile phones and bank transfer, the topic switches
over to marriage – a British couple and a Nigerian couple. This
unit will introduce you to a story on two old lovebirds – a text that
is a challenge to mankind. The British couple celebrates its 81st
marriage. The second text made “good” news in the press. Two
Nigerians – both black – gave birth to a white baby in Britain.
There had been a similar one where parents of mixed races gave
birth to a set of twins of different colour : one white and the other
one black.

2.0 Objectives
When you successfully complete this unit, you should be able
to:
• translate the passage
116 117
 • expand your vocabulary: les tourtereaux, pour le the wife – l’épouse the
meilleur et pour le pire, une maison de retraite, husband – l’époux
génétique, albinos, etc. longevity – la longévité
• identify some grammatical issues ‘Lovebirds’ are two people who love each other, especially young
ones who show their love in public.
3.0 Read and understand the text. Study the vocabulary and
translate. 3.2 Points of Grammar
A British Couple Celebrates its 81st Year of Mariage: A record Se marier should remind you of les verbes pronominaux.
They married in 1928 – Ils se sont mariés en 1928
Two Britons, Anita and Frank Milford respectively aged 100 You cannot say “Ils ont marié en 1928” ! If you do, you are wrong.
and 101 years, have celebrated their 81st wedding anniversary. The You will have betrayed your Anglophone background.
husband died in 2009. The two lovebirds got married in 1928 in Observe the beautiful uses of marier and se marier in the
England for better and for worse. According to the wife, the secret following sentences.
of the marriage is “to give, receive and laugh a lot”. The two 1. Demain, je marie ma fille – I’m giving out my daughter (in
married in all simplicity – without much money – and lived in a marriage) tomorrow
small house until March 2005. Th. They lived in an old people’s 2. Le rose se marie très bien avec le noir – Red goes very well
home till the death of the husband. with black
The two records on longevity in marriage are in India and the A pronominal verb is a verb preceded by another pronom
United States. Each lasted for 86 yearey have two children, five which is not the subject personal pronoun. The accompanying
grandchildren and seven great grandchildrens. pronoun is called a reflexive pronoun : me, te, se, nous, vous, se.
The pronouns refer to the same person as the subject is also the
(Translated from French into English object of the verb. It means therefore that the subject acts upon
http://www.senioractu.com/un-couple-de-Britanniques-vient-de- itself. (Ade Ojo 2005: 331)
fêter-ses-78-ans-de-mariage-un-record!-a5734.html). Elle se regarde devant le miroir
Elle se souvient de ses études en Pologne.
3.1 Vocabulary
to feast, celebrate – fêter She is looking at herself in the mirror/before the glass.
lovebirds – les tourtereaux (masc.) She always remembers her studies in Poland.
for better for worse – pour le meilleur et pour le pire
grand children – les petits-enfants 3.3. Model Translation
great grand children – les arrière-petits-enfants Un couple Britannique célèbre ses 81 ans de mariage: un
The term “ les petits-enfants” is not ‘small children’ in English but record
‘grand children’. Similarly, ‘les arrières-petits-enfants’ is ‘great Deux Britanniques, Anita et Frank Milford, respectivement âgés de
grand children’ 100 et 101 ans, ont fêté leur 81ème anniversaire de mariage. Le mari
old people’s home – une maison de retraite est mort en 2009. Les deux tourtereaux se sont mariés en 1928 en
118 119
Angleterre pour le meilleur et pour le pire. Selon l’épouse, le secret Rappelons qu'il y a cinq ans, un cas similaire s'était produit. Kylie
de ce mariage c’est “d’offrir, de recevoir, et de rire beaucoup”. Les Hodgson et Remi Horder, avaient ainsi donné naissance à des
deux se sont mariés en toute simplicité, sans beaucoup d’argent – jumelles de couleur différente, une noire et une blanche.
et ont vécu dans une petite maison jusqu’en mars 2005. Ils sont
deux enfants, cinq petits-enfants et sept arrière-petits-enfants. Ils ressembler à – to ressemble, to look like
vivaient dans une maison de retraite jusqu’à la mort du mari. tromper – to deceive
Les deux records de longévité en matière de mariage se situent en toutefois – however
Inde et aux Etats-Unis pour une durée de 86 ans.
