French speakers - I need translation help

Factual Questions
1

A long-term patient who speaks only French is being discharged tomorrow (or maybe not until Monday). My long lost schoolgirl French has been severely strained but we’ve managed to communicate until now.

I don’t want to muck this up, so I’m not willing to trust my own memory and/or dictionary. How do I say, “<Name>, You’re going home tomorrow. All the best. I’ll miss you.”

I can manage the first sentence, I think. Bon chance might suffice for the second but I’ll gladly use another which is better. But it’s the bit about missing him I’m concerned about. I just don’t want to muck up the idiom.

2

Monsieur, vous irez chez vous demain. Bonne chance. Je vous regretterai. Adieu.

If you need help with pronunciation, lemme know.

3

Vous allez me manquer. I’ll miss you.

Tu vas me manquer. same but with ‘tu’

Tu vas nous manquer. we’ll miss you - slightly lower pressure than I’ll miss you…

The usual mistake English speakers make is to mix up the subject and object.

Hope this helps !

4

[QUOTE=Themenin]
Vous allez me manquer. I’ll miss you.

Tu vas me manquer. same but with ‘tu’

Tu vas nous manquer. we’ll miss you - slightly lower pressure than I’ll miss you…

The usual mistake English speakers make is to mix up the subject and object.

Hope this helps !
[/QUOTE]
Um… aren’t those “You will miss me”? Or am I completely screwed up here, and this is an idiom my very rusty French isn’t catching?

5

[QUOTE=Sunspace]
Um… aren’t those “You will miss me”? Or am I completely screwed up here, and this is an idiom my very rusty French isn’t catching?
[/QUOTE]

That’s what **Themenin ** meant by the remark that English speakers usually mix up the subject and object when using the French verb manquer.

From what I was taught at my Alliance Française classes:

English idiom: I will miss you
French idiom: You will be missing/lacking to me - Vous me manquerez or Tu me manqueras.

6

Yep - like Cunctator said - but the usual tense is Tu vas me manquer, tu me manqueras usually introduces a clause like Tu me manqueras si tu pars

I’d also carefully avoid regretter and adieu, unless you’re really comfortable with French. Adieu is generally reserved for formal speeches, often funerals !

7

[QUOTE=Cunctator]
That’s what **Themenin ** meant by the remark that English speakers usually mix up the subject and object when using the French verb manquer.

From what I was taught at my Alliance Française classes:

English idiom: I will miss you
French idiom: You will be missing/lacking to me - Vous me manquerez or Tu me manqueras.
[/QUOTE]
Okay, that was specific to this use of the verb manquer, then. I thought it was a problem with reflexive pronouns in general. :slight_smile: Learn something new every day!

8

As a professional French-English interpreter, here is my two cents’ worth. ALL of the above suggestions are good. And yes, French people say “Tu me manqueras” or “Vous me manquerez”. Literally, it means “You, to me, shall be lacking”.

The English formulation “I miss you” sounds funny to French people. It sounds like you were shooting at them and are sorry that the bullets went astray!

You use the “tu” form if the person is much younger or a very close friend. You use the “vous” form adressing someone older or in a position of authority over you, or a stranger. (Or if you are speaking to more than one person, but that doesn’t apply here.

In this case, you will have to decide if this person is a “tu” or a “vous”.

But don’t worry, they will NOT be horribly offended if you use one or the other. The two forms are easily interchanged.

The one pitfall is prononciation. Most people do not realize that while French and English use the same alphabet. combinations of letters do not create the same sounds. “OI” would be pronounced “oy” as in “coitus” in English, but is pronounced “wah” as in “Benoit” in French.

So here is the sentence you need, with a pronouncing guide.

Vous irez chez vous demain. Bonne chance. Vous me manquerez beaucoup.

Vooz-eerai chay voo duh-may(n). Bun chanse. Voo me mankeray bocoo.

(Note that the S at the end of the first “Vous” is pronounced because it comes before a word beginning with a vowel. Single S in French sounds like a Z.

Do not pronounce the n at the end of “demain”, but give a slight nasal sound to the last syllable, so that it comes out as if you were saying “demay” and your nose is stuffed up. Practice pinching your nose on the last syllable and you will get the hang of it. But don’t do it in front of the patient or they will think you are nuts! :smiley:

Bonne chance et dites-moi si vous avez réussi à parler à votre patient!

9

[QUOTE=Themenin]
Yep - like Cunctator said - but the usual tense is Tu vas me manquer, tu me manqueras usually introduces a clause like Tu me manqueras si tu pars

I’d also carefully avoid regretter and adieu, unless you’re really comfortable with French. Adieu is generally reserved for formal speeches, often funerals !
[/QUOTE]

Adieu is what you say when you’re probably never going to see someone again. It’s fitting here.

10

And you were right about regretter. I’m getting sloppy.

11

[QUOTE=The Octagon]
Adieu is what you say when you’re probably never going to see someone again. It’s fitting here.
[/QUOTE]
It definitely wouldn’t be appropriate in France - I couldn’t say for Canada.

