Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

parole de toutou

English translation:

Dog's honor!

Added to glossary by John Holland
Dec 9, 2012 01:04
11 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term

parole de toutou

French to English Art/Literary General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
I am translating a set of comic strips intended for children with a painful and sometimes debilitating childhood disease. The comic strips deal with goals, hope, cures, and fitting in at school. One strip features a dog, Pirate, and its master, Luna, a little girl who has disease in question. In this strip, the dog is talking almost exclusively to the reader. At the very end of the dog’s discourse in several different panels, it says, “Parole de toutou !” Here are three examples: “Luna ne veut pas aller en classes primaries. C’est à moi, Pirate, de l’aider. Parole de toutou !”, “Je décide qu’on va tous aller se promener. Une bonne promenade, ça fait du bien ! Parole de toutou !” and “Merci Luna ! Tu as toujours tant d’idées et de courage. Parole de toutou !” I would appreciate some help on this. What’s the best way to translate “Parole de toutou”? I have some ideas, but none seems to fit all the contexts.
Change log

Dec 23, 2012 05:43: John Holland Created KOG entry

Discussion

Germaine Dec 10, 2012:
Je ne suis pas experte en la matière, mais quand il s'agit des enfants, "overuse" est un concept très relatif, surtout quand on s'adresse aux 4-6 ans. Comme je le disais, if it does'nt fit every context, c'est que l'expression est utilisée comme un "patois", un mot que l'on répète à toutes les sauces (consciemment ou pas, dude!), mais qui agit comme une espèce de "mantra" au bout du compte. Les enfants adore anticiper cette expression choisie (qui devient presque une "marque de commerce") qu'ils scandent avec vous quand vous lisez (ou faites "lire" une marionnette). Personnellement, je respecterais la répétition, qui doit avoir été prévue par des psy (c'est souvent le cas dans ce contexte). Par contre, je ne me sentirais pas obligée de rester dans le "Doggy's word". I mean, any funny sound would do the job, from DoggyTeebeedoo to Pirateschlickslack en passant par Chocolatebone! And it is easier to be respectful of every cultural "sensitivity" this way.
medeast (asker) Dec 9, 2012:
There are some excellent suggestions here. I’m impressed and very pleased. I like many of them. I may well end up using more than one, since no one suggestion fits all the contexts. “Parole de toutou” seems overused in this text, but I’m reluctant to translate the first occurrence of it only and not bother translating the others, as one contributor has suggested. Thanks for your creative input!! It’s much appreciated.
philgoddard Dec 9, 2012:
The essence of a good joke is that you don't flog it to death. I would be tempted to translate it the first time it's used, and ignore it on subsequent occasions.
chris collister Dec 9, 2012:
I have rarely attempted the immensely tricky job of getting the register right in children's books or cartoons, but it strikes me that "take my word for it" doesn't really do it. This side of the pond at least we tend to say "scout's honour" (maybe with a "did-dib" thrown in) since it does at least have more of a provenance than "dog's hono(u)r".
medeast (asker) Dec 9, 2012:
Germaine: I thought of "Take my word for it" and "Trust me" for some contexts, but neither works for all of them. I agree. "Take my word for it" doesn't sound right in the example you give. Thanks for you input.
Germaine Dec 9, 2012:
"Parole de toutou" doesn't fit all the contexts either. I can't explain why, but "I will help her! Take my word for it!" is ok, while "I have to help her! Take my word for it!" doesn't sound right to me. So, "Parole de toutou!" is kind of a "patois" for doggy. It might as well say C'est à moi, Pirate, de l'aider, château-de-bananes! ... Ça fait du bien, château-de-banane!... que ça n'y changerait rien. Donc, la porte est ouverte...

Proposed translations

+7
6 hrs
Selected

Dog’s honor!

This expression is sometimes used to express that you can trust what a person (or, in the last example below, a puppy) says. Here are a few examples:

From http://blog.bellatheboxer.com/guidelines-and-disclosures.htm... :
"Your privacy is very important. As such, your personal contact information will never be shared with anyone. Dog’s honor!"

From http://www.drdogsbehaviorsolutions.com/index.php :
"I will see your name and email address and promise to never sell or share them with anyone. Dog’s honor!"

From the comments at http://www.fififlowers.com/2008/09/location-location-locatio... :
"Alfie promises to do a good job and be a great listener today for you Fifi. Dog's honor!"

From the "Pee-Mail" sidebar at http://mrappgate.blogspot.fr/2011/12/good-day.html :
"Sometimes Mommy hogs the computer though and forgets to let me check it, so I may not pee back for a little while. I will though. Puppy dog's honor!"

It seems pretty close to the original text.

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Note added at 8 hrs (2012-12-09 09:25:03 GMT)
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Here are some more examples, this time with the British spelling:

From http://www.sofurry.com/view/256648/guest :
"Dutifully, Fritz stopped several paces away, flopping down on his side submissively, exposing himself if the umbreon chose to attack. Not usually wise in the presence of a strange canine, but this one would certainly expect the extra courtesy and the appearance of complete capitulation. "Like I said man, I'm just here for the action, ya know? You won't get any trouble from me, dog's honour." He raised a paw, flashing a grin that showed all his teeth."

From a transcript of "The Garfield Show," as said by Odie the dog, at http://www.livedash.com/transcript/the_garfield_show-(orange...
"00:11:46 >> Wait!
00:11:47 How do we know you're telling the truth?
00:11:50 >> I swear.
00:11:51 Dog's honour!"

