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Apr 22, 2014 16:31
10 yrs ago
English term

The Man Who Would Teach Machines to Think

English to French Science Science (general) Artificial intelligence
I am experiencing some problems in translating this heading.

"The Man Who Would Teach Machines to Think"

I translated it this way but I think the tense is not right.

L’homme qui voudrait enseigner l’art de penser aux machines.


If anyone could give me some feedback that would be great.


Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/11/the-man-...
Proposed translations (French)
4 l'homme qui enseignerait aux machines l'art de la réfléxion
4 +3 L'homme qui voulait apprendre aux machines à penser
4 +2 l'homme qui veut apprendre à penser aux machines

Discussion

Anca Florescu-Mitchell Apr 24, 2014:
Oui Thomas, justement nous sommes d'accord :)! Mais je ne pensais pas du tout en termes d'hiérarchie. C'est/c'était sur l'imparfait que je garde/gardais des doutes.
Thomas Rebotier Apr 24, 2014:
Oui Anca, j'ai utilisé "souhaiterait" parce que quand on pose une telle question en se réservant d'agréer ou non au choix indiqué par la personne, il d'usage d'utiliser le conditionnel. Un valet à son maitre utilise le présent, un chef à ses subordonnés le conditionnel--pour la même question.
Anca Florescu-Mitchell Apr 24, 2014:
@ Thomas Je ne peux pas m'empêcher, mais vous avez utilisé 'souhaiterait" naturellement, de la même façon qu'on aurait pu l'utiliser dans la traduction (l'homme qui souhaiterait/voudrait/aimerait apprendre...). Parce que ce n'est pas encore fait, c'est plutôt vers le futur et non vers le passé qu'il faut tourner l'idée :). Ceci dit, je suis curieuse aussi si on a posé la question a DH!
Thomas Rebotier Apr 24, 2014:
Juste curieux, Asnya,avez-vous finalement demandé à DH ce qu'il souhaiterait ? N'ayez pas peur, vraiment, il est très francophile
Anca Florescu-Mitchell Apr 22, 2014:
@ Tony It is an expression of an imaginary possibility, as in "I would be the doctor, and you would be the patient". In both languages, it is not conditional in its meaning.
Thomas Rebotier Apr 22, 2014:
@Tony: en gros, d'accord. D'ailleurs je me lance, au présent, tant pis pour l'imparfait, pas besoin quand même de trop singer le titre d'oliver sacks...
Anca Florescu-Mitchell Apr 22, 2014:
@ Thomas Oui, mais, pensez au titre en anglais (The Man who mistook his wife for a hat). Le conditionnel est moins littéraire que l'imparfait, mais plus exact. Dans ce cas, bien sûr. Mais effectivement, un autre titre est une meilleure idée.
Tony M Apr 22, 2014:
@ Thomas That's slightly the point: whatever tense it is, it is not the conditional here!
One can understand it as 'was in the habit of' (= habitual past tense), or as 'wanted to' (would = formal past tense of to want, cf. similar usage with 'could'), or that lovely 'future in the past' ('the man who would later go on to...') rendered by the simple future in FR.
But there is no sense I can see here for it to be conditional...
Thomas Rebotier Apr 22, 2014:
conditionnel ou imparfait? Anca has a point, and yet, for the sake of reminescence only, I think imperfect would sound better. The refeerence here being Oliver Sacks "L'homme qui prenait sa femme pour un chapeau".
Why not consult DH himself on the topic? I think he was very much involved when Bob French translated GEB to French.
Anca Florescu-Mitchell Apr 22, 2014:
@ CMGT Of course, a better title than a literal translation is an option the asker is aware of. However, his first suggestion was perfectly correct: "voudrait enseigner" (or "aimerait enseigner" because he would, if he could :).
CMGT Apr 22, 2014:
I don't see why it should be translated "l'art de penser" either that's not what the text reads. To me what matters is the way to translate "would" which does not mean "voudrait" or "aimerait" but is an auxiliary verb to teach. I was thinking whether it could refer to his lifelong quest and be translated using the imparfait tense like a lifelong habit. But reading the article, it does not appear to me that he actually tried all his life long to teach machines how to think. He rather designed ways or methods that might achieve such goal. Therefore, I think that "would" should read "if he tries to, he will succeed" which could translate in France "L'homme grâce à qui les machines deviendraient intelligentes" or "l'homme qui donnerait un esprit aux machines" or even "l'homme capable de rendre les machines intelligentes".
Anca Florescu-Mitchell Apr 22, 2014:
Your translation is correct "voudrait"; or "aimerait". Because Douglas Hofstader is very much alive and did not give up (t)his idea.
PLR TRADUZIO (X) Apr 22, 2014:
L’homme qui voulut enseigner aux machines à penser.
Pourquoi "l'art" ?
Tony M Apr 22, 2014:
would Might mean 'wanted to', or it might mean 'was going to' — depends probably on your actual context.
François Leplus Apr 22, 2014:
Sug. Je traduirais plutôt par:
L’homme qui voulut enseigner l’art de penser aux machines.
ou
L’homme qui voulut faire penser les machines. (mais ici on s'éloigne peut-être trop du sens initial).

Proposed translations

1 hr
Selected

l'homme qui enseignerait aux machines l'art de la réfléxion

il faut utiliser le verbe au conditionnel afin de marquer le "would" en anglais
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks Loubna "
+2
1 hr

l'homme qui veut apprendre à penser aux machines

Voir discussion.
Peer comment(s):
agree GILLES MEUNIER
12 hrs
Merci Gilou !
agree Bertrand Leduc
2 days 21 mins
Something went wrong...
+3
12 hrs

L'homme qui voulait apprendre aux machines à penser

"The Man Who Would Be King - Wikipedia, the free ...
htt://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Would_Be_King‎
"The Man Who Would Be King" (1888) is a novella by Rudyard Kipling. It is about two British adventurers in British India who become kings of Kafiristan, .."

"Rudyard Kipling — Wikipédia
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudyard_Kipling‎Translate this page
... Gunga Din (1890), et Tu seras un homme, mon fils (1910) sont parmi les plus célèbres) et de nouvelles, dont L'Homme qui voulait être Roi (1888) et le recueil ..."

sometimes translated "voulut" in this particular case, but Hofstader is 69, and obviously has not given up yet.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day23 hrs (2014-04-24 16:17:49 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I find it hard to believe that the journalist writing the article was not consciously referring to the Kipling story and the movie based on it. Therefore, to miss the reference in the translation misses something essential, IMO.
Peer comment(s):
agree Igor Jaramaz
30 mins
merci!
agree Sandra Mouton : Clairement, pour l'imparfait et non le conditionnel.
4 hrs
merci!
agree Jocelyne Cuenin
2 days 11 hrs
merci!
Something went wrong...
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