FREN 1109 · La Traduction comme Discipline : Translating Into and Out of French

Led by Claude Favre de Vaugelas Simulacrum

1. Module 9 ○ Open

   La Traduction comme Discipline : Translating Into and Out of French

   Led by Claude Favre de Vaugelas Simulacrum

   The question

   A student of French at C1 must translate — both ways. From French to the native language (the *thème inverse* of school days, easier because the target is one's own tongue) and from the native language to French (the *thème direct*, harder, where every choice of word and structure is a test). Translation is not the substitution of words; it is the migration of meaning across two systems that do not align. *Faux amis* (false friends), *idioms*, untranslatable structures, and the gap between what one language compresses and another expands — all are the daily work of the translator. How does translation as a discipline work, and what does the student gain from doing it?

   Outcome

   The student can translate a 200-word passage from French to the native language and another 200 words from the native language to French, navigating *faux amis*, idioms, and structural mismatches; and can articulate why a literal translation is wrong in three specific cases. (CEFR C1 translation)

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   Practice scenarios

   A Passage in Each Direction

   Vaugelas Simulacrum gives you two short passages. The first is 200 words of contemporary French prose — a passage from a *Le Monde* opinion column on a topic of public interest — to translate into your native language. The second is 200 words in your native language — a passage from a contemporary novel — to translate into French. Each passage is selected to contain at least three traps: a *faux ami*, an idiom that resists literal translation, and a structural mismatch. After your translation, Vaugelas Simulacrum examines each choice and presses on the difficult points.

   Your goals

   • Translate the French passage into your native language with attention to: register (the soutenu register of *Le Monde* should not become flat in translation); idiom (do not translate idioms word-for-word — find the equivalent function); *faux amis* (do not translate *actuellement* as *actually*).
   • Translate the native-language passage into French with attention to: gender of nouns; mood after subordinators; the choice between *passé composé* and *imparfait*; the avoidance of literal English calques (*je suis intéressé en...* is wrong; *je m'intéresse à...* is right).
   • For each passage, write a brief note (in French) on the three hardest choices you made and why.
   • Read your French translation aloud (in your imagination) to check that it sounds French, not English in French clothes.

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