Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World — Page 5
I find likewise that your printer has been so careless as to confound the times, and mistake the dates, of my several voyages and returns; neither assigning the true year, nor the true month, nor day of the month: and I hear the original manuscript is all destroyed since the publication of my book; neither have I any copy left: however, I have sent you some corrections, which you may insert, if ever there should be a second edition: and yet I cannot stand to them; but shall leave that matter to my judicious and candid readers to adjust it as they please.
Je constate également que votre imprimeur a été si négligent qu'il a confondu les époques et commis des erreurs sur les dates de mes différents voyages et retours ; n'indiquant ni l'année exacte, ni le mois exact, ni le jour du mois : et j'apprends que le manuscrit original a été entièrement détruit depuis la publication de mon livre ; je n'en ai pas non plus de copie : cependant, je vous ai envoyé quelques corrections que vous pourrez insérer, s'il devait jamais paraître une seconde édition : et pourtant je ne saurais m'y tenir ; mais je laisserai ce soin à mes lecteurs avisés et bienveillants pour qu'ils l'arrangent à leur convenance.
I hear some of our sea _Yahoos_ find fault with my sea-language, as not proper in many parts, nor now in use.
J'apprends que certains de nos _Yahoos_ de mer trouvent à redire à mon langage marin, le jugeant peu approprié en bien des endroits, et n'étant plus en usage.
I cannot help it.
Je n'y puis rien.
In my first voyages, while I was young, I was instructed by the oldest mariners, and learned to speak as they did.
Lors de mes premiers voyages, alors que j'étais jeune, j'ai été instruit par les plus anciens marins, et j'ai appris à parler comme eux.
But I have since found that the sea _Yahoos_ are apt, like the land ones, to become new-fangled in their words, which the latter change every year; insomuch, as I remember upon each return to my own country their old dialect was so altered, that I could hardly understand the new.
Mais j'ai depuis constaté que les _Yahoos_ de mer ont tendance, tout comme ceux de terre, à se laisser séduire par des mots nouveaux, que ces derniers changent chaque année ; à tel point que, je me souviens, à chacun de mes retours dans mon pays, leur ancien dialecte s'était tellement transformé que je pouvais à peine comprendre le nouveau.
And I observe, when any _Yahoo_ comes from London out of curiosity to visit me at my house, we neither of us are able to deliver our conceptions in a manner intelligible to the other.
Et je remarque que, lorsqu'un _Yahoo_ vient de Londres par curiosité me rendre visite chez moi, ni l'un ni l'autre ne sommes capables d'exprimer nos pensées d'une manière intelligible pour l'autre.
Vocabulary
- constate
- kon-stat — I observe, notice, or find (something to be true)
- également
- ay-gal-mahn — Also, equally, likewise
- imprimeur
- an-pree-mur — A printer; person who prints books or documents
- négligent
- nay-glee-zhahn — Negligent, careless, inattentive to duties
- confondu
- kon-fon-dü — Confused, mixed up (past participle of confondre)
- époques
- ay-pok — Epochs, eras, periods of time
- commis
- ko-mee — Committed, made (past participle of commettre)
- erreurs
- eh-rur — Errors, mistakes
- voyages
- vwa-yazh — Trips, journeys, travels
- retours
- ruh-toor — Returns, homecomings, coming back
- indiquant
- an-dee-kahn — Indicating, showing, pointing out (present participle)
- ni
- nee — Neither, nor (negative conjunction)
- exacte
- eg-zakt — Exact, precise, accurate (feminine adjective)
- exact
- eg-zakt — Exact, precise, accurate (masculine adjective)
- apprends
- ah-prahn — I learn, I find out (first person present)
- manuscrit
- mah-nü-skree — Manuscript, original handwritten or typed text
- original
- o-ree-zhee-nal — Original, first version, not a copy
- entièrement
- ahn-tyair-mahn — Entirely, completely, wholly
- détruit
- day-trwee — Destroyed, ruined (past participle of détruire)
- depuis
- duh-pwee — Since, for (indicating time elapsed)
- publication
- pü-blee-kah-syohn — Publication, the act of publishing a work
