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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

lecture à chaud

English translation:

a quick superficial read

Oct 15, 2020 12:42
3 yrs ago
48 viewers *
French term

lecture à chaud

COVID-19 French to English Other Journalism Book on Covid-19 pandemic
I'm translating a book on the Covid-19 pandemic (French to English).

I have THIS phrase (lecture à chaud):

La LECTURE À CHAUD d'un tel éditorial est de nature à provoquer, chez toute personne normalement constituée, une certaine inquiétude, et pourrait même, pour peu qu'elle ne soit pas familière avec les choses de la médecine (et qu'elle n'ait pas encore lu ce livre), engendrer une peur difficilement contrôlable.

Would this mean "quick, superficial, facile", or what?

Thank you!

RE Anderson
Chicago, IL, USA
Proposed translations (English)
3 -1 a quick superficial read
3 +3 immediate reaction
4 +1 A quick skim through
4 hot read on
4 -1 shrill editorials // urgent news items
2 a first acquiescent reading
Change log

Oct 15, 2020 12:41: Yana Dovgopol changed "Vetting" from "Needs Vetting" to "Vet OK"

Oct 15, 2020 12:42: Yana Dovgopol changed "Kudoz queue" from "In queue" to "Public"

Discussion

Daryo Oct 17, 2020:
@ SafeTex An example from a completely different field to illustrate my point:

You can drive carelessly or with high situational awareness, no matter if the car is an old banger or a racing car.

The label used for your style of driving says N_O_T_H_I_N_G about the car.

Or try this one

You drive carelessly and end up wrapped around a tree.
THAT wouldn't mean that you can translate "careless driving" by "hitting the tree".

What the ST says is that:

WHEN you read (these editorials) without any critical distance / taking the information just as it's presented, you would likely be induced into mild (or not so mild) panic - nothing more.

You are conflating two separate elements of the text - how you read the text and what is the likely effect of that style of reading.

IOW the part about "lecture à chaud" is ONLY about how you read the text, and could be applied to the way/style of reading of ANY text - could as well be some hagiography, or some scientific article, some critic's review of a book or a movie, or some marketing spiel or just about anything.
SafeTex Oct 16, 2020:
@ Daryo and Phil I don't agree that it is only about how you read it and not the content itself. The passage clearly says that the editorial is to provoke (nature à provoquer)
For me, it's as much about the content as the reaction of the reader.
If the editorial is provocative, most readers will be provoked if it's written to scare, some readers might be scared.
Daryo Oct 16, 2020:
Agree with ph-b "lecture à chaud" is ONLY about how the editorial is read.

Can't see how you could turn "la lecture" into the content itself or the reactions of the reader. Or the intentions of the writer.

All that is related to that same editorial but it's NOT "reading it".

"lecture à chaud" = reading without any critical distancing / without any further analysis / taking the information at face value uncritically.

Also, a not so secondary point of method: "written to cause a a reaction or even fear" might or might not be true but in any case it is NOT a "definition" of "lecture à chaud" - it's just another element of the same text.

You could see "la lecture à chaud" as the opposite of "garder la tête froide" - which you can not achieve without keeping a critical distance when reading (be it about COVID or just about anything ...).
ph-b (X) Oct 15, 2020:
à chaud would be like "at first sight, without thinking about it" and is usually followed by something like "and then, after you've thought about it..." Think: "knee-jerk reaction". EDIT: Also implies that you are not prepared for it.
SafeTex Oct 15, 2020:
@ all there are two suggestions up and present and with all respect, I don't think they concur with the definition given in the original text (written to cause a a reaction or even fear)

Mpoma uses the word "sensationalist" in his discussion point and for me that is getting closer to what this is all about.
Mpoma Oct 15, 2020:
incorrect usage? Searching reveals that "lecture à chaud" and "lecture à froid" apparently refer, above all, to "clairvoyants", vendors, and people who need to obtain information about their interlocutors in ways other than direct questioning.

So if this is not a normal usage of the expression we should probably interpret it according to context, in which case it is likely, IMHO, to be referring to reading in a way whereby the reader suspends their critical faculties to some degree because of the sensationalist nature of the text.

"Unguarded" or "credulous" or even "raw" reading might fit the bill. Maybe there's a better English expression though...

However, I can't help thinking there might be a culinary analogy going on here: fresh, hot croissants, straight out of the oven: i.e. "the first reading" of such-and-such a frightening editorial about Covid-19.
Suzie Withers Oct 15, 2020:
"à chaud" can mean "without thinking"

https://en.bab.la/dictionary/french-english/à-chaud

What about "taking it at face value" or something like that... I've been puzzling over it too!
SafeTex Oct 15, 2020:
@ Robert I'm pretty sure it means when you read an article written in order to incite an emotional reaction of some sort. Such articles often have clickbait headlines.
Linguistically, it's similar to "réaction à chaud"
That said, I've wracked by brain for ten minutes to try to find an expression in English to propose but haven't come up with anything

