Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

Sie san a heu bei der Franzos.

English translation:

Sie sind ein halber Franzose

Added to glossary by Nick Brisland, BA (Hons)
Sep 29, 2017 10:29
7 yrs ago
German term

Sie san a heu bei der Franzos.

German to English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters Bavarian dialect
This is a passage in a book telling of the cross-cultural nature of a German businessman who went to Bavaria to meet a Bavarian businessman.

It's probably easier if I copy the passage here to give you an idea of the context:

So geschah es zumindest beim Einkaufsleiter eines bayrischen Großhändlers, den mein Vater in den Fünfzigerjahren für uns zu gewinnen versuchte.
Der Mann war bekannt für sein knorriges Bayrisch, also reiste mein Vater extra einen Tag vor dem Termin nach München, um sich in den Dialekt einzuhören.
Später, als man sich näher kennen und schätzen gelernt hatte, gestand der Bayer meinem Vater:
»Wissen’s, Herr [name removed], i hab mir lang überlegt was Sie für an Lands- mann san.
A Bayer sans net, des hört man.
A Preiss sans a net.
Dafür sans zu sympathisch.
Ich hab mir lang überlegt was Sie für an Landsmann san.
Sie san a heu bei der Franzos.«

The joke here being that the father was from Saarland which had just recently been ceded from France to Germany and as such was a mixture of the two cultures.

I'm a little confused at the last line of Bavarian: "Sie sind ein Heu bei der Franzosen". Does the Bavarian man think he is French or not?

I appreciate there is a lot here - if anything is unclear, just ask!
Proposed translations (English)
2 +7 Sie sind ein halber Franzose

Discussion

Birgit Gläser Sep 29, 2017:
Bavaria is part of Germany... Being from Northern Germany I am reading it as "Sie sind ab heute bei den Franzosen" or "From today on, you are French" as in he is declaring him a Frenchman because he does not like people from other regions, but I think the suggestion below also has a lot of merit :-D
BrigitteHilgner Sep 29, 2017:
I am no Bavarian ... so don't rely on my opinion, wait for more comments.
I don't think "heu" means "hay", it is probably short for "heuer" which means "this year".
the "a" just before "heu" is probably short for "auch".
My interpretation of the whole: This year (nowadays?) you (the region where you live) are part of France/the French people.
Incidentally: the Saarland (I lived there from Dec. 1959 to Jan. 1978) was and is German/German speaking, only a small minority wished to remain part of France (it was under French control from 1945 - 1956) in the plebiscite.

Proposed translations

+7
7 mins
Selected

Sie sind ein halber Franzose

Alles andere ergibt eigentlich keinen Sinn. Allerdings müsste es eher auf Bairisch so heißen:
Sie san a hoiber Franzos.
Daher nur Confidence level Low ...
Peer comment(s):

agree Thomas Pfann : Beim stillen Lesen wäre ich nicht draufgekommen, aber wenn man es laut sagt, wird es klar (es hätte nur etwas anders geschrieben werden müssen): Sie san a hoibada Franzos. – Sie sind ein halber Franzose.
11 mins
agree writeaway : I love listening to Bavarian dialects. I lived among Badisch/Schwäbisch dialects for 10 years.
42 mins
agree Eleanore Strauss : same as Thomas... when I said it aloud, I realized that ... Bavarian dialect is similar to Wienerisch... which I grew up with
1 hr
agree Susanne Schiewe
3 hrs
agree AllegroTrans
4 hrs
agree Anne Schulz : genau, a hoibada Franzos
10 hrs
agree Wenke Geddert : hoibada
21 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks. I used this as it's fits in well with the theme of the text (exploring Franco-German relations)."
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