May 5, 2004 19:11
20 yrs ago
French term
nicola simpson
Elle est américaine et elle a fait début dans les années ’20.
Non-PRO
French to English
Tech/Engineering
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
just basic translation
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+9
2 mins
Jeanne Zang
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
Experienced, skilled, reliable
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English, Catalan to English, Spanish to English, and 1 more.
French term (edited):
Elle est am�ricaine et elle a fait d�but dans les ann�es ?20.
Selected
She is an American who made her debut in the 1920s.
or: and she made her debut ... Depends on the context and what you want to emphasize.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Sandra OLIVER
: better format
9 mins
|
| agree |
Will Matter
: also acceptable, depends how asker wishes to word it.
21 mins
|
| agree |
Cabotine (X)
: c'est plus élégant que le français, est-il permis d'améliorer ?
22 mins
|
|
Well, there's a good theoretical question! I usually try to keep the translation like the original, but perhaps the French isn't as awkward as the literal English would be.
|
|
| agree |
Hacene
51 mins
|
| agree |
Orla Ryan
54 mins
|
| agree |
chaplin
4 hrs
|
| agree |
verbis
7 hrs
|
| agree |
Karin Dyson
12 hrs
|
| agree |
ZIL (X)
13 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Graded automatically based on peer agreement."
+8
2 mins
Marian Greenfield
Native in English
Over 30 years in financial translation
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, Portuguese to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
8
French term (edited):
Elle est am�ricaine et elle a fait d�but dans les ann�es �20.
She is American and she made her debut in the twenties.
a flapper, perhaps???? or silent movie star???
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Enza Longo
0 min
|
| agree |
NancyLynn
6 mins
|
| agree |
Vicky Papaprodromou
7 mins
|
| agree |
Will Matter
21 mins
|
| agree |
MARINS
30 mins
|
| agree |
lien
: I would write : she is an American, when the french say :elle est americaine, they mean : she is an American. The sentence is closer to the French, less formal than the other answer.
1 hr
|
| agree |
RHELLER
: you got it Marian (in French one can also say "c'est une américaine")
3 hrs
|
| agree |
chaplin
4 hrs
|
+1
1 hr
Mary Wilburn
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
Dependable-accurate-readable translation
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, Spanish to English, French to English
French term (edited):
Elle est am�ricaine et elle a fait d�but dans les ann�es �20.
She is an American woman who made her debut in the twenties
Young women being presented to society (debutantes) were said to be making their "debut." This was a ritual of the upper classes of society, especially before World War I, but the practice continues with some modification today.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
mportal
: also, certainly in the UK (-I don't know about America) they might have been described as 'coming out' (ie in society), but this might have odd connotations today
10 mins
|
Discussion
d�but ?? whast, writing? Acting? Singing? Piloting aircraft??
In English we would nearly always qualify it....and would probably translate it as "started x" unless she is an actress