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LEARNING FRENCH

Why is it so hard to translate French swearing?

The French language has a rich variety of gros mots, from the mildly vulgar to the truly offensive - but translating them into English is fraught with pitfalls. We asked a language expert for their tips on how to translate correctly.

Why is it so hard to translate French swearing?
Swearwords have a cultural, historic and political context. Photo: François Lo Presti/AFP

It’s a perennial issue for people wanting to speak colloquial French, but two recent examples from the world of politics have highlighted the problem.

The first was how to translate Emmanuel Macron’s vow to emmerder the unvaccinated – a phrase that was variously rendered in English-language media as “to annoy”, “to hassle”, “to inconvenience”, “to piss off” or “to drop in the shit”.

Going the other way and Joe Biden’s description of a reporter as a “stupid son-of-a-bitch” was variously translated into French as espèce de connard or stupide fils-de-pute.

So why is translation of bad language so hard?

Swearing or bad language has a wide range – from phrases that are vulgar, colloquial and a bit rude to wildly-offensive full-on insults that are likely to start a punch up if you use them in a bar.

You need to know what level you’re going for, but if you’re translating someone else’s comments, you need to render both what they said and also exactly how offensive their comment was.

READ ALSO Your guide to French swearing

Héloïse Prieur is a French language and culture coach who runs the London-based French language school Belle Entente. She said: “Whenever you’re translating something from the less formal end of the lexicon, cultural and historical knowledge becomes very important.”

Joe Biden’s “son of a bitch” has its closest exact translation as fils de pute (son of a whore) and if you use an online translation tool this is what you will get. But fils de pute is a strong insult in French – you would probably be screaming it at the man who has just smashed into your car or had an affair with your wife.

In English “son of a bitch” is not exactly polite, but it’s not a nuclear insult either, which is why many French publications went for the milder insult connard – think a phrase that you mutter at someone who has just slammed the door in your face or landed you in trouble with your boss.

Héloïse said: “I think there are three things that you need to consider

“Firstly you need to consider the speaker’s intent, and here it’s useful to look at things like the tone of voice and the body language to see whether someone is relaxed or angry.

“Secondly there is the intensity of the word of the phrase, whether you’re looking at something mild, in the middle or extreme. This really only comes through having a good general knowledge of the culture so we know which words are most often used in which situations. You would use a different word for someone being mildly annoying or for someone you’re really very angry and aggressive towards.

“And thirdly there’s the social and geographical context that people are talking in. A group of young people on a night out will use very different language to a president talking in an interview.”

Macron’s emmerder caused problems for translators because there is no exact translation – it means to make someone’s life difficult or inconvenient, but it is also vulgar (although not truly offensive) so for the president to use it in an interview made its own statement.

It is also loaded with historical and political significance, harking back to a famous quote by former president Georges Pompidou.

READ ALSO Why Macron’s use of ’emmerder’ proved hard to translate

And Héloïse’s advice for people who want to try out French swearing? Save it until you have really progressed in your language learning.

She said: “For me the difference between someone who has a high level of language and someone who is totally fluent or bilingual is knowing when to use slang, expressions or swearing – because that requires not just language knowledge but cultural knowledge to know what is appropriate to use in a certain situation.

“It’s worth learning these phrases so that you can understand them, and I always advise people to listen to French radio and watch as much French TV and film as possible because these are great at educating you on context and when certain words or phrases are used.

“But keep it in your pocket until you’re really sure of the use.”

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LEARNING FRENCH

8 of our favourite French Words of the Day

This month’s countdown of our favourite French words and phrases features the most useful word ever in the French language, a pastry-based cultural thing, and one word that could lead to a generational misunderstanding.

8 of our favourite French Words of the Day

Every weekday The Local publishes a French word or phrase of the day. We try to focus on colloquialisms, slang, sayings (and a bit of swearing) – you know, the type of French you won’t learn in the classroom, but will hear all the time in the street.

This daily habit means we have a very extensive back catalogue – find it here – and we’ve picked out eight of our recent favourites.

Un truc

Quite simply, this great multi-tasking words that can stand in as a placeholder for just about any noun you may have temporarily forgotten is arguably the most useful single syllable in French…

Don’t believe us? Read more here.

Ça te dit

This handy expression – one you’re most likely to hear when making social plans –  doesn’t mean anything and means everything at the same time… Think ‘do you feel like it?’ or ‘do you want to?’, or ‘what do you think?’.

Lean more here

Pantois

Did you know that French has a word that literally means lost for words? This is it – and you’ll probably hear it a lot this summer.

We explain here.

Front républicain

A phrase we’re hearing a lot in France at the moment, with an election looming, as figures from across the political spectrum join forces to keep parties such as the far-right Rassemblement National from the corridors of power. 

Find out more here.

READ ALSO 10 essential French phrases to help you understand France’s snap election

Ici on dit chocolatine

Only in French could centuries of regional culture wars be distilled into four words about delicious pastry – and an unofficial slogan for south-western pride. 

You have to read all about it to believe it. 

Faire du lèche-vitrine

France’s officially mandated summer sales are fast approaching – and you’re salivating at the prospect of some bargains. Enter the French phrase for window shopping, which literally translates as ‘to do the window licking’. 

Find out more, here.

Nana

Our quest to have this word added to the list of linguistic ‘false friends’ between French and English starts here. While English-speakers would associate this word with their sainted grandmothers, in French it’s a slang term for girlfriend or girl.

Read more here.

Clap de fin

And finally… A phrase from the 1980s, born of cinema and TV, is used to signal an approaching or just-passed deadline – in English, you might say ‘the grand finale’ or ‘the end of the road’ or ‘the final curtain’.

Get to the end of it all, here.

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