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borghese

English translation: bourgeois

07:12 Apr 24, 2017
Italian to English translations [PRO]
Cinema, Film, TV, Drama
Italian term or phrase: borghese
I looked up the word but, I'm not sure how the word translates in this context.

proprietario di un negozio di articoli religiosi, borghese e cattolico, e’ un uomo mite e moderato,
Hinara
United States
Local time: 15:16
English translation:bourgeois
Explanation:
It could mean prosperous but bourgeois would be the literal translation (person from burgh, town) and also would convey what may be the intended sense of smug, stolid, unimaginative, self satisfied.

noun, plural bourgeois.
1. a member of the middle class.
2. a person whose political, economic, and social opinions are believed to be determined mainly by concern for property values and conventional respectability.
3. a shopkeeper or merchant.
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/bourgeois
Selected response from:

mrrafe
United States
Local time: 18:16
Grading comment
Thank you, mrrafe
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +4bourgeois
mrrafe
3 +3comfortably middle-class
Tom in London
4prosperous
Cedric Randolph


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
prosperous


Explanation:
it means upper middle class but here I would use this meaning 'well to do,' 'upstanding'. This is what I believe is meant here.

Cedric Randolph
Italy
Local time: 00:16
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in category: 12
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15 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
comfortably middle-class


Explanation:
Literally it means "bourgeois" i.e. "comfortably middle-class, self-satisfied, unconcerned about anyone else's problems or the problems of the world in general, apparently respectable and when push comes to shove, probably very right-wing".

That's why there's no snappy English word that equates to "bourgeois".

My suggestion (see above) is far from satisfactory.


Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:16
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 94

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Isabelle Johnson
1 min
  -> Thanks Isabelle !
neutral  mrrafe: Bourgeois has long been English!
5 mins
  -> I know, but it's French :)
agree  philgoddard
6 hrs
agree  BdiL: I praise the explanatory bias of your translation. Clearly, also bourgeois fits in. But too much categorizing is for the silly. An easy way out. Just listen to "il Donaldo". Maurizio
2 days 7 hrs
  -> I'm having trouble with "fits in" and "easy way out"
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19 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +4
bourgeois


Explanation:
It could mean prosperous but bourgeois would be the literal translation (person from burgh, town) and also would convey what may be the intended sense of smug, stolid, unimaginative, self satisfied.

noun, plural bourgeois.
1. a member of the middle class.
2. a person whose political, economic, and social opinions are believed to be determined mainly by concern for property values and conventional respectability.
3. a shopkeeper or merchant.
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/bourgeois

mrrafe
United States
Local time: 18:16
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you, mrrafe

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Andrew Campbell: Indeed the important thing in this context is how he sees himself and others not just his wealth.
16 mins
  -> thank you
agree  BrigitteHilgner
1 hr
  -> thanks
agree  bluenoric: with Andrew
2 hrs
  -> thanks
agree  Helen Pringle
4 hrs
  -> thanks
neutral  philgoddard: This has too many negative connotations in my opinion.
6 hrs
  -> It's negative but in English, bourgeois is a term of disparagement or ridicule, typically from leftists and intelligentsia. I think that's what the author wants here; consider the sentence as a whole.
neutral  Tom in London: in Italian, "borghese" does not mean what "bourgeois" means in English -connotations and all.
2 days 7 hrs
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