Apr 5, 2006 17:32
18 yrs ago
English term
He stammered out his answer
English to French
Law/Patents
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Hi all,
I need a native French speaker to tell me how idiomatic this sentence is... basically I want to translate it as " He stammered out his answer." Is there a better option than "begayant"?
Merci!! Is
I need a native French speaker to tell me how idiomatic this sentence is... basically I want to translate it as " He stammered out his answer." Is there a better option than "begayant"?
Merci!! Is
Proposed translations
(French)
| 5 +3 | he answered stuttering |
JH Trads
|
| 4 +1 | en balbutiant |
Olivia MAHÉ
|
| 3 | he answered, stammering |
Tony M
|
Change log
Apr 5, 2006 20:08: Dipl.-Kfm. Bernhard Aicher MBA changed "Language pair" from "French" to "English to French" , "Field" from "Other" to "Law/Patents" , "Field (specific)" from "Law (general)" to "General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters"
Apr 5, 2006 20:24: NancyLynn changed "Term asked" from "il a repondu en begayant" to "He stammered out his answer"
Proposed translations
+3
5 mins
English term (edited):
il a repondu en begayant
Selected
he answered stuttering
bégayer is the right specific word, because : "il a répondu d'une voix hésitante / chevrottante / hâchée" although kind of close, are different...
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Note added at 1 hr (2006-04-05 18:42:05 GMT)
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hello isarcat,
another French word that conveys the same idea of a very undecisive / halting speech is:
bredouiller
I hope it helps :-)
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Note added at 1 hr (2006-04-05 18:42:05 GMT)
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hello isarcat,
another French word that conveys the same idea of a very undecisive / halting speech is:
bredouiller
I hope it helps :-)
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
chaplin
: bravo tu as été plus rapide alors j'enlève ma réponse
1 min
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merci Ségolène :-)
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| neutral |
Tony M
: Yes, but in practice, I think the medical descriptions of 'stutter' and 'stammer' are different, and I think if this is just referring to faltering speech (i.e. not a medical condition), then i think it probably is better as 'stammer'
34 mins
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thanks Tony, please see my comment above :-)
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| agree |
Assimina Vavoula
2 hrs
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thanks npapad1 :-)
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| agree |
Sylvie Pilon (X)
: En bredouillant, oui !
5 hrs
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merci infolution!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Your suggestions were excellent- thank you!"
+1
3 mins
Olivia MAHÉ
France
France
Native in French
France
FRENCH QUALIFIED TRANSLATOR-ADAPTOR
Native in: French 
Works in: English to French, Italian to French, French
Related KudoZ points
:
17
English term (edited):
il a repondu en begayant
en balbutiant
but "bégayant" (with an accent!) is perfect
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Note added at 5 mins (2006-04-05 17:37:59 GMT)
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répondu (I guess your keyboard doesn't show them)
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Note added at 5 mins (2006-04-05 17:37:59 GMT)
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répondu (I guess your keyboard doesn't show them)
44 mins
English term (edited):
il a repondu en begayant
he answered, stammering
The way I've observed it in everyday use over here in France, I would say that it IS (or at least can be) fairly idiomatic, and is often used to refer, not to the specific medical condition, but rather to halting speech, as suggested by this OED definition for 'stammer':
1 v.i. Speak with halting articulation; esp. speak with repeated pauses or involuntary repetitions of the same consonant or vowel, *** freq. because of indecision, embarrassment, etc. ***, or from a speech impairment.
1 v.i. Speak with halting articulation; esp. speak with repeated pauses or involuntary repetitions of the same consonant or vowel, *** freq. because of indecision, embarrassment, etc. ***, or from a speech impairment.
Discussion