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English to French - Rates: 0.07 - 0.10 EUR per word / 30 - 35 EUR per hour
Portfolio
Sample translations submitted: 2
English to French: Extract from: "Monty Python, In The Beginning"
Source text - English Monty Python's Flying Circus first hit British television screens in 1969 and overnight the world of television comedy was changed for ever. The influence of Monty Python on comedy has been justifiably compared to the effect that the Beatles had on pop music and, like the Beatles, it was not just in Britain that the influence of Python was felt. This quintessentially British show also had a huge impact in Canada, Australia and even in the formerly unimpregnable world of America where the show became a huge cult success. In the States, the influence of Monty Python can still be clearly traced in long running shows such as Saturday Night Live and more recently has surfaced in the recent crop of absurdist television programming such as Adult Swim, South Park and elements of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. The overriding factor which differentiated Python from the crowd was the intelligent approach to its subject matter however mundane that subject might be.The idea that television comedy could be articulate and anarchic was the constant factor which coloured a wide array of scenarios ranging from the commonplace to the surreal. In the course of this voyage into uncharted waters the normal conventions of TV had to be completely cast aside. The first victim in all of this was, of course, the punchline. The whole laboured process of gradually working towards a pay off line which underpinned an entire sketch was deemed to be unnecessary by the Pythons and their brilliant achievements paved the way for a genuine revolution in comedy. After Python, punch line driven comedy, however brilliant, would always feel old fashioned and contrived. With its disdain the comfortable conventions of television Python was inevitably viewed with suspicion and has been frequently dismissed as undergraduate humour. Clearly there was a justifiable element to that criticism, but one of it's great saving graces is that Python was never to talk down to its audience. The most enduring and welcome effect of Python in the long run was to demand that the audience should raise its collective vision and its collective aspirations to the same glorious level as the writing. Throughout its lifespan the Python material has remained quick witted bright and intelligent, qualities which were quickly spotted and welcomed by an unexpectedly large segment of British society. Summarise Proust was the ultimate antidote to dumbed down television but this was still the age of lumbering dinosaur comedies like On The Buses and large sections of society undoubtedly were genuinely shocked by sketches like the Undertaker amidst what they saw as pointless nonsense such as The Spanish Inquisition all of this on their screens paid for by their licence fees. Neil Innes was to play a part in the life of Python at various stages in its development and he was well placed to recall the effect of its original impact. "Yes, it did shock a lot of people and yes, I think people of our age thought it was the bees knees because it was us being able to play with the toys that the grown ups were playing with. It was a bit like Pandora’s Box. Once you’ve let these things out, you can’t get them back. But I will say, I think it is naïve to say that it was consciously mould-breaking or designing a new thing for the future. I don’t think anyone really thought that way. If you consider the fact that Python was so successful in America, but it was never conceived as a show which would be targeted on America. The programmes as they were, went out. I’m sure after Nixon and Watergate, the Americans were feeling ready for a laugh. This was so silly it touched a nerve, then it became the biggest thing since sliced bread. But then you see present day television executives and they say, “Let’s look at this market, this demographic”, and trying to do things with their pieces of A4, it’s not going to work. If the enthusiasm is there, the actual performers are writing, the artists are having a good time, it’s more than likely to carry across to the individual who’s watching it. Never mind this idea of mass audiences, it’s an individual at a time that finds things funny – or not! It was done out of a sense of fun. It wasn’t done out of modern media monkey demographic planning or anything like that, so it’s opened doors to other styles. Monty Python was the first television series to ever satirise television. There were lots of silly quizzes, blackmail and so forth, they pushed it, they took it to the limits of absurdity.
Translation - French Monty Python’s Flying Circus fait son entrée sur les écrans de la télévision britannique en 1969, métamorphosant du jour au lendemain le monde de la comédie télévisée. L’influence de Monty Python sur la comédie a été comparée à juste titre à l’impact des Beatles sur la musique pop. L’influence de Monty Python, comme celle des Beatles, s’est fait sentir bien au-delà de la Grande-Bretagne. Ce show, britannique par excellence, eut aussi un immense impact au Canada, en Australie, et jusqu’aux Etats-Unis, monde jusqu’ici impénétrable, où son immense succès le hissa au rang de série culte. Aux États-Unis, on décèle clairement l’influence de Monty Python dans des séries fleuves comme Saturday Night Live, et plus récemment dans une moisson de programmes de télévision "absurdistes" comme Adult Swim, South Park et certains éléments de Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Ce qui distingue le mieux Monty Python de la foule des imitateurs, c’est son approche intelligente de ses sujets, même les plus banals. Le concept omniprésent d’une comédie télévisée mêlant éloquence et anarchisme colore une grande diversité de scénarios allant de l’ordinaire au surréaliste. Pour explorer ces territoires vierges, il a fallu complètement rejeter les conventions habituelles de la télévision. Naturellement, la chute dramatique a été la première victime. Les Pythons ne voyaient pas la nécessité de ce processus alambiqué consistant à construire un sketch entier sur une laborieuse progression vers le « mot de la fin ». Leurs brillantes réussites ouvrirent la voie à une véritable révolution dans la comédie. Après les Pythons, la comédie basée sur le principe de la chute dramatique - même lorsqu’elle est géniale - aurait un côté ringard et forcé. Ce dédain des conventions confortables de la télévision ne pouvait