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les abîmes de nos propres esprits

English translation: the depths of our own minds/the human mind OR of our own spirit/the human spirit

21:50 Sep 17, 2009
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Esoteric practices / automatic writing
French term or phrase: les abîmes de nos propres esprits
Hello,

Could you help me with the phrase? The text:

Nos réflexions après coup, nous conduire à penser que l'au-delà, ou *les abîmes de nos propres esprits*, sont peuplés.

Thank you in advance for you help and comments!
svetlana cosquéric
France
Local time: 13:13
English translation:the depths of our own minds/the human mind OR of our own spirit/the human spirit
Explanation:
This is more challenging than it at first seems, I feel.

Firstly, I think 'depths' works better than 'abysses' because we tend to use abyss as a singular in English and I think we need to keep the idea of the plural here. Depths keeps the idea of dark crevices, though (incidently I think a nice idea could be 'the dark corners of', but this changes the connotations slightly).

Secondly, I get the feeling that the 'nos propres' as 'our own' may refer not just to whoever is doing the talking but to 'us' as humans. If this the case 'the human mind/spirit' works better, perhaps. If the sense is simply a group of people then I would stick with 'our own'.

Lastly, there is the wonderful word 'esprit', which causes all sorts of trouble in translation. The distinction between mind and spirit is much clearer in English than in French. 'Mind' may be appropriate but I would tend towards 'spirit' given the spiritual nature of the text and given that: "en métaphysique et dans les religions, le mot esprit désigne normalement l'élément immatériel incarné en l'être humain". (Wikipédia)
Selected response from:

Lianne Wilson
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:13
Grading comment
Thank you, Lianne!
Thanks for your comments!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4the abysses of our own minds
B D Finch
4the depths of our own minds/the human mind OR of our own spirit/the human spirit
Lianne Wilson


  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
the abysses of our own minds


Explanation:
WThe Abyss of The Mind And Heart. The jungle of this universe,where all eventually must enter(drop in).Silence is the cry of those who have succeeded and ..."
www.geocities.com/~xookeeper/

"AoC Traveling Home - I. The Abyss of the Mind - Quests - Age of Conan Database - MMO DB."
aoc.mmodb.com/.../traveling-home-i-the-abyss-of-the-mind-182.php

"The Abyss Of Mans Mind Souls cast not a shadow on this earth. No light or darkness where souls exist. Hidden in the abyss of mans mind, ..."
answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid... -


    Reference: http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Into-Abyss-Mind/dp/0974578908
B D Finch
France
Local time: 13:13
Native speaker of: English
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you, B D Finch!

Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

10 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
the depths of our own minds/the human mind OR of our own spirit/the human spirit


Explanation:
This is more challenging than it at first seems, I feel.

Firstly, I think 'depths' works better than 'abysses' because we tend to use abyss as a singular in English and I think we need to keep the idea of the plural here. Depths keeps the idea of dark crevices, though (incidently I think a nice idea could be 'the dark corners of', but this changes the connotations slightly).

Secondly, I get the feeling that the 'nos propres' as 'our own' may refer not just to whoever is doing the talking but to 'us' as humans. If this the case 'the human mind/spirit' works better, perhaps. If the sense is simply a group of people then I would stick with 'our own'.

Lastly, there is the wonderful word 'esprit', which causes all sorts of trouble in translation. The distinction between mind and spirit is much clearer in English than in French. 'Mind' may be appropriate but I would tend towards 'spirit' given the spiritual nature of the text and given that: "en métaphysique et dans les religions, le mot esprit désigne normalement l'élément immatériel incarné en l'être humain". (Wikipédia)

Example sentence(s):
  • There are many dark and destructive impulses in the depths of the human mind.
  • These inner worlds cannot be investigated with physical instruments, but only by delving into the depths of our own minds and consciousness, and this requires many lives of self-purification and self-conquest.
Lianne Wilson
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:13
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Thank you, Lianne!
Thanks for your comments!
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