Category Archives: Translations

Bring on the bread!

Posted on November 18, 2009 by Francois Lachance

Delicious translations. spreadthefeeling.ca dubonheuratartiner.ca Simply scrumptious. I like how the French is a bit more specific on the sentiment that is being spread: happiness. The corporation responsible for such word play is very successful in capturing the hearts of the … Continue reading →

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Softly Going

Posted on November 17, 2009 by Francois Lachance

Recently I noticed that the almost ubiquitous “to do” of list fame is a homophone for the French “tout doux” which translates back into English as “all soft”. It also reminded me of the kinship between French and Italian: where … Continue reading →

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From Sounds to Functions

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Francois Lachance

Sometimes words sound sexier in French. Take for example bandoulière which means padded shoulder strap Not to be confused with “bourdaloue”, a type of pear pie or an implement for easing relief, both I believe named after a Jesuit priest. … Continue reading →

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Gallic Genealogy

Posted on August 9, 2009 by Francois Lachance

French distinguishes half brothers by type. A “demi-frère” can be either de même père – consanguin de même mère – utérin Blood brothers through the father… womb siblings through the mother. And so for day 970 09.08.2009

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Feedback Reaction

Posted on May 27, 2009 by Francois Lachance

I came across a French translation of “feedback” which provided the term “rétroaction” for the English which is fine if the context is one of cybernetic systems or the feedback generated by the continuous coupling of the output from an … Continue reading →

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The Utility of Lullabies

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Francois Lachance

We read here an echo of the last sentence of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus. In his translations from the Greek of Heraclitus, Haxton provides as the last fragment (number 130) “Akea” which he renders “Silence, healing” [Brooks Haxton in Fragments: The Collected … Continue reading →

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Tracking A Phrase

Posted on May 25, 2009 by Francois Lachance

Brooks Haxton in Fragments: The Collected Wisdom of Heraclitus (2001) translates number 121 in his arrangement thus One’s bearing shapes one’s fate. And feels compelled to add a note This fragment is often translated; “Character is fate.” More literally, a … Continue reading →

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Paratexts Entries Replicas Epitaphs

Posted on May 17, 2009 by Francois Lachance

No reprise. From the back of the box that houses a folding fan of text: WHEN MY BROTHER DIED I MADE AN EPITAPH FOR HIM IN THE FORM OF A BOOK. THIS IS A REPLICA OF IT, AS CLOSE AS … Continue reading →

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Impressed Modalities Compressed

Posted on April 30, 2009 by Francois Lachance

Published in 1995 in The Cyborg Handbook edited by Chris Hables Gray, “Split Subjects, Not Atoms; or How I Fell in Love with My Prosthesis” by Sandy Stone has intrigued me for its particular insight into the possibilities of transcoding, … Continue reading →

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Jug Jug

Posted on April 20, 2009 by Francois Lachance

I am puzzled by one of the stories Martin Buber collects in Tales of the Hasidim: The Early Masters trans. Olga Marx (New York: Schocken Books, 1947) Once the Baal Shem said to his disciples: “Just as the strength of … Continue reading →

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