3.6 Model Translation
3.4 Mixed Race A Black Couple Gives Birth to a White Child! Look at it!
Other words for someone of a mixed race are halfcaste and “The Sun” reports the birth in London of a little white girl
mulatto, but the two terms are offensive in English. A more polite with blue eyes, but the parents are black.
expression is a person of mixed race (Macmillan English Experts in genetics have confirmed that the child is not an
Dictionary, 2007:678) albino. Ben and Angela of Nigerian origin are already the happy
parents of two children, both of whom are black. How surprising it
There is a second text for you to translate. was for them to cover their little girl whom the named Nmachi
meaning “the beauty of God”.
3.5 Un couple de noirs fait un enfant... blanc ! Regardez “She is beautiful, I love her. Her colour isn’t important. She
is a miracle!”, said Angela.
"The Sun" rapporte la naissance à Londres d'une petite fille On his part, Ben declares : “My wife is faithful. Even if she
blanche aux yeux bleus, mais dont les parents sont noirs... cheated on me, the baby would still not look like that. She does not
Des experts en génétique ont toutefois précisé que l'enfant n'est pas look like an albino, not like those I saw in Nigeria or in the books.
albinos. She just looks like a little white baby full of life (in good health).
Ben et Angela, d'origine nigériane, sont déjà les heureux parents de All that matters now is that she is healthy and we love her”.
deux enfants, tous les deux noirs. Quelle fut donc leur surprise en Let us recall that there was a similar case some years ago.
découvrant leur petite fille, qu'ils ont appelée Nmachi, qui signifie Kylie Hodgson and Remi Horder, also gave birth to a set of twins
"beauté de Dieu". of different colours – one black and the other one white.
"Elle est belle et je l'aime. Sa couleur n'a pas d'importance. Elle est
un miracle", a confié Angela.
De son côté, Ben déclare: "Ma femme est fidèle. Même si elle 4.0 Conclusion
m'avait trompé, le bébé ne ressemblerait pas à ça. Elle ne You must have enjoyed this translation with quite a good
ressemble pas à un enfant albinos, pas à ceux que j'ai vu au Nigéria number of new words. Recall the equivalents of the following
ou dans les livres. Elle ressemble juste à un petit bébé blanc, en words in English: les tourtereaux, le meilleur et le pire, la
pleine santé. (...) Tout ce qui compte c'est qu'elle soit en bonne longévité, une maison de retraite.
santé et que nous l'aimons".
120 121
5.0 Summary UNIT 20
You have learnt many words and expressions like MY FAVOURITE NEWSPAPER
tourtereaux, épouse, maison de retraite, couple, génétique,
similaire, etc. Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment 2.0 Objectives
A. Translate the following sentences into English 3.0 My favourite newspaper
1. Les Etats-Unis et l’Inde détiennent les records de 3.1 Vocabulary
longévité dans le domaine du mariage 3.2 Related Vocabulary
2. Ils ont célébré leur 81ème anniversaire de mariage/ Ils ont 3.3 General Knowledge
fêté le 81e anniversaire de leur mariage. 3.4 Translation Issues
3. Pour qu’un mariage réussisse, il faut donner, recevoir et 3.5 Model Translation
beaucoup rire. 3.6 French Newspaper
B. Correct the following sentences 3.7 La Coupe du monde
4. L’homme a marié la femme. 3.8 Vocabulary
5. C’est un bon marriage. 3.9 Model Translation: The World Cup
6. Les Etats-Unis d’Amérique détient le records. 4.0 Conclusion
7. Il faut fais le travail. 5.0 Summary
8. Voilà ma épouse. 6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
7.0 References
7.0 References
http://www.senioractu.com/un-couple-de-Britanniques-vient-de- 1.0 Introduction
fêter-ses-78-ans-de-mariage-un-record!-a5734.html This unit introduces you to a practical translation. You will
Collins Robert French Dictionary Concise Edition ( 2006), Great learn certain practical aspects of translation.
