Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
bonté du coeur
English translation:
kindheartedness
Added to glossary by
David BUICK
Aug 31, 2009 11:48
14 yrs ago
French term
United States
bonté du coeur
French to English
Art/Literary
Religion
For a chapter heading in a religious book; also used frequently in the chapter. The alternatives are Goodness of heart, Kindness of Heart, even Kindheartedness or A Good Heart or A Kind Heart. References are (obviously) to the bonté of God but also to people. What is the most conventionally used translation? And which is (perhaps) the most sensitive? At times it is clearly goodness, at other times, kindness, but mostly it can be either, and I would welcome professional opinions on this. Because it is the subject of this chapter, I feel that it matters a lot which I choose initially. Merci en avance.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +5 | kindheartedness |
David BUICK
|
| 4 | goodness |
Euqinimod (X)
|
| 4 | goodheartedness |
MatthewLaSon
|
| 3 | compassion |
jaynedmoore
|
| 3 | virtue |
Yasutomo Kanazawa
|
| 3 | generosity of spirt |
Jenn Mercer
|
Change log
Sep 1, 2009 19:01: David BUICK Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+5
14 mins
David BUICK
Native in English
Works in field
Reactive, reliable, win/win service
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English, English to French
Related KudoZ points
:
16
Selected
kindheartedness
I think compassion is a bit too specific. Kindheartedness is more of a a general disposition which I think corresponds to "la bonté du coeur".
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Note added at 1 hr (2009-08-31 12:52:08 GMT)
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Here's one layperson's explanation at http://www.alliancespirite.org/commentaires/les-trois-tamis-...
La bonté du coeur, c'est aimer, donner, partager sans rien attendre en retour... C'est beaucoup plus difficile qu'il n'en paraît ; l'homme est ainsi fait qu'il donne en ayant plus ou moins consciemment le désir d'un retour sous quelque forme que ce soit: ce peut être sous forme matérielle, du pouvoir, du prestige... Quelque soit la forme, si je donne pour recevoir, ce n'est pas la bonté du coeur car celle-ci est partage gratuit par amour simplement.
I often use this kind of language outside my professional environment, and while I wouldn't be likely to use the precise phrase and am not a French native speaker, if I was interpreting for someone using it, in a context with which I am familiar, 'kindheartedness' is what I would say in English. hth
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Note added at 1 hr (2009-08-31 12:52:08 GMT)
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Here's one layperson's explanation at http://www.alliancespirite.org/commentaires/les-trois-tamis-...
La bonté du coeur, c'est aimer, donner, partager sans rien attendre en retour... C'est beaucoup plus difficile qu'il n'en paraît ; l'homme est ainsi fait qu'il donne en ayant plus ou moins consciemment le désir d'un retour sous quelque forme que ce soit: ce peut être sous forme matérielle, du pouvoir, du prestige... Quelque soit la forme, si je donne pour recevoir, ce n'est pas la bonté du coeur car celle-ci est partage gratuit par amour simplement.
I often use this kind of language outside my professional environment, and while I wouldn't be likely to use the precise phrase and am not a French native speaker, if I was interpreting for someone using it, in a context with which I am familiar, 'kindheartedness' is what I would say in English. hth
Note from asker:
| So far this is the most helpful; I really need to know which option a native French person, from the common culture, would best understand as its meaning. It is certainly a general disposition, and "feels" right to me; I wonder though what is the usual meaning (what the author meant) for it. It's a battle for me between convention/tradition and a more graceful translation. |
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I will probably still call the chapter Goodness of Heart, as a sop to tradition; but in its many appearances in the chapter, kindheartedness seems the most appropriate the most often. Many thanks to Eutychus, and to all participants."
3 mins
compassion
One possibility - it would avoid using the word 'heart' too often which is likely to come up often!
Note from asker:
| You are right about the problem of heart arising frequently, but compassion is a specific quality, narrower (and other) than this phrase, and therefore is not as accurate as any of the alternatives. |
20 mins
Yasutomo Kanazawa
Japan
Japan
Japan
Scientia est potentia
Native in: Japanese
Works in: English to Japanese, German to Japanese, Italian to Japanese, and 3 more.
virtue
I know that the virtue is not a literal translation of bonté de coeur, but according to Wikipedia, bonté seems to be related to virtue in religious terms. According to Wiki below, if you look up the word bonté in the English version, it says "good and evil" but since it also talks about God, I don't think "evil" would do here.
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonté
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtue
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonté
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtue
Note from asker:
| Bonté du coeur is a traditional religious phrase and is not virtue in general, but specific virtues, namely of goodness and kindness. Which is why I have my dilemma ---- |
1 hr
goodness
As long as it also refers to "bonté de Dieu" in your text, that's the term used in a religious context. I give here a few quotations taken from the Penguin Dictionary of Quotations:
1. "I should utterly have fainted; but that I believe verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." [27:15, Book of Common Prayer]
2. "Abashed the devil stood,/ And felt how awful goodness is [Paradise Lost, IV, 846]
And this one where God is called "The fountain of all goodness" [Book of Common Prayer, Prayer for the Royal Family].
You also can see at the web address below.
1. "I should utterly have fainted; but that I believe verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." [27:15, Book of Common Prayer]
2. "Abashed the devil stood,/ And felt how awful goodness is [Paradise Lost, IV, 846]
And this one where God is called "The fountain of all goodness" [Book of Common Prayer, Prayer for the Royal Family].
You also can see at the web address below.
Reference:
Note from asker:
| This would be the most "traditional" choice, but upon rereading the chapter, I realize it refers more often to the goodness/kindness of human beings than to the goodness of God. |
4 hrs
goodheartedness
Hello,
This is the idea...there may be a few different variations, though
I hope this helps.
This is the idea...there may be a few different variations, though
I hope this helps.
1 hr
Jenn Mercer
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
ATA-Certified FR to EN Translator
Native in: English (Variant: US)
Works in: French to English
generosity of spirt
This would be my translation. I was able to find references for the concept of "generosity" and "spirit" seems to fit in this context.
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Note added at 16 hrs (2009-09-01 03:50:07 GMT)
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Make that "generosity of spirit." I may have been generous with my answer, but I was stingy with my i's.
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Note added at 16 hrs (2009-09-01 03:50:07 GMT)
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Make that "generosity of spirit." I may have been generous with my answer, but I was stingy with my i's.
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