Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
biquoque > bicoque
English translation:
shack, hut
Added to glossary by
Tony M
Mar 15, 2012 01:00
12 yrs ago
French term
biquoques
French to English
Art/Literary
Religion
This is from a sermon given in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This section is discussing the inhumane conditions the people live in. Here is the sentence:
A quoi servirait un ministre qui vit dans une belle villa quand autour de lui il n’y a que des biquoques ?
I haven't come across this word before, and I'm not finding it anywhere. It seems like it has the meaning of "ghettos" or maybe "hovels" or something along those lines based on the context, but I wanted to be sure and I'm interested.
Thanks!
A quoi servirait un ministre qui vit dans une belle villa quand autour de lui il n’y a que des biquoques ?
I haven't come across this word before, and I'm not finding it anywhere. It seems like it has the meaning of "ghettos" or maybe "hovels" or something along those lines based on the context, but I wanted to be sure and I'm interested.
Thanks!
Proposed translations
(English)
3 +7 | shack, hut, lowly house | Tony M |
3 +1 | Ghettos | Sone-Ngole Alvin Ngole |
3 +1 | shanties | polyglot45 |
3 -1 | The hood worn by widows | Paul Hirsh |
Change log
Mar 17, 2012 18:08: Tony M changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/1468855">Dareth Pray's</a> old entry - "biquoque"" to ""shack, hut""
Proposed translations
+7
4 hrs
French term (edited):
biquoque > bicoque
Selected
shack, hut, lowly house
I feel pretty sure this has to be a typo (or variant spelling?) for 'bicoque', a rather dismissive word used for a house!
So perhaps you have 'a collection of huts', or 'a shanty town'?
So perhaps you have 'a collection of huts', or 'a shanty town'?
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Letredenoblesse
: shacks
1 hr
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Thanks, Agnes!
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agree |
Laurette Tassin
: shacks
2 hrs
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Merci, Laurette !
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agree |
piazza d
: shacks
3 hrs
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Thanks, Piazza!
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agree |
mimi 254
3 hrs
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Merci, Mimi !
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agree |
liz askew
5 hrs
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Thanks, Liz!
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agree |
Christopher Crockett
: "shanty towns" is o.k. Definitely not "ghetto" (which, btw, is not "American" in origin but quite European --Italian, i believe-- and does not apply here.) "Favelas" if it were a question of Brazil.
7 hrs
|
Thanks, Chris! I agree, 'ghetto' has a different connotation again.
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agree |
AllegroTrans
: shacks
17 hrs
|
Thanks, C!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks so much Tony! Mystery solved!"
+1
1 hr
Ghettos
A similar term here in Cameroon is "Elobies", a French word. The closest corresponding English word I know is ghettos, but it might not be the best word that soots an African context. Ghetto sounds more of American, though it is somehow used over here.
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Note added at 1 hr (2012-03-15 02:06:35 GMT)
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Seems Biquoque is a kind of house, of the lowest standard one can imagine.
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Note added at 1 hr (2012-03-15 02:13:16 GMT)
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I propose Huts.
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Note added at 1 hr (2012-03-15 02:16:13 GMT)
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Hut can be used pejoratively to qualify a house of very poor standard
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Note added at 1 hr (2012-03-15 02:31:42 GMT)
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Go in for Hovels. It fits your context perfectly.
Ghettos characterises the whole community, whereas hovel or hut characterises the nature of the houses. A place can be a ghetto without having hovels (in the strict sense of the term)
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Note added at 1 hr (2012-03-15 02:54:08 GMT)
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The word Biquoque seems to be same with the word Bicoque meaning "petite maison délabrée and has as synonyms Baraque, cabane, ...
Your translation HOVEL corresponds perfectly.
http://www.linternaute.com/dictionnaire/fr/definition/bicoqu...
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Note added at 1 hr (2012-03-15 02:06:35 GMT)
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Seems Biquoque is a kind of house, of the lowest standard one can imagine.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2012-03-15 02:13:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I propose Huts.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2012-03-15 02:16:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Hut can be used pejoratively to qualify a house of very poor standard
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2012-03-15 02:31:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Go in for Hovels. It fits your context perfectly.
Ghettos characterises the whole community, whereas hovel or hut characterises the nature of the houses. A place can be a ghetto without having hovels (in the strict sense of the term)
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2012-03-15 02:54:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
The word Biquoque seems to be same with the word Bicoque meaning "petite maison délabrée and has as synonyms Baraque, cabane, ...
Your translation HOVEL corresponds perfectly.
http://www.linternaute.com/dictionnaire/fr/definition/bicoqu...
Peer comment(s):
agree |
fionn
: Must be bicoques as per your reference. I would go for 'shacks', hovels sounds a bit 19th century to me!
2 hrs
|
+1
5 hrs
French term (edited):
bicoques
shanties
as in "shanty town"
hovels
When around him the people live in squalour
hovels
When around him the people live in squalour
Peer comment(s):
agree |
BrigitteHilgner
: "live in squalour" looks like the appropriate expression to me.
4 mins
|
-1
13 hrs
The hood worn by widows
The hood worn by widows, a biquoquet,
Peer comment(s):
disagree |
AllegroTrans
: not in the context of the asker's text -- read it
7 hrs
|
Agree. I tried to delete this answer but the browser wouldn't update the page!
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Discussion
Note: guettos is too strong, in my opinion