La montagne nous grandit

English translation: The mountain lifts us higher and higher

15:51 May 12, 2011

French to English translations [PRO]
Tourism & Travel

French term or phrase: La montagne nous grandit

This is the title of a text from a tourist brochure for the Alps and the author has insisted on the fact that this phrase is going to be the slogan for the new campaign.

The text in question goes on to talk about how you can find your favourite, special mountain - one to which you always return. Part of it reads as follows:

"Cette montagne qu’on s’est choisie dans le secret, sans trop savoir pourquoi, nous regarde grandir et nous grandit… Elle nous grandit sans grand discours, simplement parce qu’elle est là, fidèle."

I'm finding it difficult to get away from the word "grow", but I can't seem to find anything that sounds natural in English, let alone suitable for their slogan.

anna purna KudoZ activity Questions: 93 (none open) (6 closed without grading) Answers: 103 France
Local time: 22:51

English translation:The mountain lifts us higher and higher

Explanation:
I've given myself the highest level cos I've just been lifted by Betty Midler!!!

Parole de Higher And Higher (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me): Betty Midler

Mm, your love is lifting me higher
than I ever been lifted before.
Ooh, baby, keep it up, sweet baby.
Quench my desire,
and I'll be at your side forever more.
'Cause your love is liftin' me higher and higher.
Your love keeps on liftin' me, oh, higher, higher.

Now once I was down-hearted,
and disappointment was my closest friend.
But then you came,
and he soon departed.
And you know I never seen,
I haven't seen his face again!

Your love is liftin' me
higher, higher, higher, higher.
Your love is liftin' me
higher, higher, higher and higher.

Your love keeps liftin' me,
keeps on liftin' me.
Your love keeps liftin' me
higher, higher.

Your love keeps liftin' me,
keeps on liftin' me.
Your love keeps liftin' me
higher, higher.

So glad I finally found you, babe.
You're the best for these old arms.
With those sweet, sweet lovin' arms around me,
I tell you I don't need,
I don't need,
I-oh-I don't need no disguise, no!

Your love is liftin' me,
keeps on liftin' me.
Your love keeps liftin' me
higher, higher.

Your love keeps liftin' me,
keeps on liftin' me.
Your love keeps liftin' me
higher, higher.

Your love is liftin' me,
whoa, higher, higher, higher, higher,
higher, higher, higher, higher.
Gettin' higher, gettin' higher,
gettin' higher, gettin' higher.
You lift me, you take me
higher and higher.
Higher, higher, yeah, higher, higher!
Keeps on liftin' me.
Keeps on liftin' me.
Keeps on liftin' me.
Keeps on liftin' me.

Higher, higher, oh, higher, higher,
higher, higher, higher, higher,
higher, higher, higher,
higher and higher . . .
Mm, your love is lifting me higher
than I ever been lifted before.
Ooh, baby, keep it up, sweet baby.
Quench my desire,
and I'll be at your side forever more.
'Cause your love is liftin' me higher and higher.
Your love keeps on liftin' me, oh, higher, higher.

Selected response from:

SafeTex
France
Local time: 22:51

Grading comment

A huge thanks to everyone for their contributions. "Mountains lift us higher"was what I eventually chose. A good slogan!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

5 +1

The mountain lifts us higher and higher

SafeTex

3 +2

The mountain exalts us/The mountain raises us to another level

Marian Vieyra

The mountain elevates (or rises) us

Mac Mézache

Makes us grow as individuals

philgoddard

Elevating heights

Michel F. Morin

The mountain increases our stature

Sheila Wilson

Elevated by the mountain / we are elevated by our mountain

Lara Barnett

The mountain is our guiding light

Sarah Bessioud

the mountain makes us into adults/makes us grow up

AllegroTrans

a mountain that watches you live life, a mountain that lets you do so with clarity

MatthewLaSon

The mountain grows on us

Evans (X)

The mountain makes us/you soar up to to its own height

Andrew Bramhall

the mountain edifies us / ennobles us

silvester55

The Mountain Makes Us Stronger

Troy D

The mountain maketh the man

Alanguelaise

Mountains give us a wider understanding

Jack Dunwell

Discussion entries: 5

Answers

9 mins confidence:

Makes us grow as individuals

Explanation:
It watches us grow up, and it makes us grow as individuals.

philgoddard
United States
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 39

22 mins confidence:

Elevating heights

Explanation:
If it is for a title, and for a slogan, let's have a try - after "wuthering heights", of course !

Michel F. Morin
France
Local time: 22:51
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

French
PRO pts in category: 12

25 mins confidence:

The mountain grows on us

Explanation:
I know the French does not say this, it means rather that it "increases our stature", but I for one don't think this idea works in English, no matter how you word it.

As this is for a tourist brochure I would allow myself some leeway and use an expression that also uses the metaphor of growth but means something rather different, but fits quite happily here.

The idea that the mountain grows on us as it watches us grow is that we grow more and more fond of it over the years.

Evans (X)
Local time: 21:51
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Colin Rowe: A real "Alp-Traum" of a question, but this suggestion is "growing on me" :-)

2 hrs

-> thanks, Colin!

agree

philgoddard: Very good!

