mardi
L3 civi GB 10h30 A107
L3 civi GB 15h30 L101
mercredi
Thème Agreg/M2 L102 10h30
Séminaire Master historiographie Première guerre A511 15h
jeudi MEEF M1 civi GB Amphi 2 9h30
...
Sunday, October 24, 2021
Saturday, October 23, 2021
Everyday multiculturalism in Britain
At the National gallery, they suggest a visit in connection with the hindu festival, Diwali.
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/events/celebrate-diwali-at-the-national-gallery-23-10-2021
Agrégation BBC - Rouen students
In last week's class, which I could not come to because I was ill; I was intending to 1) finish the timeline and 2) Talk about television theory . There will be videos doing each of these things over the next few weeks.
If you wish to practice your dissertation skill, you can write me a dissertation on "The BBC and Modernity" and I will comment on your work.
We have classes in early 2022 on dissertation (2 x 1 hour) and on commentary (3 x 2 hours).
If you have questions, send me an email. And don't forget to search this blog for "BBC" if you want more links to videos, articles etc.
Suggested translation Vasquez Thème agrégation
Note that this translation will only remain on the blog for a couple of weeks.
If you are a visitor to this blog and you want to see the original passage we were translating from, you will find it here http://www.jcmullen.fr/0921themebooklet.pdf
We went[1]
back to the estate agent’s[2]
to pick up the keys, then we drove[3]
for a quarter of an hour away from the town centre and[4]
through a small hamlet. A few minutes away from the village, in the middle of
the surrounding countryside, we turned right into a cul-de-sac[5]
before parking on the verge. Hardly had we[6]
pulled up when I heard a car door slam and I saw the little girl rush out. I
quickly got out[7]
too and joined her.
"Lizon, you must[8]
be careful! There might be cars around. You must wait for me!"
I immediately felt a little guilty because of the harsh tone
I had just used, but the little girl did not seem to mind my scolding and stood
still, staring at the house in front of her. Finally, she opened her mouth to
utter her very first words of the afternoon.
"I want this house!"
Right on cue, Miss Duprat, who had followed us, spoke up and so[9]
spared me the trouble of finding a quick response to these four most unexpected
words.[10]
"This is not the house which is to rent; it’s the one
right next to it, which is completely identical[11],
as you'll see[12].
In the sixties[13] they[14]
had planned to build a housing estate,[15]
but it didn't go according to plan[16]
and only two houses were completed."
The young woman walked toward the twin house to start the
tour while I took[17]
Lizon by the hand to force her to follow us. Since she was a well-brought up
little girl with good manners, she fell into step behind me, but her eyes were
still fixed on the neighbouring walls.
After walking through a small garden that I hardly noticed,
we went inside[18]
and what I saw there was indeed nothing like the previous visit. The rooms looked
tiny, with walls covered with an ancient floral wallpaper that must have been
thirty years old at least, and uninspiring oak flooring. I felt as if I was walking
into[19]
my grandmother's house. I could almost see the old lady coming out of the back
kitchen, with her impeccable hair set and her pinafore dress, to welcome me as
she liked to[20]
years ago.
"Hello, my lovely![21]
Quick[22],
come and give your granny a kiss.[23]"
[1] I do not know how
many marks you would lose for putting the whole passage in the present – the
jury would discuss this – but I imagine it would be a large number. We have a
series of actions which happen one after the other (we drove, then we arrived,
then the lady showed us the house). These are not habitual actions, they
happened once, and each one is finished. This is an extremely strong reason for
using the preterite, since the simple present in English does not work like it
does in French. This short book will help a lot. https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00732793/document
[2] Estate agency is
possible, but not as good (and the form I chose allows you to show off your
knowledge of the Saxon genitive. This is the use of the genitive for shops and
services : I have to go to the solicitor’s/to the dry cleaner’s/ to the
ironmonger’s/to the doctor’s/to the physiotherapist’s/to the greengrocer’s/
to the chemist’s/ to the jeweller’s/ to the newsagent’s) In US English, they say « real estate
agency »
[3] Not
« rode », which is for bicycles, horses, motorbikes, carriages,
one-horse open sleighs etc. song of the day : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CWJNqyub3o
[4] Although the
French is « pour traverser », the meaning is not « afin de
traverser » so an infinitive cannot be used in English.
[5] This is,
bizarrely, a polite word in English. The other expression is « a dead
end » , but would be a little too informal here.
[6]
« Hardly » is one of those expressions which can take a
subject-auxiliary inversion. This is an elegant structure, and it seems a pity
not to show you know it, here.
[7] Not « got
off » (which is for bicycles etc) « Alighted » is much too
formal.
[8] I have chosen to
use « must » twice. One might replace the second « must »
with « have to », but, in this register, not the first.
[9] « Thus »
is too formal.
[10] Note the word order.
[11] Not
« *exactly similar » which is a contradiction in terms, since
« similar » means « approximately the same ». « It is
exactly the same » is correct. However, « *it is exactly the same
one » is impossible, because that would mean there were not two houses.
[12] Remember that
« *as you will see it » is a serious error.
[13] Does not take a
capital letter.
[14] A passive
construction is possible. A construction with « one » is not
possible, because there were necessarily several people involved.
[15] Or « a
housing estate was to be built here ».
[16] « The project
aborted » is too technocratic in style.
[17]
« Grabbed » is too energetic.
[18]
« Enter » is possible but note that it is not followed by a
preposition.
[19]
« Entering » is too formal.
