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PS -
le règlement des échéances
Aug 16, 2020 06:45
3 yrs ago
45 viewers *
French term

mes pieds de corne

Non-PRO French to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature
It's a book, and here is the context :

Seize mois plus tard, dans l’effervescence des plages de Bandar Abbas, je baignais mes pieds de corne dans l’écume du Golfe Persique. Une seconde était passée, un siècle aussi.
Dans mes mains, une interminable liste de noms, pour chaque belle âme qui m’aura nourri, souri, ou vêtu.

"pied de corne" literally means "feet made of calluses", "calluses" being these hardened layers of skin that appear when you walk a lot for example. So "pied de corne" tends to be a figure of speech, by which the feet become "made of" calluses.
Any elegant turn of phrase is welcome....
Proposed translations (English)
4 +5 callused feet
4 my road-hardened feet
3 -1 my horny feet (perhaps...)
Change log

Aug 16, 2020 16:01: Rob Grayson changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

PRO (2): Yvonne Gallagher, Daryo

Non-PRO (3): philgoddard, Rachel Fell, Rob Grayson

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Discussion

Yvonne Gallagher Aug 20, 2020:
@ Hugues Yes, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_(anatomy) "Horns consist of keratin, and the term "horn" is used to refer to this material, sometimes including similarly solid keratin from other parts of animals, such as hoofs (hooves)"

Not having a go! I saw your response and I'm glad there will be a native proofreading.
Hugues Roumier (asker) Aug 18, 2020:
@Yvonne I like hoof-like feet! Thanks a lot

Regarding native translation, I've already explained in my previous answer that this is only a first translation, preliminary to proofreading that will be performed by a native speaker. The final version will have been proofread and edited by a native, I promise :)
Hugues Roumier (asker) Aug 18, 2020:
@Yvonne I like hoof-like feet! Thanks a lot

Regarding native translation, I've already explained in my previous answer that this is only a first translation, preliminary to proofreading that will be performed by a native speaker. The final version will have been proofread and edited by a native, I promise :)
Yvonne Gallagher Aug 18, 2020:
@ Asker just be aware that a) "call(o)used" is always negative and something unwanted and b) that it doesn't necessarily come from walking long distances. Hence my suggestion of "(road-) hardened" = toughened by the road in both a physical and figurative sense.

Also, you could be even more figurative and say hoof-like feet

And I agree with Carol about only translating into one's native language, particularly in the field of literature.
B D Finch Aug 17, 2020:
@Asker Corns or other calluses can, indeed be painful if they are thick enough to dig into, rather than to protect the foot.
Hugues Roumier (asker) Aug 16, 2020:
@Carol Gullidge You're absolutely right about non-native translation. It would be a bit fastidious here to explain how this project exactly work, but for some reason I'm translating this book to English, and a complete proofreading will be performed later by a native english speaker. But meanwhile I still have to check when I'm unsure, and Kudoz usually provides good and relevant tips. However, you're right, this is the only time I'll work in this pair, my proper job as a freelancer is only from English to French, and this project is special. Thanks for reminding this general principle, namely that literature needs native translation, I do agree with this.
Back to the question : it looks like I have to accept this tiny translation loss, because apparently "callused feet" still conveys the original idea.
Carol Gullidge Aug 16, 2020:
Hi again, Hughes I totally see your point regarding the slight translation loss that would occur if you were unable to find an appropriate metaphor. We do have "feet of clay", but that of course would be totally incorrect here.
Which is not to say that all avenues have been explored...
However -- and please don't take this the wrong way as this is DEFINITELY by no means a reflection on your clearly excellent English -- speaking as someone whose French isn't too bad, I would never dream of professionally translating any literary text out of my native tongue, so always wonder why anybody would wish to do this, when this is always going to be fraught with difficulties that often might not be apparent to anyone but a native reader. I'm really curious about this!
Back to the question: allowing for some potential unavoidable translation loss, you may have to decide whether to sacrifice some accuracy for readability. "Fraying feet" is an example that springs to mind, where a certain amount of translation accuracy is lost (perhaps too much?) but the general idea is still conveyed, and the translation loss in this case is compensated by the addition of the alliteration...
Carol Gullidge Aug 16, 2020:
Ok, Hughes I was seriously thinking of flagging this as a Non-Pro question, but you have managed to persuade me not to!
However, it’s always a good idea to post as much information as possible right from the outset, including as much context as you can, and to include your own ideas along with your concerns about these. This will enable us to get straight to the point, and avoid posting any ideas that you might have already rejected.
Meanwhile, if I think of anything pithy that sums up your idea of feet like pillars/slabs of concrete, I shall let you know!
polyglot45 Aug 16, 2020:
@Hugues Yoiu can have both corns and calluses on your feet.
I suppose you could say: I dipped my feet, corns and all, in the foamy seas of the Persian Gulf.
But there is no expression along the lines of "corned feet" (corned beef, anybody?).
It might even be possible to talk of your poor battered feet but context is all.
Hugues Roumier (asker) Aug 16, 2020:
@Carol Gullidge I asked the question for two reasons : first of all, I'm not native in English. And "callused feet" is good, but it means "pieds calleux" in French, and the source text uses "pied DE corne", which means that the feet are like made of calluses, in French it IS kind of a figure of speech, used to stress the fact that these feet have walked so much that they look like entirely made of this hard skin. But eventually, I agree with you that "callused feet" seems to be the only way to render it in English, despite the fact that we lose a slight shade that lies in the source text, namely the shade between "pieds calleux" et "pieds de corne".
Carol Gullidge Aug 16, 2020:
You could do, of course, But generally speaking I’d hesitate to add twiddly/emotive bits to a simple text that already speaks for itself.
But I can’t help wondering why this question has been posted at all - which is why I originally presumed there must be more to it than meets the eye. Now, it seems this probably isn’t the case!
Nicky Over Aug 16, 2020:
Agree too "Callused" is the word needed. If you want to make it a bit less blunt, you could say "tired, callused feet" or "poor, tired, callused feet"
Carol Gullidge Aug 16, 2020:
Agree with Polyglot Given the context, there seems to be no obvious reason why this needs to be turned into any sort of metaphor. I see nothing wrong with “callused” here. In English writing, elegance also lies in simplicity!
polyglot45 Aug 16, 2020:
well you could simply talk about my (poor) callused feet
Hugues Roumier (asker) Aug 16, 2020:
more context He's a guy who walked 7000 km on foot, from France to the Persian Gulf. And yes, 'les pieds de corne" designate feet that have so many blisters that they are made of it. But I think blister and calluses are different, because blisters are painful and occur mainly at the beginning of a long trek, but corns/calluses are this hardened skin that appears after a long, long long trek, and is not painful at all
Carol Gullidge Aug 16, 2020:
Hughes: we may need more context! ... who is this character, why has he ended up in the Persian Gulf, are his hardened feet a metaphor for something or simply actual corns as a result of a long trek, and what has happened in the last second/century to lead him to this juncture?
If he has indeed been on a long physical trek, you might consider using “blistered feet”, but, again, this might not be appropriate for the context..

