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  3. Anthropology

Expression is agonistically toned.

French translation: expression à tonalité (résonance) agonistique

12:42 Jul 17, 2008
English to French translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Anthropology
English term or phrase: Expression is agonistically toned.
From a book about literacy, and the differences between the thought process of members of primary oral cultures (without literacy) and chirographical (i.e., literate) cultures.

The heading of the subsection is "(vi) Agonistically toned", and the text is as follows:

"Many, if not all, oral or residually oral cultures strike literates as extraordinaril **agonistic** in their verbal performance and indeed in their lifestyle. Writing fosters abstractions that disengage knowledge from the arena where human beings struggle with one another. [...] Proverbs and riddles are not used simply to store knowledge but to engage others in verbal and intellectual combat: utterance of one proverb or riddle challenges hearers to top it with a more apposite or a contradictory one"

I thought about sometlhing simple like "l'expression avec un ton agonistique", but this does not seem to be very good FR.

Suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thank you.
David Mousseau
Canada
Local time: 03:37
French translation:expression à tonalité (résonance) agonistique
Explanation:
Expression singulière tout autant que signe socioculturel, historique et philosophique ... aussi bien que commerciale ; expression agonistique et violente, ...
publications.univ-provence.fr/littemu/index176.html - 69k
Selected response from:

GILLES MEUNIER
France
Local time: 09:37
Grading comment
Thanks for your help. I wanted to keep "agonistique", so I used this and put it in quotation marks. I wanted to use the same word as the author did in this case.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1expression à tonalité (résonance) agonistique
GILLES MEUNIER
4 +1... a des accents agressifs
FX Fraipont (X)
4est empreinte d'agnosticisme
Arnold T.
4chaotique ?
Geraldine Oudin


  

Answers


24 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
expression is agonistically toned.
expression à tonalité (résonance) agonistique


Explanation:
Expression singulière tout autant que signe socioculturel, historique et philosophique ... aussi bien que commerciale ; expression agonistique et violente, ...
publications.univ-provence.fr/littemu/index176.html - 69k

GILLES MEUNIER
France
Local time: 09:37
Native speaker of: French
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Thanks for your help. I wanted to keep "agonistique", so I used this and put it in quotation marks. I wanted to use the same word as the author did in this case.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  sophieb
52 mins
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16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
expression is agonistically toned.
... a des accents agressifs


Explanation:
..

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2008-07-17 14:55:20 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

L' extrait spécifie que c'est le langage écrit qui permet la distance, et utilise les mots "struggle" "engage in combat" "challenge" "contradictory". Ce me semble bien être un ton agressif...

FX Fraipont (X)
Belgium
Local time: 09:37
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 4
Notes to answerer
Asker: Est-ce que "agressif" convient ici? Les interlocuteurs ne sont pas nécessairement hostiles l'un envers l'autre. Il s'agit d'un espèce de jeu dans lequel ils participent... un jeu agonistique, quoi!

Asker: *un jeu auquel ils participent* ;)

Asker: Thanks for your help, FX!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  kashew: !
2 mins
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
expression is agonistically toned.
est empreinte d'agnosticisme


Explanation:
Suggestion.

Arnold T.
Canada
Local time: 03:37
Native speaker of: French
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks for your help, Arnold!

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4 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
expression is agonistically toned.
chaotique ?


Language variant: chaotique, tourmenté, instable, incohérent...

Explanation:
Mes suggestions : chaotique, tourmenté, instable, incohérent...

D'après ce texte, les personnes issues de cultures basées sur l'écrit seraient vues comme s'exprimant à l'oral de façon chaotique:::et ayant un style de vie chaotique.
C'est du moins ce qui me semble le plus cohérent en tant qu'anthropologue.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 jours (2008-07-22 09:29:53 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

enfin, ex-anthropologue.

Geraldine Oudin
United Kingdom
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 4
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