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voisin (mé)connu

English translation: the stranger next door

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:voisin (mé)connu
English translation:the stranger next door
Entered by: Jane F

18:10 Oct 7, 2014
French to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Government / Politics
French term or phrase: voisin (mé)connu
"portraits d'un voisin (mé)connu". The neighbour in question being Germany, the portrayer France. Doing my head in with this one.

This is a serious social sciences study on how well (or not) the French know Germany and the Germans... the accent is on the not.
Despite the Franco-German friendship, enmity, rivalry, the French-German 'couple', Merkozy/Merkollande, etc., the study finds the French have huge holes/gaps in their perception of the Germans, a neighbour they are married to yet largely (on some fronts) divorced from.

The phrase I'm struggling with--"portraits d'un *voisin (mé)connu*"--is the title, so I need something swish, concise, that straddles the
well-known/under-known dichotomy, and the fact that
Germany is France's neighbour yet the French largely don't 'know' the Germans.

Chronic lack of inspiration today, so, over to you, the community! ;-)

Many, many thanks in advance.
Need to get this nailed so that I can unravel much of the metaphors etc. in the rest of the (thankfully short) text).

Glen
Glen McCulley
Local time: 08:31
the stranger next door
Explanation:
A late offering. Like Tony, I don't think a literal translation will work here.
Selected response from:

Jane F
France
Local time: 08:31
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +8the stranger next door
Jane F
4 +5little-known neighbour
philgoddard
4 +3misunderstood cousin
kashew
3 +1(un)familiar neighbors
Michele Fauble
3 +1just how well DO we know our neighbour?
Tony M
4Everything we (don't) know about our neighbour...
Mireille BOULANGER
4our invisible neighbor
MatthewLaSon
4 -1portrait of and aquaintance
Rosa Paredes
3a neighbour (not) so much is known about
Daryo
3well-known stranger
Jocelyne S
4 -2(un)known neighbor
SilvijaG


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -2
(un)known neighbor


Explanation:
Suggestion

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 mins (2014-10-07 18:28:48 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

...or neighbour...

SilvijaG
United States
Local time: 02:31
Native speaker of: Native in SerbianSerbian, Native in Serbo-CroatSerbo-Croat

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Juan Jacob: Méconnu et inconnu ne sont pas la même chose.
23 mins
  -> J'ai utilisé "unknown" parce que le synonyme de "méconnaître" est "ignorer".
disagree  AllegroTrans: No, this does not mean "unknown"
1 hr
disagree  Tony M: Nor would 'known' be a very satisfactory rendering for 'connu' in this context.
3 hrs
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23 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
little-known neighbour


Explanation:
(Un)known doesn't really work, because it offers the choice between "known" and "unknown", and Germany could hardly be described as unknown. "Méconnu" also means "little known".

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 24 mins (2014-10-07 18:34:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

You could also say "often little-known".


    Reference: http://www.wordreference.com/fren/m%C3%A9connu
philgoddard
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 42

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Juan Jacob: Oui. (little)known neighbour.
12 mins
agree  AllegroTrans
53 mins
disagree  Daryo: the ST is not "méconnu" but "(mé)connu"//les jeux de mots du type "suis (pas) très convaincu" n'existent pas en français? Suis (pas) très convaincu… // I'm sure I've seen examples in EN also, but can't find any right now.
2 hrs
  -> If you read my answer properly, I said that this construction doesn't work in English.
neutral  writeaway: I hardly think the Germans are little known to the French. Au contraire mon cher...
4 hrs
  -> The asker says the text is about "how well (or not) the French know Germany and the Germans... the accent is on the not." It's the writer's opinion that counts, not yours.
agree  BrigitteHilgner
11 hrs
agree  Julie Barber
14 hrs
agree  Lara Barnett
15 hrs
agree  Yvonne Gallagher
6 days
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
misunderstood cousin


Explanation:
Or misunderstood neighbour if you insist.
Germany is often referred to as France's cousin by French journalists.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 heure (2014-10-07 19:28:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://lexpansion.lexpress.fr/actualite-economique/france-al...

kashew
France
Local time: 08:31
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  writeaway: I'd translate this as (mis)understood neighbour or cousin. Personally I prefer neighbour.
3 hrs
  -> Thanks for your support
agree  John Holland: I'd be inclined to go with "(mis)understood neighbor," with the parentheses.
12 hrs
  -> Thanks for your support
agree  Ruth C (X): "misunderstood neighbour"
1 day 16 hrs
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
(un)familiar neighbors


Explanation:
A suggestion

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2014-10-07 20:40:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Or a better, less literal, alternative would be something like
"Portrait of a neighbor we think we know"


Michele Fauble
United States
Local time: 23:31
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Gayle Wallimann: Yes, a very good match. I was going to suggest the same.
11 hrs
  -> thanks
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
just how well DO we know our neighbour?


Explanation:
I think you have to get completely away from the FR play on words, which I don't think will ever sound anything less than stilted in EN.

Obviously, you wouldn't put 'DO' in caps, but rather italics, for example

Tony M
France
Local time: 08:31
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 56

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  AllegroTrans: yes, this works well
1 hr
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
portrait of and aquaintance


Explanation:
I'd say.

Rosa Paredes
Canada
Local time: 02:31
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  AllegroTrans: portrait of what?
18 mins
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9 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
a neighbour (not) so much is known about


Explanation:
..


Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:31
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in SerbianSerbian, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 33
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13 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +8
the stranger next door


Explanation:
A late offering. Like Tony, I don't think a literal translation will work here.

Jane F
France
Local time: 08:31
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  Jocelyne S: I think we must have been writing at the same time with the same general idea.
1 min
  -> great minds think alike!
agree  mill2: the whole ambiguity via parentheses thing does not really fly in English
32 mins
  -> thanks!
agree  Lara Barnett
1 hr
  -> thanks Lara
agree  Yarri K
2 hrs
  -> thanks Yarri
agree  John Holland: This seems good, too.
2 hrs
  -> thanks John
agree  Yolanda Broad
11 hrs
  -> thanks Yolanda
agree  katsy
2 days 3 hrs
  -> thanks katsy
agree  Yvonne Gallagher
5 days
  -> thanks Gallagy
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13 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
well-known stranger


Explanation:
What about "Portrait of a well-known stranger"? It is not a literal translation but I think it conveys the idea.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 hrs (2014-10-08 09:23:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

or "of a familiar stranger"

Jocelyne S
France
Local time: 08:31
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 43
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21 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Everything we (don't) know about our neighbour...


Explanation:
but are afraid to ask..
My try..

Mireille BOULANGER
France
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
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22 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
our invisible neighbor


Explanation:
Hello,

Canada is often seen as American's invisible neighbor to the north.

I hope this helps.

MatthewLaSon
Local time: 02:31
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 32
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