The Big Cat Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 I'm looking for the proper spelling of a French phrase meaning "to play along" in the "humor me" sense. I think the phrase is jeau a la jeaux, but again, I know nothing about French, accept where it pertains to Spanish, so if anyone could help me out with the proper phrase, spelling, pronunciation, etc, that would be great! (I'm currently going through the naming phase right now with a comedy ensemble at the Improv Olympic Theater in Chicago.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 I'm looking for the proper spelling of a French phrase meaning "to play along" in the "humor me" sense. I think the phrase is jeau a la jeaux, but again, I know nothing about French, accept where it pertains to Spanish, so if anyone could help me out with the proper phrase, spelling, pronunciation, etc, that would be great! (I'm currently going through the naming phase right now with a comedy ensemble at the Improv Olympic Theater in Chicago.) This might help you: http://babelfish.altavista.com/ pour jouer le long Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Cat Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 This might help you: http://babelfish.altavista.com/ pour jouer le long As a language major, I always found babelfish to be extremely unhelpful as it will give you literal translations rather than being sensitive to the nuances of language on either side. This seems to be the case with their translation of play ALONG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 As a language major, I always found babelfish to be extremely unhelpful as it will give you literal translations rather than being sensitive to the nuances of language on either side. This seems to be the case with their translation of play ALONG. You're welcome. Maybe Oliver in France will respond to your post. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Cat Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 You're welcome. Maybe Oliver in France will respond to your post. Good luck. Oh now, don't be sore. After I sent my response, I wondered if it bordered on harsh, but your assistance was greatly appreciated. I've just had some really bad experiences with babelfish before and in this case, it seems their programming can't distinguish between going along and being along- (i.e. going along for a ride or grass growing along a riverside). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Oh now, don't be sore. After I sent my response, I wondered if it bordered on harsh, but your assistance was greatly appreciated. I've just had some really bad experiences with babelfish before and in this case, it seems their programming can't distinguish between going along and being along- (i.e. going along for a ride or grass growing along a riverside). Not at all. Thats why the smilie face emoticon. There's also some Canadians that post here. Maybe they'll chime in for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 PM Olivier in france. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivier in france Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 I'm looking for the proper spelling of a French phrase meaning "to play along" in the "humor me" sense. I think the phrase is jeau a la jeaux, but again, I know nothing about French, accept where it pertains to Spanish, so if anyone could help me out with the proper phrase, spelling, pronunciation, etc, that would be great! (I'm currently going through the naming phase right now with a comedy ensemble at the Improv Olympic Theater in Chicago.) i have no idea about that "jeau à la jeaux"!! That does not mean a thing!! But anyway what do you mean by "to play along in the humor me sense"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Cat Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 i have no idea about that "jeau à la jeaux"!! That does not mean a thing!! But anyway what do you mean by "to play along in the humor me sense"? Like when Grandma is having a "bad" day and she thinks her seven year old grand daughter (Stacy) is her sister, then Stacy's parents might tell her to "humor" grandma, or "play along." Mom tells you to take a rain jacket even though there's no clouds in sight. You sigh. Dad says, "humor your mother." Two janitors mopping the floor, one says to the other, "I think I'm going to take off early today because my Lamborghini is in the shop." The other, deciding to play along and humor her associate replies, "Yeah, I just picked up my Bentley yesterday, cost me $5000 to replace the transmission, but whatever. Chump change, right?" I hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivier in france Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Like when Grandma is having a "bad" day and she thinks her seven year old grand daughter (Stacy) is her sister, then Stacy's parents might tell her to "humor" grandma, or "play along." Mom tells you to take a rain jacket even though there's no clouds in sight. You sigh. Dad says, "humor your mother." Two janitors mopping the floor, one says to the other, "I think I'm going to take off early today because my Lamborghini is in the shop." The other, deciding to play along and humor her associate replies, "Yeah, I just picked up my Bentley yesterday, cost me $5000 to replace the transmission, but whatever. Chump change, right?" I hope that helps. i perfectly see what you mean but do not find any french expressions to tell this ... there's probably one! but can't find it! "pour rire" or "en plaisantant" that i'd translate "jokingly" are the nearest expressions i have in mind... or "faire semblant d'y croire" that could be translated "play it like you believe it" or something that 'd look a little like the expression you wrote in your first post "jouer pour jouer" that i could translate "play for fun" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In-A-Gadda-Levitre Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 I'd try Yahoo Answers. I asked an obscure language question there and got a good response in a couple days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