2 hrs

-> thanks Phil

disagree

SafeTex: if sth grows on you, you get to like it more and more but this is not the sense of the French expression as far as I can see

5 hrs

-> Precisely my point. The French sense doesn't work in English here, so I was taking a more creative approach, as you often have to in this type of text.

disagree

B D Finch: This implies that "we" didn't like the mountain to start with.//Afraid so! E.g. I didn't much like it at first, but it grew on me.

16 hrs

-> Do you really think so? It doesn't suggest that to me at all. But just as the mountain "watches us grow" it can "grow on us" without starting from a negative point. "His paintings are really growing on me" doesn't necessarily imply you never liked them.

27 mins confidence:

The mountain makes us/you soar up to to its own height

Explanation:
simply by being there, a stack of stone that comforts by its eternal presence.

Andrew Bramhall
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:51
Native speaker of:

English

41 mins confidence:

The mountain increases our stature

Explanation:
One possibility to bear in mind.

I don't know whether you have translated the entire text yet, but I would certainly recommend doing so before you come back to the title. Only then will you know "THE" title - unfortunately we will never be in that position!

Other possibilities:
the mountain stretches us
the mountain empowers us

Of course, these could all be turned around by using the passive voice.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 45 mins (2011-05-12 16:37:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I'm assuming here that we're talking about people climbing the mountain - rising to the challenge; surmounting it, etc - rather than just looking at it.

Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 21:51
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 45

48 mins confidence:

the mountain edifies us / ennobles us

Explanation:
This sense of awe and wonder awakens in each of us, that which ennobles us and edifies us, it puts us in touch with our Maker, it stirs our souls and ignites our spirituality.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 49 mins (2011-05-12 16:41:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

River deep, mountain high Paradise has to do with scenes and experiences that ennoble us,

silvester55
Local time: 23:51
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

French

7 mins confidence:

Elevated by the mountain / we are elevated by our mountain

Explanation:
This is the word that immediately came to my mind. I like the idea that "elevate" can be used to express both physical and spiritual ideas.

"Elevate
-Verb (used with object)
1. to move or raise to a higher place or position; lift up.
2. to raise to a higher state, rank, or office; exalt; promote: to elevate an archbishop to cardinal.
3. to raise to a higher intellectual or spiritual level: Good poetry may elevate the mind.
4. to raise the spirits; put in high spirits.
5. to raise (the voice) in pitch or volume."
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/elevate

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 41 mins (2011-05-12 16:32:43 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

OR:
You could vary this with the phrase "to raise up".

I.e "the mountain raises me up"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 59 mins (2011-05-12 16:50:25 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Or even:
"raised up by our\the mountain"

Lara Barnett
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:51
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 12
1 corroborated select project
in this pair and field

2 hrs confidence:

The mountain is our guiding light

Explanation:
I think we need to get away from a literal translation of "helping us grow up", and think a little more creatively.

A guiding light may be something that helps us along in life, helps us to develop, to grow. Something that provides us with inspiration, without necessarily talking to us. It states in the text that the mountain is simply there for us, is faithful, which made me think that "guiding light" may be a fitting translation, both in this part of the text and as a tagline.

Sarah Bessioud
Germany
Local time: 22:51
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 16

2 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

The mountain exalts us/The mountain raises us to another level

Explanation:
the mountain watches us grow and exalts us (further)
the mountain watches us grow and raises us to another level

Marian Vieyra
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:51
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 3

3 hrs confidence:

The Mountain Makes Us Stronger

Explanation:
/Strengthens Us

There are a lot of answers here with the right ideas ("exalt" is probably best), but I don't think any of them are particularly appealing or appropriate as slogans.

I decided to use the idea of strength because it can refer to many aspects of character as well as to physical capability. Someone who brings us up (as one does a child) makes us stonger in many ways.

Troy D
United States
Local time: 16:51
Native speaker of:

English

5 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

The mountain lifts us higher and higher

SafeTex
France
Local time: 22:51
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 12

Grading comment

A huge thanks to everyone for their contributions. "Mountains lift us higher"was what I eventually chose. A good slogan!

6 hrs confidence:

the mountain makes us into adults/makes us grow up

Explanation:
grandir = to grow up

AllegroTrans
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:51
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 27

10 hrs confidence:

The mountain elevates (or rises) us

Explanation:
Both verbs, rise and elevate, carry a sense of well being and maturity in "La montagne nous grandit".

Mac Mézache
Local time: 16:51
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

French

22 hrs confidence:

The mountain maketh the man

Explanation:
Another idea... The alliteration might be a nice touch, seeing as it's for a slogan...

Alanguelaise
France
Local time: 22:51
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

1 day 2 hrs confidence:

Mountains give us a wider understanding

Explanation:
Well, this is my experience.
We can't experience the wonder of an Alpine dawn without stretching our skills and facing our fears. They don't make us "grow" as such, but open up new thoughts

Jack Dunwell
France
Local time: 22:51
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 3

1 day 8 hrs confidence:

a mountain that watches you live life, a mountain that lets you do so with clarity

Explanation:
Hello,

The idea of "grandir" is "evolution", or how we evolve over time.

The idea is that mountain watches us grow as a person (mature), all while helping it along (makes us more mature).

I hope this helps.

MatthewLaSon
Local time: 16:51
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 23

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English translation: The mountain lifts us higher and higher

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