This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
macroprogestatives
couche
Jan 10, 2017 13:32
7 yrs ago
10 viewers *
français term

fuite en avant

français vers anglais Sciences sociales Gouvernement / politique
From a French think tank's analysis of the political and economic situation in a middle-income country:

"Lorsque les accords de coopération militaire turco-israéliens ont été actés en 1996, ils s’inscrivaient dans la volonté de l’administration Clinton de restructurer les jeux d’alliance états-uniens au Moyen-Orient. La politique unilatéraliste de l’administration Bush et la *fuite en avant* de la politique israélienne, minant systématiquement le contenu des accords d’Oslo de 1993, amena la Turquie à s’éloigner peu à peu de Tel Aviv parce que ce système de partenariat devenait contradictoire avec ce qu’elle considère être ses intérêts nationaux dans la région."

Based on a previous thread (http://www.proz.com/kudoz/french_to_english/bus_financial/44... I was thinking of "Israel's policy of blindly forging ahead..." but I'm not totally satisfied with that. Any better ideas?
Proposed translations (anglais)
4 +1 headlong progression
3 +1 the blinkered nature of their policies
4 Israel's kicking the can down the road policy
3 headlong panic
References
explanation

Discussion

Diana Huet de Guerville (asker) Jan 10, 2017:
Thanks for all your suggestions and feedback, it's very helpful to get some other opinions! Will probably stick with my original idea since you seem to approve!
Francois Boye Jan 10, 2017:
What about this one?

http://www.linternaute.com/expression/langue-francaise/13937...
B D Finch Jan 10, 2017:
Context of definition matters The definition offered by Wiktionary (polyglot and Francois Boye) is specific to psychology (NB Wiktionary fails to name its source). Robert gives the following:

"(1968). Loc. fig. Fuite en avant: accélération d'un processus (politique, économique) jugé nécessaire bien que dangereux; fait d'accompagner une évolution que l'on ne peut contrôler."
© 2016 Dictionnaires Le Robert - Le Grand Robert de la langue française

So it is about recklessness, rather than trying to escape a situation.

For the specific context of psychology, Robert gives the following:

"(1914, in D. D. L.). Psychol. (→ ci-dessus: fuite en avant). Le fait de fuir (une difficulté psychique). Une fuite dans la maladie, dans la drogue, dans le sommeil."
© 2016 Dictionnaires Le Robert - Le Grand Robert de la langue française

@Wendy,
'Blindly forging ahead' would work and I think that's the best suggestion so far, but 'taking the bull by the horns' means something totally different.
Wendy Streitparth Jan 10, 2017:
@ Francois: so the last definition fits perfectly with 'blindly', as indeed does forging ahead.
Francois Boye Jan 10, 2017:
See the definition in French. 'Fuite en avant' is about:

Ne pas faire face à ses problèmes, fait de fuir ses problèmes sans les résoudre, ou fait de poursuivre une action problématique en négligeant de considérer ses conséquences futures
Nikki Scott-Despaigne Jan 10, 2017:
Your idea is the best fit. It has the idea of trying to escape a situation which will inevitably catch up with you sooner or later. In the longer term, it's generally a pointless exercise. It's about refusing to face up to facts. Yep, your suggestion does it!
Wendy Streitparth Jan 10, 2017:
'Blindly forging ahead' seems OK to me too. Or 'taking the bull by the horns'?
Philippa Smith Jan 10, 2017:
Diana, I think your own suggestion of blindly forging ahead would work here, it's a nice strong image which I think sums the idea well. You could maybe juggle with it a bit, e.g. "Israel's determination to keep blindly forging ahead".
Mair A-W (PhD) Jan 10, 2017:
as a translation I mean.
Mair A-W (PhD) Jan 10, 2017:
I quite like blindly forging ahead ... why don't you?

