Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
...ont bercé son enfance
English translation:
her/his childhood dreams were filled with...
Added to glossary by
Tony M
Jul 6, 2009 06:29
14 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term
bercer
French to English
Art/Literary
Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting
art exhibition
Les mirages et les prototypes des aéronefs mythiques des années 60 ont bercé son enfance".
Il s'agit du parcours de l'artiste.
Il s'agit du parcours de l'artiste.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +4 | her/his childhood dreams were filled with |
Tony M
|
| 3 +1 | grow up dreaming of... |
Susan Nicholls
|
| 4 | Her/his childhood fantasy was steeped in |
Euqinimod (X)
|
| 4 | he grew up surrounded by |
Emma Paulay
|
| 4 -1 | to sawy/ to rock |
Constantinos Faridis (X)
|
| 4 -1 | lulled |
André Vanasse (X)
|
| 3 | Right from the cradle, he drifted to sleep dreaming of.... |
Richardson Lisa
|
Change log
Jul 13, 2009 15:04: Tony M Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+4
1 hr
French term (edited):
ont bercé son enfance
Selected
her/his childhood dreams were filled with
...mirages (?) and the protoypes of the legendary aircaft of the 60s...
Not quite sure what 'mirage' is doing in there, unless in fact it is meant to be 'Mirage' — the proper name of the aircraft? I suppose this is someone who was growing up in the late 50s (and hence like me was exposed to the protoypes before the actual a/c themselves)? My own Dad was an aircraft engineer in this period...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 days (2009-07-13 15:05:47 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
Thanks, Chris, for your kind words; I'm so glad my contributions have been of help.
Not quite sure what 'mirage' is doing in there, unless in fact it is meant to be 'Mirage' — the proper name of the aircraft? I suppose this is someone who was growing up in the late 50s (and hence like me was exposed to the protoypes before the actual a/c themselves)? My own Dad was an aircraft engineer in this period...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 days (2009-07-13 15:05:47 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
Thanks, Chris, for your kind words; I'm so glad my contributions have been of help.
Note from asker:
| Hi Tony, Yes we are talking of a Mirage (aircraft), and the artist was born in the sixties. His dad was a pilot and later became a cosmonaut. By the way, thanks for all the highly relevant comments you made about this question, it has helped me a lot ! |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Philippa Smith
: Nice formula. For "mirages", I don't think it's literal, I'd use something like "visions"
8 mins
|
|
Thanks, Philippa!
|
|
| agree |
Helen Shiner
: I agree with Philippa - visions swaying in his dreams
24 mins
|
|
Thanks, Helen! Yes, that's a nice image, isn't it? :-)
|
|
| agree |
Linda Sansome (X)
: Well, I rather like "images" myself. The child became an artist & made his image real. I grew up in the same era - my Dad was working as an electronic engineer - the "black box" prototypes for Concorde.
1 hr
|
|
Thanks, Linda! Brilliant, personal experiences...!
|
|
| agree |
Yolanda Broad
4 days
|
|
Thanks, Yolanda! :-)
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks"
+1
17 mins
Susan Nicholls
Native in English
Meticulous attention to detail
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, Catalan to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
grow up dreaming of...
Not very neat , this, but I think it is the general meaning. He grew up dreaming of aircraft.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Tony M
: I think this is a very natural, idiomatic way of expressing it; though depending on context, 'grow up' might possibly be taken as suggesting later years, whereas 'bercer/enfant' may be suggesting 'from earliest childhood'
49 mins
|
|
Thanks Tony - yes, yours captures this better
|
-1
28 mins
to sawy/ to rock
to sawy/ to rock dictionarie says that
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Tony M
: Firstly, 'sawy' is wrong, it should be 'sway'; secondly, and more importantly, it's clear that a simplistic dictionary definition simply won't do in this figurative usage.
36 mins
|
-1
29 mins
lulled
... mythical aircrafts lulled him to sleep
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Tony M
: Too literal, especially since 'mythical' is a faux ami here, since these are "the legendary aircraft of the 60s" (nothing to do with 'mythical beasts'!); even a counter-sense: they probably didn't bore him (as lull almost suggests); a/c is non-countable
37 mins
|
42 mins
Right from the cradle, he drifted to sleep dreaming of....
I think that I would turn this one around. Bercer does mean to lull, but difficult to use it in this phrase
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Tony M
: Although this is a much more natural and idiomatic way of expressing it, I can't help wondering it it isn't perhaps just a tad too literal still...?
37 mins
|
1 hr
Her/his childhood fantasy was steeped in
That's the meaning.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Tony M
: Right meaning, certainly... but I have slight misgivings about the use of 'steeped in': it sits awkwardly with 'mirages' and 'protoypes'; you can be 'steeped in an aeronautical environment', or 'your fantasies can be filled with images'
10 mins
|
|
Maybe "steeped in the imagery of" would be more appropriate.
|
6 hrs
he grew up surrounded by
I wasn't convinced by the "dream" interpretations, as "bercer" is often used to describe a child's actual environment, not just his or her imaginary world. Anyway, if you google the actual sentence, you get the actual context. The artist grew up at the end of a runway...!
Basically, you can move away from the source text and be imaginative: blah, blah aeroplanes were the backdrop to his childhood...etc.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 hrs (2009-07-06 13:07:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Oh - and I think we can safely say that Mirages is definitely the proper name, nothing to do with visions.
Basically, you can move away from the source text and be imaginative: blah, blah aeroplanes were the backdrop to his childhood...etc.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 hrs (2009-07-06 13:07:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Oh - and I think we can safely say that Mirages is definitely the proper name, nothing to do with visions.
Reference:
http://www.le-bourget.fr/Juste-Ciel-de-Manolo-Chretien.html
http://www.mae.org/vu-au-musee/juste-ciel-de-manolo-chretien.html
Discussion