- copie
- ko-pee — Copy, duplicate of a document or text
- cependant
- suh-pahn-dahn — However, nevertheless, yet (concessive conjunction)
- envoyé
- ahn-vwa-yay — Sent (past participle of envoyer)
- quelques
- kel-kuh — Some, a few (indefinite plural adjective)
- corrections
- ko-rek-syohn — Corrections, fixes to errors in a text
- pourrez
- poor-ay — Will be able to (future of pouvoir, second plural)
- insérer
- an-say-ray — To insert, to add into a text
- devait
- duh-vay — Was supposed to, had to (imperfect of devoir)
- jamais
- zhah-may — Never, ever (adverb of time/negation)
- paraître
- pah-ret-ruh — To appear, to be published
- édition
- ay-dee-syohn — Edition, a particular version of a published work
- pourtant
- poor-tahn — Yet, however, nevertheless (concessive adverb)
- saurais
- so-ray — Would know how to (conditional of savoir)
- tenir
- tuh-neer — To hold, to keep, to stick to something
- laisserai
- lay-suh-ray — I will leave, I will let (future of laisser)
- soin
- swahn — Care, task, responsibility
- lecteurs
- lek-tur — Readers (masculine plural noun)
- avisés
- ah-vee-zay — Shrewd, wise, well-informed (plural adjective)
- bienveillants
- byahn-vay-yahn — Benevolent, kind, well-meaning (plural adjective)
- arrangent
- ah-rahnzh — Arrange, sort out (third plural present of arranger)
- convenance
- kon-vuh-nahns — Convenience, suitability, preference
- certains
- ser-tahn — Certain, some (indefinite plural pronoun/adjective)
- redire
- ruh-deer — To find fault with, to criticize, to say again
- langage
- lahn-gazh — Language, speech, manner of speaking
- marin
- mah-rahn — Marine, nautical, relating to the sea
- jugeant
- zhü-zhahn — Judging, considering (present participle of juger)
- approprié
- ah-pro-pree-ay — Appropriate, suitable, fitting
- endroits
- ahn-drwa — Places, spots, locations
- étant
- ay-tahn — Being (present participle of être)
- usage
- ü-zazh — Usage, use, custom, practice
- puis
- pwee — Then, next, moreover (adverb of sequence)
- Lors
- lor — At the time of, when (temporal preposition)
- instruit
- an-strwee — Taught, educated, instructed (past participle)
- anciens
- ahn-syahn — Old, former, ancient (plural adjective or noun)
- marins
- mah-rahn — Sailors, mariners (masculine plural noun)
- appris
- ah-pree — Learned (past participle of apprendre)
- constaté
- kon-sta-tay — Observed, noticed (past participle of constater)
- tendance
- tahn-dahns — Tendency, inclination, trend
- ceux
- suh — Those, the ones (demonstrative plural pronoun)
- laisser
- lay-say — To let, to allow, to leave
- séduire
- say-dweer — To seduce, to charm, to win over
- derniers
- dehr-nyay — The latter ones, the last (plural adjective/pronoun)
- changent
- shahnzh — Change (third plural present of changer)
- chaque
- shak — Each, every (indefinite adjective)
- tel
- tel — Such, such a (indefinite adjective)
- point
- pwahn — Point, degree, not at all (noun or negation)
- souviens
- soo-vyahn — Remember (first person present of se souvenir)
- chacun
- shah-kuhn — Each one, everyone (indefinite pronoun)
- ancien
- ahn-syahn — Old, former, ancient (masculine singular adjective)
- dialecte
- dyah-lekt — Dialect, regional variety of a language
- tellement
- tel-mahn — So much, so very (adverb of degree)
- transformé
- trahns-for-may — Transformed, changed, altered (past participle)
- peine
- pen — Hardly, barely, trouble, difficulty
- comprendre
- kom-prahn-druh — To understand, to comprehend
- remarque
- ruh-mark — I notice, remark (first person present of remarquer)
- lorsqu'
- lor-skuh — When, at the time that (temporal conjunction)
- curiosité
- kü-ryoh-zee-tay — Curiosity, inquisitiveness, desire to know
- rendre
- rahn-druh — To render, to return, to go (make a visit)
- chez
- shay — At the home of, at the place of
- capables
- kah-pabl — Capable, able (plural adjective)
- exprimer
- eks-pree-may — To express, to convey thoughts or feelings
- pensées
- pahn-say — Thoughts, ideas (feminine plural noun)
- manière
- mah-nyehr — Manner, way, method of doing something
- intelligible
- an-tel-ee-zheebl — Intelligible, understandable, comprehensible
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