Proposed translations

+1
11 minutes

the blinkered nature of their policies

feigning ignorance
steamrolling on through without making allowances for circumstances

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 mins (2017-01-10 13:44:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

stubborn and unbending
Note from asker:
I like your second suggestion, thanks!
Peer comment(s):
agree Wendy Streitparth : Yes, like the steamrolling one!
41 minutes
agree BrigitteHilgner
1 heure
neutral B D Finch : I agree with the general description, but it doesn't seem to translate the idea of speed. I also think "blinkered" is almost too kind: blindfolded perhaps?
2 heures
disagree Ben Gaia : an interpretation, not a translation, they may be dashing forward with open eyes.
16 heures
Something went wrong...
2 heures

headlong panic

I think there is something reckless and rash in a "fuite en avant" that "blindly forging ahead" does not capture. Isn't "fuite en avant" quite the opposite of being stubborn? It's comes from being fearful.
Reference:

http://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/fuite/35506/locution

Something went wrong...
36 minutes

Israel's kicking the can down the road policy

This is a typical US English expression: see the attachment.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=their kicking the can d...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2017-01-10 16:00:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

fuite en avant \fɥi.t‿ɑ̃.n‿a.vɑ̃\ féminin
(Psychologie) Fait de ne pas faire face à ses problèmes, fait de fuir ses problèmes sans les résoudre, ou fait de poursuivre une action problématique en négligeant de considérer ses conséquences futures.
La fuite en avant est une réaction qui, chez certaines personnes, consiste en un réflexe à se dérober dès lors qu’un problème se présente. — (« La fuite en avant », AuFéminin.com, 22 mars 2011)
Peer comment(s):
disagree writeaway : kick the can down the road: put off confronting a difficult issue or making an important decision, typically on a continuing basis, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kick_the_can_down_the_road
26 minutes
What's the problem? Isn't it a 'fuite en avant'?
disagree Rob Grayson : Different meaning altogether // A "fuite en avant" means something different than "kicking the can down the road". The former means "forging ahead blindly"; the latter means delaying the inevitable. Two different things.
52 minutes
Please explain!//The definition of 'fuite en avant' in French above does not square with your interpretation of 'fuite en avant'
agree philgoddard : I hadn't heard of this, but polyglot45's reference suggests that it's exactly right.
1 heure
Thanks!
agree Nikki Scott-Despaigne : Had never heard of this either. http://grammarist.com/usage/kick-the-can-down-the-road/ Punctuation/grammar: "Policy of kicking the can down the road" or "kicking-the-can-down-the-road policy".
21 heures
Thanks!
Something went wrong...
+1
2 heures

headlong progression

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/headlong
"headlong
....
In a rush; with reckless haste:
[as attributive adjective] ‘a headlong dash through the house’
[as adverb] ‘those who rush headlong to join in the latest craze’

Origin

Middle English headling (from head + the adverbial suffix -ling), altered in late Middle English by association with -long."

https://books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=0816508852
Ann Zwinger - 1975 - ‎Nature
Ankles crack and shins bark against unyielding stone. There is no such thing as caution; it is simply a headlong progression into disaster with every foot for itself.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2017-01-10 17:37:20 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

While polyglot has given a referenced definition of "fuite en avant" in a psychology context, this question involves a political context, for which Le Grand Robert gives the following definition:

"(1968). Loc. fig. Fuite en avant: accélération d'un processus (politique, économique) jugé nécessaire bien que dangereux; fait d'accompagner une évolution que l'on ne peut contrôler."
© 2016 Dictionnaires Le Robert - Le Grand Robert de la langue française"
Peer comment(s):
agree Ben Gaia
13 heures
Thanks Ben
neutral Nikki Scott-Despaigne : I like "headlong", but am less a fan of "progression" without "to" vb/place. I agree that it has meaning in psychology and another in politics, altho' the link is clear. The meaning from 1968 holds good but it's good to use a modern expression here.
19 heures
I tend to agree and prefer the Asker's original suggestion.
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

9 minutes
Reference:

explanation

Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree philgoddard
1 heure
neutral B D Finch : Le Grand Robert, as per note added to my answer, gives a different definition for non-psychology contexts.
3 heures
Something went wrong...
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Recherche par terme
  • Travaux
  • Forums
  • Multiple search