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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

sclérosé

English translation:

sclerotic

Added to glossary by philgoddard
Jun 23, 2014 21:23
10 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term

sclérosé

French to English Social Sciences Marketing survey on Europe
• Si, spontanément la qualité de vie en France est jugée plutôt bonne, ces premières impressions positives sont vite contrebalancées par des discours très négatifs à l’égard d’un pays perçu comme profondément sclérosé, en crise et en perte de vitesse.

Any good ieas for sclérosé ?
Proposed translations (English)
4 +3 sclerotic
3 +2 (hopelessly) in a rut
3 +1 creaking at the seams
4 stuck in the mud
3 +1 paralyzed
4 debilitated/enfeebled
4 stuck in its ways
3 ossified
3 in a quagmire
3 chronically lacking in vitality
Change log

Aug 25, 2014 00:51: philgoddard Created KOG entry

Discussion

ormiston (asker) Jun 30, 2014:
many good ideas, thank you all especially the references to chronically / bogged down, etc.
Simon Charass Jun 23, 2014:
@ ormiston A few possibilities: stagnant; inert; static; motionless; frozen.
writeaway Jun 23, 2014:
have you ruled out fossilized or something thereabouts? what ideas do you have?

Proposed translations

+3
14 mins
Selected

sclerotic

There's an exact equivalent in English, so you might as well use it.

Sclerotic
1. Medicine: Of or having sclerosis.
2. Becoming rigid and unresponsive; losing the ability to adapt: sclerotic management
Reference:

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/sclerotic

Peer comment(s):
agree nweatherdon : I often see this used in English [most especially relating to the economy and the situation of an economy - edit]. Well, often enough that I immediately thought the English analogue was most likely appropriate. And it seems it is.
3 hrs
agree Sheri P
5 hrs
neutral Nikki Scott-Despaigne : This is of course "right", but I would argue that it is simply not used to anything like the same extent as the French use "sclérosé". Ex. "pays sclérosé" almost 6K Ghits; "sclerotic country 560 Ghits. A less natural choice in EN.
13 hrs
agree Dominic D : I think it would depend on the target audience. In France one hears the term very often but I think in EN it would be considered as quite literary and understood immediately by a well educated reader but difficult for less well read audiences
1 day 1 hr
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+1
8 mins

creaking at the seams

One among tons of possibilities!

http://dictionnaire.reverso.net/francais-definition/sclérose...

au sens figuré : engourdir, empêcher l'évolution





Peer comment(s):
agree writeaway : agree-tons of ways to go. this is one. thesaurus time everyone!
1 hr
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8 mins

ossified

-
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14 hrs

stuck in the mud

Partly with atherosclerosis (fatty deposits in blood vessels) in mind, but also in its main sense of old-fashioned, fossilised, conservative.
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+1
15 hrs

paralyzed

This was the 1st thing that came to mind when I read your sentence.
I know it's not quite what it says in French, but I think it's what it means.
Peer comment(s):
agree Mpoma : yes, better than "sclerotic"... trouble is that "paralysed" is a bit too strong, even for the state of France!
1 day 3 hrs
Is it? ;-) Thanks!
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+2
16 hrs

(hopelessly) in a rut

whose get up and go has got up and gone

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Note added at 16 hrs (2014-06-24 14:12:18 GMT)
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what about "mummified" ?

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Note added at 16 hrs (2014-06-24 14:12:52 GMT)
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or completely antedeluvian
Note from asker:
I thought I had voted for this answer
Peer comment(s):
agree Mpoma : "mummified"! Wonderful, hilarious! Not sure about "antediluvian": surely T-Rex could move quite fast when peckish...
1 day 2 hrs
agree writeaway
5 days
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20 hrs

in a quagmire

or alternatively, "bogged down" but then I would prefer to continue the sentence ie "...bogged down in bureaucracy" or whatever.

In a quagmire does not need anything to be added
Reference:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/quagmire

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1 day 18 hrs

chronically lacking in vitality

sorry, sorry, bit of a mouthful, I know. I love this phrase "sclérosé" here, for its horrific suggestion of someone sitting in a bath chair, gradually curling up on themselves, with a terminal medical condition for which there is no cure! Very Baudelaire, dare I say. Hence the choice of "chronically". I hope someone else can come up with a "snappier" phrase. I don't think "sclerotic" works though - figurative use too unusual in EN...
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2 days 20 hrs

debilitated/enfeebled

I think "sclerotic" is only for the most literate of readers and certainly not commonly used. These used and understood by more people I'd say with the advantage of showing a country lacking seemingly lacking vitality...as Mpoma has put

diminished, or crippled perhaps or even "hobbled"

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3 days 15 hrs

stuck in its ways

Another way to go.
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