Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Valerian page 9


It's been a while, but here we go again.

L: Tu es gentil de me avoir achetée… smack… Tu sais elle marche!

You are nice to have bought it for me... smack... You know it [walks]!

I can’t work out what marche means here. Nothing I’ve found fits the context.

V: Bah… Frais de mission! Allons voir lā-bas cet attroupement!

Bah... Mission expenses! Let us see over there this crowd!

V: Que se passé-t-il?

What [last it]?

I couldn’t find any kind of translation for passé-t-il that made sense here. Obviously in context Laureline is saying something like “What is it?” but it would be nice to know what she’s actually saying.

Merchant: C’est la première fois que vous venez sur Syrte? Alors regardez bien… Voici l’un des plus célèbres connoisseurs qui, aujourd’hui, accepte de repondre aux questions…

It is the first time that you come to Syrte? Then look at well... Here one of the most famous Adepts who, today, agrees to answer questions...

M: …Tenez, un riche marchand de la planète Flugil vient le consulter.

Hold, a rich merchant of the planet Flugil comes to consult him

Merchant2: Puissant connaisseur! J’invoque de ta magnanimité une réponse ā cette question: vais-je vivre assez vieux pour voir prospérer mon commerce jusqu’ā ce qu’il soit le plus important dans le domaine qui est le mien?

Powerful Adept! I call upon your magnanimity to answer this question: will I live long enough to see my trade thrive through what it is most significant in the field which is mine?

Hmm. That last bit seems a bit mangled.

Caption: Dans le silence de la foule attentive, c’est une voix assourdie, mais aux résonances profondes qui s’impose bientôt

In the silence of the attentive crowd, it is a deafening voice, but with major resonances which is essential soon

S’impose has me confused here.

Adept: Ma réponse est la suivante marchand, tu vas mourir dans cent jours… Rentre sur ta planète si tu veux metre de l’ordre dans tes affaires car ta maladie.. !!

My answer is as follows, merchant, you will die in hundred days... Return to your planet if you want meter of the order in your business because your disease.!!

I assume there’s a colloquial expression I’m missing here.

Caption: Soudain, ā la surprise générale, le connaisseur s’interrompt et…

Suddenly, to general surprise, the Adept stops and...

Adept: Jeune fille! Approche!

Girl! Approach!

Crowd1: Que se passé-t-il?

That annoying passé-t-il again.

Crowd2: Jamais les connoisseurs ne parlent d’eux-mêmes ā des gens du people…

The Adepts never speak to the common people...

Confusion here over ā. It doesn’t seem to be listed at all in the main dictionaries I’m using, and in at least one case (jusqu’ā) it should have been à. Can someone explain what is going on here?

Adept: Approche!!

L: Qui ça … Moi?!

Who, me?

Adept: Oui toi! Oū as-tu trouvé cet objet?

Yes you! Where did you find this object?

That accent again. It has to be (where) because the only alternative seems to be ou (or).

L: Mais… Mais ici! Je viens de l’acheter au marché parce qu’il me plaisait et…

But... But right here! I just bought it at the market because I liked it and...

Adept: Ā quoi sert oe … Bijou?

What use is it? A jewel?

L: à donner l’heure voyons! Il n’y a rien d’extraordinaire à ça!

For telling the time! There is nothing extraordinary with that!

Caption: Ā ces paroles, la foule s’esclaffe autour de Laureline cependant que, sans un mot de plus, le connaisseur se détourne pour rentrer précipitamment au palais…

with these words, the crowd bursts out laughing around Laureline while, without a word, the Adept hurriedly turns away and returns to the palace...

L: Enfin, qu’est-ce que j’ai dit?

What did I say?

V: Tais toi et felons d’ici! Nous avons dû faire une gaffe, mais j’ignore laquelle.

Be quiet and let’s get out of here! We’ve screwed up, but I’m not sure how.

Crowd1: Donner l’heure ah! Ah! Ah!

For telling the time ah! Ah! Ah

Crowd2: Cette fille est folle…

This girl is insane...

Crowd3: Le connaisseur a été blessé par son impertinence, vous avez vu? Il part…

Was the expert offended by her insolence, do you think? He leaves...



I think we are getting the general sense of what's going on here but there are those few odd words and phrases that have me completely stumped. Thoughts, anyone?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can't figure out what's going on in that first panel. It could be it walks; it could also be it works (in English a clock 'runs', in french une montre 'marche'.)

Que se passé-t-il?--'What's going on?' or 'What's happening?'

Alors regardez bien--'Then look well' You had an 'at' that doesn't belong in that expression. 'Look closely' might be another way to translate it. 'Pay attention' is how I'd probably translate it, as that's the sense that's being conveyed.

Tenez--this is being use in the sense of 'take this person, for example'. You might skip that word in your translation, or perhaps use an expression like 'look'--'look here, a rich merchant...'

vais-je vivre...--something like 'will I live long enough to see my buisness become the pre-eminent leader in it's field?'

Sorry, I know I screwed up my spelling in that last sentence, but I have to run. I might look over the rest of this later tonight. cheers

Anonymous said...

une voix assourdie--I think this is 'a deafened voice' or 'a muffled voice'. I'd be interested what other people think, because I'm not completely sure you don't have it right with 'deafening'.

qui s'impose bientot--'which quickly asserts itself'.

mettre de l’ordre dans tes affaires car ta maladie--I believe this is 'put your affairs in order because of your illness'. Squinting at the scan, it appears to be 'mettre' not 'metre', which leads to a different translation.

Que se passe-t-il--again, this is "what's going on" or "what's happening". I'm pretty sure there isn't an accent in 'passe' here (or above when it occurred the first time).

Everywhere you see ā, take it to be à. I don't believe French has an 'a' with the opposite accent on it (though it does have the accent that looks like a house on it), so they don't have to worry about making it look distinct. The same holds for u.

"Jamais les connoisseurs..."--your translation looks right

the Adept hurriedly turns away and returns to the palace...You have 'hurriedly' in the wrong place. it should be 'the adept turns away and hurriedly returns to the palace'. I might use 'precipitously' (or a similar word) instead of 'hurriedly'. I think they're conveying the fact that he's not just returning quickly, but before he was planning to return.

The rest of it looks fine. Of course, now that I've read the whole thing, I realize they are talking about a watch in the first panel, so it should be 'it works' or 'its running'

Chance said...

marche = works

Anonymous said...

- Que se passe-t-il?
marcher is "to function"

- une voix assourdie
a muffled voice, due to the helmet I suppose. :-)

- it should have been à. Can someone explain what is going on here?
It is " à ", but the text is in upper case with a stylish lettering.

Anonymous said...

Aw, my first comment was an answer to "I can’t work out what marche means here." :-D

Anonymous said...

"Tu es gentil de me l'avoir achetée… smack… Tu sais elle marche!"

You are nice to have bought it for me... smack... You know it's still working!

(she seems to be talking about the watch from last page...)

smack is probably a sound effect for a kiss here, I don't know if you use the same in english...