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Support guichet recommandé
May 4, 2011 16:32
13 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term

j’en suis un otage malgré moi

French to English Social Sciences General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
I am translating a model of a letter that a person could send to a company to complain about their sexist advertisement, and at one point it reads:

Vos publicités me heurtent, j’en suis un otage malgré moi. Je veux offrir aux jeunes, filles et garçons, une vision d’un monde sans violence, sans discrimination et pour cela, ils doivent être témoins de publicités respectueuses des personnes.

That is the complete paragraph, but what is giving me trouble is: j’en suis un otage malgré moi

Thanks for your help!
Proposed translations (English)
3 +1 suggestion
4 +5 Unable to escape/impossible to avoid
4 +5 try hard as I might, there is no escaping them
4 +1 I'm their hostage in spite of myself
3 +2 I am their victim/prisoner against my will
4 +1 tacit victim
3 they hold me captive in spite of myself
3 and make it impossible for me to do my job
3 force themselves upon me
Change log

May 5, 2011 12:11: Stéphanie Soudais changed "Field (specific)" from "Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc." to "General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters"

Proposed translations

+1
15 hrs
Selected

suggestion

Complete rewrite needed, IMHO.

I've been following this with interest as all the early answers sounded really stilted but I just couldn't think of anything really natural. Later answers sound more natural but I really think that if ever there were a sentence in need of a complete rewrite, this is it!

My suggested rewrite would be:
"Much as I try, I find it impossible to avoid your advertisements, which I find offensive."
Note from asker:
Thanks for your help!
Peer comment(s):
agree Yolanda Broad : Looks like a nice solution!
13 days
Thanks,Yolanda!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "thanks for your help and sorry about the delay!!"
+1
9 mins

I'm their hostage in spite of myself

I assume the problem is that "en"? Possessive pronouns are one way around that preposition.
Note from asker:
Thanks for your help!
Peer comment(s):
agree codestrata
13 days
Something went wrong...
+2
33 mins

I am their victim/prisoner against my will

You could go for a literal translation, although I wonder whether this doesn't sound too melodramatic in English... French is a passionate language, but English just does not work that way. If you want to make a point, then do not be too over the top or people won't take you seriously. You just turn into a drama queen. Just my opinion though.
Note from asker:
Thank you for your help!
Peer comment(s):
agree mendezhord : I would go for "I am their victim"
10 mins
agree Loise
1 day 6 hrs
Something went wrong...
+5
36 mins

Unable to escape/impossible to avoid

Although the other answers are correct, I might avoid sticking too closely to the original here as metaphors don't always translate very well.

I think the idea is that the person is unable to escape from the ads (they are impossible to avoid) and wants to speak out about it.

If your letter is to be effective, it will have to sound natural and I'm not convinced that keeping the hostage metaphor is really a good idea.

Good luck,
Jocelyne
Note from asker:
Thanks for your help!
Peer comment(s):
agree philgoddard : Yes, "hostage", "victim" etc. are too literal.
13 mins
I agree, thanks.
neutral Kirsten Bodart : While I agree that the French would be too literal, I also find that 'unable to escape/...' is a bit too weak. The person who wrote the letter feels much stronger about it than merely that, IMO.
19 mins
Thanks for your opinion. I find "unable to escape" plenty powerful, however.
agree Tony M : Yes, to me, it's very much the idea of "Wherever I go, I can't get away from them"
35 mins
Yes, exactly. Thanks Tony.
agree JH Trads
1 hr
Thank you.
agree silvester55 : impossible to avoid
2 hrs
Thanks silvester55.
agree Lara Barnett
5 hrs
Thanks Lara.
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40 mins

they hold me captive in spite of myself

Person is sucked in despite their inner resistance....?
Note from asker:
Thank you very much!
Something went wrong...
58 mins

and make it impossible for me to do my job

I think this is the idea that the writer is trying to convey.

IMO, sticking to victim/hostage won't work here.
Note from asker:
Thank you very much!
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+1
1 hr

tacit victim

For me, the general idea is that a sexist advert is an affront to all women (I'm not giving my opinion here!!)
Therefore all women are victims of sexist adverts
Tacit means 'implied' 'not specifically mentioned'
So you get the phrase 'tacit victim'
Note from asker:
Thanks for your help!
Peer comment(s):
agree Nikki Scott-Despaigne : I like the idea of 'tacit' for the implied lack of consent. Although as the person is speaking out, she is no longer tacit!
7 mins
neutral cc in nyc : Are we quite sure that the writer is a woman?
12 mins
men don't complain about sexist adverts with women (ha ha ha)
Something went wrong...
+5
52 mins

try hard as I might, there is no escaping them

Your publicity is offensive ; try hard as I might, there is no escape!

As an alternative, lighter version

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2011-05-04 19:10:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Philippe :
Les auxiliaires modaux en anglais s'emploient de plusieurs façons. May/Might : oui pour le présent / passé, mais pas seulement...
Aussi pour exprimer des niveaux de probabilité : cf . 4. May, might and must ici :

http://www.fortunecity.com/bally/durrus/153/gramch10.html
Note from asker:
Thanks for your help!
Peer comment(s):
agree Alistair Ian Spearing Ortiz
11 mins
neutral philgoddard : I feel this is basically the same as Jocelyne's answer, but "might" is the past tense here, so it's not grammatical. //Try as I might, I could not; try as I may, I cannot.
34 mins
'Might' is used to express possibility, a little like 'may', more informal, spoken contexts. I have used the present form here BTW! The past form being "might have + past part.". Yes, similar to Jocelyne's but more colloquial perhaps.// See note on might
agree Jim Tucker (X) : "hard" is unnecessary and undesirable; as Phil suggests, "try as I may" would be better though both are used (and it's not past but prob. subj.). But best of all is probably just "there is no escaping them" and nothing else.
1 hr
Agree that "hard" is unnecessary. Subjunctive, yes, present. (PS Phil does not suggest use of 'may', you do and it may be a solution!!! ;-)
agree Yolanda Broad : I don't see any problem with "might." And it's the right register for the rest of the paragraph.
1 hr
agree Sheila Wilson : "try as I might" and "try as I may" are pretty interchangeable for me although perhaps here the more formal "may" is called for. Complaints are often stiffly formal.
14 hrs
You are no doubt right Sheila. The difference is slight and probably not that important here. Although formal, the original does use "hostage" after all, quite a strong image!
agree B D Finch : I think that "might" is better than "may" here. As you say, it expresses possibility - because it is the subjunctive, which does still (just about) exist in English. I do think it would read better without "hard".
16 hrs
Something went wrong...
14 hrs

force themselves upon me

i.e. the idea is that this person is offended by these adverts and feels they are being forced upon them unwillingly. As in being held hostage to an idea. Get away from a literal translation and keep with the register of the rest (which is quite strongly worded).

It also emphasizes the sexually oppressive nature of this kind of advertising.
Note from asker:
Thanks for your help!
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