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Bataille feutrée dans les couloirs

English translation: Silent battle waging in the wings

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:Bataille feutrée dans les couloirs
English translation:Silent battle waging in the wings

17:29 Jun 20, 2012
    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2012-06-23 21:54:07 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)


French to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Other / autre
French term or phrase: Bataille feutrée dans les couloirs
Bataille feutrée dans les couloirs de la Banque centrale européenne à Francfort.

my suggestion is:
Muffled battle sounds at ECB’s corridors in Frankfurt.

je vous remercie.
ourever
Local time: 02:42
Silent battle waging in the wings
Explanation:
I've allowed myself a little poetic licence to have "waging in the wings", slightly more catchy than corridors.

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Note added at 23 mins (2012-06-20 17:52:33 GMT)
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Or even "raging in the wings"!

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Note added at 23 mins (2012-06-20 17:53:20 GMT)
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As a more natural use of wage would require "being waged in the wings", so amendment to my title suggestion.

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Note added at 2 hrs (2012-06-20 19:33:48 GMT)
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A silent battle is being waged in the wings of the ECB.


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Note added at 2 hrs (2012-06-20 19:47:42 GMT)
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The compromises and trade-offs are deliberate. I reckon that in this sort of context, you can look for a solution which is not literal. You need to say what would be said by a native speaker here - it has a more authentic ring to it - which can be done using ideas and images which are close engouh.
Selected response from:

Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Local time: 03:42
Grading comment
Merci bcp
je vous félicite pour votre qualité de traduction
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3Silent battle waging in the wings
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
4 +1behind-the-scenes rumblings
Kate Collyer


Discussion entries: 6





  

Answers


21 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
behind-the-scenes rumblings


Explanation:
... at the ECB

behind-the-scenes for couloirs - i.e. not in the meeting rooms but unofficially

rumblings for bataille feutrée - "general but unofficial talk or opinion often of dissatisfaction" (ref below)

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Note added at 23 mins (2012-06-20 17:53:13 GMT)
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also, rumbling = a low, muffled noise

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Note added at 49 mins (2012-06-20 18:19:13 GMT)
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As noted above, the whole phrase would read "Behind-the-scenes rumblings at the ECB"


    Reference: http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rumblings
Kate Collyer
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:42
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
Notes to answerer
Asker: i agree with you about "rumblings" but how to deal with "behind-the-scenes" in this context. i mean where to include "ECB" in this sentence?


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  cc in nyc: nice subheading
25 mins
  -> Thanks cc!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

21 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
Silent battle waging in the wings


Explanation:
I've allowed myself a little poetic licence to have "waging in the wings", slightly more catchy than corridors.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 mins (2012-06-20 17:52:33 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Or even "raging in the wings"!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 mins (2012-06-20 17:53:20 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

As a more natural use of wage would require "being waged in the wings", so amendment to my title suggestion.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2012-06-20 19:33:48 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

A silent battle is being waged in the wings of the ECB.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2012-06-20 19:47:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The compromises and trade-offs are deliberate. I reckon that in this sort of context, you can look for a solution which is not literal. You need to say what would be said by a native speaker here - it has a more authentic ring to it - which can be done using ideas and images which are close engouh.

Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Local time: 03:42
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 20
Grading comment
Merci bcp
je vous félicite pour votre qualité de traduction

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Kate Collyer: silent? i'd rather have the idea of some level of noise
3 mins
agree  philgoddard: I think it's "wage battle", but "battle raging". Wage is a transitive verb, though it's often misused.//I like your last suggestion, though I think "muted" would be better than "silent" unless they're all using sign language.
4 mins
  -> I realize my suggestion is a compromise, a slight trade-off but "silent battle" is often used in such cirucmstances and I think the context allows the inaccurate rendering for sake of style.//"battle is being waged" 146 000 hits on Google.
agree  Michel Ange Quay: perfect translation! bravo!
1 hr
agree  Wolf Draeger: "silent battle" and "being waged in the wings" work well.
1 hr
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