terroirs

English translation: sites

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:terroirs
English translation:sites
Entered by: Melissa McMahon

11:21 Jul 31, 2007
French to English translations [PRO]
Archaeology
French term or phrase: terroirs
thsi appears several times, and I want to make sure I use the right word - country or region don't seem right..
what do people think?
Here is the context:
1. "En effet, (person's name) s’occupe de gérer tout les liens entre les collectivités territoriales de la zone du Parc national des Ecrins, du Gapençais, du Haut Buëch où se situe Ancelle, el Parc naturel des Ecrins et les équipes scientifiques travaillant sur le pastoralisme et les terroirs de la (organisation)"
2. "Prospection d’archéologie des terroirs et d’archéologie hydraulique sur la commune d’Ancelle en collaboration avec xxxx"
3. "Interventions archéologiques sur les terroirs jugés intéressants"
Thaaaaanks!!
Comunican
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:25
sites
Explanation:
Archeological & site seem to go together, whether prospective or already dug.

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Note added at 1 hr (2007-07-31 12:39:59 GMT)
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I think the issue here is whether "terroir" is being used for a particular reason instead of what is also the more usual French word in this context - "site".

"Terroir", in both French and English (where, as Bourth suggests, the French word is sometimes used in eg. a wine or cheese context) has all sorts of romantic aand historical resonances that I think other answerers may be trying to capture with reference to native soils etc., but from the context you have given it just seems to be being used in a fairly straightforward descriptive sense, ie just an "area", as Bourth also suggests, and which, if you think the avoidance of the French term "site" is deliberate, or is used elsewhere you might use instead of the English "site".
Selected response from:

Melissa McMahon
Australia
Local time: 20:25
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +3sites
Melissa McMahon
4native soils
Etienne Muylle Wallace
3soils
Francis MARC
3territories
Magen O'Farrell
3quality of the soil
Charles Hawtrey (X)
3areas; farmland, agricultural areas
Bourth (X)
3husbanded land
B D Finch
2locales
Jonathan MacKerron
2plots of land defined by their ecosystem
MatthewLaSon


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


1 min   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
soils


Explanation:
*

Francis MARC
Lithuania
Local time: 11:25
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 24
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11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
locales


Explanation:
might fit here

Jonathan MacKerron
Native speaker of: English
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20 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
territories


Explanation:
This could work, depending on the context.

Magen O'Farrell
France
Local time: 10:25
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
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39 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
native soils


Explanation:
a land, a plot, home ground, where a tribe used to live, etc.

Etienne Muylle Wallace
Spain
Local time: 10:25
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch, Native in FrenchFrench
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52 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
quality of the soil


Explanation:
There is no EN word for "terroir" so to some extent you have to fit the translation to the exact context. I did a search on the Daily Telegraph site www.telegraph.co.uk as I knew I'd seen an explanation somewhere fairly recently. This came up with several options. The above term is just one of them from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04... There's also a complicated one from East Anglia arable farmer in 2006 - '... that strange French word which means what comes from the countryside - it isn't just the soil, it isn't just the sweat of a man's brow, it's a combination of lots and lots and lots of things and of course the fact that they care a lot more than we do, and they sure as hell do care.' Good luck!

Charles Hawtrey (X)
Local time: 09:25
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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20 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
sites


Explanation:
Archeological & site seem to go together, whether prospective or already dug.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2007-07-31 12:39:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I think the issue here is whether "terroir" is being used for a particular reason instead of what is also the more usual French word in this context - "site".

"Terroir", in both French and English (where, as Bourth suggests, the French word is sometimes used in eg. a wine or cheese context) has all sorts of romantic aand historical resonances that I think other answerers may be trying to capture with reference to native soils etc., but from the context you have given it just seems to be being used in a fairly straightforward descriptive sense, ie just an "area", as Bourth also suggests, and which, if you think the avoidance of the French term "site" is deliberate, or is used elsewhere you might use instead of the English "site".

Melissa McMahon
Australia
Local time: 20:25
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Mark Nathan
7 mins

agree  wolmix: yes
34 mins

agree  Vania de Souza
35 mins
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55 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
areas; farmland, agricultural areas


Explanation:
It is odd to see this word used for something other than fine food and wine, but unless it DOES refer to these activities (as opposed to "pastoralisme", which is a possibility, esp. given the ref. to "archéologie hydraulique", i.e. irrigation???), then I would see it being used simply for "areas".

Which particular aspect of archaeology is this paper about?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2007-07-31 13:22:02 GMT)
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The additional context suggests to me that "farmland" would be appropriate here. "Agraire" clinches it for me. Of course you have "habitat" in there too, and people also can be "du terroir", but really only because they are associated with the farming of the land. A Parisian whose family has spent all but the month of August in a far-flung province for the last 5 generations is hardly "du terroir".

Bourth (X)
Local time: 10:25
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 57
Notes to answerer
Asker: Hi there I have answered your question in the main area, so everyone can see...). Thanks for your help. Much appreicated.

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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
husbanded land


Explanation:
Looking at Charles H's answer, this term came to mind.

"Wherever one drives in the United Kingdom--I say United Kingdom advisedly--one sees the most beautiful scenery and **well-husbanded land**. ..."
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmhansrd/vo97121...

"vi) Both land and information about land are resources that must be **husbanded** in order to achieve economic growth. The Guidelines are in accord with ..."
www.unece.org/hlm/wpla/publications/laguidelines.html

or this from an article about Locke:
"Quite a bit hinges upon the way in which the Indians treated nature. As we now know, their tribal societies were highly developed, though structured differently from European societies. Their world-view is intelligible to us. They had laws, they respected property, they regarded certain places as sacred, and it could be said that they expended labour, including intellectual and spiritual labour, upon steering the land. They **husbanded** it less crudely than the settlers. Their aim was not to drive the land hard. They had ways of working with nature without upsetting the ecological balance. This could surely count as ‘mixing one’s labour’ with the land. Locke does not define precisely what he means by this phrase. His notion of labour certainly is not limited to manual labour, it also covers intellectual activities, art, music, and scientific inventions."
http://www.wringtonsomerset.org.uk/morelocke/woodfieldonlock...



    Reference: http://www.wringtonsomerset.org.uk/morelocke/woodfieldonlock...
B D Finch
France
Local time: 10:25
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 39
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
plots of land defined by their ecosystem


Explanation:
Hello,

terroir = well-defined plot of land defined by its soil, climate, and other geographical characteristics

That's the only way I can understand it.

It's commonly used to describe wine regions/wines.

I hope this helps.

MatthewLaSon
Local time: 05:25
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
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