[20] A few students
wrote « as she liked to do it ». This is a serious mistake.
[21] There are many
informal possibilities : my love, flower, beautiful, etc.
[22] This is more
informal than « quickly ».
[23] The expression we
use with children is « give X a
kiss ». « Come and kiss granny » sounds strange.
Advanced translation . Thème agrégation: suggested translation Daenincks
Note that this translation will only remain on the blog for a couple of weeks.
If you are a visitor to this blog and you want to see the original passage we were translating from, you will find it here http://www.jcmullen.fr/0921themebooklet.pdf
Passage
from Les Figurants
The
bedroom door[1]
opened as he was dipping[2]
his buttered bread[3] in
the lukewarm[4]
coffee. Elvire stretched, which made[5]
her pink nightgown gape[6]
open; she made fists of her doll-like
hands[7]
and[8]
grunted[9] with pleasure before uttering the phrase that
had inaugurated[10]
each day of their life together for the past fifteen years.
“Oh,
I did sleep well tonight. ”
Valère
Notermans looked up[11]
and foresaw[12]
his wife’s every move.[13] He often promised himself[14]
that he would change the position
of some object or other to see whether it would disrupt[15]
the smooth running of the ritual or whether she still had sufficient resources
within her to be able to adapt to the unexpected… He made do with imagining
different scenarios, all of which, without exception, ended in the utmost
tragedy.
His
nights were filled with apocalyptic visions.
He would sometimes be looking[16] at her in the half-light when an overwhelming
emotion[17]
would suddenly make him sit up in bed in order to calm the beating of his heart
and to dispel his fear. The nightmares would dissipate like moorland mists[18]
being touched by the sun. Elvire would
be lying there motionless, her eyes covered with a black baize sleeping mask, and he would often lean over[19]
her to catch the wisp of her breath, the quiver of her chest, believing her to
be dead. Did she even[20]
know that dreams existed? Perhaps she thought[21]
they were just advertising breaks in the nothingness of her nights.
“Oh,
I did sleep well tonight. ”
When
they had first started living together,[22]
he had been enchanted by the way she had of[23] underlining her every
action out loud. It seemed to Valère that by so doing she was focussing
attention on events whose[24]
importance was hidden by their mundane appearance. Elvire drew his loving attention to her body,
her ability to displace air,[25]
to capture the sun’s rays. (…)
Little
by little, he had grown weary of the spectacle and her trivial phrases had
begun to resonate in his head. Before long, the phrases were all that was left,
appearing at the bottom of the screen.
Their
ordinary life was screened[26]
in its entirety with subtitles!
Didier
Daeninckx ; Les figurants (1995)
PS
: song of the day special dedication to Elvire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aENX1Sf3fgQ
[1] A couple of people were tempted by « *the bedroom’s
door ». This is incorrect, and it is a good moment to review the very
limited list of circumstances in which a « Saxon genitive » is
used.
[2] « Dunking » is possible, but may be a little
too informal.
[3] Dipping either buttered bread or toast in coffee is
bizarre in Britain. Having said that, it does not seem to me an outrageous
over-translation to say « toast ». Note, however, that in English the
word is generally uncountable, so write « toast » not « *toasts ». « Toast » in its other
meaning (public wishes declared as glasses are raised) is countable. « At
the wedding reception, there were far too many toasts ».
[4] “Tepid » is a little strange.
[5] Someone tried « thus opening up… » but the word
« thus » belongs to too intellectual a register.
[6] Note that « gape » is an intransitive verb.
[7] Or “She clenched her doll-like fists”.
Some students were tempted by “dolly fists”.
This is not good, since the rule about compound nouns are stricter than that.
Note I will say “my computer screen” but “the colour of my computer”.
[8] Notice that if you list three things she did, you must
put an « and » before the last one.
[9] I thought « groaned », which is a longer sound,
was a little too much.
[10] Pas de ING ici – nous ne nous intéressons pas à l’action
au cours de son déroulement, mais au simple fait qu’elle a eu lieu .
[11] « Raised his eyes » is a little clumsy.
[12] « Anticipated » is fine, but a non latinate
word is even better.
[13] Some students tried « the least of her
gestures ». this structure is very restricted and is almost always
« the least of his worries ».
[14] Be careful : as soon as you mention the person to whom
the promise was made, you may no longer use an infinitive sructure.
[15] « Compromise » is too intellectual, I feel.
[16] Here we have an interrupted action, which is one of the
strongest reasons for a past tense with BE +ING. (« I was walking along
the road when I met Michael Jackon’s lawyer » - Yes, it is an example I
have been using for some years).
[17] Or « an overly strong emotion », or even
« too strong an emotion ». Note the word order here : *a too strong emotion is impossible.
[18] Note that « mist » is countable, but
« fog » is uncountable. « Fog » is also no doubt too
strong.
[19] Not « bent over ». To bend, for humans is
generally from the waist (as when one picks up something from the ground while
keeping one’s legs straight. « Lean » is more general.
[20] Not « only ».
[21] A modal structure is possible. « Maybe she thought » is very clumsy.
[22] Someone was tempted by « *their
couple life », which is another example of overuse of compound
nouns. Compound nouns can be invented, but there are very strict rules.
[23] Infinitive structure impossible here.
[24] If you were tempted by anything except «whose »,
revise urgently.
[25] In this case, the expression is literal – it is not an
image to describe someone who talks too much (which would be less
romantic !)
[26] Although it is not absolutely compulsory here, avoiding
sentences which do not have verbs in English is always a good move.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)