Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
Ce n'est pas une eau que l'ombre
English translation:
Darkness is not water
Added to glossary by
Paul Hirsh
Jun 8, 2013 18:23
10 yrs ago
French term
Ce n'est pas une eau que l'ombre
French to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
Theseus is walking through the Labyrinth to encounter the Minotaur. It is dark, he is feeling his way along. This is compared to a "plongée dangereuse", a dangeous plunge (the piece was written pre-Cousteau and SCUBA).
"Thésée, debout toujours, et ses pieds nus appuyés au sol, apprend une nage singulière. [...]
Ce n'est pas une eau que l'ombre, car se noyer, sombrer serait encore un secours."
I don't think there's anything metaphorical intended. What is the literal meaning though?
TIA.
"Thésée, debout toujours, et ses pieds nus appuyés au sol, apprend une nage singulière. [...]
Ce n'est pas une eau que l'ombre, car se noyer, sombrer serait encore un secours."
I don't think there's anything metaphorical intended. What is the literal meaning though?
TIA.
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
Jun 10, 2013 14:03: Paul Hirsh Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+3
38 mins
Paul Hirsh
France
France
Native in English
Specializes in field
France
The Human Translator
Native in: English
Works in: French to English, Russian to English, Spanish to English, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
44
Selected
Darkness is not water
or is not a body of water
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 39 mins (2013-06-08 19:02:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
so getting lost in the darkness is better than drowning
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 40 mins (2013-06-08 19:03:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
in this periphrasis the word following que is the subject of c'est
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 39 mins (2013-06-08 19:02:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
so getting lost in the darkness is better than drowning
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 40 mins (2013-06-08 19:03:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
in this periphrasis the word following que is the subject of c'est
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Victoria Britten
18 mins
|
|
thanks!
|
|
| agree |
katsy
16 hrs
|
| agree |
Emma Paulay
1 day 44 mins
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks Paul. "
1 hr
Kévin Bernier
France
France
Native in French
France
Translator & Game Loc Specialist | EN-FR
Native in: French (Variant: Standard-France)
Works in: English to French
For darkness is no water, and fading in the shadows is a far more joyful fate than drowning
Just a suggestion.
Note from asker:
| Thanks Kévin. That does have a nice literary flow. |
1 hr
it is not water but shadows
In the darkness its difficult to distinguish between water and shadows
Note from asker:
| Thanks Jane. That's relatively close to Paul's, so I'm just going to go with the popular vote! |
9 hrs
It isn't that the water covers him
Not necessarily or exactly that but, I believe that it has nothing to do with light and shade that approaches more the Spanish language that that of the French.
I believe that there is a mistake in the French sentence.
The word ''sombrer'' could be in fact s'ombrer and this is the reason why the entire paragraph below doesn't make any sense. The apostrophe is missing.
Ce n'est pas une eau que l'ombre, car se noyer, s'ombrer serait encore un secours."
I believe that there is a mistake in the French sentence.
The word ''sombrer'' could be in fact s'ombrer and this is the reason why the entire paragraph below doesn't make any sense. The apostrophe is missing.
Ce n'est pas une eau que l'ombre, car se noyer, s'ombrer serait encore un secours."
Note from asker:
| Thanks axies, this is a good point and is made again later in the dicsussions. |
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
: lIke you, i am not convinced that the French is not missing something. However, "sombrer" is a synonym for "se noyer", althought the author is no doubt conscious of the link with "ombre" and "sombre".
8 hrs
|
|
Thank you Nikki. Yes I know what you mean. But, then it doesn't read right with''car de...''''.
|
11 hrs
Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
Israel
Israel
Native in English
Israel
Quality, Reliability, Experience.
Native in: English 
, Romanian
Works in: French to English, Hebrew to English, Romanian to English, and 3 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
8
He was not in the shadow of water
Water was not threatening him
"Une eau" would suggest water in general, rather than this particular plunge...
"Une eau" would suggest water in general, rather than this particular plunge...
Note from asker:
| Thanks Sangro. You're absolutely right that water is not the threat here. |
21 hrs
He was in the shade of something other than water
Shade(s) can have multiple meanings: darkness, ghosts, Hades ...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 hrs (2013-06-09 16:15:11 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Or: ... something that was not water
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 hrs (2013-06-09 16:15:11 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Or: ... something that was not water
Note from asker:
| Thanks Barbara. When I come back to review the complete translation I'll certainly use "shade"somewhere, and maybe even here ("ombre" occurs a lot). |
Discussion
L'ombre n'est pas de l'eau ; se noyer serait mieux (que de sombrer dans l'obscurité) = sombrer (comme le Titanic) serait préférable (=serait un secours).
Bien sûr, il y a un jeu avec s'ombrer qui complète la litanie du son "s"...
"Ce n'est pas une eau que l'ombre, car se noyer, sombrer serait encore un secours."
Possible error?
- "Ce n'est pas une eau, [comma] que DE l'ombre, car se noyer, sombrer..."
- if the first part of the sentence remains as is, then the second part might well be in the passive voice. I cannot make sense of "serait" being linked to "l"ombre". For me, it goes with "se noyer" and "sombrer".