Britain: Le Robert
Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners (2007), 2.0 Objectives
London, Macmillan. On successful completion of this unit, you are expected to
Vercollier, A. ; Vercollier, C. and Bourlier, K. (2006) : Difficultés have learnt:
expliquées du français for English Speakers, Ibadan : Clé & • the following words: journal préféré, défense
Spectrum. légitime, radicaux, aisé
• related words : le journal télévisé, la revue.
• Some facts on newspapers in France.
• Some practical issues on translation.

122 123
3.0 Read the passage. Study the vocabulary and some practical
issues on translation. Finally, translate the dialogue into French. 3.3 General Knowledge
In French, the major national newspapers are Le Monde,
My favourite newspaper Libération and Le Figaro and Le Canard Enchaîné which is a
Pumor: What is this newspaper? (Which newspaper is this?) satirical weekly. There are regional newspapers too such as Ouest-
Ebikabowei : Which one? This one? The Guardian? The Sun or France (Collins Robert 2006: 287).
The Nation? 3.4 Translation Issues
Pumor: No, the other one …. yes, that one. Opened in You do not translate these newspapers. In a nutshell leave the
front of you. papers – The Guardian, the Sun and the Nation – in their
Ebikabowei : Ah! That’s my favourite newspaper for now. It’s English versions. In the same vein, you may not, in a practical
The Tribune. The newspaper for radicals. context, translate names and addresses.
Pumor : You want to be a radical? e.g. John James Department of
Ebikabowei : Of course yes! However, you know, I am not from French University of
a rich family. So, I have to be quiet and suffer Georgetown Freetown.
without complaint. If you translate the names and address as
Pumor: But money isn’t the criterion for self defense! Jean Jacques
Le département de français
3.1 Vocabulary L’Université de Georgesville
newspaper – le journal Libreville
radical – le radical You will mutilate the real meaning.
radicals – les radicaux By this translation, virtually everything has been distorted.
criterion – le critère The letter can never get to its destination. Libreville is a town. In
self defense – la défense légitime fact, it is the capital of Gabon while Freetown is the capital of
In English, ‘criterion’ is singular, while ‘criteria’ is plural. Note Sierra Leone!
this as it is a common error. When you hear someone say “The
criteria is that … ”, you know there is an error. It should be “The 3.5 Model Translation
criteria are that …..”. Mon journal préféré
Note also that “journal” in English is translated as “la revue” in Pumor: Ebikabowei ! Qu’est-ce que ce journal?
French. Ebikabowei: Lequel ? Celui-ci ? The Guardian ? The Sun ou
The Nation ?
3.2 Related vocabulary Pumor: Non, l’autre …. oui, celui-là, ouvert devant toi.
le journal de 21h – the 9 o’clock news Ebikabowei: Ah, ça, c’est mon journal préféré en ce moment.
21h shows that it is 9pm and NOT 9am. 9am will be 9h. C’est Tribune. Le journal pour les radicaux.
le journal télévisé – television news Pumor: Tu veux être un radical ?
– news bulletin
125
124
Ebikabowei: Mais oui ! Cependant, tu sais bien, je ne suis pas You can read all these papers in the Internet. Form the habit
d’une famille aisée. Donc, je dois me taire et of reading them regularly if you have the means. You will expand
souffrir sans plaintes. your horizon, improve your French and be more in tune with
Pumor: Mais l’argent n’est pas le critère pour la défense French culture.
légitime. When you read a paper like Midi-Olympique, you will get
words like entraîneur (coach), la Coupe du monde (World cup),
3.6 French Newspapers etc.
You need to know something about newspapers in France. Another text is hereby provided for reading and translation.
