Dec 2, 2020 17:48
3 yrs ago
58 viewers *
French term
Norway
goutte d'eau de colibri
French to English
Other
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Company text promotion outreach work
Hi all,
I'm translating an interview with two company representatives about their community outreach work. The troublesome phrase appears in its full sentence form below:
"Je me rends compte de l’ampleur de notre Groupe et de la portée de ses actions en matière de RSE. Pour moi, [...] est un excellent déclencheur, un moyen de promouvoir toutes les actions de cœur de l’entreprise. Je suis toujours ravie de voir émerger des petits projets portés par des collaborateurs tellement investis, pour moi ce sont autant de petites gouttes d’eau de colibris !"
Could anyone help please?
Many thanks in advance for your help!
I'm translating an interview with two company representatives about their community outreach work. The troublesome phrase appears in its full sentence form below:
"Je me rends compte de l’ampleur de notre Groupe et de la portée de ses actions en matière de RSE. Pour moi, [...] est un excellent déclencheur, un moyen de promouvoir toutes les actions de cœur de l’entreprise. Je suis toujours ravie de voir émerger des petits projets portés par des collaborateurs tellement investis, pour moi ce sont autant de petites gouttes d’eau de colibris !"
Could anyone help please?
Many thanks in advance for your help!
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+4
26 mins
Margaret Morrison
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
United Kingdom
Cambridge educated business specialist
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
every little helps
positive + implication of solidarity but does lack the poetry of the original!
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Suzie Withers
8 mins
|
| agree |
philgoddard
25 mins
|
| neutral |
Barbara Cochran, MFA
: Would never say it this way in the US. A word seems to be missing.
3 hrs
|
|
I had no idea that wasn't used in US English. Interesting. A paraphrase then for US I guess or acorns/drops of water
|
|
| agree |
Tony M
: Cf. the old, old saying "'Every little helps!' said the old lady as she ...ed in the ocean"
4 hrs
|
| neutral |
Daryo
: Morrison(s) plagiarizing Tesco's slogan? Qui l'eût cru ...
7 hrs
|
|
;-)
|
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| agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
: It was an expression long before Tesco used it
15 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks, Margaret! :)"
-4
7 mins
Francois Boye
United States
United States
Native in French
United States
An economic geek with social skills
Native in: French
Works in: English to French, French to English, Spanish to English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
a useless action/activity
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Gloria Palubjakova
: This refers to a positive action not a negative one (in this context). Also, if one was to take your link into consideration, the hummingbird's action are little or may seem insignificant but they are useful at the end.
3 hrs
|
|
Any action that does not solve a problem is useless: that's the objection to the hummingbird in the text!
|
|
| disagree |
Tony M
: This is indeed here a positive action, as outlined by other answerers.
5 hrs
|
|
Any action that does not solve a problem is useless: that's the objection to the hummingbird in the text!
|
|
| disagree |
Michele Fauble
: Asker’s context requires a positive interpretation, not the original negative one.
5 hrs
|
|
Any action that does not solve a problem is useless: that's the objection to the hummingbird in the text!
|
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| disagree |
AllegroTrans
: 100% agree with above 3 comments
18 hrs
|
12 mins
Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
United States
Native in English
Specializes in field
United States
Laudable Lady Linguist
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 3 more.
nothiing more than a drop in the bucket
Maybe.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Francois Boye
2 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Francois.
|
|
| neutral |
Gloria Palubjakova
: It's more positive
3 hrs
|
|
Except that "nothing more" could refer to the ease of the situation.
|
|
| disagree |
Tony M
: This is indeed here a positive action, as outlined by other answerers.
5 hrs
|
|
But just like you just about always do (behavioral issue), you react as soon as you see my name, rather than actually read all of my comments.
|
+2
29 mins
Bokani Hart
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
United Kingdom
Human Rights, Energy and Sustainable Dev
Native in: English (Variants: UK, British)
Works in: French to English, English to French, English, and 1 more.
Every little bit helps
For me, 'every little bit helps' encapsulates the idea of a little humming bird doing everything it can, however small it may be, to help the team.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Gloria Palubjakova
: I agree with this.
3 hrs
|
|
Thanks Gloria
|
|
| neutral |
Tony M
: Although the idea is right, I don't believe adding 'bit' contributes anything to what is in essence a set phrase. / How curious, perhaps it's a generational thing? Exactly the reverse for me!