Proposed translations

-1
1 day 3 hrs
Selected

a quick superficial read

"At first sight a quick read on speck might provoke a shock reaction or fear among those without prior knowledge or without having read a book about it."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 8 hrs (2020-10-16 21:37:28 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lecture_chaude

La lecture chaude est habituellement utilisée en complément de la lecture à froid (lorsqu'aucune information recueillie auparavant n'est utilisée) et peut expliquer comment un médium peut obtenir une information précise correcte1.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 9 hrs (2020-10-16 22:28:11 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Following the first glance quick interpretation, ways or means of retrieving information or knowledge on the subject matter may follow. For instance I might read an article firstly for 'gist' to find a quick summary of what the article is about. Then a second read of the same article, allowing more time will help find specific information and a better understanding of the subject area.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 days 9 hrs (2020-10-18 22:15:09 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

In the question on reading, a medium is a means of communicating news or information to readers or the public (media or communication channel, network).
It follows the initial quick read which captures a basic outline of what the reading passage is about. In the example sentence the medium is used to gather specific information.

Après une première vue rapide avec une compréhension superficielle, des autres moyens suivants peuvent retrouver de l'information. Je peux lire un article premièrement pour arriver à une compréhension en résumen de ce quoi il s'agit. Puis, en lisant le même article une deuxième fois, avec plus de temps, il y aura plus d'information spécifique avec une compréhension meilleur sur le même thème.
Example sentence:

"La lecture chaude est habituellement utilisée en complément de la lecture à froid (lorsqu'aucune information recueille auparavant n'est utilisée) et peut expliquer comment un médium peut obtenir une information précise et correcte."

"A quick read on speck habitually compliments a more thorough and thoughtful read without prior background information and can explain how other media might show more precise and correct facts."

Reference:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lecture_chaude

Peer comment(s):
disagree Daryo : "un médium" ??? Can't see the relevance ...
4 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Yes, that fits! RE Anderson Chicago, IL, USA"
-1
23 mins

shrill editorials // urgent news items

Literally "hot news", which is a bit dated in UK English at least. The idea that needs to be conveyed is that of working the reader into a panic.

An idea:
"The reading of such urgent news items is bound to trigger, ... "

or perhaps better,

"The reading of such shrill editorials is bound to trigger, ... "

Words such as "vehement / strident / clamorous" may be helpful.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Mpoma : It's about *how* the editorial is read, though, not what it is.
31 mins
disagree Daryo : as Mpoma said: It's about *how* the editorial is read, nothing to do with the content nor the reader's reaction to the content.
1 day 7 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
37 mins

A quick skim through

You skim through a text to get the basic idea, before reading it in-depth
Example sentence:

I had a quick skim through the book, article, etc.

Peer comment(s):
agree Libby Cohen : Agree about the translation of the phrase itself, but you'd need to change the sentence structure in English because the French sentence is clunky.
3 hrs
agree Gordon Matthews
19 hrs
disagree Daryo : that's not the point.
1 day 7 hrs
Something went wrong...
+3
42 mins

immediate reaction

"The immediate reaction after reading..." I think this is what they mean.
Many other translations are possible to express the same concept.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Mpoma : The French seems to be referring to a *type* of reading though.
12 mins
agree ph-b (X) : immediate reaction on reading... ?
57 mins
agree Philippa Smith : Yes!
1 hr
agree philgoddard
3 hrs
agree katsy : with ph_b. ON reading
1 day 4 hrs
disagree Daryo : it's not about the reader's reactions to the text, it's about how the editorial is read - without any critical distance.
1 day 8 hrs
agree Éva MYGARDON
4 days
disagree Gordon Matthews : I agree with Daryo: It's about how the text is read, i.e. uncritically.
4 days
Something went wrong...
1 hr

a first acquiescent reading

I'm trying to convey this idea of reading in credulous, "uncritically accepting" mode, because one's critical faculties may be suspended due to the sensationalist click-baitey nature of the text.

Just a conjecture though.
Peer comment(s):
neutral ph-b (X) : re: "sensationalist click-baitey nature of the text". à chaud is not about the nature of the text, but about how the reader reads it./No, à chaud is only about the way the text is read.
34 mins
er, yes, the idea is that the nature of the text induces a particular response, which I suggest might be qualified as "acquiescent".
neutral Gordon Matthews : I think "uncritical" would be better than "acquiescent".
19 hrs
Thanks... the reason for avoiding this choice of adjective is that it doesn't explain why the reading might be "uncritical". Whereas "acquiescent" might suggest that the text is forceful and persuasive.
neutral Daryo : not quite - yes for "uncritically accepting" mode of reading -and nothing more. // "lecture à chaud" has nothing to do with the content itself nor the reactions of the reader to that content.
1 day 7 hrs
Agree to the extent that I think it is all about the reader's *approach* to the text. But that approach also causes the kind of reaction ...
Something went wrong...
18 hrs

hot read on

i think 'hot read on' is best to say 'lecture à chaud'
Peer comment(s):
neutral writeaway : I'd love to see a valid reference to back this.
125 days
Something went wrong...
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