There are many newspapers in France. Below are some of the daily
national papers (les quotidiens nationaux). 3.7 La coupe du monde 2010 : L’Espagne sur le toit du monde
Libération L’Espagne s’est offert sa première étoile de champion du
Le Monde monde, avec en prime un fabuleux doublé Euro – 2008/Mondial –
Le Parisien 2010 dans la douleur avec un but d’Iniesta en prolongation contre
La Tribune les Pays-Bas réduits à dix en finale de la Coupe du monde
Les Echos dimanche à Johannesburg.
Le Figaro Ce match était fait pour les livres d’Histoire. Avant l’arrivée
L’Humanité des joueurs sur le terrain, Nelson Mandela, fit même une
La Croix apparition, en voiturette sur le terrain, pour saluer les fans du
France Soir Soccer City. Au moment du but d’Iniesta, Casillas éclata en pleurs.
For sports dailes, we have L’équipe and Midi-Olympique. Ce fut l’autre image de cette finale.
The following ones are magazines (les périodiques) La Furia Roja, qui jouait sa première finale de coupe du
Courier International monde, rejoint l’Allemagne, seule à avoir jusqu’ici réalisé un
Les Clefs de l’actualité Junior doublé Euro-Mondial dans ce sens (1972-1974). L’Espagne
Elle devient aussi le premier pays européen consacré en Coupe du
L’Européen monde en dehors du Vieux Continent.
L’Express Au total, l’arbitre anglais, M. Weff sorti 14 cartons jaunes et
Marianne a exclu Heitinga en prolongation.
Le Monde Diplomatique Les Néerlandais étaient généreux en fautes – plus d’une
Le Nouvel Observateur vingtaine dans le temps réglementaire.
Le Point Mais c’est le but marqué par Iniesta qui change le sort des
Le Monde d’Education deux équipes. Pour les Pays-Bas, c’est la troisième finale d’un
Sciences et Avenir Mondial raté après les échecs de 1974 contre la RFA et de 1978
L’Etudiant contre l’Argentine. Le jeu était évidemment dominé par les
Phosphore Espagnols, toutefois moins fringants que prévu.
Télérama
126 127
 Les meilleures occasions néerlandaises vinrent de Robben. 3.9 Model Translation
Parti dans le dos de la défense, son tir fut détourné du bout du pied 2010 World Cup: Spain on top of the world
droit par ‘San Iker’ (62e). Robben vit son effort encore annihilé par Spain gave herself her first world cup star with a double
le gardien espagnol. European 2008 and 2010 world champion with a goal scored by
(Texte adapté de http://www.lepoint.fr/coupe-de-monde/coupe-du- Iniesta during the extra time against Netherlands whose team was
monde-lespagne-sur-le-toit-du-monde) reduced to ten at the Sunday World Cup final in Johannesburg.
The match was made (destined) for the History books. Before
3.8 Vocabulary the players arrived on the field, Nelson Mandela made his
doublé – double victory appearance in a small car in the field to salute the fans of Soccer
fabbuleux – fabulous City. When Iniesta scored his goal, Casillas burst into tears. That
un but – a goal was another image of this final.
Les Pays-Bas – Netherlands La furia Jola who was playing his first world cup final joined
consacré – consecrated i.e. blessed Germany, the only country to have had a double European and
exclu en prolongation – excluded from the extra time world champion (1972-1974). Spain also becomes the first blessed
cartons jaunes – yellow cards European country to win world cup outside of the Old Continent.
la prolongation – extra time On the whole, the English referee, M. Weff brought out 14
voiturette – a small car yellow cards and barred Heitinga from the extra time.
