Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
A l’eau la Terre
English translation:
H2ellO earth
Added to glossary by
msabeh
Jan 28, 2009 04:40
15 yrs ago
French term
A l’eau la Terre
French to English
Marketing
Environment & Ecology
Hello everyone!
Does anyone have any clever ideas on how to translate this play on words? It's the title to a section on a document, and I'm just not coming up with any good ideas :( Here is a little more context:
**A l’eau la Terre?**
A l’horizon 2010 s’ouvriront les portes de la Vigie de l’eau, un centre de culture scientifique et technique située dans la galerie des Thermes Garnier à Vittel.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Does anyone have any clever ideas on how to translate this play on words? It's the title to a section on a document, and I'm just not coming up with any good ideas :( Here is a little more context:
**A l’eau la Terre?**
A l’horizon 2010 s’ouvriront les portes de la Vigie de l’eau, un centre de culture scientifique et technique située dans la galerie des Thermes Garnier à Vittel.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +5 | H²allO earth |
Alain Pommet
|
| 3 +3 | Wake up Earth |
Helen Munduteguy (X)
|
| 4 | Why so blue, Earth? |
SJLD
|
| 3 +1 | The planet in hot water |
MatthewLaSon
|
| 3 | A Down-to-earth Crow's nest ! |
memonic
|
| 3 | Bridge over troubled water |
polyglot45
|
| 3 | Planet Earth on stream |
B D Finch
|
| 3 | Message in a bottle |
Martin Cassell
|
Proposed translations
+5
3 hrs
Selected
H²allO earth
H²O
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Gabrielle Leyden
: How about H2ellO, Earth! (hello instead of hallo?) GL
1 hr
|
|
Thanks Gabrielle - true, usually spelt with an 'e'.
|
|
| agree |
EJP
1 hr
|
|
Thanks EJP
|
|
| neutral |
Martin Cassell
: neat, but I'm not sure preserving the pun so exactly is necessary (and btw it's a subscript 2 in H2O)
3 hrs
|
|
Thanks Martin - but why didn't you use subscript either? - I just had a handy superscript 2 on my keyboard to make the point.
|
|
| agree |
B D Finch
: H2(L)O Earth?
3 hrs
|
|
Thanks BD
|
|
| agree |
Sheila Hardie
: Yes, H2ellO Earth sounds a good idea
6 hrs
|
|
Thanks Sheila
|
|
| agree |
Ann Sumwalt
: it's very clever
11 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks everyone for all your great answers! It was really a hard decision. In the end I went with this one because it was very clever and included the idea of water which was very important."
+3
2 hrs
Wake up Earth
You could try something like this, or:
"Hello Earth, is there anyone there?"
"Hello Earth, is there anyone there?"
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Caroline Vignard (X)
: I like these suggestions
7 mins
|
| agree |
John ANTHONY
: That is to me the best suggestion. Combien de fois devons-nous expliquer l'impossibilité à laquelle nous sommes confrontés losqu'il s'agit de "traduire" des jeux de mots...?
1 hr
|
| agree |
Sheila Hardie
: Yes, Wake up Earth or Hello Earth? Anybody there?
7 hrs
|
3 hrs
A Down-to-earth Crow's nest !
Another play on words... NOt a translation but an other idea for an english title:
CROW'S NEST = Vigie
DOWN TO EARTH = Science and Environment Magazine (http://www.downtoearth.org.in/)
DOWN-TO-EARTH = the Idiom !
Nest is more likely to be high up than down [in] earth....
CROW'S NEST = Vigie
DOWN TO EARTH = Science and Environment Magazine (http://www.downtoearth.org.in/)
DOWN-TO-EARTH = the Idiom !
Nest is more likely to be high up than down [in] earth....
5 hrs
polyglot45
Native in French
&
English
Native in: English 
, French
Works in: English to French, French to English, German to French, and 4 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
20
Bridge over troubled water
since it is a play on the title of a French pop song, how about an English language song in return?
7 hrs
Planet Earth on stream
It is impossible to directly translate the pun, so I just looked for a headline that linked earth and water.
Possible variation: Put(ting) the Earth on stream
Possible variation: Put(ting) the Earth on stream
9 hrs
Martin Cassell
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
United Kingdom
25 years as a specialist communicator
Native in: English (Variant: UK)
Works in: French to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Message in a bottle
While we're on the theme of song-titles ...
13 hrs
Why so blue, Earth?
water - blue - Blue Planet... get it? ;-)
+1
1 hr
The planet in hot water
Hello,
Could this work?
(tombée) à l'eau = is going down the tubes
in hot water = in trouble/in a bad situatin
The play on words is still there
I hope this helps.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 hrs (2009-01-29 01:59:49 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Or "Earth in hot water"
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 hrs (2009-01-29 02:00:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-12104134.html
Could this work?
(tombée) à l'eau = is going down the tubes
in hot water = in trouble/in a bad situatin
The play on words is still there
I hope this helps.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 hrs (2009-01-29 01:59:49 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Or "Earth in hot water"
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 hrs (2009-01-29 02:00:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-12104134.html
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
SJLD
: à l'eau = hallo pronounced by a French speaker
1 hr
|
|
Yes, it is pronounced as "Allo," À l'eau = down the drain. The planet is in hot water seems to be the meaning to me. Perhaps you should propose a translation.
|
|
| agree |
Monique McColgan
7 hrs
|
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Thanks, Monique!
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Discussion