Valteron, is your French Canadian ? Your pronunciation explanation for demain made me wonder, and I’m curious about whether we use the ‘futur simple’ a little differently. In France we’d probably use the present to tell somebody what’s happening tomorrow eg vous rentrez demain or ‘futur composé’ vous allez rentrer demain.

12

[QUOTE=Themenin]
It definitely wouldn’t be appropriate in France - I couldn’t say for Canada.

Valteron, is your French Canadian ? Your pronunciation explanation for demain made me wonder, and I’m curious about whether we use the ‘futur simple’ a little differently. In France we’d probably use the present to tell somebody what’s happening tomorrow eg vous rentrez demain or ‘futur composé’ vous allez rentrer demain.
[/QUOTE]

I am Canadian, but Canadian French is still French just like American English is still English. Yesterday I happned to interpret from French to English for an official of the French Government who was in Ottawa for a conference and she certainly understood everything I said.

ALL the versions that you have read here are good. They are simply different ways of explaining the same thing. Just as in English you can say any of the following and ALL of them are correct.

“You are going home tomorrow”

“You will be going home tomorrow”

“You go home tomorrow”

Even “You shall be going home tomorrow” though it sounds a bit quaint, is not incorrect.

In the same way, all of the versions you and I have proposed are all perfectly acceptable.

“Demain” is pronounced the same in France and Canada. I was simply trying to explain to the originator of the thread, who is an anglophone, that the “n” is not really pronounced by itself as a distinct letter, as it would be in an English word like “rain” or “cane” . Nobody in any French speaking country says “duh-main”. They say “duh-may” but add a slightly nasal “n” sound to the second syllable.

13

Thank you to everyone who has helped here, but especially to Valteron. The patient is 15 and we’ve been using the tu form. His mother I address as Madame and using the vous form but they are such lovely people they won’t mind a bit if I mess it up.

My main problem has been with the sentence construction. They’ll forgive me any mistakes I make with tense and vocab can be checked with a dictionary but I was concerned I’d make this exact error:

[QUOTE=Valteron]
The English formulation “I miss you” sounds funny to French people. It sounds like you were shooting at them and are sorry that the bullets went astray!
[/quote]

While my use of French is exceedingly rusty, I can fortunately remember how to pronounce the words (after a fashion). At least, they’ve been able to understand my fractured French so far.

14

[QUOTE=jabiru]
Thank you to everyone who has helped here, but especially to Valteron. The patient is 15 and we’ve been using the tu form. His mother I address as Madame and using the vous form but they are such lovely people they won’t mind a bit if I mess it up.

My main problem has been with the sentence construction. They’ll forgive me any mistakes I make with tense and vocab can be checked with a dictionary but I was concerned I’d make this exact error:

While my use of French is exceedingly rusty, I can fortunately remember how to pronounce the words (after a fashion). At least, they’ve been able to understand my fractured French so far.
[/QUOTE]

Is the 15-year-old completely recovered? If so, try this.

“Je te souhaite une belle vie en pleine santé, mon beau garçon”.

(I wish you a beautiful life in full health, my handsome lad!)

souhaite = soo-wet

pleine = plen
But if the youngster has some chronic condition that will shorten his life, I guess that sentence would not be appropriate.

15

[QUOTE=Valteron]
Yesterday I happned to interpret from French to English for an official of the French Government who was in Ottawa for a conference and she certainly understood everything I said.

[B
[/QUOTE]
:
Sorry, what I meant to say is that I interpreted **from English INTO French ** for an official from the French government. :smack:

At any rate, I think this lady must have spoken very little English because every time someone in the audience asked her a question in English she would grab the listening device to hear the French version that I was speaking into the microphone. At any rate, she certainly understood my “Canadian” French, although she probably noticed that I did not have a European accent, just as you would recognize Australian English or British English or American English when you hear it.

16

[QUOTE=Valteron]
Is the 15-year-old completely recovered? If so, try this.

“Je te souhaite une belle vie en pleine santé, mon beau garçon”.

(I wish you a beautiful life in full health, my handsome lad!)

souhaite = soo-wet

pleine = plen
But if the youngster has some chronic condition that will shorten his life, I guess that sentence would not be appropriate.
[/QUOTE]

He won’t be able to make a full recovery but he’s done far better, so far, than we could have hoped. I’m already telling him that tu es tres beau, mon ami and that he is tres effronte. His mother agreed with me, so I continue to hope that I only told him he is cheeky? He is. And he’s gorgeous.

Winging it with decades old high school French is fraught. I wish there was a decent phrase book available (ie not one for tourists - I have no need to know the way to the post office)

17

[QUOTE=jabiru]
He won’t be able to make a full recovery but he’s done far better, so far, than we could have hoped. I’m already telling him that tu es tres beau, mon ami and that he is tres effronte. His mother agreed with me, so I continue to hope that I only told him he is cheeky? He is. And he’s gorgeous.

