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This question was closed without grading. Reason: Answer found elsewhere
French to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
French term or phrase:le vase
This is Belgian contemporary fiction, destined for a UK audience in English. The dialogue is very casual.
A female character has phoned a one-time lover to tell him that she's pregnant, and that the child is his. She says that she wants to keep it, and he responds, 'L'enfant?', to which she retorts,
Ide, I've got my hands on the Flemish edition, and the original is 'my teapot', which makes more sense to me, not least because there is actually tea-drinking elsewhere in the text (and no vases). Thank you all for your help! Robin, I quite like 'the man in the moon', too.
Ide Verhelst (X)
Belgium
Dutch/Flemish
09:41 Feb 1, 2012
If it's a Belgian novel translated into French, chances are the original is in Flemish. So I would be curious to see the Flemish dialogue.
Yes, your scenario is the best way to go, but noting SHE says that she wants to keep it, and he responds, 'L'enfant?', to which she retorts, 'Non, le vase, imbecile!'.
If this (very good) piece of humour is not readily understandable in English, it could be a case of humour related cultural difference. You might want to consider "domestication" and forget the referential meaning. What about someting along the lines of: "Do you want to keep it? - What, the child? - What else, you dumbass?"
...it may just be a Pinter-esque non sequitur — the fact that we are not talking about a vase... nothing unusual about that sort of thing in litty-rature ;-)
Presumably, some kind of vase has been mentioned before in their relationship or conversation; I don't think you need to look any further than that: "Of course I'm talking about the flipping baby, I wouldn't be talking about that hideous vase your mother gave me, now would I?"
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
14 mins confidence:
the bidet
Explanation: *
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 31 minutes (2012-01-30 21:56:11 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
I saw it in argot definitions of "vase"!
kashew France Local time: 19:33 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 74
Notes to answerer
Asker: Hi there, could you provide a bit of explanation or a source? Am eager for some brainstorming options! Thanks.
44 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +4
the vase
Explanation: I agree with Tony. Please read his comment.
Benjamin Hall France Local time: 19:33 Native speaker of: French, English