\GoBillsInDallas/ Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 I'm looking for the proper spelling of a French phrase meaning "to play along" in the "humor me" sense. I think the phrase is jeau a la jeaux, but again, I know nothing about French, accept where it pertains to Spanish, so if anyone could help me out with the proper phrase, spelling, pronunciation, etc, that would be great! (I'm currently going through the naming phase right now with a comedy ensemble at the Improv Olympic Theater in Chicago.) Well, they're really isn't a phrase for this. This is major problem #2 in langauage translation: a phrase (ex. "to play along") which has no meaning in other languages. [known as "idiomatic"] BTW, major problem #1 is words that do not exist in other languages (ex. "Western New Yorker"). I could translate it for you, but you need to provide an entire sentence in which you are using it. You are trying to translate "word for word", which is what the babelfish and google translators do (erroneously). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Cat Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 Well, they're really isn't a phrase for this. This is major problem #2 in langauage translation: a phrase (ex. "to play along") which has no meaning in other languages. [known as "idiomatic"] BTW, major problem #1 is words that do not exist in other languages (ex. "Western New Yorker"). I could translate it for you, but you need to provide an entire sentence in which you are using it. You are trying to translate "word for word", which is what the babelfish and google translators do (erroneously). Well, I gave the three different examples knowing there would be a chance that each could have its own translation. The last example is most relevant. So if you could think of a phrase meaning to "play along" or "play the game-" where the "game" is more of a joke or ruse. Again, I wouldn't use a automated translator for something like this because I don't want a word for word translation for "play the joke." Isn't translation fun!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
\GoBillsInDallas/ Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Like when Grandma is having a "bad" day and she thinks her seven year old grand daughter (Stacy) is her sister, then Stacy's parents might tell her to "humor" grandma, or "play along." Mom tells you to take a rain jacket even though there's no clouds in sight. You sigh. Dad says, "humor your mother." Two janitors mopping the floor, one says to the other, "I think I'm going to take off early today because my Lamborghini is in the shop." The other, deciding to play along and humor her associate replies, "Yeah, I just picked up my Bentley yesterday, cost me $5000 to replace the transmission, but whatever. Chump change, right?" I hope that helps. Well, I hear what you're saying. The problem is that many of the English phrases and uses do not translate into other languages. Using the janitor sentence as an example, the phrase "deciding to play along and humor her associate" would not translate into French. If you were to take the complete sentence, translate it to French, then do a word-by-word translation back to English, it would read: "There are two janitors - they are cleaning the floor. One janitor says, “I am leaving early today, my car Lamborghini is in repair”. The other janitor says, with sarcasm, “My car Bentley was repaired yesterday, the transmission of the car was replaced for $5000. But of course, the cost is very small”. Another example (using sports) would be this: In English, it is "the Montreal Canadiens". In Quebec French, it is "Le Canadien". However, in France French "Le Canadien" means literally "the male Canadian citizen". They would instead use "Le Club de Hockey Canadien de Montreal" for legal purposes or 'Les Canadiens de Montreal" in the sports pages. BTW, it is "Les Bills de Buffalo" and "Les Sabres de Buffalo" since proper names normally aren't translated. Don't feel so bad - wait until you try to translate "Central American Spanish" into "Texas Spanish". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 How about this, "Parlez vous hum-a-humma mon cheri?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 How about this, "Parlez vous hum-a-humma mon cheri?" Translation to English Do you speak hum-a-humma my wife ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivier in france Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Well, I gave the three different examples knowing there would be a chance that each could have its own translation. The last example is most relevant. So if you could think of a phrase meaning to "play along" or "play the game-" where the "game" is more of a joke or ruse. Again, I wouldn't use a automated translator for something like this because I don't want a word for word translation for "play the joke." Isn't translation fun!? you can use "jouer le jeu" literally "play the game"; In fact that's probably the best expression i that case... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivier in france Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 BTW, it is "Les Bills de Buffalo" and "Les Sabres de Buffalo" since proper names normally aren't translated. As "Sabre" is a french name in fact a Sabre is a Sabre!! But you'd probably find some translators that will give "Les Additions de Buffalo" translating "bill" (what you pay at the end of a restaurant meal) into "addition" or les "Factures de Buffalo", facture being french for invoice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricojes Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Like when Grandma is having a "bad" day and she thinks her seven year old grand daughter (Stacy) is her sister, then Stacy's parents might tell her to "humor" grandma, or "play along." Mom tells you to take a rain jacket even though there's no clouds in sight. You sigh. Dad says, "humor your mother." Two janitors mopping the floor, one says to the other, "I think I'm going to take off early today because my Lamborghini is in the shop." The other, deciding to play along and humor her associate replies, "Yeah, I just picked up my Bentley yesterday, cost me $5000 to replace the transmission, but whatever. Chump change, right?" I hope that helps. What about using the French phrase for "humor me" as your name? No idea what it is or if it translates, but it's pretty much the same as "play along" and may translate better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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