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  3. Poetry & Literature

trop grande education pennsylvanienne

16:37 Jun 4, 2007
This question was closed without grading. Reason: Other

French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / Description Of A Prospective Roommate
French term or phrase: trop grande education pennsylvanienne
Context: "Pour la chambre rose, j'aimerais X, il est reserve, super gentil et 'over' discret. J'aime sa maladresse liee a sa **trop grande education pennsylvannienne.**"

Prospective roommate for a New York City loft.

Merci beaucoup!

femme
Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 22:00


Summary of answers provided
3 +4his strict Pennsylvanian upbringing
Tania Lines
3 +1because there is too much (of) Pennsylvanian education in him
Najib Aloui
4his Philadelphia upbringing
Jim Tucker (X)
4strict waspish upbringing
jean-jacques alexandre


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +4
his strict Pennsylvanian upbringing


Explanation:
more contextual information might be helpful... but if the writer is referring to his awkwardness it could suggest that a strict upbringing has left him unsure of how to behave?

Tania Lines
United Kingdom
Local time: 03:00
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  ormiston: sounds just fine to me. In answer to writeaway there's the author's own word 'over' (in ze text) which to me also implies that his upbringing tamed him a bit too thoroughly
4 mins
agree  Jim Tucker (X): as Diane Keaton says in "Annie Hall": "I’m just from Philadelphia, you know, I mean, we believe in God"
7 mins
neutral  writeaway: how do you get strict from trop grande?/have heard of a strict New England upbringing-but never heard that about Pa. Of course I was only born in that state so what do I know. ;-) anyway, don't see this meaning anywhere in the French.
23 mins
agree  Ingeborg Gowans (X): I think, the assumption that a strict upbringing might have made him a bit reserved and awkward very plausible :)
1 hr
agree  Gacela20
23 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
because there is too much (of) Pennsylvanian education in him


Explanation:
I think that's the meaning ...

Najib Aloui
Local time: 03:00
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  writeaway: basically yes-Asker has to figure out the wording-she has the whole (con)text after all. it could mean an overly Penna. education/upbringing. it's better to translate what the French says than to try to guess what the French means.
5 hrs
  -> Bonjour writeway, thank you.How would you put this:"I love his clumsiness due perhaps to too much Pennsylvanian education"?
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8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
his Philadelphia upbringing


Explanation:
I find this one better than my previous attempt. As illustrated in the Annie Hall quote I mentioned above, New Yorkers have this view - not of Pennsylvania, but specifically of old-money Philadelphia: too much upbringing that results in a recognizably inhibited style.

The quoted speaker probably meant something like this - western Penna. is working class anyway, and part of the rust belt. Not part of the picture here.

Jim Tucker (X)
United States
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 16
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18 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
strict waspish upbringing


Explanation:
does'nt it mean smtg like that ?

jean-jacques alexandre
France
Local time: 04:00
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 25

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Jim Tucker (X): yes but the speaker doesn't want to be that harsh
20 hrs
  -> You may be right here, should tone it down a bit
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