à mi-chemin entre ciel et mer

English translation: where sea and sky converge

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

French term or phrase:	à mi-chemin entre ciel et mer
English translation:	where sea and sky converge
Entered by:	Carol Gullidge

14:12 Feb 10, 2011

French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / flowery description

French term or phrase: à mi-chemin entre ciel et mer

Il avait vu le jour à Loguivy-de-la-Mer, petit port maritime des Côtes-du-Nord ******à mi-chemin entre ciel et mer****** à l’embouchure du Trieux.

_________

A biography written towards the end of the 20th century...

I know similar terms have appeared on KudoZ before, but I don't feel that anything involving "sea and sky" or "heaven and sea" is really suitable here - but perhaps I should be more flexible. This is not a travel text, although it might look like it at times! I'm just looking for something simple that reflects the actual meaning. Personally, I think that if it merely means that it's on the edge of the sea ('where sea meets sky'), then nothing would be lost by omitting the whole phrase, as this is already implied in 'port maritime'.
Any explanation of the actual meaning would be very welcome - many thanks!

Carol Gullidge KudoZ activity Questions: 352 (1 open) (1 without valid answers) (3 closed without grading) Answers: 2710 United Kingdom
Local time: 06:58

If the author wrote it

Explanation:
I feel it should be said in English too. Yes, it is sort of blindingly obvious that the place is "half way between the sea and the sky", but I can only imagine it is a way of saying something about the light, the weather, etc. IOW, the sky and the sea are so similar in appearance (colour) that it is not immediately obvious where one ends and the other begins, so the town identifies that place.

Flowery it certainly is, but as a poetic touch I don't think you can leave it out.

Selected response from:

Bourth (X)
Local time: 07:58

Grading comment

this has been so hard to grade as there are so many poetic answers! That being the case, I'm awarding the points to Bourth whose early explanations soon led me to my eventual choice "where sea and sky converge", but I realise that several of the other suggestions would have at least been just as suitable. Thanks to everyone, and also for the comments in the Discussion box, which also informed my eventual choice
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +3

If the author wrote it

Bourth (X)

4 +2

at the merging of sea and sky

Yvonne Gallagher

3 +2

nestling between the blue of the sky and the sea

Andrea Reece

set in its sea-and-sky scape

kashew

3 +2

poised between sea and sky

B D Finch

4 +1

Turn the sentence round

ACOZ (X)

halfway between the sky and the sea

Alistair Ian Spearing Ortiz

suspended between sky and sea

Atelier de Mots

midway between-sky-and-sea

Constantinos Faridis (X)

separating sea from sky

Evans (X)

in-between heaven and the ocean

Katarina Peters

see comment

Sonia Geerlings

on the horizon

Lara Barnett

3 -1

The wide blue yonder

Andrew Bramhall

Discussion entries: 6

Answers

9 mins confidence:

halfway between the sky and the sea

Explanation:
I have a strictly personal preference for "halfway".

Alistair Ian Spearing Ortiz
Spain
Local time: 07:58
Native speaker of:

Spanish,

English

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thanks Alistair!

10 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

If the author wrote it

Bourth (X)
Local time: 07:58
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 110

Grading comment

Notes to answerer

Asker: thanks Bourth! This at leads somewhere : "Where sky MEETS sea" perhaps, or 'where sky and sea converge'. I have to get away from that literal translation, which is meaningless to me! I entirely agree with you in principle regarding not omitting the author's words, but unfortunately this text is very longwinded littered with tautology, and repetitive descriptions that could easily be cut by half without losing a single iota of the sense. It's a pity, as the words of the hero himself are simply written, easy to understand, and make a wonderful narrative

15 mins confidence:

suspended between sky and sea

Explanation:
Just checked out this village on the Internet. It seems to be a particularly inspiring place... remarkably situated. This is why I am proposing a more poetic translation than "halfway" or "midway" suggests.

Atelier de Mots
Local time: 07:58
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 4

Notes to answerer

Asker: thanks Atelier!

16 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

nestling between the blue of the sky and the sea

Explanation:
Looking at a description of Loguivy-de-la-Mer, which emphasises the blueness of the sea and sky, I think it is a reference to the colour

Andrea Reece
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:58
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English

Notes to answerer

Asker: thanks Andrea!

8 mins confidence:

midway between-sky-and-sea

Explanation:
Eze, between sky and sea ... Located midway between Nice and Monaco in the heart of touristic Cote d'Azur, Eze has nevertheless kept more of a village ...
www.parisvoice.com/-.../384-eze-between-sky-and-sea

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Note added at 19 λεπτά (2011-02-10 14:32:24 GMT)
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midway between sky and sea!

Constantinos Faridis (X)
Greece
Local time: 08:58
Native speaker of: Greek
PRO pts in category: 3

Notes to answerer

Asker: thanks Constantinis - but what does this actually mean? It can't be floating, as this implies!

34 mins confidence:

see comment

Explanation:
I like your suggestion of 'where sky and sea converge' but if you need something more flowery, how about 'whose blue skies reflect the azure sea'?

