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English to French: Mona and the Promised Land, Gish Jen.
Source text - English Excerpt from Gish Jen’s Mona and the Promised Land (1996)
Mona gets flipped
There they are, nice Chinese family—father, mother, two born-here girls. Where should they live next? The parents slide the question back and forth like a cup of ginseng neither one wants to drink. Until finally it comes to them: what they really want is a milk shake (chocolate), and to go with it a house in Scarshill. What else? The broker hints patiently, in a big round voice; she could have modeled her elocution on the cannonball. ‘The neighborhood!’ she says, appreciating herself in the visor mirror. Her enunciation is something for someone doing her lips while she talks. Now she smooths her French twist. In smell she is cultivated, this realtor, a real Channel No. 5; however, she is married to a conspicuously hairy husband, as the minor Changs know via spying skills and nosiness. She powders her nose. ‘Moneyed! Many delis!’ In other words, rich and Jewish, she! for one! would rather live elsewhere!
This is such a nice thing to say, even the Changs know to be offended, they think, on behalf of all three Jewish people they know, even if one of them they’re not sure about. Still, someone has sent the parents a list of the top ten schools nationwide, and so many-deli or not, they settle into a Dutch colonial on the Bronx River Parkway. For they’re the New Jews, afer all, a model minority and Great American Success. They know they belong in the promised land.
Or do they? In fact, it’s only 1968; the blushing dawn of ethnic awareness has yet to pink up their inky suburban night. They have an idea about the blacks because of poor Martin Luther King. More distantly perceived is that the Jews have become The Jews, on account of the Six Day War; much less that they, the Changs, are The New Jews. They are just smitten with the educational opportunity before them—that golden student-teacher ratio—and also with the dumb majesty of the landcasping. Three giant azaleas they have now, not to say a rhododendron the size of their old bathroom, and in addition a topographical feature of forsythia. Two foothills of the forsythia they are moved to address immediately with hedge clippers (feeling quite hardy and pioneering, Westward ho! and all that), only to discover that to render your forsythia into a little can shapes is in this town considered gauche. And so they desist. Leaving an effect, as their nice new neighbor, Mr 20-20, helpfully points out. Older sister Callie dubs it Two Small Cans with Wild Mountain Range.
Translation - French
Bouleversements
Et la voici, cette jolie petite famille chinoise, le père, la mère et les deux filles nées dans ce pays. Où faudrait-il qu’ils s’installent maintenant ? Les parents se renvoient mutuellement la question, telle une tasse d’infusion au ginseng qu’aucun d’eux ne voudrait boire. Jusqu’à ce que finalement, la lumière se fasse : ils ont vraiment envie d’un milk-shake (de préférence au chocolat), et de la maison qui va avec, à Scarshill. Que désirer d’autre ? L’agent immobilier leur suggère patiemment « le voisinage » , d’une voix claire et la bouche tellement ronde qu’on pourrait croire qu’elle a pris des cours d’élocution avec une boulet de canon dans la bouche. Elle s’admire dans le rétroviseur en leur parlant, et sa diction est impressionnante pour quelqu’un qui se farde les lèvres et parle en même temps. La voilà maintenant qui remet en place son chignon. Son odeur est celle d’une femme distinguée, une vraie Coco Chanel ; cependant, comme les Chang l’ont découvert grâce à leurs talents d’espions un peu fouineurs, elle est mariée à un homme très poilu. Elle ajoute en se repoudrant le nez : « très nouveau riche ! Beaucoup de petits traiteurs ! » En d’autres mots, un quartier riche et juif et elle, c’est sûr, préfèrerait vivre ailleurs !
C’est gentil de les prévenir, même si les Chang se disent qu’ils devraient être choqués par ces propos, par respect pour les trois personnes juives qu’ils connaissent (même s’ils ne sont pas sûrs de la religion de l’une d’entre elles). Il n’empêche qu’on a envoyé aux parents la liste des dix meilleures écoles nationales, et que petits traiteurs ou non, ils se sont installés dans une maison de type colonial hollandais, sur la River Bronx Parkway. Après tout, ce sont les Nouveaux Juifs, minorité modèle et Grande Réussite Américaine. Ils savent que leur place est sur la Terre Promise.
