sang de l'esprit

English translation: see discussion

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

French term or phrase:	sang de l\'esprit
English translation:	see discussion
Entered by:	Rimas Balsys

19:48 Apr 3, 2016

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

French term or phrase: sang de l'esprit

This is Senegalese author/poet Almamy Mamadou Wane speaking about his approach in writing about the sinking of the ferry Joola largely attributed to official incompetence, corruption and bad luck: "il fallait user du **sang de l’esprit** afin de paver les chemins de la gestion rigoureuse concernant les affaires publiques dans mon pays"
The phrase appears nowhere else in the interview.
I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions how to render this in English...
language of conscience [ie, honesty]...?
...?

Rimas Balsys KudoZ activity Questions: 218 (1 open) (16 without valid answers) (13 closed without grading) Answers: 67
Local time: 13:10

blood and spirit

Explanation:
If the poet is making a religious, Christian reference, there might be a comma missing:
"il fallait user du sang, de l’esprit afin de paver les chemins de la gestion rigoureuse concernant les affaires publiques dans mon pays"

https://books.google.fr/books?id=VBydia1MtuQC
Vivez donc , ô mon âme , mais vivez de la vie de Dieu , puisque vous êtes nourrie de la chair, du sang , de l'esprit , delà substance et de la vie de Dieu même.

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Note added at 18 hrs (2016-04-04 14:47:45 GMT)
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On the other hand, it could be a reference to the blood and the souls of those who died on the ferry and using their deaths to attack corruption and bad government.

Selected response from:

B D Finch
France
Local time: 22:10

Grading comment

I thought this was the most insightful comment so although I'm still waiting for comments from the client, I more than happy to give BD the points (although I know whe doesn't need them :-)
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

blood as spirit

perezeddo219

the mind/conscience guilty of blood

Francois Boye

1 +2

blood of the spirit

Melissa McMahon

blood and spirit

B D Finch

to devote mind body and soul

ormiston

language of pain/anguish/blood

Wolf Draeger

Discussion entries: 2

Answers

3 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

sang de l'esprit blood of the spirit

Explanation:
This could be a transcription or punctuation error - eg "du sang, de l'esprit" instead of "du sang de l'esprit", but I have found a number of references to the idea that "language is the blood of the spirit" (full expression: "language is the blood of the spirit of the race"), traced back to Spanish philosopher Miguel de Unamuno.

In this address to a conference on Francophonie in Africa, the speaker says, "Je crois profondément dans la réalité culturelle de l’espace
francophone - c’est un révolutionnaire espagnol qui disait que la langue c’est le sang de l’esprit" (http://www.regions-francophones.com/telechargements/actes.pd... and when you hunt around for "blood of the spirit" you find the "Spanish revolutionary" is Unamuno.

For Unamuno it is the idea that speakers of the one language are the same "blood", but I don't know whether that's the specific sense here. Since the speaker is a poet I think unusual expressions are par for the course.

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Note added at 3 hrs (2016-04-03 23:43:11 GMT)
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Hm, playing round with synonyms of "spirit", I find a quote from Oliver Wendell Holmes: "Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow." This might even have been the source of Unamuno's "mot" (which is also translated sometimes as "blood of the soul").

Melissa McMahon
Australia
Local time: 06:10
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 12

4 hrs confidence:

sang de l\'esprit blood as spirit

Explanation:
in the bible it says not to eat blood because the blood is the soul of that animal. So I think it refers to the blood seen as spirit.

perezeddo219
United States
Local time: 16:10
Native speaker of:

Spanish

6 hrs confidence:

sang de l\'esprit the mind/conscience guilty of blood

Explanation:
As said in the attachment, the deaths caused by the capsize of the ferry connecting Dakar to Ziguinchor in 2002 were never investigated; hence no government official was sanctioned or convicted.

Mr. Wane's claim is that the Senegalese government is guilty of crime (blood is the metaphor in the text) and the citizenry did nothing to challenge that government's mismanagement tarnished by the guilt of blood.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Le_Joola

Francois Boye
United States
Local time: 16:10
Native speaker of:

French

18 hrs confidence:

sang de l\'esprit

blood and spirit

B D Finch
France
Local time: 22:10
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 43

Grading comment

I thought this was the most insightful comment so although I'm still waiting for comments from the client, I more than happy to give BD the points (although I know whe doesn't need them :-)

Notes to answerer

Asker: I thought this was the most insightful comment so although I'm still waiting for comments from the client, I more than happy to give BD the points (although I know whe doesn't need them :-)

21 hrs confidence:

sang de l\'esprit to devote mind body and soul

Explanation:
The metaphor unless a literary reference means something along these lines I think, given the context. Depends if its whimsical slant needs to be conveyed. Anyway, this is my stab at it...!

ormiston
Local time: 22:10
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 24

4 days confidence:

language of pain/anguish/blood

Explanation:
The speaker might be referring to the creative process and the type of language/imagery he used to convey the victims' suffering and his own anger.

So, to incorporate Melissa's point, something along the lines of how the language he used is a metaphor for blood (i.e. the victims' pain & suffering & the poet's anguish); the poet's mind "bled" in grief and anger and formed the words he sought to describe the tragedy, and this "blood" mingled with that of the victims ... my (somewhat educated) guess!

Take gestion rigoureuse to be sarcastic here.

Example sentence(s):

I had to draw on the language of pain to trace the path of competent public administration in my country
I had to draw on the language of blood to trace the path of competent public administration in my country

Wolf Draeger
South Africa
Local time: 22:10
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 32

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