Franglais and Intense Driving Sensations

Matt Prior in Autocar (12th September 2012) reviews a new, more powerful version of the Peugeot RCZ remarking ‘it will offer “intense driving sensations”, according to the Franglais’.

This highlights one of the main differences between French and English.

English is a language which is Germanic in origin but which over time has acquired much vocabulary from romance languages, particularly French.

French has remained first and foremost a latin-based language with a few borrowings from elsewhere. ‘Calanque’ (inlet or creek) from the Visigoth ‘kalanka’ has always stuck in my mind. 

Many French nautical terms come from the language of the Vikings, who settled in Normandy and from whom William 1st (The Conqueror) was descended. Ironically he would have spoken Norman French.

This allows English to benefit from many different registers thanks to this choice of vocabulary.

We are all aware of the difference between mutton (Fr. mouton) and sheep, or pork (Fr. porc) and pig reflecting the cultural and class differences between Norman and Saxon following the Conquest.

The English speaker can neatly switch from perceived ‘earthy’ terms of Saxon or Germanic origin to Latin based expressions, which seem to be either more impersonal or more verbose in tone.

The French speaker cannot help but using latinate expressions and may sound verbose or overly elegant to the anglophone ear, even when being extremely earthy.

So the “intense driving sensations” offered by this car might be translated into English as ‘belting drive’...

Does Let your Body Drive translate ?

Interesting comments by Steve Cropley in Autocar magazine (4th July 2012) on Peugeot’s latest TV advertising campaign for the new Peugeot 208. ‘Their ‘Let Your Body Drive’ campaign for the car - which implies that it’s somehow desirable to remove one’s brain from the equation if one is to enjoy driving - sets a new record in risibleness (sic)..I’m prepared to accept that the thing might work better in French, if it’s a translation. But if this is original work in English, it is truly terrible.’

I think Steve is a bit scathing. Of course we are often treated to excellent advertising in this country, so he may have a good point. It does seem that the campaign was developed simultaneously for all markets and simply translated (unless the English came first, which is possible). 

Whether ‘Let your body drive’ is the best rendition of ‘Votre corps reprend le pouvoir’ or ‘Laissez conduire votre corps’ (the same slogan in French language versions) is open to debate. From a cultural standpoint I think Steve is correct that the whole concept might work better in French and in more Latin environments as a whole.

Translation is much more complicated a task than it first seems, and it is not simply a matter of getting the words right. One needs to ask oneself if it works, and if the target audience will understand it.