Off topic: L'ampoule dans nos toilettes est brûlée. Thread poster: Heinrich Pesch
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Heinrich Pesch 
Finland
Local time: 10:55
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
In our small hotel, after arriving from our daily excursion, we noticed the lamp in our toilet said "pox" and stayed dark.
I wanted to tell the message to our hosts when going to dinner, so I thought to ask Google translate. As a first attempt I typed "The light bulb in our toilet is burned". And Google delivered the translation in the header.
I did not quite trust this solution so I tried German "Die Glühbirne ist ausgebrannt". This changed the verb to "grillée". Only after I type... See more In our small hotel, after arriving from our daily excursion, we noticed the lamp in our toilet said "pox" and stayed dark.
I wanted to tell the message to our hosts when going to dinner, so I thought to ask Google translate. As a first attempt I typed "The light bulb in our toilet is burned". And Google delivered the translation in the header.
I did not quite trust this solution so I tried German "Die Glühbirne ist ausgebrannt". This changed the verb to "grillée". Only after I typed "Die Glühbirne ist kaputt" did I get the result "L'ampoule dans nos toilettes est cassée".
I told so the Madame and she understood at once. I still don't know how one really should say this in French, but at least I made an impression on my wife with my fluent French. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | C'est "grillé" | Apr 20, 2013 |
The standard French phrase is "l'ampoule est grillée".
| | | | | Grillée, effectivement | Apr 20, 2013 |
Hello Heinrich,
"cassée" (literally : broken) was understood because the lady was aware that you were a foreigner who was kind as to make the effort to try to speak French, which is always appreciated.
The right term is "grillée" (= roasted).
You were right when you rejected "brûlée", although it was the literal translation of the English "burnt".
In France, we roast the light bulbs, we don't burn them. Aren't we known worldwide as excellent grea... See more Hello Heinrich,
"cassée" (literally : broken) was understood because the lady was aware that you were a foreigner who was kind as to make the effort to try to speak French, which is always appreciated.
The right term is "grillée" (= roasted).
You were right when you rejected "brûlée", although it was the literal translation of the English "burnt".
In France, we roast the light bulbs, we don't burn them. Aren't we known worldwide as excellent great chefs, are we?
Enjoy your week-end
Catherine ▲ Collapse
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L'ampoule est fichue, la lumière ne marche plus.
Une lampe, s'il vous plaît ou une chandelle !
Ma chandelle est morte, je n'ai plus de feu.
Nous n'avons plus de lumière aux toilettes. Que se passe-t-il, s'il vous plaît ?
[Modifié le 2013-04-20 15:56 GMT]
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Heinrich Pesch
Finland
Local time: 10:55
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Use MT only, if the target language is your first language | Apr 21, 2013 |
Thanks for conforming the right translation!
My initial English sentence was faulty, it should be "burned out". Then MT would have delivered the correct answer "grillée". But I would not have believed this to be correct, since I would have connected it to food-processing, like "brulée".
This example shows that MT should not be used when translating into a unknown or badly known language, only into your first language.
| | | | Russell Jones
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:55
Italian to English
| English usage | Apr 21, 2013 |
As a native English speaker, I've never heard of light bulbs being burnt, roasted, grilled, fried or baked.
They go, they've gone, they went!
| | | | XXXphxxx (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:55
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Russell Jones wrote:
As a native English speaker, I've never heard of light bulbs being burnt, roasted, grilled, fried or baked.
They go, they've gone, they went!
Or maybe "had it".
| | | | LEXpert
United States
Local time: 02:55
Member (2008)
Croatian to English
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Russell Jones wrote:
As a native English speaker, I've never heard of light bulbs being burnt, roasted, grilled, fried or baked.
They go, they've gone, they went!
Interesting.
In AE, the most common expression is that the light bulb has/is "burned out".
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Heinrich Pesch
Finland
Local time: 10:55
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Russell Jones wrote:
As a native English speaker, I've never heard of light bulbs being burnt, roasted, grilled, fried or baked.
They go, they've gone, they went!
When I feed into GT the expression "The light bulb went." I get for French "L'ampoule est allé." And for "...had it" - "L'ampoule avait." I wonder if an intelligent person would understand this.
From French "L'ampoule est grillée" GT gets "The bulb is burned out" or DE "Die Glühbirne ist durchgebrannt" and FI "Polttimo on palanut". All correct.
| | | | XXXphxxx (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:55
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Heinrich Pesch wrote: Russell Jones wrote:
As a native English speaker, I've never heard of light bulbs being burnt, roasted, grilled, fried or baked.
They go, they've gone, they went! When I feed into GT the expression "The light bulb went." I get for French "L'ampoule est allé." And for "...had it" - "L'ampoule avait." I wonder if an intelligent person would understand this. From French "L'ampoule est grillée" GT gets "The bulb is burned out" or DE "Die Glühbirne ist durchgebrannt" and FI "Polttimo on palanut". All correct.
A perfect illustration of the limitations and flaws of MT.
For more discussion on the passing of lightbulbs: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1600396. It would appear that "gone" is a British expression which is amusing to our friends across the pond.
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 09:55
French to English
| lightbulbs and marriages | Apr 21, 2013 |
Thank you Lisa, it's an excellent thread and even includes marriage guidance:
"M: You don't say: "You need to change the light bulb in the hallway"?
W: Ah, no. This is the secret to the successful marriage. Make an observation, not a demand! "
Can you not say "the light's blown a fuse"?
That's what came to my mind spontaneously, but then I don't speak in English with my man so it may be one of those things where my English has rusted. I would have said that it was "grillée" but I didn't dare answer before because I was convinced that it was slang and was racking my brain for a more official term.
| | | | Paul Adie (X)
Germany
Spanish to English
+ ...
| What bulbs do | Apr 21, 2013 |
I thought bulbs 'blew', as in 'the bulb has blown, we need to replace it'. Interesting differences between AE and BE!
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Jane Proctor (X)
France
Local time: 09:55
French to English
| The strange antics of light bulbs | Apr 22, 2013 |
Heinrich Pesch wrote:
we noticed the lamp in our toilet said "pox"
Whilst Russell's (and my) light bulb is walking out of the door.. Heinrich is having a conversation with his!
Thanks for making me smile Heinrich:)
[Edited at 2013-04-22 09:14 GMT]
| | | | Russell Jones
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:55
Italian to English
| Blowing in the wind | Apr 22, 2013 |
Paul Adie wrote:
I thought bulbs 'blew', as in 'the bulb has blown, we need to replace it'. Interesting differences between AE and BE!
You beat me to it Paul; my wife reminded me of this as an equally common term in BE.
Not "blowing a fuse" though; apart from its figurative meaning (getting angry) that refers to electrical plugs or circuits rather than bulbs.
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