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entre deux impressions d’immensité

Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

chronique sociale

English translation:

social chronicle

Added to glossary by Patricia Phillips-Batoma
May 7, 2020 14:16
4 yrs ago
55 viewers *
French term

chronique sociale

French to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature
A student of mine as an exercise is translating a short story about a book reviewer/critic who murders 31 authors (Sévère, mais juste, by Bernard Quiriny).

One of these author victims is described as follows.

Restons sur le plagiat avec cette femme sympathique, connue elle aussi pour sa propensité à loucher sur les romans d’autrui. ...L’an dernier, un confrère ayant fait un tabac avec une chronique social sur les milieux ouvriers, elle a écrit une chronique sociale sur les milieux paysans.

We are uncertain about the meaning of chronique sociale. Note that the first sentence of the paragraph indicates this author steals material from the novels of other authors. We assume this "chronique sociale" to be some genre of fiction writing.

Could it be historical fiction? Another option is social chronicle, but we don't know what that is.

Thanks for any help.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +6 social chronicle
4 +3 social commentary
4 +2 social chronicle
4 account of the (everyday) lives of [...] OR account of [...] life
4 commentary
3 social observations

Discussion

Patricia Phillips-Batoma (asker) May 8, 2020:
it describes what is going on in a text Thanks for this insight. I agree that it describes more what the text does and is not a genre in and of itself. In discussing this with other people, someone said that Hugo's Les miserables would be une chronique sociale. I suppose social chronicle is appropriate here.
Yvonne Gallagher May 8, 2020:
@ Asker social chronicle = social history or social record in literary terms and not necessarily a genre in itself at all. I'd argue it's a false friend here. In fact, many novels are seen as part social chronicle as in Helen's first reference "Part generational history, part detective story, part social chronicle,...". The context here seems to imply it's a social commentary about ONE group of people, rather than a general social history, either les "milieux ouvriers" or "les milieux paysans".
Timothy Rake May 7, 2020:
a thought Could "social" be used here in its sense of "corporate"? In other words a chronicle of business activities? I have no references, just an idea to throw out there.

Proposed translations

+6
18 mins
Selected

social chronicle

I think that social chronicle refers to chronicle (Literary genre consisting of a personal appreciation of the facts of everyday life. [Literature] Collection of historical facts, narrations in chronological order) about social themes which are socially important from a pragmatic point of view like the causes of the workers
Note from asker:
Thank you. I appreciate your thoughts and I agree with your assessment.
Peer comment(s):
agree philgoddard
53 mins
Thank you, Phil.
agree Barbara Cochran, MFA
56 mins
Thank you, Barbara.
agree Katarina Peters
59 mins
Thank you.
agree writeaway
1 hr
Thank you.
agree EirTranslations
2 hrs
Thank you.
agree SafeTex : you got it by one minute !
19 hrs
disagree Saro Nova : Google "social chronicle" and see how few examples there are, and not the same context.
20 hrs
Thank you, Saro.
neutral Yvonne Gallagher : I think this is a false friend here and does not fit the context
21 hrs
False friend ? what you mean ?
agree erwan-l
3 days 11 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you. I appreciate the insight."
+3
13 mins

social commentary

Note from asker:
Yes, I agree that social commentary is another option for translating chronique sociale. Thanks!
I agree that this is also an option when translating chronique sociale. I am sorry I cannot give you more credit because only one answer is allowed. You are correct, however.
Peer comment(s):
agree EirTranslations
4 mins
Many thanks:-)
agree liz askew
1 hr
Many thanks:-)
agree Saro Nova : yes, but don't use it twice in the same sentence. See my suggestion below.
1 day 19 hrs
thanks but that's the term. It's a particular type of commentary so either needs repetition or be replaced in 2nd instance with "wrote one on..."
Something went wrong...
32 mins

social observations

I offer social observations as an alternative to social commentary. Wiki has this to say -
Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace about a given problem and appealing to people's sense of justice. Social commentary can be practiced through all forms of communication, from printed form, to conversations to computerized communication.

Two examples of strong and bitter social commentary are the writings of Jonathan Swift and Martin Luther. Swift exposed and decried the appalling poverty in Ireland at the time, which was viewed as the fault of the British government. Martin Luther decried corruption in the Catholic Church, including what today would be termed pedophilia.[1] Examples of social commentators from the lower social strata[clarification needed] are Charles Dickens and Will Rogers.

So if this tallies with the purpose of the book, social commentary it is.
Note from asker:
Very interesting examples of works that can be described in similar ways. Thank you.
Thank you for your insight and the references to contexts where the term is used.
Peer comment(s):
neutral SafeTex : it's very risky not to go for a literal translation when the exact same expression (social chronicle) is also well-established in English
18 hrs
neutral Yvonne Gallagher : so you basically agree with me?( And I already gave the Wiki link from which you quote here)
21 hrs
Something went wrong...
1 hr

account of the (everyday) lives of [...] OR account of [...] life

The way I understand it here and elsewhere, chronique sociale is an account of the everyday lives of a certain group or class or category of people.

Often the purpose of such accounts is to reveal the joys & sorrows, successes & hardships, quirks and all the little things that make such people different and similar to everyone else. They can take the form of a book, essay, article, whatever—fiction or nonfiction.

In this instance there seems to be a note of sarcasm implying the literary genre is used and abused to further one's own ends and reputation. The protagonist is jumping on the bandwagon by doing a write-up of country life, but probably cares little for smallholders or their lives.
Example sentence:

Last year a book on the lives of workers was a bestseller, so she [promptly] wrote up an account of country life.

Last year a book on workers' everyday lives was a bestseller, so [off] she [went and] wrote her own book about the lives of small farmers.

Note from asker:
Yes, this is a very sarcastic text. In fact, it is poking fun at the abuses of writing in general. Thank you for your thoughts. They are very much appreciated.
Yes, I agree that this could also be used in some translations of the term. Thank you for this thoughtful response.
Something went wrong...
20 hrs

commentary

We don't need to say "social" commentary; it's already implicit in the fact that it is about a social group. Seems redundant in the second part of the sentence, especially as repetition - not concise writing. However, you might use it for the first instance and part of the sentence. No need to repeat it in the second half - just commentary is fine.
Reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_commentary

Note from asker:
Thank you for your insight. Given the narrator of this story is quite snarky, I would leave in the repetition. Later there is the use of an idiomatic expression, "défrayer la chronique" as a kind of word play. I do see your point however.
Yes, definitely in some contexts commentary would suffice. I appreciate the idea.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Yvonne Gallagher : so you basically agree with me?//"just commentary" is NOT fine. as it's a term to describe a particular type of commentary, so either needs repetition or be replaced in 2nd instance with "wrote one on..."
1 hr
YES
Something went wrong...
+2
19 mins

social chronicle

Frequently used in literary history.

https://canongate.co.uk/books/440-the-book-of-secrets/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286120817_Margaret_...

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=32vKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA31&lpg...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 days (2020-05-12 17:32:24 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Don’t worry. We posted just about at the same time. It often happens. Glad the links helped.
Note from asker:
Thank you Helen for sharing documentation on where the term occurs. So helpful when you need to justify your translation of something.
Thank you. I appreciate the insight and the information. I was only able to select one answer, and both of you had the same one. I am sorry I can't give you more credit.
Peer comment(s):
agree Barbara Cochran, MFA
56 mins
Thanks, Barbara
agree Katarina Peters
58 mins
Thanks, tradart
neutral Yvonne Gallagher : I think this is a false friend here and does not fit the context
21 hrs
I don’t think we have enough context to say, to be honest. The Asker must interrogate this issue carefully.
Something went wrong...
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