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May 20, 2020 00:24
4 yrs ago
54 viewers *
French term
qui se tient par mille fils tendus
French to English
Other
Government / Politics
I want to make sure I am grasping the proper meaning for the term "fils tendus" as "fils" cans have two meanings: "threads" and "sons". I want to make sure there is no cultural significance that I may be missing. Here is the full passage from a speech by French President Emanuel Macron delivered in October 2018.:
«nous ne sommes pas 66 millions d’individus séparés mais une nation qui se tient par mille fils tendus»
Thank you!
«nous ne sommes pas 66 millions d’individus séparés mais une nation qui se tient par mille fils tendus»
Thank you!
Proposed translations
(English)
References
| unbreakable threads |
Philippa Smith
|
Change log
May 20, 2020 17:10: Yolanda Broad changed "Term asked" from "\"qui se tient par mille fils tendus\"" to "qui se tient par mille fils tendus"
Proposed translations
-10
43 mins
Juan Arturo Blackmore Zerón
Mexico
Mexico
Works in field
Mexico
Confianza, certeza, creatividad.
Native in: Spanish (Variant: Mexican)
Works in: English to Spanish, Italian to Spanish, French to Spanish, and 6 more.
French term (edited):
"qui se tient par mille fils tendus"
which is made/formed by thousands of spread sons
... a nation which is made/formed by thousands of spread sons.
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Ben Gaia
: It's wires, not sons in this case.
1 hr
|
| disagree |
Carol Gullidge
: .... with Ben - not spread sons!
3 hrs
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| disagree |
Tony M
: Definitely 'threads' not 'sons' — the image if 'spread sons' would be wholly unsuitable, as well as meaningless.
6 hrs
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| disagree |
liz askew
: This makes zero sense.
7 hrs
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| disagree |
AllegroTrans
: Total nonsense!
9 hrs
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| disagree |
Nicky Over
: Definitely threads, not sons.
12 hrs
|
| disagree |
SafeTex
: Even if the French sometimes say "Fils de la Nation", "son" is not what is meant here.
19 hrs
|
| disagree |
Daryo
: when I try to picture what would "thousands of spread sons" look like... all I get is drawing a blank.
1 day 2 hrs
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| disagree |
Yvonne Gallagher
: ludicrous and meaningless
1 day 11 hrs
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| disagree |
Nènè Ananaba
: The phrase is not to be translated literally. Yours is..
2 days 14 hrs
|
-3
1 hr
Francois Boye
United States
United States
Native in French
United States
An economic geek with social skills
Native in: French 
Works in: English to French, French to English, Spanish to English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
16
French term (edited):
"qui se tient par mille fils tendus"
held by thousand stretched threads
my take
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Tony M
: 'stretched' sounds as if they might break, wheras the intention here is surely 'close-knit'; and also, the 'se' need rendering in the sense of 'together'
6 hrs
|
| disagree |
AllegroTrans
: "thousand" needs to be prefaced by either "one" or "a" - this is basic grammar
9 hrs
|
| disagree |
Daryo
: agree with Tony - it's about closely linked individuals, not about links between individuals that are about to break.
1 day 12 mins
|
+10
1 hr
French term (edited):
"qui se tient par mille fils tendus"
held together by a thousand tight threads
.Could be wires but threads sound more comfortable as far as the metaphor goes. Adding the word "together" in English makes a neat contrast with "separated".
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Carol Gullidge
: Prefer tight to stretched as it implies a firm bond
2 hrs
|
| agree |
erwan-l
2 hrs
|
| agree |
philgoddard
: That's more like it!
3 hrs
|
| agree |
Tony M
: And I'd prefer 'taut' to tight here too!
5 hrs
|
| agree |
Philippa Smith
: Tho' I'd use "unbreakable threads" (see my ref post) / And I like "bound together".
5 hrs
|
| agree |
polyglot45
: TAUT
7 hrs
|
| agree |
AllegroTrans
8 hrs
|
| agree |
Nicky Over
: I like 'unbreakable threads' and 'bound together' as well
11 hrs
|
| agree |
Timothy Rake
: I believe the rhetoric is/should be a bit more eloquent & figurative than literal: “...a thousand tightly woven threads”
11 hrs
|
| agree |
Daryo
: or any variation of the same - "...a thousand tightly woven threads" is a good one!
1 day 1 hr
|
+3
13 hrs
French term (edited):
\"qui se tient par mille fils tendus\"
joined by a thousand strong threads
This is a less literal translation because "held together" sounds a bit ephemeral to me, as if the tendency is to break apart. I doubt that's what Macron wanted to put across.
And I've used "strong" in place of "tight" because there's a bit too much alliteration for my taste in "thousand tight threads."
And I've used "strong" in place of "tight" because there's a bit too much alliteration for my taste in "thousand tight threads."
2 days 15 hrs
Nènè Ananaba
United States
United States
Native in English
Specializes in field
United States
Intl. Affairs & Policy specialist
Native in: English 
, Igbo
Works in: French to English, English to French
that is united through unbreakable cords
This reminds me of a biblical passage "A cord of three strands is not easily broken'. Thus referring or evoking an image relating to to the ties and bonds that hold societies and people together
Reference comments
7 hrs
Philippa Smith
Native in English
Works in field
29 years turning out perfect English
Native in: English (Variant: British)
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English
Related KudoZ points
:
16
Reference:
unbreakable threads
"Une référence aux « mille fils confiants dont pas un ne devait se rompre », évoqués dans Les feuillets d’Hypnos par René Char, l’un de ses poètes préférés, pour raconter la résistance d’un village français face aux SS."
So I see it as "unbreakable" (implied) threads that bind us all together" ("tendus" in the sense of "that stretch between each of us, rather than "tight").
So I see it as "unbreakable" (implied) threads that bind us all together" ("tendus" in the sense of "that stretch between each of us, rather than "tight").
Note from asker:
| Thanks so much. I figured there was a reference there, somewhere. Makes perfect sense. |
Peer comments on this reference comment:
| agree |
ph-b (X)
5 mins
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Thanks ph-b!
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| agree |
writeaway
: omits any hint of pain and/or strangulation
43 mins
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Haha! Yeah, probably not the sort of vibe he wanted to put across, en "bon père de la nation"! ;-)
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| agree |
Daryo
17 hrs
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Thanks Daryo!
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| agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
: "unbreakable threads that bind us all together" would work well as an answer
1 day 4 hrs
|
| agree |
AllegroTrans
1 day 5 hrs
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Discussion