Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
livrer des banalités
English translation:
spoke only platitudes
Added to glossary by
svetlana cosquéric
Sep 9, 2009 12:29
14 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term
France
Engineering, medicine, chemistry
Native in: Russian 
Works in: Russian to English, English to Russian, French to Russian
livrer des banalités
French to English
Art/Literary
Esoteric practices
Automatic Writing
Hello,
could you help me? It's about Automatic Writing. The text:
Un personnage s'est manifesté au travers de ces écritures, il ne se nommait pas et nous *livraient des banalités*, puis petit à petit, il nous a dit être Dieu.
Thanks in advance!
could you help me? It's about Automatic Writing. The text:
Un personnage s'est manifesté au travers de ces écritures, il ne se nommait pas et nous *livraient des banalités*, puis petit à petit, il nous a dit être Dieu.
Thanks in advance!
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +3 | spoke only platitudes |
Lianne Wilson
|
| 3 | told us nothing we hadn't heard before |
Sandra Petch
|
Proposed translations
+3
51 mins
Lianne Wilson
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Works in field
United Kingdom
Specialist in TVs and electronics
Native in: English 
Works in: Japanese to English, French to English
Related KudoZ points
:
8
Selected
spoke only platitudes
He didn't give his name and spoke only platitudes.
Possibly a bit literary for some people's taste, but I think it works, the esoteric does sometimes seem to favour that kind of style.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2009-09-09 15:24:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Personally I would say that 'he' is probably okay even if the 'personnage' is not a normal man, but it would be worth checking with the client, if that's possible.
If you prefer keeping it vague you could always try something like:"A presence manifested/appeared through these writings who gave no name and who spoke only in platitudes...etc."
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2009-09-09 15:58:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Absolutely, if that's what you feel is best. I myself would be happy to use 'who' with 'beings' that aren't human (certainly people write about God, spirits, etc. using 'who'), but you may certainly use 'that' if you prefer.
Incidently, in case you're interested it is discussed a little here: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/who-versus-that.aspx
Possibly a bit literary for some people's taste, but I think it works, the esoteric does sometimes seem to favour that kind of style.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2009-09-09 15:24:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Personally I would say that 'he' is probably okay even if the 'personnage' is not a normal man, but it would be worth checking with the client, if that's possible.
If you prefer keeping it vague you could always try something like:"A presence manifested/appeared through these writings who gave no name and who spoke only in platitudes...etc."
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2009-09-09 15:58:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Absolutely, if that's what you feel is best. I myself would be happy to use 'who' with 'beings' that aren't human (certainly people write about God, spirits, etc. using 'who'), but you may certainly use 'that' if you prefer.
Incidently, in case you're interested it is discussed a little here: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/who-versus-that.aspx
Example sentence:
...the author thinks Dewey, who spoke only platitudes, is the precursor of successful presidential candidates in the television age...
When Patty visits him in prison, he speaks only platitudes about peace, accepting responsibility, prioritizing life and family over work, and lies and betrayal.
Note from asker:
| "un personnage" - I used "a presence", because for the time being it's not clear what it is, a devil, an angel, a spirit. Is it correct to use "he"? |
| Sorry, Lianne (I'm boring...), but if "who", isn't it about a human being? I used "that". |
| afterwards the author calls this "he/it/spirit/... - "cette entité" |
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you, Lianne!"
6 mins
told us nothing we hadn't heard before
He didn't give his name and told us nothing we hadn't heard before.
"Livrer" here really just means "to say" (you can "livrer une conclusion" for example).
A more direct way would be "spout banalities" although "spout" is maybe a tad pejorative.
"Made trite remarks" - ideas as they come to me!
"Livrer" here really just means "to say" (you can "livrer une conclusion" for example).
A more direct way would be "spout banalities" although "spout" is maybe a tad pejorative.
"Made trite remarks" - ideas as they come to me!
Note from asker:
| Thank you, Sandra! |
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
BusterK
: I would go for trite, because banalité is not only known but of little interest (although it may weel be new...).
2 mins
|
Something went wrong...