Jun 24, 2003 14:33
21 yrs ago
3 viewers *
French term

comme toute attente

French to English Other general/politics
Le 1 janvier, il est refoulé a [ville] tout en se reconnaissant innocent. Comme cela ne suffisait pas, le 2 janvier et le 3 janvier, il comparait devant la justice.
Comme toute attente, le 4 janvier, X se retrouve au centre penitentiaire. Fin juillet, il s'est évadé de prison.
Proposed translations (English)
5 +4 Against every expectation
4 +6 as expected
5 +2 "contrary to all expectations"

Proposed translations

+4
2 mins
Selected

Against every expectation

CONTRE toute attente

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Note added at 2003-06-24 14:39:43 (GMT)
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Contre toute attente=against every expectation

comme attendu=as expected


do you have a text that is pdf and hard to read? What are the words, can you look again?

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Note added at 2003-06-24 14:43:47 (GMT)
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OR Itr can also mean:

comme toute attente: LIKE ALL EXPECTATIONS

Is this a police report? That would explain the odd French. Sometimes the police can\'t write their way out of a paper bag....

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Note added at 2003-06-24 14:44:47 (GMT)
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I believe if it is, they mean to say, as expected [comme attendu] but instead said comme toute attente.

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Note added at 2003-06-24 15:13:16 (GMT)
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Actually, this kind of thing, is known in French as \"français de concierge\" where the person does not quite know the phrase and tries to sound more high fallutin\' than she or he is....

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Note added at 2003-06-24 15:15:15 (GMT)
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Final translation [if those are the exact words]

\"As every expectation [sic]\"

that shows that what the person actually wrote is that and let the reader figure it out. This is the correct way to point this out in a legal translation, a translation dealing with legal matters.

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Note added at 2003-06-24 20:08:31 (GMT)
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Please note: in translating court or police or legal documents, you have to be careful NOT TO MAKE IT RIGHT. You have to say what the original says. If you start MAKING IT RIGHT, you could in fact be an accessory after the fact in legal terms.

Why is everybody SO obsessed with \"correct\" language. In a court case, what is correct is not what is sought in a translation, it\'s what\'s there....and if some policeman/woman writes in have cocked way, by god, that\'s how it needs to be translated. Since when did we become the editors of the French police??

NOW, obviously the issue is one of CONTEXT. Gees, I\'m gonna have to write a book on this....

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Note added at 2003-06-24 20:08:59 (GMT)
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above: in a half-cocked way
Peer comment(s):

agree Sylvie Barnet
3 mins
agree Yolanda Broad : "as expected"
15 mins
agree Bourth (X) : French definitelly funny. "tout en se reconnaissant innocent" odd as well.
1 hr
I've been doing quite a few of these lately and the Français de concierge of the French cops can be hilarious. The same is true here by the way though I don't do those.
neutral Marie-Ange Somdah : I don't know. In my opinion, there is a wrong wording here. "Comme toute attente" doen't make sense to me here. Could you please check the source and give more elements regarding the context?
2 hrs
who me?
agree Jacques Ampolini : Yes; CONTRE
10 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you. I finally decided on "as expected". It's not a legal text, it's a newspaper article, abominably written. But I don't think one has a duty to convey accurately the meaninglessness of the original in a newspaper. I take your point about legal or police texts. And the original is not PDF or difficult to read! Thanks also to Elisabeth."
+6
3 mins

as expected

I'd say
Peer comment(s):

agree Roddy Stegemann : Ou bien, just as expected.
10 mins
agree Yolanda Broad
14 mins
agree LJC (X) : the way I read it is that the guy says he is innocent, goes to court on 2 & 3 Jan, then, as expected (probably because everyone thought he was guilty), was sent to prison the next day. He then escaped from prison in July.
1 hr
agree sminx : much better!
2 hrs
agree Philip Bull : no need to translate bad French into bad English here -- not a bad idea to double-check with the source to be sure, though
3 hrs
agree genevieve elliott (X)
7 hrs
Something went wrong...
+2
25 mins

"contrary to all expectations"

The French is nonsense. Either it is, as earlier suggested "contre toute attente" whence the above translation, or it should be "as expected" but only the context can help you

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Note added at 2003-06-24 15:00:05 (GMT)
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PS I just cannot believe \"as expected\" can be what is meant. The French is SO appalling!
Peer comment(s):

agree Sylvie Barnet : Should be "contre toute attente", "comme toute attente" does not mean anything.
1 hr
agree Nerzh
4 hrs
Something went wrong...
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