12:14 May 7, 2019 |
French to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Cinema, Film, TV, Drama / Experimental film | |||||||
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| Selected response from: James Roden France Local time: 05:13 | ||||||
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Summary of answers provided | ||||
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3 +2 | the "barbarous" reality |
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5 | ...resistant to the flames of the 'barbaric' presence |
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Discussion entries: 7 | |
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la présence « barbare » the "barbarous" reality Explanation: I think unless you can find an authoritative translation of Epstein which renders "barbare" as anything other than "barbarous", it is best to stick to the close cognate. I could see it being "brutal", "brutish", "savage", "raw", "unfettered", "uncivilised" or countless other adjectives but since we are quoting Epstein I say stay as close to his word as possible. In the original work, Epstein is referring to the proximity allowed between viewer and subject matter by the medium of film, without even the footlights to shield them, where they are faced with the startling, brutal viscera of reality, an image he underscores by evoking the appearance of a peeled pomegranate - messy, red, fibrous. "The presence" is strange in English unless we are saying the presence of something or someone. Even though Epstein uses "présence" in his sentence as well I don't believe it works alone. He is referring to either the presence of the viewer right in front of the subject, or vice versa, or to avoid confusion, their being in the direct presence of one another. I think that because what is shocking to the viewer in this context is being connected directly to the subject, and because Epstein refers to "présence réelle" and "vie manifeste", we could go with "barbarous reality". This collocation works better in English. I am saying nothing as to the first part of the sentence as the main thrust of your question seems to be about "barabare" and I think it is up to you whether you stick with the fire/flame-retardant/resistant metaphor or replace it with something not mentioning flames specifically; either would be fine. -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 30 mins (2019-05-07 12:45:51 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- Incidentally, if your ST put "la présence barbare" all inside the quotes, I might advocate "barbarous presence" but since the ST is quoting a single word, it becomes our business how we express what is outside that; we owe no fidelity to Epstein on the word "presence", if you see what I mean. Example sentence(s):
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