Citation / Quote
Source: La nouvel observateur

_____________________________________________

Apple a vendu plus de 300.000 iPad pour son lancement

(Reuters) – Apple annonce avoir vendu plus de 300.000 iPad samedi, au premier jour de la commercialisation de sa nouvelle machine, à mi-chemin entre un ordinateur portable et un smartphone.

Ce chiffre comprend les ventes en magasins, y compris les tablettes qui avaient déjà été commandées par internet.

Certains analystes de Wall Street estiment à cinq millions d’unités le nombre d’iPad qui seront vendus par Apple la première année du lancement.

_____________________________________________

(Reuters) – Apple have announced the sale of over 300,000 iPads on Saturday, the first day its new machine went on sale, half-way between a laptop and a smartphone.

This figure includes store sales, and the tablets that had already been ordered online.

Some Wall Street analysts estimate that 5m iPad units will be sold by Apple in the first year of its launch.

_____________________________________________

1. Fact: French texts generally contain 10% more words than English texts, when comparing translations.

2. annonce avoir vendu = lit. annouce to have sold. Annonce is in the present tense. Avoir is the infinitive (to have) and vendu is in the perfect (ie. past – action is perfectly complete) tense. The translation was reworded to sound natural in English.

3. entre un ordi portable et un smartphone – between a and b. A very versatile phrase.

4. ce chiffre = this figure. Les chiffres are very important to business. Chiffres d’affaires means turnover, often abbreviated as CA in business documentation. Les ventes are just as important, meaning sales.

5 qui avaient (déjà) été commandées – which had (already) been ordered. Note that in French avaient and commandées both have endings which reflect the subject – les tablettes is feminine and plural, so avoir gets the imperfect 3rd person plural ending (they had – avaient) and commandées gets the perfect tense fem. pl. ending – extra e, extra s.

6. Certains = some people/certain people

6. Unités… seront vendus = units… will be sold. Seront is the future tense (3rd person plural) ending of être, to be. Vendus is in the perfect tense, has an extra s to show it’s talking about a plural subject. Will be sold.

Any questions, just ask below. Thanks for reading.

The following excerpt is from a book called Jean de Florette by Marcel Pagnol. I have recommended this book in my booklist, accessed from the menu above, from where you can go ahead and order it if you feel brave enough to tackle the whole thing. Reading in French is one of the best ways to see how the language works, in your own time, and a great story helps it all move along nicely.

This post will guide you through the passage, highlighting a few general facts about how French literature is written.

____________________________________________________

Soudain, la figure du Papet se pencha au bord de la barre, et chuchota.
« Bouge plus ! J’ai entendu du bruit…
- Où ? Continue Reading

And now, poetry.

This poem, denouncing war and religion, is obviously written in a very high level French. Here we’re aiming for comprehension and sound reproduction. Try to use the player to copy how the words are said, paying attention to liaisons (merging words together for fluidity) and rhythm. Some grammar points follow.

The words given in English are to give you an idea of the meaning. For a complete translation word order would have to be rearranged, rhyme and rhythm conserved and much more.

The reading – the reader of this poem seems to get a little carried away in the joy of reading and doesn’t really give the poem the harsh strictness of tone it seems to deserve in my mind. See what you think.

Le mal

Tandis que les crachats rouges de la mitraille (While – red spittle – machine gun)
Sifflent tout le jour par l’infini du ciel bleu ; (Whistle – all day – blue sky)
Qu’écarlates ou verts, près du Roi qui les raille, (While scarlet or green – near – king who jeers them)
Croulent les bataillons en masse dans le feu ; (Crumble – into the fire)

Tandis qu’une folie épouvantable, broie (While – dreadful madness – crushes)
Et fait de cent milliers d’hommes un tas fumant ; (And makes of – a smoking heap)
− Pauvres morts ! dans l’été, dans l’herbe, dans ta joie, (Poor dead – summer – grass – joy)
Nature ! ô toi qui fis ces hommes saintement !… (you who made these men – saintly)

− Il est un Dieu, qui rit aux nappes damassées (laughs – altar cloths)
Des autels, à l’encens, aux grands calices d’or ; (altars – incense – great golden chalices)
Qui dans le bercement des hosannah s’endort, (who in the cradling – of hosannah’s – sleeps)

Et se réveille, quand des mères, ramassées (And awakes – when mothers – brought together)
Dans l’angoisse, et pleurant sous leur vieux bonnet noir, (Anguish – crying under – black hat)
Lui donnent un gros sou lié dans leur mouchoir ! (Give him – large coin – knotted – handkerchief)

- Tandis que is a high-register (posh) way of saying while.
- Punctuation: in French there is a space before semi-colons and exclamation marks, among others.
- Lui donnent on the last line refers to the mères, two lines previously. Notice how it affects the way the verb donner is conjugated – ent is the ending for they, ils donnent à lui, ils lui donnent, they give him (ie. they give to God…)

If anyone wants to try and do a complete translation of the poem in the comments below, they are more than welcome to try. It’s great learning exercise because you have to dissect the grammar. I’ll give feedback for any translation attempts. The best translation will win entitlement to a free 5-minute practice conversation via Skype.