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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

devenue \"un papillon\" admirable

English translation:

has become an architectural jewel - an architectural marvel

Added to glossary by Lara Barnett
May 24, 2019 20:49
4 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term

devenue "un papillon" admirable

French to English Marketing Real Estate Swiss real estate, ads
"...d'une reconstruction intégrale avec agrandissement en 2001, d'une ancienne maison des années 60 devenue "un papillon" admirable par ses finitions et le soin apporté à chaque détail."

No idea myself...... Thanks if you can help!
Proposed translations (English)
3 +5 has become an architectural jewel - an architectural marvel
4 +3 gem
4 +1 metamorphosed like a butterfly
3 +2 has undergone an amazing transformation
3 +1 has become (cutting-edge as) a wondrous 'gem'
3 -1 whichwas turned into an ostentatious structure, to be admired
References
fwiw/hth, with photo
Change log

May 24, 2019 21:08: writeaway changed "Field (write-in)" from "Hospital Blood report" to "Swiss real estate, ads"

May 26, 2019 22:47: Yolanda Broad changed "Term asked" from "devenue \\\"un papillon\\\" admirable" to "devenue \"un papillon\" admirable "

Discussion

JohnMcDove May 27, 2019:
You're welcome, Lara. A very interesting question indeed. :-)
Lara Barnett (asker) May 27, 2019:
TO all Thank you everybody for suggestions, agrees, comments, references etc. I will be going with the answer I have chosen to use, as I normally do.

Lara
Barbara Cochran, MFA May 26, 2019:
Ostentatious Structures To Be Admired I have visited and/or attended several colleges and universities in the United States, and I can tell you that most of them, even some of the smaller liberal arts colleges, have ostentatious buildings or structures on their campuses that are things to be marveled at, as John so adeptly has inferred, to be admired for the intellectual processes and superior manpower that went into creating them.

Proposed translations

+5
6 hrs
French term (edited): devenue \"un papillon\" admirable
Selected

has become an architectural jewel - an architectural marvel

If we want to get hyperbolic...

... it has metamorphosed into a dazzling architectural masterpiece
Peer comment(s):
agree Jennifer White : Yes, I like architectural jewel.
5 hrs
Thank you very much, Jennifer. :-)
agree Jessica Noyes : yes, and I like "metamorphosed" here bcause it gives a nod to the original author's line of thought
10 hrs
Thank you very much, Jessica. :-)
agree Barbara Cochran, MFA : Other than my own suggestions, I like this option a lot.
12 hrs
Thank you very much, Barbara. :-)
neutral Adrian MM. : unless I am mistaken, you have merely reworded Justin R's and my answer, adding another architectural as a diversion.
15 hrs
Than you very much, Adrian. :-) "The way to cross the river is to cross the river." As the Blackfeet Indians would say. Or "Om mani padme hum" ‘oh jewel-lotus’ ;-)
neutral Germaine : Hyperbolic, indeed, for going from the butterfly to the phoenix... // Well... it goes for the first too. We’re not talking about the Taj Mahal.
16 hrs
Thank you very much, Germain. :-) Glad you agree with the hyperbolic (and maybe bombastic tone) of my second option... ;-) /.../ Well, "jewel" as "showpiece", doesn't have to be any of the 7 wonders... :-)
agree El Mehdi Hakkou
17 hrs
Thank you very much, Latifa. :-)
agree Eliza Hall : I do prefer jewel to gem. And the butterfly/transformation concept can be retained if the translator takes slight liberties: "From a 1960s-era diamond in the rough to an architectural jewel..."
23 hrs
Brilliant, Eliza. Thank you very much. :-) /./ No pun intended with "brilliant", but then again, "7 days without a pun makes one weak!" ;-)
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you."
+3
1 hr
French term (edited): devenue \"un papillon\" admirable

gem

The reference here is to a home which was recently renovated. In other words, a building which underwent a transformation from something plain to something beautiful — a bit like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. I'm not sure there's an idiomatic way of expressing this in English, but something along the lines of gem or diamond would probably work. They're definitely common terms in discussions of house flipping.
Peer comment(s):
agree Tony M : Yes, it was obviously an 'ugly chrysalis of a '60s house' that has become 'a beautiful butterfly' My only slight hesitations is that 'gem' often connotes 'small', which this is not!
7 hrs
agree JohnMcDove : That is the idea. To avoid talking about skins and cats.... "There are many ways to cut a diamond"
23 hrs
agree Daryo : that's the idea
1 day 5 hrs
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+1
1 hr
French term (edited): devenue "un papillon" admirable

has become (cutting-edge as) a wondrous 'gem'