les fans – fans The Dutch were generous in mistakes – more than twenty at
Casillas éclata en pleurs – Casillas burst to tears the regular time. But it is the goal scored by Iniesta that changes
L’arbitre – referee the fate of the two teams. For Netherlands, this is the third failed
L’Espagne (f) – Spain world cup final following the failures of 1974 against the Federal
Espagnol – Spanish Republic of Germany and that of 1978 against Argentina. The
les Néerlandais – The Dutch game was obviously dominated by the Spaniards who however less
un Néerlandais – a Dutchman dashing than expected. The best opportunities for Netherlands
une Néerlandaise – a Dutchwoman came from Robben. Going into the back, his short was deflected by
le Néerlendais – Dutch (language) the tip of San Iker’s right leg. Robben saw his effort again
moins fringants que prévu – less dashing than expected destroyed by the Spanish goalkeeper.
son tir fut détourné du bout du pied droit par “San Iker” –
his short was deflected by the tip of the “San Ikler’s” right foot. 4.0 Conclusion
faire cavalier seul – to go it alone These texts have led you to a broader horizon in French,
RFA = République Fédérale de l’Allemagne English and translation issues. Note the words on football: arbitre,
= Federal Republic of Germany tir, but, gardien, la coupe du monde, cartes jaunes, cartes rouges,
Recognize the names of some of the players : Robben, “San Iker”, prolongation.
Iniesta, Heitinga.
5.0 Summary
128 129
 The texts have enriched your knowledge of translation. Keep UNIT 21
the new words at your fingertips. FUEL SCARCITY

6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment Table of Contents

Translate the following sentences into French 1.0 Introduction
1. I want to buy today’s Punch newspaper. 2.0 Objectives
2. The 9pm news is read by Joke Agbaje. 3.0 Fuel Scarcity
3. Musa is a radical. 3.1 Vocabulary
4. James comes from a rich family. 3.2 Related Vocabulary
5. The Spaniards played better than the Dutch. 3.3 Model Translation
6. The Dutch players were given many yellow cards. 3.4 Translation Issues
7. The Spannish goalkeeper was very good. 3.5 Le prix du carburant réduit au Nigéria
8. When Iniesta scored his goal, Casillas wept. 3.6 Model Translation
9. The word cup in South Africa was exciting. 4.0 Conclusion
10. This was Netherlands third failed attempt at the world 5.0 Summary
cup. 6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
7.0 References
7.0 References
Berchiche, Y. (2000): Cours de la Sorbonne, Paris 1.0 Introduction
Collins Robert French Dictionary Concise Edition ( 2006), Great This unit deals with a common Nigerian phenomenon – fuel
Britain: Le Robert scarcity. You should have no problem understanding the original
text since it is written in English. Take pains to master the
translated version as they contain very useful words and
expressions. You should learn to use the relevant vocabulary at the
earliest opportunity.

2.0 Objectives
The primary objective is the translation of the passage on
“Fuel Scarcity”. In the process of translating, you should be able to
acquire the French equivalents of fuel, engine, mechanic, threaten,
keg, panel beater, to refuel, damaged, the previous day.

3.0 Read the text. Get acquainted with the explanations

below and translate the text.
Fuel Scarcity
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 It was a beautiful day (or at least so I thought) when I woke When talking about aircraft and ship, un mécanicien is an
up very early in the morning. My main objective that day was to engineer. On the other hand un mécanicien is also “an engine
repair my damaged vehicle. I had an accident, but fortunately there driver” i.e. someone who drives a train (British English).
was no casualty. The engine worked perfectly, but I still needed to
see a mechanic. But the most urgent work was for my panel beater. 3.3 Model Translation
I wanted to solve all the problems quickly as I was getting ready Le manque de carburant
for an important journey. C’était un beau jour (au moins c’est ce que je croyais) quand
But alas! My hopes were dashed. Why? Fuel scarcity was je me suis réveillée et levée très tôt le matin. Ce jour-là, j’avais
again threatening our state. The problem had started the previous comme but principal la réparation de ma voiture accidentée.
