Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
entre deux eaux
English translation:
suspended between two elements
Added to glossary by
Jane F
May 23, 2016 10:10
7 yrs ago
7 viewers *
French term
entre deux eaux
French to English
Art/Literary
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
L’ambiance toujours poussiéreuse, entre deux mondes, entre deux eaux, comme apparait Setsuko Klossowska de Rola, flottant à la manière de l’Ophelia de John Everett Millais.
On the work of a photographer.
On the work of a photographer.
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
May 27, 2016 13:55: Jane F Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+3
1 day 45 mins
Selected
suspended between two elements
Encouraged by Philippa's kind remark in the discussion box I'm posting this as an answer!
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Philippa Smith
: Perfect!
25 mins
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agree |
ormiston
28 mins
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agree |
Victoria Britten
5 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "thank you!"
-1
8 mins
between two oceans
I'm guessing that this person travels frequently between two continents.
I don't really like the sound of "between two oceans" though, something less literal would probabaly work better here.
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Note added at 10 mins (2016-05-23 10:20:45 GMT)
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Ah between Switzerland and Japan
I don't really like the sound of "between two oceans" though, something less literal would probabaly work better here.
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Note added at 10 mins (2016-05-23 10:20:45 GMT)
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Ah between Switzerland and Japan
Peer comment(s):
disagree |
Tony M
: 'entre deux eaux' is a set expression with the basic meaning of 'just below the surface', which fits with the mention of Ophelia.
3 mins
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Wow, I'm completely à coté de la plaque here :) thanks!
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17 mins
between two waters
It seems to me that the litteral English equivalent can be used in a metaphorical sense as well - "between two worlds, between two waters". To be confirmed by a native English speaker!
+1
41 mins
otherworldly / whimsical
Both words sprang to mind when reading your context and thinking of the painting...with a little poetic licence!
1 hr
half-submerged
Half-submerged definition, under the surface of water or any other enveloping medium
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/half-submerged
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/half-submerged
+3
1 hr
somewhere in between
Peer comment(s):
agree |
philgoddard
: Yours is the only answer with a reference!
1 hr
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agree |
Clair Pickworth
18 hrs
|
neutral |
Carol Gullidge
: commenting ONLY on the Reference: some of those entries are great whilst others are decidedly dodgy!
21 hrs
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neutral |
SafeTex
: I have proposed an answer so I will refrain from a disagree, but I would like to know how the suggestion would fit in with the rest. "Between two worlds, somewhere in between"???
1 day 26 mins
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agree |
Philippe Barré
1 day 8 hrs
|
+2
1 hr
ethereal
or "floaty" or "floating", as she describes her own life as rather "floating" (as well as "ethereal"). However, you would then need to avoid translating "flottant" from the following sentence, but this could be achieved without too much difficulty and with no translation loss.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Delina Alwanger
21 mins
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thanks Delina!
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agree |
Clair Pickworth
17 hrs
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thanks Clair! And, like you, I would have used "hazy', but "background"(probably) rather than "atmosphere" as this is about photographs
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+1
3 hrs
between this world and the underworld
suggestion
Example sentence:
Ophelia in the Underworld
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Yolanda Broad
8 hrs
|
Thank you Yolanda !
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neutral |
ormiston
: not convinced about a reference to the underworld here
21 hrs
|
how about "half way between this world and the underworld" ?
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neutral |
writeaway
: also not sure about the refernce to the underworld. has sinister connotations. is that apparent in the original?
23 hrs
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7 hrs
in the twilight zone
may work here for this expression or the one before (entre deux mondes)
1123 days
French term (edited):
(entre deux mondes,) entre deux eaux
(ethereal,) liminal
I think an attempt should be made to convey the two expressions "entre deux mondes" and "entre deux eaux" and, if possible, to do it in such a way that their phrasing is related. Not easy.
"Entre deux mondes" means "neither one reality nor another"
"Entre deux eaux", in the non-figurative sense, means "affected by competing currents", but it can also mean "sitting on the fence"
My suggestion for the whole phrase is "entre deux mondes, entre deux eaux" is "ethereal, liminal" ... The French has a poetic resonance between the two expressions; the assonance in the English hopefully conveys some sort of similar poetic, emotional power.
"Entre deux mondes" means "neither one reality nor another"
"Entre deux eaux", in the non-figurative sense, means "affected by competing currents", but it can also mean "sitting on the fence"
My suggestion for the whole phrase is "entre deux mondes, entre deux eaux" is "ethereal, liminal" ... The French has a poetic resonance between the two expressions; the assonance in the English hopefully conveys some sort of similar poetic, emotional power.
Discussion
How to I grade??? Have to split it!
Setsuko (it is easy to find on net) is Balthus's wife, the video is about her husband's studio left as is after his death: from dust to dust. But this is just one sentence in the text I'm translating.... so I'd better get back to it. Cheers all!
We don't use 'décor' in this way in EN, it is usually only used to refer to the 'décoration' in a building etc., but NOT for a 'scene' or 'setting' in anything like a theatrical or cinema context. So it could be wildly inappropriate here...
And as for 'powdery', that hardly seems an adjective that can be applied in EN to a setting (unless it is a snow scene or a flour mill!) — why do you want to change 'poussiéreuse' into 'poudreuse'? Again, without seeing it, it's impossible to know just
how literally this can be interpreted...
The décor is as always powdery, otherworldly and afloat as Setsuko Klossowska de Rola appears to be, drifting like John Everett Millais’s Ophelia.
Does not seem possible to keep the between- between.
Thank you all. the discussion helps. I would love to share points around, but it doesn't seem possible.
barely submerged/suspended/floating (in a watery realm somewhere between two worlds - stretching it somewhat?)
on the verge/threshold/brink
Just a few suggestions for you to play around with!
Why have you taken 'poussiéreuse' towards 'clouded'? I see it more along the lines of 'misty', or maybe the idea of dust particles dancing in a shaft of sunlight? Nor do I quite see why you have opted for 'consistently' — consistent compared with what?
The construction using 'there floats...' feels rather awkward to me here; I don't see why you can't just say 'floats Setsuko', or possibly avoid the reversal altogether...
And to me, mid-water sounds to me more like half-way between the surface of the water and the bottom, like at 'mid-depth'; 'mid-water' just sounds odd and awkward to me.
Of course, it would help if we knew what was being described here — is it a specific picture? If so, is it available on line?
...in a consistently clouded atmosphere, there floats Setsuko as if between worlds, mid-water, like John Everett Millais' Ophélia
However, I don't think for one moment that would be appropriate to try and shoehorn into your current context!
http://www.goodnight35.co/asp_scripts/print_image.asp?Websit...
Similarly, in Ben Timpson’s artwork “Ophelia”, Ophelia floats between two planes: the surface and the bottom. In this scene, she has rejected continuing to live, turning her face away from the light at the surface. However, she is looking off to the side rather than to the bottom, almost as if she wishes there was some middle ground between the suffering of life and the uncertainty of death. In this moment of hovering between the two planes, she seems to secondguess her de[s]cision and reconsider the advantages of each extreme.
https://timpsonwiki.wikispaces.com/Ophelia?responseToken=0f2...