oiseau

07:06 Jun 12, 2009

This question was closed without grading. Reason: Other

French to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

French term or phrase: oiseau

I don't think this is a bird! Is it the cow?

Ruedi enseigne le morse à Madeleine, c'est d'ailleurs resté longtemps leur langage secret. Lorsque le taureau s'approche trop près de la clôture, on le bombarde de chaussures. Et puis, on essaie de se rendre utile au berger, Alfred Fankhauser, un des fils du propriétaire des alpages. On l'aide à faire les foins ou à nettoyer les étables. Madeleine a même appris à traire. Une fois, Werner, le frère d'Alfred, l'a installée sur l'oiseau pour monter à Fidersegg chercher des fromages.

Mary Teissier du Cros KudoZ activity Questions: 126 (none open) (11 closed without grading) Answers: 65 France
Local time: 04:20

Summary of answers provided

3 +2

hod

Rami Heled

trough

Pierre POUSSIN

2 -1

sled or sledge

Bashiqa

Summary of reference entries provided

something for carrying cheese

Susan Nicholls

Discussion entries: 1

Answers

8 mins confidence:

trough

Explanation:
"Oiseau" apart the bird, it used to be the vessel in which masons carried their mortar (Larousse dictionnary). The synonym in "Auge" (trough) in French.
We can imagine the little girl sitting in this "trough" as on a sledge, being pulled up the slope...
The problem is I do not know whether "trough" is also the term in English!

Pierre POUSSIN
France
Local time: 04:20
Works in field
Native speaker of:

French
PRO pts in category: 24

12 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

hod

Explanation:
See Gdt Quebec

Oiseau: Hod, Appareil pour transporter le mortier à dos.

Rami Heled
Local time: 05:20
Native speaker of:

French,

Hebrew
PRO pts in category: 4

28 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): -1

sled or sledge

Explanation:
In agreement with the trough suggestion, but I think sled might well be used in this context.

Bashiqa
France
Local time: 04:20
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 32

Reference comments

46 mins peer agreement (net): +3

Reference: something for carrying cheese

Reference information:
There is a book called Au royaume des bergers which refers to the "oiseau" as something for carrying cheese (18 kilos worth), see ref below. It describes the cheese being carried up the mountain using it (possibly on the shoulders) to be stored in a cool cellar. Not quite sure from here how to find your English translation - other than cheese carrier! - but I hope this is helpful.

http://books.google.es/books?id=DiCIppaaJXUC&pg=PA126-IA5&dq...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-06-12 08:29:57 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I doubt there is an English equivalent for topographical reasons, though it would be nice if there were. It depends on what your translation is for: information or a pleasant read. In the former case I would probably put "oiseau" and a brief footnote, otherwise I would rearrange the sentence a bit to get the idea of being hoisted onto a board for carrying cheese on his shoulders. Somebody may come up with a better idea.

Susan Nicholls
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 24

Note to reference poster

Asker: So could I put "oiseau" in France and "cheese carrier" in parentheses (or smething to that end) do you think? Thanks for the reference.

Asker: in French, I meant

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

See also:

ProZ.com term search

Search millions of term translations