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emporter

English translation: (It would seem) the entire museum is swept up in the impulse of her spread wings

13:31 Nov 13, 2023
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting
French term or phrase: emporter
Again about the Victoire de Samothrace and its position at the top of the Louvre's Daru staircase:

"Les ailes déployées, elle semble emporter le musée tout entier".

Thank you.
Sandra Petch
Local time: 19:40
English translation:(It would seem) the entire museum is swept up in the impulse of her spread wings
Explanation:
This is my best shot... The language is very poetic. I would prioritise the feeling of elation over a word-for-word rendering...
Selected response from:

Victoria Schmidt
France
Local time: 19:40
Grading comment
Thank you. I stayed with my original idea of "embrace", which Ormiston also suggested, but "swept up" conveys the same sense.
2 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +5(It would seem) the entire museum is swept up in the impulse of her spread wings
Victoria Schmidt
4Wings spread, she seems to carry away the whole museum.
Annette Fehr


  

Answers


18 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +5
(It would seem) the entire museum is swept up in the impulse of her spread wings


Explanation:
This is my best shot... The language is very poetic. I would prioritise the feeling of elation over a word-for-word rendering...

Victoria Schmidt
France
Local time: 19:40
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 2
Grading comment
Thank you. I stayed with my original idea of "embrace", which Ormiston also suggested, but "swept up" conveys the same sense.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Helen Shiner: Yes, that’s the gist, I agree. Maybe something like: with her wings outstretched, she seems to sweep up (or perhaps even dominate) the whole museum
7 mins
  -> I like 'outstretched' yes, more expressive.
agree  abe(L)solano
8 mins
agree  ormiston: Nice. What about 'she seems to embrace the whole museum in her outstretched wings'
25 mins
agree  writeaway: I like Helen's suggestion outstretched wings
44 mins
agree  philgoddard: I think you need an active construction like Helen's or ormiston's, and 'it would seem' isn't quite right. But 'sweep up' is perfect.
1 hr
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23 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Wings spread, she seems to carry away the whole museum.


Explanation:
A bit closer to the original text than the alternative previously proposed, but it seems important to me that the personification of this statue and the touch of humour present in the original text be conveyed. Also, there's a play-on-words using the French verb emporter, meaning both physically carrying something and getting carried away emotionally, which can also be conveyed, in my opinion, by the English word, carry.

Example sentence(s):
  • Il commence a trop s'emporter sur le sujet.

    https://www.dictionnaire-academie.fr/article/A9E1201
Annette Fehr
France
Local time: 19:40
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you.

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