Proposed translations

+5
4 hrs
Selected

callused feet

In the context of your text this seems the most apt translation. Callused feet is widely used, and within a literary text I feel it gives exactly the imagery you need, the hardened skin and rough feet.
Reference:

http://https://www.flexispot.com/spine-care-center/callused-feet-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

Peer comment(s):
agree Nicky Over : Yes, adding "tired" or "poor, tired" as in the discussion post. If it is British English, I think it really ought to be "calloused" with an "o".
28 mins
agree SafeTex
54 mins
agree philgoddard : It's not a UK/US thing, just two variant spellings. And it would be wrong to add "tired": it's a statement of the blindingly obvious.
1 hr
agree writeaway : Also agree with philgoddard
1 hr
agree Suzie Withers : Yes, I can't think of a more poetic way of saying this! I would also normally spell it with an "o" but the UK NHS site has it without!
3 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks Jennifer. On reflection, I eventually think this is the best way to express it. "
8 hrs

my road-hardened feet

if you really want to keep the idea of the long walking he has done. You could also say road-toughened feet

call(o)uses are not necessarily formed by walking a long distance

This exists in at least one film
https://www.barefootdocumentary.com/about
https://www.wesa.fm/post/local-filmmakers-documentary-honors... poor guy was knocked down by a car!

and several blogs about hiking/walking
http://jacobsawyer.blogspot.com/2018/08/day-one-of-hike.html
I assumed that my gravel road hardened feet would suffice but the numbing cold made it to dangerous to go barefoot

http://caminotime.blogspot.com/2020/06/?m=0
I do remember it being very hot and that there was way too much road walking which was hard on my road hardened feet.

and even in religious texts
https://books.google.ie/books?id=rgxbCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT27&lpg=PT...

https://books.google.ie/books?id=XjGjAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA67&lpg=PA...
Peer comment(s):
neutral Mpoma : It's too explicit. We're looking for something implicit, poetic, allusive, metaphorical. Or just go with "callused", best of a bad job.
1 hr
explicit and metaphorical or even hoof-like feet
Something went wrong...
-1
6 hrs

my horny feet (perhaps...)

Yes, it's a joke. But before the invention of the InterOuèbbe and the delights it spawned, such as Pornhub, "horny" had precisely this meaning. (In truth I think "horny" in its modern meaning, and widespread, probably predated the Web by a decade or two).

Look it up if you don't believe me. Impoverishment of language. Maybe it's a word that we need to "reclaim".

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 hrs (2020-08-16 16:54:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Probably the most famous expression using this adjective being "horny-handed sons of toil" (or possibly "of soil"). I just tried finding the origin of this expression, but failed. It appears to be at least 2 centuries old, and may be of American origin.
Note from asker:
true ! Mais vraiment trop connoté aujourd'hui :)
Peer comment(s):
neutral Yvonne Gallagher : LOL you think "horny" is "something implicit, poetic, allusive, metaphorical" ???
3 hrs
well, yes, really: because "horny hands" are not made of horn, so there's a literary décalage... zoomorphism and possibly metonym apply: the worker is likened to a beast of burden, and their hands (symbol of humanity's specialness) a thing.
disagree Carol Gullidge : Sorry, but you must beware of using “horny”, as it commonly refers to sexual arousal.
4 days
neutral Daryo : All very interesting but once the meaning has shifted so much you simply can't use a word in its old meaning.
21 days
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