4 hrs
|
|
Thanks Tony, but I've only ever used the expression 'every little bit helps', which comes more naturally to me.
|
|
| agree |
Suzie Withers
: I think this is a valid variation on "Every little helps" and takes away the direct "Tesco" association https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/every little bit helps
14 hrs
|
|
Thanks Suzie
|
+7
37 mins
Michele Fauble
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
Native English
Native in: English
Works in: Norwegian to English, Danish to English, Swedish to English
little acorns
Saying:
From little acorns come mighty oaks.
From little acorns come mighty oaks.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Peter Field
8 mins
|
|
thanks
|
|
| agree |
Suzie Withers
10 mins
|
|
thanks
|
|
| agree |
philgoddard
15 mins
|
|
thanks
|
|
| agree |
Tony M
: Slightly skews the meaning, suggesting a temporal element that isn't really there in the original; but certainly along the right lines here.
4 hrs
|
|
thanks
|
|
| agree |
Bokani Hart
: I like it, it's very evocative
16 hrs
|
|
thanks
|
|
| agree |
writeaway
18 hrs
|
|
thanks
|
|
| agree |
Gloria Palubjakova
21 hrs
|
|
thanks
|
|
| neutral |
ormiston
: But how would this actually fit into the sentence?
21 hrs
|
|
That’s for the translator to decide.
|
+1
55 mins
Shilpa Baliga
Native in English
Chef and ex-restauranteur
Native in: English (Variant: British)
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, Catalan to English, and 2 more.
Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.
Not a homegrown English expression, but a quote from Ryunosuke Akutagawa.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Tony M
: A little cumbersome to actually use here, but I think best embodies the notion; it may SEEM as if our individual efforts are insignificant, but the end result can be colossal, and we must not be discouraged from doing whatever we can, however small.
4 hrs
|
|
Thanks! I agree that it is rather cumbersome to use here :-)
|
-1
59 mins
Gloria Palubjakova
Canada
Canada
Native in English
Canada
Better is not good enough....
Native in: English
Works in: French to English, Dutch to English
In this context I will say "precious drops of water"
The little projects put forward... are precious and important to the author. The hummingbird carries water droplets but they are important and precious to it.
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Tony M
: In a literal sense, perhaps... but that wouldn't really help very much to convey the wider figurative notion in Asker's context here.
4 hrs
|
23 hrs
everyone doing their part/their bit/what they can
To the extent that InterWeb searches are reliable references, the hummingbird story behind the expression in this text seems to be around in both French and English.
It's hard to know whether and where the expression behind this question has gained some currency in French and why the speaker uses it here. Is it mentioned earlier, was the story part of a company workshop or CSR presentation, and so on. It may not be commonplace at all.
The meaning that stands out for me, which is made clear in the story itself, is that of doing what one can, whatever difference it makes. It's not so much that every little bit helps, but that everyone has a part to play. If everyone does their bit (and the actions of some will have a bigger impact than those of others), then a crisis can be dealt with or, indeed, a fire put out.
---
https://colibris-lemouvement.org/mouvement/legende-colibri
https://www.sapn05.org/la-legende-du-colibri/
https://michelduchaine.com/2013/07/25/legende-amerindiennele...
It's hard to know whether and where the expression behind this question has gained some currency in French and why the speaker uses it here. Is it mentioned earlier, was the story part of a company workshop or CSR presentation, and so on. It may not be commonplace at all.
The meaning that stands out for me, which is made clear in the story itself, is that of doing what one can, whatever difference it makes. It's not so much that every little bit helps, but that everyone has a part to play. If everyone does their bit (and the actions of some will have a bigger impact than those of others), then a crisis can be dealt with or, indeed, a fire put out.
---
https://colibris-lemouvement.org/mouvement/legende-colibri
https://www.sapn05.org/la-legende-du-colibri/
https://michelduchaine.com/2013/07/25/legende-amerindiennele...
Example sentence:
It's so great to see employees putting so much time and effort into little ventures, everyone is doing what they can.
I'm always delighted to see small undertakings by employees who are so comitted to doing their bit.
Discussion
https://philippesilberzahn.com/2020/02/17/le-colibri-toujour...
That's exactly what Philgoddard reported.
Your link does not address the question in this context. Could you please clarify your reason or suggestion to the question? Thank you.
https://www.decopositive.com/product/la-goutte-et-le-colibri...
But yes, this sounds like the right idea to me too!
Et le colibri lui répondit :« Je le sais, mais je fais ma part. »
http://lesecolohumanistes.fr/la-legende-du-colibri/
"Drop in the ocean" is kind of on the right lines, but I wonder if there's a more positive English equivalent which doesn't imply that it's worthless.