The metaphor may need to be changed or 'pupated' into a different kind of chrysalis.
Reference:

http://www.engelvoelkers.com/en-us/property/this-gem-of-a-property-is-a-place-to-call-home-111727.30000_exp/

Peer comment(s):
agree JohnMcDove : Yes, I agree with the idea. But I would not use "pupated"... particularly... ;-)
23 hrs
neutral Daryo : "cutting-edge" would be more about some advanced technology, wouldn't really associate with beauty of any kind // OK, but I can't see the need to add a pun.
1 day 5 hrs
cutting-edge is pun on a gem, plus take a look at the building in Writeaway's ref. that you have already agreed with - before you renege, rather than renegade, on that choice.
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+1
14 hrs
French term (edited): devenue \"un papillon\" admirable

metamorphosed like a butterfly

I think you should keep the same idea in English. There's no need to find other ways of saying it.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Barbara Cochran, MFA : A building is much more sturdy than a butterfly, by far! This interpretation would be more suitable for a literary piece, not the description of a building./No, I agreed with "marvel", as anyone can easily ascertain in my linguistic discussion entry.
4 hrs
And yet you voted for jewel,which is also a metaphor...
agree Adrian MM. : is a cogent argument....
6 hrs
agree JohnMcDove : Imagination has no limits, so I would not discard this option. :-)
10 hrs
Something went wrong...
-1
1 hr
French term (edited): devenue \"un papillon\" admirable

whichwas turned into an ostentatious structure, to be admired


Explanation:
There are a lot of French words related to "papillon" that refer to something that flashes.

But I don't think that "flashy" would reflect the register of the original text, so I opted for "ostentatious".

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2019-05-24 21:51:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"which was"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2019-05-24 21:56:36 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Or "which has been turned into..."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2019-05-24 22:48:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Butterflies display a brilliant show (ostentation) of colors.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 hrs (2019-05-25 15:36:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Another option: "which was turned into a showcase, to be admired"
Peer comment(s):
disagree Tony M : 'ostentatious'often has a negative connotation which would be out of place here; although it is described as 'sumptuous', there is nothing to suggest it is in any way 'ostentatious'.
7 hrs
Not in this case, "ostentatious", like a showcase./"Ostentatious structure" yields this hit from googling:https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ostentatious, so such a building can clearly evoke admiration.
agree JohnMcDove : I agree that "ostentatious" is a bit "pompous" (but I joke about my hyperbolic option, in the same line...) I agree with the concept you are describing.
23 hrs
Thank you, John.
disagree Daryo : 'ostentatious' would be out of sync with the Swiss mentality + the point is in the quality of the renovation (attention to details etc) not making it "flashy"
1 day 6 hrs
I'm not Swiss. Why don't you enlighten all of us in the linguistic discussion just what the "Swiss mentality" is? And of course the detail is, in this case, ostentatious.
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+2
22 hrs
French term (edited): devenue \"un papillon\" admirable

has undergone an amazing transformation

-
Peer comment(s):
agree JohnMcDove : As the Italians say, "parla come mangia"... ;-)
2 hrs
You're very generous, John. We can't all be right!
agree Yvonne Gallagher : quite simply
1 day 21 hrs
Many thanks, Yvonne
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Reference comments

16 mins
Reference:

fwiw/hth, with photo

Somptueuse Maison de Maître à 150 mètres du lac

CHF 6’900’000

450 m2 10.5 pièces Saint-Prex

Spacieuse et moderne, avec beaucoup de caractère !

Cette Propriété de Maître d'environ 10.5 pièces est le résultat d'une reconstruction intégrale avec agrandissement en 2001, d'une ancienne maison des années 60 devenue "un papillon" admirable par ses finitions et le soin apporté à chaque détail.

Améliorée encore en 2015, la structure est remarquable.

etc.
https://www.gerofinance-dunand.ch/a-vendre/vaud/saint-prex/1...
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree JohnMcDove : Thank you!
6 hrs
agree Tony M
8 hrs
agree Daryo
1 day 6 hrs
agree Jennifer White : Doesn't look at all ostentatious, does it! ;)
1 day 14 hrs
agree Yolanda Broad
2 days 1 hr
agree Yvonne Gallagher : some people seem to have gone completely OTT with this.
2 days 19 hrs
seems to happen a lot with this sort of question
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