A language learners’ forum

I am currently trying to do an intensive examination of Émile Zola's article in Le Figaro 17 janvier 1867 Dans Paris, la neige

http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k270630z/f1.item.r=La%20neige%20par%20emile%20Zola.zoom

I have set up a table with the French version in the left column and a line by line English translation in the right column.

DeepL is a great resource but I think it only gets me part of the way. Here is an example:

Zola:
Ah ! que sont loin les verdures moirées d'or par les clartés jaunes et rouges du couchant !

DeepL:
Ah! by the yellow and red light of the sunset!

Would anyone care to improve on the DeepL translation?

If anyone is interested in discussing Zola's article I could post both the French and English versions in a separate thread. The Zola article is in the Public Domain.

If anyone is interested, please advise where it could be posted.

NB:
This article is very much in the tradition of the 19th century French flâneur, so if that does not interest you then by all means pass this by. I find the genre interesting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fl%C3%A2neur

Thanks for sharing the Zola article Carmody. It was a nice read.

Talking about Paris, but on a totally different subject, the President of the Paris Region, Valérie Pécresse, has launched a programme to make Ile-de-France a multilingual region. According to this article in Le Journal de Dimanche, 50% of young "Franciliens" would not be able to do a "stage" abroad because they don't have the language skills. Also according to the article they will soon launch a free language learning app with English, French as a foreign language, German and Spanish, and later on they will add Chinese, Russian and Portuguese. It weill be free and open to everyone (including people who do not live in Ile-de-France.

Remains to be seen if this app will deliver a product which is just as good or better than all those other methods already on offer "sur la Toile".

Carmody wrote: ... DeepL is a great resource but I think it only gets me part of the way. Here is an example:

Zola:
Ah ! que sont loin les verdures moirées d'or par les clartés jaunes et rouges du couchant !

DeepL:
Ah! by the yellow and red light of the sunset! ...

I would have to agree that this is fine example of the current limits of computer-aided translation systems. DeepL missed half the information and all of the intensity, expressiveness, and style of the original. Thanks for sharing this!

I agree, and I have yet to understand <<moirées >>.

moirer: vb., to water, to shimmer
la lune moirait l'étang de reflets argentés = the moon cast a shimmering silvery light over the pool

moiré: adj., watered effect, marbled, shimmering
Ah ! que sont loin les verdures moirées d'or par les clartés jaunes et rouges du couchant! = Ah! by the yellow and red light of the sunset! ?????

Many thanks!

Carmody wrote:I agree, and I have yet to understand <<moirées >>.

Wiktionary lets you search conjugated words.

https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/moirées

A bit of total trivia that is useless to all, but that I find interesting. I collect many different synonymes francais and as a consequence am never sure which word is appropriate for which usage, however, to date in this particular category of moiré I have collected over the past two years the following:

moiré
irisé, e
scintillant (e)
étincelant
pétillant (e)
éclatant,
chatoyantes
brillait
miroiter

Just ran across another:
chatoyer

Like I said, it is total trivia.

Carmody wrote:
moiré
irisé, e
scintillant (e)
étincelant
pétillant (e)
éclatant,
chatoyantes
brillait
miroiter

I forget what language, but I was cleaning up my flashcards recently, and wondering about the English translations:

shiny
glittery
sparkly
shimmering
etc

Excellent point; thank you.

Here is my subjective guess re usage:

shiny- a car is shiny from its recent wax job

glittery-glittery eye shadow or a glittery dress

sparkly-at certain times of year the light on the lake sparkles

shimmering-we drove across the desert, through the shimmering heat haze.
etc