lundi 17 mars 2008
The more I (sorta) learn another language, the more am I amazed at how many concepts, words, phrases, expressions etc. in one language don't (in my opinion) have a proper translation into the other language.
For example:
In English: lonely
I don't feel that there is really a good way in French to translate this concept.
Using the French-English dictionaries, I get
"I feel alone today"
"I am isolated"
"I am sad"
Well, I can be alone or isolated without feeling lonely. I can be lonely and sad, but sad isn't necessarily lonely, and lonely isn't necessarily sad.
Other translations given are: solitary, suffering from solitudness, desolate, and rarely frequented.
"I am feeling rarely frequented today". (wait, that doesn't sound right)
Other examples?
For example:
In English: lonely
I don't feel that there is really a good way in French to translate this concept.
Using the French-English dictionaries, I get
"I feel alone today"
"I am isolated"
"I am sad"
Well, I can be alone or isolated without feeling lonely. I can be lonely and sad, but sad isn't necessarily lonely, and lonely isn't necessarily sad.
Other translations given are: solitary, suffering from solitudness, desolate, and rarely frequented.
"I am feeling rarely frequented today". (wait, that doesn't sound right)
Other examples?
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5 commentaires:
This is what WordReference.com had to say: http://www.wordreference.com/enfr/lonely
From the top of my mind, I'd say "se sentir seul(e)" for to be lonely...
Other examples?
Tons... (but as usual, I suck with coming up with examples without a context) :-)
try "seul(e)"... pretty much exactly what you're looking for. trust me, the concept of lonely very much exists in france...
"seul(e)" translates more as "alone", not "lonely" which is not only a state, but also a feeling, hence the "se sentir" added to it.
The concept of lonely exists in France for sure, but we use two words to express it where only one is necessary in English.
Ha ha! Rarely frequented...I like it, I might start teaching it to my English students!