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orifice non plongeur
2xM5 BORGNES PROF UTILE:12
Mar 3, 2009 21:19
15 yrs ago
français term

au tour

français vers anglais Autre Général / conversation / salutations / correspondance
Ma vie professionnelle s’est passée au tour, je dis bien « au tour » de la profession de rédacteur. J’ai également une passion, un très grand centre d’intérêt pour les bandes dessinée.
Proposed translations (anglais)
4 +7 around
5 +2 At lathe
1 -1 in the (ivory) tower
Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): writeaway

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Discussion

Tegan Raleigh (asker) Mar 4, 2009:
But then, on the other hand, Francis Marche's suggestion sounds really good. I'm obviously on the fence here. And relieved that I am not the only one befuddled by this usage.
Tegan Raleigh (asker) Mar 4, 2009:
At this point, my interpretation is that the speaker (and yes, I do think these may be transcriptions of interviews, to address Isabelle's suggestion) is making a point that the use of "autour" is to be understood on more than just an idiomatic level, just as "around" can be. In English, for example, we could say, "my life revolved around the baby. And when I say around, I mean around - not just the baby herself, but her napping and feeding schedules, all of her toys, and play dates." Right? Basically, to go back to the original, the speaker wants to emphasize that his professional life was not centered on one specific thing alone, but that there was a lot of other stuff that emanated from his main focal point.
Vicky James Mar 4, 2009:
Hi Tegan. I think the second "au tour" is simply a repetition of the first, and that there is a comma missing after the second one, which is there for emphasis/qualification. "Ma vie professionnelle s'est passée au tour de la profession de rédacteur"...
Isabelle Berquin Mar 3, 2009:
Hi Tegan, that's how I understand it. The second "autour" is to stress the bredth of his activities.
Tegan Raleigh (asker) Mar 3, 2009:
Actually, I guess it could make sense... if my understanding is correct that his professional life involved not just editing, but other elements from surrounding fields...
Tegan Raleigh (asker) Mar 3, 2009:
I still don't understand the use of "au tour," particularly the second time- does it mean that his professional life involved not just editing, but a lot of other things associated with editing?
My professional life revolved around the editing profession, yes, around - I also had a great passion for comics.
The "around" in the second instance doesn't make much sense.

Proposed translations

+7
6 minutes
Selected

around

"autour" instead of au tour, i.e. his professional life was articulated around...

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Note added at 17 hrs (2009-03-04 15:09:36 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Is it possible that the text was transcribed from an audio source, or was written by a journalist after interviewing that person? This might explain the spelling of "au tour" in two words. Otherwise, if the person in question wrote the text directly (and is a reasonably educated French speaker), it could well be a pun as SirMarch suggested.
Peer comment(s):
agree RProsser : or revolved around...?
28 minutes
"revolved" sounds better, thanks!
agree Helen Shiner : Yes, 'revolved around' with just 'around' the second time, to make sense of the second sentence.
56 minutes
Thanks, Helen!
agree Mark Nathan : with RProsser
57 minutes
Thanks, Mark!
agree Dr Lofthouse : with prosser
1 heure
Thanks, Dr Lofthouse!
agree mill2 : with Helen
13 heures
Thanks, Mill!
agree Hattie Hill
15 heures
Thanks, Hattie!
agree AliciaPG
18 heures
Thanks, Alicia!
neutral Francis Marche : why would he repeat "au tour" in two words and in brackets then ? "Je dis bien" is equivalent to "I repeat" in E. Why is it so emphasized in your opinion ?
23 heures
Thks for your comment. It's possible that this was a transcript or an interview and thus the speaker's word "autour" might have been spelled mistakenly in 2 words. The emphasis could mean he did many other things. However a word play is possible too.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
-1
10 heures

in the (ivory) tower

Perhaps he was at the top of the profession? Food for thought.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 hrs (2009-03-04 08:07:26 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

SirMarch's reading is mine too: writer says he purposely said au tour and not autour.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 hrs (2009-03-04 08:09:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

au tour de : at the job of [tour = rounds?!] Another wild shot!
Peer comment(s):
disagree Francis Marche : sorry, that would be "dans LA tour" or possibly "à LA tour" and anyway "une/la tour" does not automatically conjure up any "Ivory tower" in French.
12 heures
Something went wrong...
+2
4 heures

At lathe

This person really master french talking and didn't made a mistake while using "au tour". Open your mind and you will all understand the real meaning of it. That's why he specified for a second time "au tour". This man used a word play, working well in french but hard to translate in english. He is almost comparing himself as a craftsman in editing profession. Certainly because most of his life, he contributed to the editing world always willing and trying to improve it. A kind of goal that is probably not totally accomplished for him.
The translations should read about like this:
My professional life revolved at lathe, yes, I'm really saying (or yes, I really mean) "at lathe" of editor's profession (could also be at editor's profession lathe, using bold type for at and lathe) . I also had a great passion, a very great main interest for cartoons.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days6 hrs (2009-03-06 04:04:47 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The second "au tour" was to clarify his mind and precise to everyone that he didnt made a mistake. He probably though that everyone would understand his word play but certainly didn't imagined that it would someday be translated into english. I was myself editor for over 6 years but my experience into editing world comes from far away. I was not editor at the beginning. I have started from the bottom row as he probably did, but I can say that most of my life I've beeing involved into editing profession. I have absolutely no doubt on this. He really used "au tour" which is in english "at lathe".
Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_play

http://www.wordreference.com/enfr/main%20interest

Peer comment(s):
neutral kashew : Fine explanation: seemed obvious to me too. He didn't write "autour"!
6 heures
neutral ormiston : actually, in view of the spelling mistake (déssinée in the singular), the strange use of the past tense & the general style & punctuation I wouldn't give the writer that much credit for subtlety. Maybe French natives could comment on this
8 heures
agree Joanne Nebbia : The whole point of repeating "au tour" is to make sure everyone gets the play on words. I am wondering if this is a reference to being somehow "chained" to his job when his real passion is for cartoons? BTW Ormiston, most creative writers can't spell.
9 heures
neutral Lori Cirefice : I'm with ormiston here
10 heures
agree Francis Marche : "au tour" as "au charbon" meaning a direct, "hands-on" experience.
18 heures
Something went wrong...
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