day. But it was getting worse. I needed immediate solutions. I had J’avais eu un accident, mais heureusement il n’y avait ni morts ni
to go to the black market to refuel, to buy two kegs of fuel at an blessés. Le moteur marchait parfaitement, mais il fallait voir quand
exorbitant price. même un garagiste. Le travail le plus urgent était chez le tôlier. Je
voulais vite tout régler, comme je m’apprêtais pour un voyage
3.1 Vocabulary important.
fuel – le carburant, l’essence (fem.) Hélas! Mes espoirs étaient frustrés. Et la cause ? Le manque
engine – le moteur de carburant menaçait de nouveau notre Etat. Le problème avait
mechanic – le garagiste (garage mechaninic) commencé avant-hier, mais cela empire encore.
le mécanicien Il fallait des solutions immédiates. J’ai dû aller au marché
to threaten – menacer noir pour me ravitailler, pour acheter deux bidons d’essence à prix
keg – le bidon d’or.
panel beater – le tolier Mais le problème de carburant ne se pose plus au Nigéria. Il
to refuel a car or an aeroplane – se ravitailler y a du carburant partout. C’est le réveil d’un géant du continent
a damaged car – une voiture accidentée africain. Mais pourquoi dit-on que notre pays est le géant de
the previous day – la veille l’Afrique ? C’est parce qu’il est béni de ressources énormes
to get worse – empirer humaines et matérielles. Le Nigéria est le pays le plus peuplé
to pay a fortune for something – acheter quelque chose d’Afrique.
à prix d’or
Note that in the cases of fuel and mechanic, you are given 3.4 Translation issues
synonyms. Fuel is le carburant and l’essence is petrol. Le You observe that there were a few cases where we avoided a
garagiste is the garage mechanic, while mécanicien is simply a literal translation. In other words, the translations were not word
mechanic. for word. They, however, gave the desired meaning. Let us
examine a couple of examples:
3.2 Related Vocabulary Et la cause? – why? Literally, it is “And the reason?”
It will interest you also to know the following:
l'ingénieur mécanicien (masc.) – mechanical engineer
132 133
 “Acheter quelque chose à prix d’or” means to “pay a fortune
for something”. That is the expression I opted to use to translate
“to buy at an exorbitant price”. 3.0 References
Collins Robert French Dictionary Concise Edition ( 2006), Great
3.5 Le prix du carburant réduit au Nigéria Britain: Le Robert
Action Congress a réclamé une réduction des prix de Grellet, Françoise (1991): Apprendre à traduire. Typologie
l’essence. d’exercices de traduction. Nancy, Presses Universitaires de
L’essence a des coûts plusieurs fois élevés que les coûts Nancy.
officiels fixés à 22 naira le litre. La pénurie de carburant est un
problème récurrent au Nigéria. Le problème est lié aux produits
pétroliers souvent illégalement exportés du Nigéria vers l’extérieur
au marché parallèle où il est vendu à environ 1,20 dollar le litre –
près du double du prix officiel.

3.6 Model Translation

4.0 Conclusion
This text is a very practical one. Recall the words and
expressions any time you experience fuel crisis or you have to go
to a mechanic.

5.0 Summary
You have learnt many new words and expressions like le
garagiste, se ravitailler, la veille and une voiture accidentée.
Remind yourself of the words whenever you see an accident.
Recall also the different relevant words when there is fuel scarcity:
le manque de carburant, le manque d’essence, le bidon.

6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment

Translate the following sentences into English,
1. Le moteur marche bien.
2. Je vais chez le garagiste.
3. Il y a manque d’essence en ville.
4. Voilà la voiture accidentée.
5. J’ai acheté trois bidons de carburant.
134 135
 Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and
UNIT 22 even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. As a
THINGS FALL APART young man of eighteen he had brought honour to his village by
Table of Contents throwing Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was the great wrestler who