From a blog by a dog at http://emberdog.com/diary_08_sep_2.html
"I've got a suspicion that we might be going home tomorrow, as bags have been moved about. I'll be sorry if we have to leave so soon, as I'm enjoying Cornwall very much.
I hope you like the picture of the secret door. I promise I'm not making it up. Dog's honour. Woofs and licks to all."

And finally, here's one from a comment on an aggregator of children's publishing blogs, at http://www.jacketflap.com/megablog/?highlight=The Sense of H... :
"As a dog lover I enjoyed this. Funny, but full of good advice. I'm in the process of designing my own website - I know, I know, I can hear your shout of horror from here - but I really can't afford to have it done professionally. I'm off over to yours to check it out for ideas (no stealing, dog's honour)!"

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Note added at 11 hrs (2012-12-09 12:46:56 GMT)
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I think it's quite possible that "parole de toutou" may be intended to evoke "parole de scout" (as a kind of assonance).

I've definitely heard "scout's honor" more than "dog's honor." However, I find the fact that "dog's honor" seems to have been used in a cartoon for children (i.e., in the Garfield transcript link above) pretty persuasive. It's a similar register.
Peer comment(s):

agree emiledgar
36 mins
Thanks, emiledgar
agree Jocelyne Cuenin : comme Chris dans la discussion : http://dictionnaire.reverso.net/francais-anglais/parole de s... J'ai un vague souvenir de "Parole de Manitou", mais je n'en suis plus sûre.
2 hrs
Merci, Petitavoine. J'ai trouvé "Manitou" dans le contexte d'un nom "totem" de scout : https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Léon_Ashkénazi . Peut-être il y a un lien quelque part dedans...
agree Lara Barnett
3 hrs
Thanks, LaraBarnett
agree Louisa Tchaicha
5 hrs
Thanks, Louisa.S
neutral Victoria Britten : xxx's honour is perfect; I'd go for "doggy'"s or"doggie's" rather than "dog's"
6 hrs
Thanks, Victoria. I'm not sure that I wouldn't prefer the expression that's alreay in use, though.
agree philgoddard : Good idea.
10 hrs
Thanks, philgoddard
agree Bertrand Leduc
12 hrs
Thanks, Bertrand
agree ACOZ (X)
15 hrs
Thanks, ACOZ
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
4 hrs

you'd better believe it!

Can't think of anything with a canine theme!



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Note added at 5 hrs (2012-12-09 06:10:20 GMT)
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Maybe a doggy variation on 'you've got my word for it' would be 'you've got my woof for it'. Just a suggestion!
Something went wrong...
7 hrs

Doggy's word!

It is common to say 'parole d'un homme' for meaning 'trust me..'. In this comic, it is the dog talking and he wants the girl to know what hes saying is true. I would suggest 'Doggy's word!' as in 'man's word/word of a man'.
Doggy (instead of dog) seems to fit better in this context.
Something went wrong...
+1
14 hrs

puppy paw swear

Well, kids often say "pinky swear", meaning that, instead of a handshake, they'll do a "pinky (finger) shake". So since this is a comic strip for kids (with a very serious topic though), maybe it's a fun alternative.
Peer comment(s):

agree John Detre
9 hrs
neutral Germaine : I like puppy paw, but "swear" is a "sensitive" word for some people.
13 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
20 hrs

cub's honour/honor

another suggestion
Peer comment(s):

agree Yolanda Broad : pup's honor?
1 day 37 mins
Something went wrong...
+2
9 hrs

Pirate's promise

Perhaps we should be concentrating more on how the kids would see it. I've never heard the expression "dog's honour" (though John's links prove that it exists) and I presume they haven't either. Is it really a case of all dogs, or is it the character himself/itself that's important here? I think it's the latter, though I'm not so confident of the answers I've come up with so far as none of them seem to fit all the contexts:

"Pirate's promise"
"Pirate's hono(u)r"
"You can take Pirate's word for it"

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Note added at 1 day8 hrs (2012-12-10 09:31:49 GMT)
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I have another suggestion that may fit well:
"Pirate's pact"
i.e. there's a pact between the reader and Pirate that can't be broken - friends and mutual support forever.
Peer comment(s):

agree cc in nyc
6 hrs
Thanks
neutral Germaine : I like the use of Pirate, but "promise" is a "dangerous" word with kids. Pirate won't be allowed to fail anything.
18 hrs
I take your point, Germaine - I've added another suggestion above
agree Emma Paulay : Or even "you can take Pirate's woof for it" ;-)
1 day 5 hrs
Thanks Emma. I love "woof" ;) but I think the expression's a bit long for repeated use. Up to the asker to see if/where it would fit well..
Something went wrong...
3 days 11 hrs

shiver me whiskers!

A playful option drawing on the faithful pup's name, though it doesn't retain the "you can trust me on that" feeling.
Agree with Germaine that these kind of sayings are principally about endearing a particular character to the readers and associating it with that phrase (like "billions of blistering barnacles" for Captain Haddock in Tintin, or "these Romans are crazy" for Obelix).
Btw, I think there is room for deviation in the translation of comics; I find the puns and jokes in the English translations of Asterisk and Obelix to be frequently better than the originals, for example!).
Something went wrong...
+2
3 days 15 hrs

Woof woof! that's a fact!

I read "parole de toutou" as being used for emphasis; a nice walk always does you good, you're such a brave girl... and that's a fact!

Then it needs to be "doggyfied"

Woof woof! that's a fact!
And that's a waggy-tail fact!

Not easy, good luck!
Peer comment(s):

agree Yolanda Broad : Another good solution
1 day 5 hrs
agree Yvonne Gallagher : easily understood
4 days
Something went wrong...
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