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Robert said
It's easy to read French once you are fluent with English.L'amour est de tout les sentiments le plus égoïste, et, par conséquent, lorsqu'il est blessé, le moins généreux.
Love, a most egoistic of sentiments, when blessed, becomes as a consequence the most generous.
The problem with language, and especially translation, is that there are a lot of traps! As it turns out, an actual translation from the French to English results in some differences, both small and large:
Love is THE most self-centered of all the sentiments and, consequently, when it is WOUNDED, the LEAST generous.
[edit: added the following]
I guess I should improve my word order to bring out the contrast in the turning of the phrase:
Love is of all the sentiments the most self-centered, and, consequently, when it is wounded, the least generous.
There is a book that is somewhat related.
Mots d'Heures, Gousses, Rames a book of childrens nursery rhymes in French. Included is "Un petit d'un petit"
Un petit d'un petit
S'étonne aux Halles
Un petit d'un petit
Ah! degrés te fallent
Indolent qui ne sort cesse
Indolent qui ne se mène
Qu'importe un petit d'un petit
Tout Gai de Reguennes.
(Refer to Mother Goose Rhymes And "Humpty Dumpty"). These poems, when pronounced correctly in native French, sound astonishingly like a French person reciting English with a thick French accent.
Look in the Wiki article for references to other English-French, French-English, and German-English versions
Thanks thanks thanks thanks Glenn! Phenomenal !
The French audio of Google Translate does some justice (when you trick it to read the English rhymes), but for optimal justice you will need a Frenchman with just a little feel for English. Now it's tricky because if he reads it strictly like French, it will be off.
I'm going nuts, here; I don't get it at all. I read it aloud, trying to hear English words; but French is my best second language, and that may explain why I hear only French. Someone give me a clue, a starting thread I can pick at, please.
...Just before I hit the Submit button I tried again and I think maybe that 4th line would be "Ah! The great fall" ("...the great-uh fall"). But I'm not sure that's the intent, and I can't seem to extend it any.
Bob Bridges said
I'm going nuts, here; I don't get it at all. I read it aloud, trying to hear English words; but French is my best second language, and that may explain why I hear only French. Someone give me a clue, a starting thread I can pick at, please....Just before I hit the Submit button I tried again and I think maybe that 4th line would be "Ah! The great fall" ("...the great-uh fall"). But I'm not sure that's the intent, and I can't seem to extend it any.
I had the same problem. First of all, don't try to speak it yourself, let Google Translate speak it and you just listen.
(Here is where my instruction will get a little goofy) I'm sure you have seen optical illusions in which you will see one thing if you look at it one way and something else if you look at it another way. When I see one of these it helps if I squint my eyes in order to overlook the first image I saw. Well in this you sort of need to squint your ears. Don't listen to the French words, just listen to the sounds. Anyway that works for me.
Squint ear could be good. Even with open ear, 'Had a great fall' translates pretty well to 'Ah degrés te fallent' (better without the exclamation mark in Ah! )
Bob Bridges, you seem to be attempting to translate French to English. It's the other way -- Let the French audio run on the English text.
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