Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
une camionnette "tube" Citroen
English translation:
Citroen Type H Van
Added to glossary by
Jenny Duthie
Jan 1, 2008 17:47
16 yrs ago
French term
une camionnette "tube" Citroen
French to English
Art/Literary
Cinema, Film, TV, Drama
Hi this is from a screenplay I'm translating about a series of murders in the Cévennes in France. What I'm stuck on is how to translate "tube" - my partner who is French suggests it just means a long van/truck but I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions, thanks. NB this is the only time the vehicle is mentioned; we are not given a model name; this is all the info I have to go on. This is from a conversation between two cops about a suspected murder:
"Le 7 novembre 1986, une camionnette “tube” Citroën percute une Renault 4RL qui sort de la route. Les passagers meurent sur le coup."
"Le 7 novembre 1986, une camionnette “tube” Citroën percute une Renault 4RL qui sort de la route. Les passagers meurent sur le coup."
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 | Citroen Type H Van |
camagni
|
| 5 | tube |
Speakering (X)
|
| 4 | Citroë Type H "Tube" |
Sheila Wilson
|
| 4 | comment - NFG |
Bourth (X)
|
Proposed translations
39 mins
Selected
Citroen Type H Van
"tube" is the French nickname for this van model/series of models
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "thanks this is the one I chose in the end although "tube" is English I didn't want to put it in the text"
12 mins
Sheila Wilson
Spain
Spain
Native in English
Spain
20 years producing 100% natural English
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: English, French to English
Related KudoZ points
:
3
Citroë Type H "Tube"
See link:
Transport > Camion Voyage, Photos, Images Libres de droits. ... Citroën Type H (surnommé "Tube", du nom de son prédécesseur), ...
fr.filopix.com/hp/?phase=2b&u=Transport&id_pere=486
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Note added at 12 mins (2008-01-01 18:00:49 GMT)
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Should of course be CitröeN
Transport > Camion Voyage, Photos, Images Libres de droits. ... Citroën Type H (surnommé "Tube", du nom de son prédécesseur), ...
fr.filopix.com/hp/?phase=2b&u=Transport&id_pere=486
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 mins (2008-01-01 18:00:49 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Should of course be CitröeN
1 hr
comment - NFG
I don't think there is much point in translating it. "Tube" is full of meaning for a French audience, but however you translate it, without going into excruciating detail, it will be meaningless to an international readership.
If talking to non-French people, I always refer to them as "Mission Impossible" vans, if you are old enough to have seen the TV series rather than the films. Just as in the 1980s, for the film "Firefox" (where Clint Eastwood (?) hijacks an advanced Russian fighter plane) a street of "Moscow" was in fact a Paris street (full of foreign-looking (for Americans) parked cars, with the Russian Orthodox Church in the background), so in the 1970s for Mission Impossible, wherever they happened to be they seemed to rely on this good old Citroen workhorse for transport - because it looked quaint/primitive/Unamerican and FOREIGN, with its funny little snout and corrugated panels.
Just "Citroën van" or "large C. van" or "large 1970s C. van" (see production dates below).
Le Citroën Type H est un fourgon automobile produit entre 1947 et 1981 à 473 289 exemplaires.
Chez Citroën on parlait déjà avant la guerre d'un nouveau véhicule utilitaire qui remplacerait son prédécesseur. On voulait gagner du poids et de la place et puis le Citroën TUB avait un défaut, s'il n'était pas chargé à l'arrière il relevait du cul.
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroën_Type_H
The H series known as "tube" was therefore named after its predecessor, the TUB model :
Les TUB (Traction Utilitaire Basse) et TUC (Traction Utilitaire de type C) de Citroën étaient les camions légers dérivés de la Traction Avant et produits par Citroën de 1939 à 1941. Le TUB est le premier véhicule utilitaire jamais équipé d'une porte coulissante latérale et d'un plancher de charge le plus bas possible
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroën_TUB
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Note added at 1 hr (2008-01-01 19:43:29 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Mais le bon gros "Tube", comme on le surnomme à cause de son prédécesseur, n'a pas de rivaux et http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroën_Type_H
If talking to non-French people, I always refer to them as "Mission Impossible" vans, if you are old enough to have seen the TV series rather than the films. Just as in the 1980s, for the film "Firefox" (where Clint Eastwood (?) hijacks an advanced Russian fighter plane) a street of "Moscow" was in fact a Paris street (full of foreign-looking (for Americans) parked cars, with the Russian Orthodox Church in the background), so in the 1970s for Mission Impossible, wherever they happened to be they seemed to rely on this good old Citroen workhorse for transport - because it looked quaint/primitive/Unamerican and FOREIGN, with its funny little snout and corrugated panels.
Just "Citroën van" or "large C. van" or "large 1970s C. van" (see production dates below).
Le Citroën Type H est un fourgon automobile produit entre 1947 et 1981 à 473 289 exemplaires.
Chez Citroën on parlait déjà avant la guerre d'un nouveau véhicule utilitaire qui remplacerait son prédécesseur. On voulait gagner du poids et de la place et puis le Citroën TUB avait un défaut, s'il n'était pas chargé à l'arrière il relevait du cul.
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroën_Type_H
The H series known as "tube" was therefore named after its predecessor, the TUB model :
Les TUB (Traction Utilitaire Basse) et TUC (Traction Utilitaire de type C) de Citroën étaient les camions légers dérivés de la Traction Avant et produits par Citroën de 1939 à 1941. Le TUB est le premier véhicule utilitaire jamais équipé d'une porte coulissante latérale et d'un plancher de charge le plus bas possible
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroën_TUB
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-01-01 19:43:29 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Mais le bon gros "Tube", comme on le surnomme à cause de son prédécesseur, n'a pas de rivaux et http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroën_Type_H
1 day 7 hrs
tube
why not just keep tube? Obviously, this is a borrowed term from English, so why not keep it?
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