Translation help with Phrase

OGRE · #1 06-08-2007, 06:14 PM

Found on T-shirt:

J'suis celibataire!
mais j'mu soigne....

I think I've got it figured out, but not for sure. Anyone fluent in French care to educate me.

Deepwaters · #2 06-08-2007, 06:17 PM

I believe the best translation might be, "I'm single, but well looked-after."

OGRE · #3 06-08-2007, 06:33 PM

How about: "I'm single, but looking...."??

The problem is soigne has so many definitions, context (and possible culture) is needed to figure it out.

Deepwaters · #4 06-08-2007, 06:41 PM

Not "looking." Another way to put it would be, "I'm single but well taken care of." "Look" without the "after" is translated by "regarder," "voir," "vérifier," "regard," or in the sense of "appear" it would be "sembler" or "resembler." I don't think there's a literal equivalent in French of "look after" in English.

Amazed · #5 06-08-2007, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OGRE

Found on T-shirt:

J'suis celibataire!
mais j'mu soigne....

I think I've got it figured out, but not for sure. Anyone fluent in French care to educate me.

hah, thats a good one. It can be interpreted in many way. The way I see it, it means "I'm single, but I'm curing it...." As if Being Single was some sort of disease haha!

Then again, I speak from a french canadian perspective. There's many difference between France french and Québec french. Thats how I see it tho.

OGRE · #6 06-08-2007, 08:00 PM

Single, but well taken care of...
Single, but curing it...

In English, the concept of "taken care of" and "curing it", in context of the preface, can be very suggestive. Is the suggestive nature of the phrase an accident of translation or is the suggestion intended in the original French?

Amazed · #7 06-08-2007, 08:05 PM

Oh it is very suggestive, even in french. That's the whole point I think! It's also written in spoken french, not in proper french "J'suis" and "j'mu" are quite contracted form. Therefor it could mean that they are being sarcastic about "well teaken care". When I think about "soigne" it remind me of "soigné" which means "proper". But obviously the language used here is not "soigné"... so you could see sarcasm in this.

Cooney · #8 06-08-2007, 08:05 PM

I would read that "well taken care of" as being sexual in nature. "Célibataire" being the word for "single," as well as the word "celibate" (harkens to a different time, yes?), it has a double meaning.

Figuratively, I would see the meaning as "I'm not in a relationship, but I have many relationships."

Amazed · #9 06-08-2007, 08:18 PM

Oh I see...

I dont think it has the same meaning as "well taken care of" as far as being in many relationships, but it does suggest more. Espcially since they end the statement with "..."

OGRE · #10 06-08-2007, 08:34 PM

If it makes a difference, on the shirt the accent is reversed:

It reads Cèlibataire as opposed to Célibataire. Given some of the other text is contracted speech rather than proper, is the reversed accent playing to a slang (or alternate) pronunciation of Célibataire? Perhaps sending a subtle message of not being EXACTLY Célibataire. A suggestion of being "single", but not being celibate?