Mais le savent-ils vraiment ? Nous ne sommes qu’en 1968 ; l’aube rosée de la prise de conscience ethnique n’a pas encore éclairé la nuit sombre de leur banlieue. Ils connaissent un peu les noirs à cause de ce pauvre Martin Luther King. Ils réalisent moins bien que depuis la Guerre des Six Jours, les juifs sont devenus le Peuple Juif, et encore moins qu’eux, les Chang, sont les Nouveaux Juifs. Les opportunités éducatives qui s’étalent devant eux (notamment le merveilleux taux d’encadrement scolaire les fascinent, tout comme le paysage majestueux de la banlieue, et c’est tout ce qu’ils voient pour le moment. C’est qu’ils ont trois azalées géantes maintenant, sans parler d’un rhododendron qui a la taille de leur ancienne salle de bains, et un buisson de forsythias ! Ils ont attaqué avec émotion deux contreforts de forsythia à grands coups de sécateurs, se sentant comme les Pionniers à la conquête du Grand Ouest, avant de découvrir que dans cette ville, il était considéré comme maladroit de tailler ses forsythias en forme de petites boîtes de conserve. Ils se sont donc arrêtés dans leur élan, créant ainsi un « effet », comme leur a gentiment fait remarquer leur nouveau voisin au numéro 2020. La sœur aînée Callie appelle leur oeuvre Les Deux Petites Boîtes et la Chaîne des Montagnes Sauvages.
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Translation education
Other - IoL DipTrans
Experience
Years of experience: 15. Registered at ProZ.com: Apr 2008. Became a member: Feb 2009.
Credentials
English to French (Chartered Institute of Linguists, verified) English to French (CELTA)
Where do I come from?
I set up my own business back in 2009 as an English into French translator... I have a strong linguistic background: two long expatriations in anglophone countries (UK and US), British education (BA, MA and CELTA), and I worked as an EFL teacher before becoming a translator. I also passed the Institute of Linguists' Diploma in Translation in 2009, earning two merits (General and Literature papers) and one distinction (Social Science paper).
Before moving into languages in 2004, I worked for a few years as an HR Manager within international companies.
What can I do?
I can translate a wide variety of documents. My main fields are HR, Social Science, and International Organisations, but I can also work on different topics. Here are some exemple of documents I've translated in my main fields of expertise:
European Union:
- Reports on EU policies, translation of notifications, messages, impact assessments and regulations for the European Commission, DG Entreprise (100 000+ words translated to date, very technical contents),
- Translation of evaluation assessments, programme reports and brochures for the DG Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion and for the DG Resarch and Innovation (80 000+ words translated to date),
- Translation of European poll reports (80 000 words).
International Organisations and NGOs:
- Translation of websites, official reports, training documents, compliance assessments, evaluation tools and guidance sheets for ILO's projects in various developing countries (100 000+ words translated to date, working conditions and economic development fields),
- Translation of macroeconomics reports and development reports for African countries (end client: The World Bank)
- Translator Without Borders volunteer translator: translation of documentation in the international aid area (+/- 50 000 words translated to date).
Human Resources:
- Translation of training documents for employees and managers of an international sports company (80 000 words translated),
- Translation of a career management tool for an international IT company (50 000 words translated),
- Translation of induction and training manuals for various European companies (50 000 words),
- Translation of websites, internal bulletins, press releases relating to HR.
Published translations: "Hockney, la bio-graphique" (Larousse 2024), "Warhol, la bio-graphique" (Larousse 2024)"Saints, une figure inspirante pour chaque jour de l'année" (Larousse 2022), "Drôles de cartes, le monde comme vous ne l'avez jamais vu" (Larousse 2021), "A la fin de ce livre, vous saurez dessiner des mangas" (Dessain et Tolra, 2019, 2021)
How do I do it?
My priority when translating a text, beyond accuracy is to stay faithful to your work while adapting to the cultural background of the recipient. To say it differently, I drink tea while reading a British text, and switch to coffee when I rewrite it in French ;) That's a real challenge, and what makes my work more interesting! I also research extensively to be sure to get the most out of your text. I create glossaries when working on technical documents, and use different EU databases for technical or policy related translations.
Is it expensive?
My rates are available upon request, but I'm fairly flexible and will work around your budget, so do not hesitate to contact me!
What could your next step be?
Want to learn more? Just send me an email and I'll answer it shortly. Alternatively, you are welcome to visit my website at Frog Translation
Keywords: HR, Human Resources, Social Science, Politics, Modern Literature, British culture, American culture, European History, EFL, Education. See more.HR, Human Resources, Social Science, Politics, Modern Literature, British culture, American culture, European History, EFL, Education, Pedagogy, IoL, Diploma in Translation, EU, EU institutions, EU reports, EU questions RH, Ressources Humaines, Sciences sociales, relations internationales, sciences politiques, littérature anglo-saxonne contemporaine, histoire européenne, anglais langue étrangère, éducation, pédagogie, UE, Union européenne, questions européennes, institutions européennes, rapports de l'UE. See less.
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