Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
témoignage couleur de pierre
English translation:
a testimony (or testament) in stone
Added to glossary by
philgoddard
Jul 23, 2009 13:25
14 yrs ago
2 viewers *
French term
témoignage couleur de pierre
French to English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
"Un témoignage couleur de pierre" en référence au Village des Bories, un ancien groupement de cabanes en pierre sèche à vocation agricole et à usage principalement saisonnier, constitué depuis trois décennies en musée de plein air.
Merci d'avance pour votre aide.
Merci d'avance pour votre aide.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +8 | a testimony in stone |
philgoddard
|
| 4 +1 | A stone-hue testimony |
Roberta Mondin Smith
|
| 4 | testimony cast in stone |
André Vanasse (X)
|
| 4 | a testament in stone |
Tony M
|
| 3 | a stone grey (gray) evidence |
Pierre POUSSIN
|
| 3 -2 | reference or standard |
Bashiqa
|
Change log
Aug 1, 2009 22:33: philgoddard changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/64095">Ya CISSE's</a> old entry - "témoignage couleur de pierre"" to ""a testimony in stone""
Proposed translations
+8
10 mins
philgoddard
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
Six languages into flawless English
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English, Spanish to English, and 4 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
175
Selected
a testimony in stone
My suggestion
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
French Foodie
: This sounds very natural
5 mins
|
| agree |
Colin Rowe
: Sounds plausible
20 mins
|
| agree |
Miranda Joubioux (X)
24 mins
|
| agree |
emiledgar
: This works really well.
37 mins
|
| agree |
Linda Sansome (X)
: It also sounds solid - I like this.
38 mins
|
| agree |
Lianne Wilson
1 hr
|
| agree |
Catherine Gilsenan
: This is the term.
9 hrs
|
| agree |
George C.
19 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Merci beaucoup !"
-2
2 mins
reference or standard
a reference for any future additions so as to ensure uniformity of colour
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
philgoddard
: No, I think you've misunderstood the context, Bashiqa
5 mins
|
|
You might be right, but it is the colour of stone, not made from stone as I read it.
|
|
| disagree |
Tony M
: Sorry, but I agree with PG: 'colour' is being used figuratively here (like 'the colour of money')
19 hrs
|
|
No need to apologise, life would be boring and too easy if we were always in agreement.
|
13 mins
Pierre POUSSIN
France
France
Native in French
Works in field
France
Fast and accurate.
Native in: French (Variant: Standard-France) 
Works in: English to French, French to English, Latin to French, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
24
a stone grey (gray) evidence
Une proposition ...Grey (U.K.) or Gray (U.S.)
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Tony M
: Unlike in FR, 'evidence' is uncountable in EN in this meaning; making it countable would change the sense.
19 hrs
|
+1
42 mins
Roberta Mondin Smith
United States
United States
United States
Italian, French, and English
Native in: Italian 
Works in: French to Italian, English to Italian, English to French, and 1 more.
A stone-hue testimony
I like testimony because it fits with the idea of a historical "temoignage." I chose "hue" because I am not sure about the colour of the local stone. If it's in southern France it's probably red stone, in northern France it will be grey/gray.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
John ANTHONY
: ... but stones in the Provence area of Lubéron are grey ! You would be right if you were refering to Collonges-la-Rouge in the Corrèze, for instance, where the stones are ... red !!!
1 hr
|
17 hrs
testimony cast in stone
The stones are the witnesses.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Tony M
: I feel uncomfortable with 'cast'; for one thing, it is not a technically-accurate description of the huts; but also 'cast/set in stone' is an idiom in its own right, with a quite distinct other meaning
2 hrs
|
20 hrs
French term (edited):
un témoignage couleur de pierre
a testament in stone
Personally, I prefer 'testament' in this kind of historical context: "a testament to Liverpool's maritime past"
I don't think the 'colour of stone' really works figuratively here in EN, and since these huts patently are built of stone, I don't see any harm in saying so.
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Note added at 20 hrs (2009-07-24 09:34:26 GMT)
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I think John A is right in his discussion of the reason for using 'colour', which is surely at least partly figurative; however, I also feel like many contributors here that the figurative use works less well in EN, and tends to drag the expression down to a too-literal level that detracts from the message.
I don't think the 'colour of stone' really works figuratively here in EN, and since these huts patently are built of stone, I don't see any harm in saying so.
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Note added at 20 hrs (2009-07-24 09:34:26 GMT)
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I think John A is right in his discussion of the reason for using 'colour', which is surely at least partly figurative; however, I also feel like many contributors here that the figurative use works less well in EN, and tends to drag the expression down to a too-literal level that detracts from the message.
Discussion
Stones in the Gordes area are grey, but think of the poetry behind the sentence: the author refers to both the uniform grey colour of the stones, but also, I believe, to the special way these walls/constructions are built. Philgoddard's answer seems fine to me, but this is, once again, one of the major issues of our profession: if one doesn't know what a "borie" is, it makes things much more difficult when it comes to translating...! ;-)
L'Enclos des Bories: Un témoignage couleur pierre