1.0 Introduction for seven years was unbeaten, from Umuofia to Mbaino. He was
2.0 Objectives called the Cat because his back would never touch the earth. It was
3.0 An Extract this man that Okonkwo threw in a fight which the old man agreed
3.1 Vocabulary was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a
3.2 Model Translation spirit of the wild for seven days and seven nights.
3.3 A Few Observations The drums beat and the flutes sang and the spectators held
3.4 Transposition their breath. Amalinze was a wily craftsman, but Okonkwo was as
4.0 Conclusion slippery as a fish in water. Every nerve and every muscle stood out
5.0 Summary on their arms, on their backs and their thighs, and one almost heard
6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment them stretching to breaking point. In the end Okonkwo threw the
7.0 References Cat.
That was many years ago, twenty years or more, and during
this time Okonkwo’s fame had grown like a bush-fire in the
1.0 Introduction harmattan. He was tall and huge, and his bushy eyebrows and wide
This unit deals with the translation of an extract from Things nose gave him a very severe look. He breathed heavily, and it was
Fall Apart by Chinua Acheba. The story is the beginning of the said that, when he slept, his wives and children in their out-houses
success story and fame of Okonkwo. The French title of Things could hear him breathe. When he walked, his heels hardly touched
Fall Apart is Le monde s’effondre. As you know, the novel is very the ground and he seemed to walk on springs, as if he was going to
interesting. Take pains to understand the vocabulary and enjoy the pounce on somebody. And he did pounce on people quite often. He
story. had a slight stammer and whenever he was angry and could not get
It will be nice for you to buy the French version and read all his words out quickly enough, he would use his fists. He had no
of it. patience with unsuccessful men. He had had no patience with his
father.
2.0 Objectives Unoka, for that was his father’s name, had died ten years ago.
The chapter proposes to introduce you to literary translation In his day he was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of
in a more practical way. Through the reading of this short extract, thinking about tomorrow. If any money came his way, and it
you will be sensitized to reading French texts as your vocabulary seldom did, he immediately bought gourds of palm-wine, called
and ideas will also ‘grow’ very rapidly. round his neighbours and made merry. He always said that
whenever he saw a dead man’s mouth he saw the folly of not
3.0 Things Fall Apart eating what one had in one’s lifetime. Unoka was, of course, a

136 137
debtor, and he owned every neighbour some money, from a few Les tambours battaient et les flutes chantaient et les
cowries to quite substantial amounts. spectateurs retenaient leur respiration. Amalinze était un
professionnel retors, mais Okonkwo était aussi souple et fuyant
3.1 Vocabulary qu’un poisson dans l’eau. Tous leurs nerfs et tous leurs muscles se
wrestler – un lutteur dessinaient en relief sur leurs bras, sur leur dos et sur leurs cuisses,
to bring down an adversary – terrasser un adversaire et on les aurait presque entendus se tendre à se briser. A la fin,
a debtor – endetté Okonkwo terrassa le Chat.
les vieux s’accordèrent à dire que … – the old men agreed that … Cela se passait il y a de nombreuses années, vingt ans ou
thigh – la cuisse plus, et au cours de cette période la réputation d’Okonkwo avait
reputation, fame – la réputation grandi comme un feu de brousse sous l’harmattan. Il était grand et
his bushy eyebrows – ses soupirs broussailleux massif, et ses sourcils broussailleux et son large nez lui donnaient
bush-fire – un feu de brousse un aspect très sévère. Sa respiration était forte, et on disait que
to stammer – bégayer lorsqu’il dormait ses femmes et ses enfants pouvaient l’entendre
fists – les poings (masc) respirer de leurs cases. Quand il marchait, ses talons touchaient à
huge – massif peine le sol et il semblait marcher sur des ressorts, comme un qui
out-house – une case s’apprête à boxer quelqu’un. Et il boxait effectivement les gens,
cowry – la caurie très souvent. Il bégayait légèrement et, chaque fois qu’il était en
improvident – imprévoyant colère et ne parvenait pas à sortir ses mots assez vite, il se servait
Amalinze was a wily craftsman – Amalinze était un professionnel de ses poings. Il n’avait aucune patience avec les hommes qui ne
retors. réussissaient pas. Il n’avait eu aucune patience avec son père.