Sonia Geerlings
Australia
Works in field
Native speaker of: English

Notes to answerer

Asker: many thanks Sonia! In fact I'm trying to get away from anything too flowery, as much of the text is already swamped with purple prose. So, where I can, I'm trying to avoid introducing any of my own :)

34 mins confidence:

separating sea from sky

Explanation:
Or "separating sea and sky"

For me this conjures up the image of many a small port such as Loguivy-de-la-Mer which from a distance actually forms the dividing line between the sea and sky in place of the horizon. It works for many of the small ports around here such as St Ives, depending on where your viewpoint is.

There's obviously a lot of choice over words to describe this division, "dividing sea from sky", and you could go into the realms of more poetic language with words such as "cleaving", "sundering" etc, but I would advise against it.

Your own suggestion of "where sea meets sky" fits in with this conception, but doesn't make it quite so clear.

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Note added at 38 mins (2011-02-10 14:50:31 GMT)
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A picture
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://chambres-lannio...

Evans (X)
Local time: 06:58
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 48

Notes to answerer

Asker: thanks Gilla! yep, that was pretty much what I had in mind with 'converging...' The image looks idyllic!

39 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): -1

The wide blue yonder

Explanation:
Well, it's lack of specificity should appeal to some!

Andrew Bramhall
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:58
Native speaker of:

English

Notes to answerer

Asker: many thanks Oliver!

1 hr confidence:

set in its sea-and-sky scape

Explanation:
* Or, set in its sea-and-sky land-scape.
I'm not sure about my hyphening.
(The French is a hackneyed tourist brochure cliché).

kashew
France
Local time: 07:58
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 8

Notes to answerer

Asker: thanks Kashew - you're right about hackneyed!

3 hrs confidence:

in-between heaven and the ocean

Explanation:
another suggestion

Katarina Peters
Canada
Local time: 01:58
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Hungarian,

English
PRO pts in category: 14

Notes to answerer

Asker: many thanks Katarina! (tried to post earlier, but couldn't get through!)

45 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

at the merging of sea and sky

Explanation:
or

where sea and sky merge

Download royalty free sea and sky merging together at sunset stock photo from Shutterstock's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, vectors, ...
www.shutterstock.com/.../stock-photo-sea-and-sky-merging-to... - Cached

Specialists in Australian contemporary printmaking, Chrysalis Gallery and Studio exhibits prints, paintings and sculpture by leading Australian artists, ...
www.chrysalis.com.au/Artwork-McLoughlin-TheMergingSeaandSky... - Cached

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Note added at 47 mins (2011-02-10 15:00:14 GMT)
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30 Dec 2010 ... Soft sea and sky colours. Hard to tell which is which.
www.flickr.com/photos/janetedavis/5308145130/ - Cached

Earth, sea and sky merge at Laoshan Mountain. 0 Comments Print E-mail China daily, August 28, 2009. Adjust font size: ...
www.china.org.cn/travel/2009-08/28/content_18421073.htm - Cached

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Note added at 1 hr (2011-02-10 15:23:05 GMT)
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it may be a grey day (not blue skies) when land, sea and sky almost blend together and it's hard to distinguish between them. As Bourth says, especially if ON the sea in a boat but here, esp. West coast it is sometimes hard to tell if one is walking in air, on the sea or on land.

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Note added at 7 hrs (2011-02-10 21:49:51 GMT)
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Carol, yes, thinking alike around same time because the "traffic" stopped my answer posting and I had to reload/reboot and saw your comment! Then Philippa's comment came just AFTER I posted, so I really didn't "steal" the idea! Was thinking of places on West coast here, and I was a seafarer for 7 years so have similar image imprinted...

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 06:58
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 40

Notes to answerer

Asker: thanks gallagy! great minds think alike - see my comment below Bourth's answer!

Asker: I know that feeling, as I've had to post one note at a time, log off and then post the next one! But don't worry, I didn't think you were stealing, although it had occurred to me that you might not have seen my comment amongst all the rest here! That would have been quite understandable!

8 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

poised between sea and sky

Explanation:
Another suggestion.

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Note added at 8 hrs (2011-02-10 22:55:16 GMT)
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I do think that "sea and sky" flows better than "sky and sea".

B D Finch
France
Local time: 07:58
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 43

Notes to answerer

Asker: thanks Barbara - and I agree re the word order!

10 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

Turn the sentence round

Explanation:
He was born in the small port of Loguivy-de-la-Mer in Côtes-du-Nord, little more than a line of houses linking sea and sky at the mouth of the River Trieux.

This gets in the full meaning of the French and if you google images of Loguivy, you'll see that this is what it looks like from the seaward side.

ACOZ (X)
Australia
Local time: 15:28
Native speaker of: English

Notes to answerer

Asker: thanks ACOZ - I hadn't thought of this solution!

1 day 8 hrs confidence:

on the horizon

Explanation:
" HORIZON, apparent horizon, visible horizon, sensible horizon, skyline (the line at which the sky and Earth appear to meet) "
http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=horizon

I'd say "hovering on the horizon..."

This expression does not identify any "halfway points" with the use of words but should conjure up the correct image in the readers eye as a horizon is a very picturesque and beautiful thing. There are also many ways this word can be incorporated into the description of the seascape and the day/daylight.

Lara Barnett
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:58
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 4

Notes to answerer

Asker: thanks Lara for your suggestion!

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English translation: where sea and sky converge

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