Aug 9, 2008 07:47
15 yrs ago
5 viewers *
English term

there is no accounting for taste

English to French Bus/Financial Textiles / Clothing / Fashion Home Deco
With our vast collections of coordinated plains and printed materials, it becomes easy to dress any decor of each and every customer. At XXX Ltd, we believe *there is no accounting for taste*.

Discussion

Stephanie Sullivan (asker) Aug 15, 2008:
Thanks a lot to everyone.

Proposed translations

+4
59 mins
Selected

il y'en a pour tous les goûts

I'm a little worried about using the literal translation here; to start with, it doesn't really sound right in EN, and I suspect may have been written carelessly by someone who didn't stop to think about the true meaning of the idiom; or else, perhaps it was a sloppy translation from another language?

Often, if not always, when using this expression in EN, it has a slight ly ironic connotation of "Well, isn't it amazing the ghastly/hideous/tasteless/etc. things SOME people like?!" Now this sentiment would seem completely out of place in what appears to be some kind of marketing text. At best, I think the expression is ill-chosen.

So what worries me even more, then, is to 'fix' that into the translation, since I feel pretty sure that it has exactly the same connotation in FR.

Although I would never normally advocate such action, I think in this exceptional case, the diligent translator has a duty to ensure that the marketing message is conveyed correctly, and needs to translate what they think the author MEANT to have written.

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Note added at 1 hr (2008-08-09 09:12:41 GMT)
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For the sake of completenes, I should of course perhaps have pointed out that my suggestions couldn't be used as a 'drop-in' replacement for the question term as it stands — if you chose to go down this route, you'd have to re-work the whole sentence; though IMHO, that ought to be done as a matter of course in this style of marketing text.
Peer comment(s):

agree kashew : Yes, this is not a RC mass!
3 mins
Thanks, J! Oh dear me, it's SUCH a long time since I heard Mass in Latin
agree cenek tomas
1 hr
Thanks, Tomas!
agree Aude Sylvain : oui, sans apostrophe : "il y en a pour..."
2 hrs
Merci, Aude ! Oups... décidemment... il s'agit d'une faute de frappe que je fais trop souvent :-(
agree Myriam Dupouy
10 hrs
Merci, Myriam !
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you for your advice Tony. I chose "Il y en a pour tous les gouts". I spoke to the author and this is actually what he meant."
+2
6 mins

"de gustibus non est disputandum"

that´s the Latin term usable in all languages for this English idiom

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Note added at 9 Min. (2008-08-09 07:56:58 GMT)
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but if you prefer the French text: DES GOUTS ET DES COULEURS IL NE FAUT PAS DISCUTER
Peer comment(s):

agree Francine Alloncle : ou bien : les goûts et les couleurs ne se discutent pas
16 mins
merci ! j´avais également offert la traduction en francais
agree Ilinca Florea
23 mins
merci !
agree emiledgar : Yes, Les goûts et les couleurs ne se discutent pas. In French, one hears the French much more than the Latin.
40 mins
merci !
disagree Tony M : I think the use of the Latin expression would be quite out of register in this context; but in any case, please see the qualms expressed in my own proposed answer
54 mins
for all those who prefer the French version, I offered the corresponding French idiom
disagree kashew : Tony's right.
57 mins
agree Isabelle Bouchet : OK pour la version française
2 days 5 mins
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+3
2 hrs

à chacun son goût

the emphasis is on they can cater to everyone's individual taste

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Note added at 2 hrs (2008-08-09 10:10:15 GMT)
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just read Tony's input and agree. Taken literally it sounds faintly disparaging (one man's meat....etc.) but of course this is not what is meant here. They are simply saying they have something for everyone.

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Note added at 2 hrs (2008-08-09 10:15:37 GMT)
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giving possibly "Chez nous le client est roi" if you want a PC equivalent, although I suspect Tony has hit the nail on the head if it can be made to sound like the company's tagline!
Peer comment(s):

agree Tony M : Another good solution, and probably easier to work in!
1 hr
agree Myriam Dupouy
8 hrs
agree Arnold T.
15 hrs
neutral Isabelle Bouchet : Je dirais plutôt "à chacun SES goûts"... (Pour moi, "goût" au singulier fait davantage référence au sens gustatif).
1 day 21 hrs
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9 hrs

les goûts ne se discutent pas

Comme on dit au Canada ...
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