as slippery as a fish in water – aussi souple et fuyant qu’un poisson Unoka, car tel était le nom de son père, était mort dix ans
dans l’eau. auparavant. En son temps, il était paresseux et imprévoyant et tout
à fait incapable de penser au lendemain. Si quelque argent lui
3.2 Model Translation tombait entre les mains, et cela était rare, il achetait
Okonkwo était bien connu a travers les neuf villages et même immédiatement des calebasses de vin de palme, appelait ses
au-delà. Sa réputation reposait sur de solides réussites voisins à la ronde et faisait fête. Il disait toujours que chaque fois
personnelles. Jeune homme de dix-huit ans, il avait apporté qu’il voyait la bouche d’un mort, il voyait la folie de ne pas
honneur et gloire à son village en terrassant Amalinze le chat. manger ce qu’on possédait pendant qu’on était en vie. Unoka était,
Malinze était ce grand lutteur qui, pendant sept ans, était resté bien sûr, un homme endetté, et il devait de l’argent à chacun de ses
invaincu, d’Umuofia à Mbaino. On l’appelait le Chat parce que son voisins depuis quelques cauris jusqu’à des sommes tout à fait
dos se refusait à toucher la terre. Ce fut cet homme qu’Okonkwo substantielles.
terrassa dans une lutte dans dont les vieux s’accordèrent à dire que
c’était une des plus acharnées depuis que le fondateur de leur ville 3.3 A Few Observations
s’était attaqué à un esprit de la brousse et l’avait affronté pendant There are many things that need to be treated in this passage,
sept jours et sept nuits. but you have to do some work on your own. You have learnt a lot.
138 139
Now, use your dictionary and study the passage and the translation Ordinarily, “vieux” is an adjective but the use of the plural article
very carefully. or determinant “les” makes it to mean “old men”.
A few observations are these: Debtor (noun) – endetté (participe passé)
“to pounce” is “se lancer sur”, “bondir sur”, but the translator He had no patience with unsuccessful men –
has used ‘boxer’ which means to ‘box’. The meaning is slightly Il n’avait aucune patience avec les homes qui ne réussissaient pas.
different. “Unsuccessful” is an adjective. It is translated as “ne réussissaient
You will also observe that the word order of the sentences are pas” which is a verb.
not strictly followed. Let us read an example.
4.0 Conclusion
He breathed heavily, and it was said that, when he slept, his You have read at least a few paragraphs of Le monde
wives and children in their out-houses could hear him breathe. s'effondre which is the French version of Things Fall Apart. Your
vocabulary has improved tremendously. Recall some of them like :
Sa respiration était forte, et on disait que lorsqu’il dormait ses terrasser, lutteur, la cuisse, sourcils broussailleux, massif,
femmes et enfants pouvaient l’entendre respirer de leurs cases. bégayer.

Notice where “their out-houses” and “leurs cases” are placed 5.0 Summary
in the original and the translation. One very good way of You have seen in a more practical sense what literary
intuitively and unconsciously acquiring good language possession translation entails. You have been reminded also of transposition.
in through the reading of good novels like the one you are treating.
As you read vey many novels, you will have no difficulty in 6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
your syntax and grammar. Get the English version for the following words, expressions
Buy and read as many simple novels you can afford. and sentences in the passage : nerfs, se dessinaient en relief sur
leurs bras, était resté invaincu, il se servait de ses poings.
3.4 Transposition
You are not likely to have forgotten what transposition is. 7.0 References
You cannot afford to forget it. There are some examples in the text. Achebe, C. (1958) : Things Fall Apart, London, Heinemann
But first what is transposition? It is the grammatical change of a Achebe, C. (1972): Le monde s’effondre, Dakar, Présence
part of speech that occurs during translation. Some examples in the Africaine, translated into French by Michel Ligny.
text are:
He breathed heavily – Sa respiration était forte
“Breathed” is a verb (past participle), but it is translated as a noun
(respiration - breath)
“He”, a personal pronoun is replaced with “sa”, possessive
pronoun in French.
“The old men” is translated as “les vieux”.
140 141