manquer d’attirer la méfiance et passa souvent pour simple facétie d’étudiants. Il y avait bien sûr une part de vérité dans cette critique, toutefois largement rachetée par le fait que les Pythons ne se montraient jamais condescendants envers leur public. L’effet le plus durable et salutaire à long terme fut d’exiger du public une vision et des aspirations collectives à la hauteur d’une écriture superbe. Tout au long de leur carrière, Les Monty Python ont su conservé à leurs productions vivacité d’esprit, brillance et intelligence, qualités qui, contre toute attente, furent vite perçues et appréciées par une grande partie de la société britannique. Résumer Proust eut été le remède ultime contre la débilité de la télévision, mais nous étions toujours à l’époque de comédies comme The Buses dont la pesante inertie s’opposait à toute forme de changement. Des sections importantes de la société britannique étaient véritablement choquées d’avoir à financer par leur redevance des sketches comme The Undertaker ou The Spanish Inquisition, jugés idiots et futiles. Neil Innes, qui fut impliqué dans la vie de Monty Python à plusieurs étapes de son développement, était bien placé pour témoigner de l’effet de son impact initial. « Oui, cela a choqué bien des gens et oui, je crois que les gens de notre génération pensaient que c’était le nec plus ultra parce que nous étions capables de nous amuser avec les mêmes jouets que les grandes personnes. C’était un peu comme la boite de Pandore. Une fois qu’on a découvert ces choses, plus moyen de les ignorer. Mais je dois dire qu’il serait naïf de penser qu’il s’agissait d’un effort conscient de rompre avec la tradition et de concevoir un nouveau modèle pour le futur. Je crois que personne ne voyait les choses de cette façon. Songez au succès immense de Python en Amérique, alors que le show n’avait jamais été conçu pour le public américain. Les shows sortaient tels qu’ils étaient. Je suis sûr qu’après Nixon et Watergate, les américains avaient bien besoin de rire un peu. C’était si bête que ça a touché un point sensible, puis c’est devenu la chose la plus importante depuis l’invention de la roue. Mais quand on écoute les responsables de la télévision de nos jours, ils disent : « Voyons un peu ce marché, cette tranche de population », puis ils essaient de tout planifier avec leur paperasse, ça ne marchera jamais. Si l’enthousiasme est là, si les comédiens eux-mêmes écrivent, si les artistes prennent du plaisir, on a de fortes chances de toucher les individus dans le public. Qu’importe cette idée de public de masse, c’est une personne, un individu qui rit… ou ne rit pas ! Ce qui comptait, c’était de s’amuser. On n’avait pas recours à ces combines modernes, ces études de marché, tout ce genre de choses. Monty Python était la première série télévisée à parodier la télévision. Il y avait plein de quiz idiots, de chantage et de choses dans ce genre. Ils ont foncé, ils sont allés jusqu’aux aux limites de l’absurde.
English to French: Mathematical abstract
Source text - English The asymptotic behavior of solutions u = u(x, t) to the Cauchy-Dirichlet problem for ut = ∆pu = ∇∙(|∇u|p-2∇u) is studied with sign-changing initial data u0 for the degenerate case (p > 2) and for the fast diffusion case (1 < p < 2) by using energy method and variational method. In case p > 2, the optimal decay rate of u(x, t) and its asymptotic profile are revealed. In case 1 < p < 2, the extinction time, at which u(x, t) vanishes, is estimated in terms of u0, and moreover, the optimal extinction rate of u(x, t) and its profile are also investigated. Furthermore, the stability analysis of each profile is also performed in one dimensional case.
Translation - French On étudie le comportement asymptotique des solutions u = u(x, t) du problème de Cauchy-Dirichlet pour ut = ∆pu = ∇∙(|∇u|p-2∇u) avec des données initiales u0 changeant de signe pour le cas dégénéré (p > 2), et en utilisant la méthode de l'énergie et la méthode des variations pour le cas de diffusion rapide (1 < p < 2). Dans le cas p > 2, le taux de décroissance optimal de u(x, t) et son profil asymptotique sont décrits. Dans le cas 1 < p < 2, le temps d'extinction, auquel u(x, t) s'annule, est estimé en fonction de u0, et le taux d'extinction optimal de u(x, t) et son profil sont aussi étudiés. De plus, l'analyse de chaque profil est effectuée dans le cas unidimensionnel.
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Translation education
Other - MSc in Scientific, Technical and Medical Translation with Translation Technology - Imperial College London
Experience
Years of experience: 19. Registered at ProZ.com: Feb 2006. Became a member: May 2009.
• Qualified translator with 8 years translation experience, both freelance and in-house
• Near native command of the English language after living, studying and working in England for 20 years
• In-house experience of technical and business translation within the automotive industry
• Experience in teaching (in England) and retail management (in France)
• CAT tools: Trados, SDLX, Passolo
I take pride and pleasure in producing top-class translations, thoroughly proofread and ready for publication, as witness the following comment regarding my translation of “Building the Happiness-Centred Business” (book on business management):
“We thought your translation of the text was wonderful. We felt it read very well and that you interpreted some of the more subtle elements beautifully. Not only that, we found not one typographical error. You've obviously done a marvellous job, Marcel, at the highest levels of our expectations. Thank you very much for your tremendous efforts and great attention to detail.”
Fletcher Potanin, Solutions Press
Main areas of expertise:
TECHNICAL; AUTOMOTIVE; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; EDUCATION; BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT; SCIENCE (PHYSICS, MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS); MUSIC; FREE FLIGHT (PARAGLIDING, HANG GLIDING, GLIDING)
Qualifications:
• MSc in Scientific, Technical and Medical Translation with Translation Technology (Imperial College London)
• Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (Greenwich University)
• BSc in Mathematics with Physics, First Class Hons (Open University)
• Diplomas in Piano, Music Theory and Harmony (Conservatoire National de Région de Marseille, France)
• Baccalauréat, Mathematics and Science
Keywords: scientific technical mathematics engineering physics education retail management web site software localisation
Member since May '09
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