Winging it with decades old high school French is fraught. I wish there was a decent phrase book available (ie not one for tourists - I have no need to know the way to the post office)
[/QUOTE]

“Effronté” (eff-ro(n)-tay) would normally be a bit harsh, since it means rude or impudent. But context is important here. If it is spoken with a smile to a kid who knows you like him, by a devoted health-care worker, it comes across as a friendly jibe, not an insult. I think they understand you mean “cheeky”.

You might also try “Mon beau petit gaillard”. pronounce it “pet-ee gah-yahr”

“gaillard” has the meaning of “full of vigour, good health, and a bit cheeky!”

These phrases might be useful.

Il va beaucoup mieux. . . . . He is a lot better

Il a bien dormi . . . . . He slept well.

Il est un jeune homme courageux . . . . . . (the g is soft like the second g in garage)

Il reprend ses forces. . . . . He is getting his strength back

Il a une bonne maman. . . .He has a good mom

As-tu besoin de quelque chose? … Do you need anything?

Es-tu en douleur? Ou est la douleur? Are you in pain? Where is the pain?

Tu veux quelque chose à manger? You want something to eat?

Un verre d’eau?

Voici (tes) ses médicaments. . . . Here are (your) his meds

Tu veux un massage? (Go easy on that one! Sick or not, he IS a 15-year-old boy!) :smiley:

Does any of this help? Any other phrases that would be useful?

18

They are a tremendous help, Valteron. Thank you. There are interpreters, of course, for the important discussions and a telephone interpreter service for day-to-day stuff if we get stuck. Being able to express oneself, however clumsily, in French is great.

I hesitated to use effronte but my dictionary assured me it meant ‘cheeky’. His mother must have got my meaning because she smiled and agreed with me. I’ll use gaillard this afternoon.

We have quite a few children from New Caledonia but most don’t stay as long as this young man and he’s wormed his way into the hearts of everyone on the ward. I found out yesterday evening that he’s not being discharged until Tuesday because CAFAT are unable to arrange transport until then. I’m off to work in half an hour and I’m taking my printed copy of your last message with me. Thanks again.

I’ve decided I won’t use the chez form since he’s going to be transferred to a hospital in Noumea, not his house. Is it correct that chez refers to the residence? ‘Home’ is such an elastic word in English.

Thanks again.

19

[QUOTE=jabiru]
They are a tremendous help, Valteron. Thank you. There are interpreters, of course, for the important discussions and a telephone interpreter service for day-to-day stuff if we get stuck. Being able to express oneself, however clumsily, in French is great.

I hesitated to use effronte but my dictionary assured me it meant ‘cheeky’. His mother must have got my meaning because she smiled and agreed with me. I’ll use gaillard this afternoon.

We have quite a few children from New Caledonia but most don’t stay as long as this young man and he’s wormed his way into the hearts of everyone on the ward. I found out yesterday evening that he’s not being discharged until Tuesday because CAFAT are unable to arrange transport until then. I’m off to work in half an hour and I’m taking my printed copy of your last message with me. Thanks again.

I’ve decided I won’t use the chez form since he’s going to be transferred to a hospital in Noumea, not his house. Is it correct that chez refers to the residence? ‘Home’ is such an elastic word in English.

Thanks again.
[/QUOTE]

Oh, I get it. You’re a “strine”. :smiley: (No offence). Or are you in NZ? Anyhow, you really had me wondering about “this afternoon”. I am a Canuck and it is 8:50 p.m. on November 2. I guess it is the afternoon of November 3 there, right. I swear if I live to be a hundred I will never get used to that idea? You already know what is going to happen November 3 and I don’t???

“Chez” is not a “form”. It is a word that has no translation into English but modifies the word that follows and means “In the home of”. Chez moi means at my place, my home. Chez toi, chez vous, chez Paul, chez Jacques etc. But telling him “chez toi” might raise false hopes that he is going to his actual home.

Nouméa is the Capital of NC, right?

So you could tell him: “Demain (ou lundi) tu vas retourner dans ton pays (pay-ee) . Tu vas aller à l’hôpital (low-pee-tal) à Nouméa.”

Is this kid a Polynesian francophone? If so, you might be interested to know that the Larousse dictionary has a section about special expressions used by francophones in places like Canada, Africa, Louisiana, Haiti, and Polynesia.

Just for fun, ask him if he knows what a “creek” means in New Caledonia. It is the word used by French speaking NCers to mean “rivière”.

“Que signifie le mot “creek” en Nouvelle Calédonie?”

Another cute expression they use in NC according to the dictionary is “Faire la coutume” which means literally “Make the custom” and signifies giving a visitor a welcoming gift.

He may or may not know these local expressions, but it might be fun to try them out on him.

By the way, I am home tomorrow and on Saturday. If you need more phrases, ask for them here and I will see what I can do.

20

[QUOTE=Valteron]

So you could tell him: “Demain (ou lundi) tu vas retourner dans ton pays (pay-ee) . Tu vas aller à l’hôpital (low-pee-tal) à Nouméa.”

[/QUOTE]

Sorry, I just reread your previous message and you said he is going back to his country Tuesday. I said Monday in the abov sentence.

lundi is Monday

mardi is Tuesday

mercredi

jeudi

vendredi

samedi is Saturday

dimanche is Sunday